Conquest of the New World

The background to the game is the discovery, colonization and conquest of the New World by the European kingdoms of Spain , Portugal , Holland , France and Great Britain . The Europeans landed in ships on the uncharted coasts of America in 1493, sending scouts, soldiers and settlers to the New World.

Indians can also be played in the form of “Adelurinwohner” ( high natives ), who represent a fictitious high culture. The appearance of the Adelur inhabitants is based heavily on the Plains Indians , whose architecture is a mix of different styles such as pueblo houses, while the main buildings look like the step pyramids of the Maya and Aztecs .

Gameplay

The game modes can be set before the game starts; whether you prefer a points game wants to play, scenario or "continuous play". The player faction with bonuses and the New World can also be roughly adjusted in size and shape.

At the start of the game, the player begins with a ship, some scouts and an officer to whom a few military units are attached, on a randomly generated map that is terra incognita . First, you have to explore the area to find the best location for your first colony. Ideally, the suitable settlement area has forests as a source for wood, which is processed in sawmills, mountains for gold and metal extraction by means of mines, pastureland for farms that produce grain and a coast for a port or dock for sea trade with the home country and shipbuilding. Rivers give adjacent production buildings a production bonus. After a few rounds, another ship arrives from home with a group of settlers and another officer with a few military units. The settlers have to be assigned a place to found a colony and erect buildings. The officers and military units can be assigned to her as a garrison .

The main settlement must be gradually expanded and defended in order to recruit new scouts, soldiers and settlers. There are more colonies to be founded and areas to be discovered. There are victory points for discovering and naming rivers, mountains and regions. If the European player feels militarily strong enough and the tax burden becomes too great, he can proclaim independence from his home country. After a few rounds, the homeland sends armies and attacks the colonies. If the player manages to fend off several such attacks, he gains independence and no longer has to pay taxes to his home country and can trade with Europe on better terms. During the struggle for independence - if a few battles have already been won - a Commonwealth status can be demanded as an intermediate stage , where the player gets lower taxes and gets better prices for his goods in Europe, but cannot pursue his own diplomacy. If the player with Commonwealth status starts a war of independence again, he only has to win two battles against the homeland to achieve independence.

Battles are fought in rounds on a 3 × 4 battlefield. The battle is considered won if the enemy army has been destroyed, it withdraws or the field with the opposing flag has been taken. The troop types consist of infantry, cavalry and artillery (except (aristocratic) natives), and after victorious battles they can go up a level, becoming more powerful and more difficult to destroy. Officers receive experience points after victorious battles, which can be divided into respective skills such as number of attacks, troop size, charisma (moral value) or marching range. Military techniques for the combat strength of the troop types for attack and defense can be researched in military academies. Sea battles can only be fought randomly.

Residents of the Adelur can proclaim a confederation in which the nearby Indian villages attack and which can be incorporated through conquest, i.e. federated. From now on, these federated villages or tribes send auxiliary troops to the Adelur inhabitants within a certain radius in case of defense or attack. The federated tribal warriors benefit from the military research of the Adelur inhabitants, which increases their clout. Federated Indian villages follow the diplomatic line of the Adelur inhabitants towards the European powers. In addition, the conquered villages create greater trading capacities.

Deluxe Edition

In 1997, the Conquest of the New World Deluxe Edition appeared , which includes some innovations such as a mini map, a scenario editor, improved diplomacy, special resource sources ( alfalfa , potatoes, corn, precious stones, etc.) or good-bearing buildings (e.g. fountains of youth , war temples ) and ran from DOS 5.0 or alternatively on Windows 95 .

Press review

Reviews in computer game magazines :

Power Play , issue 6/96: 79%
PC Joker , edition 8/96: 71%
PC player , issue 6/96: 60%
GameSpot : 8.5 out of 10

Web links

Conquest of the New World at MobyGames (English)
Conquest of the New World Deluxe Edition at MobyGames (English)
Conquest of the New World Deluxe Edition on Steam (English, English voice output)

Individual evidence

[1] ultboy.com - Review of Power Play, issue 6/96

[2] ultboy.com - Review of the PC Joker, issue 8/96

[3] ygames.com - Review of the PC Player, issue 6/96

[4] GameSpot - Conquest of the New World Review