Here is my problem:

I play standard sized, normal paced continent maps most of the time, usually on prince. More often than not my capital has something like a plains cow and a calender resource, and that is it for specials. Then I'm stuck on like, the far side of a desert or jungle with no good spots for cities for absolutely miles.

More often than not I end up with no production city due to having no suitable sites. What am I supposed to do here? Just say "aww nuts" and regen? Because that means I"ll have to regen half my games because I can never find a site with high production and high food.

Post an example, sometimes things are not as bad as they look.

There is no such thing as "no production city suitable sites" as long as you have enough food.... 2 seafood sites in continents are not that hard to find , and even if you don't want to use slavery or Nationhood for your "Guns" necessities, there is alway the option of watermill/workshop spam for production......

But as usual, post some screenshots and you'll have a lot of suggestions of how to make that prod city out of there.

i prefer gutter buns

That's the thing. My past four or so games end up like this:

Lots of food, no hills.

No food, lots of hills.

A little food, lots of hills.

I am experienced enough to know how to build a production city. Maybe I have just been getting those very civ-like "unlucky streaks" in genning my continents. Like my last game was me at the corner of a massive desert. I'm not even sure I saved it but if the auto save is there I'll post it.

Grassland workshops are great for production if you can survive the early game.

Grassland workshops are great for production if you can survive the early game.

Grassland workshops are amazing in the late game if running state property and caste system, and if they're along a river in a city with a levee. In that situation, you're looking at 5 hammers, two food, and a point of commerce to boot. Try getting that on a mined hill.

tldr; guns

Grassland workshops are great for production if you can survive the early game.

This is the problem. I may get bronze working hooked up right away but if I don't have a production city soon enough (which I never be able to find enough food and hills in the same vicinity), then my capital (which is rarely prime for production, but can swing it) becomes a half-assed version.

It's not like I don't take workshops and things like that into account, it's just that I won't survive unless I have at least one city with three working hills (or the equivilent) to get those axemen cranking, and you wouldn't believe how hard it has been to accomplish this.

Three hills don't need much food. One grassland farm is enough.

Slavery makes miracles in situations like that ;) You can't have large cities early due to the happyness cap anyway, so why not focus on food and :whipped: the rest? ;)

Butter. Can't eat guns.

^^Guns make us powerful, butter only makes us fat

I would bet that Civ IV was made over this Himmler sentence ;)

Butter. Can't eat guns.

Guns. Steal your neighbors butter and then take his cows.

Guns. Steal your neighbors butter and then take his cows.

Butter, get enough manpower so your neighbours guns doesn't matter.

;)

^^

I would bet that Civ IV was made over this Himmler sentence ;)

Göring actually. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guns_versus_butter_model)

(Splitting hairs, I know)

Damn, I knew it was one of them ;) Betted in the fat dude :p

i prefer gutter buns

My mind's in the gutter, so I'm all for buns.

My mind's in the gutter, so I'm all for buns.

I like baps, nice meduim sized firm baps.

As for grassland, whip away till Caste and workshops, then power your way through the middle ages.

All hills, then arm yourself and fight your way to the equator for the calender bonuses.

Guns then

some more guns

then maybe some more

You can't put guns on your waffle, but then again you can't stop someone from taking your waffle with butter. I say go for both or an approved substitute (Margarine and "I Can't Believe It's Not Guns").