Settings: Monarch, Normal Game Speed, Smart Map custom settings (wrap X + Y, small-tiny size, 5 AI, Normal Resources and Goodies). I have the newest BUG mod, and I'm not sure if you need it to play.

So, after just finishing up a Monarch game, where random events caused 4 barbarian spears to wreck havoc on my third city (arguably the worst random event), I think I need a little help. Leader is Lincoln (Obama ;)). So, here we go:

Victories: Time, Domination, Conquest, Cultural

http://i248.photobucket.com/albums/gg193/DashieCamel/4000bc.jpg

Not a bad start. Nothing special compared to some of the other posts here, but we've at least got corn. Goody hut NW. Unfortunately, no seafood, but the corn should suffice for now, considering our happy cap is 6. It will become 7 with a monument.

I reallly think settling in place is the best option. No real benefit in my mind of moving 1 W. Borders will pop before even the worker can get out.

This should make for a nice bureaucracy capital later on with the sea tiles and hills. But that's looking quite far ahead. I'm also hoping to get a specialist economy going (which is why I like Lincoln the best - Charismatic for happy cap + XP, and Philosophical for SE).

For Tech, I'm thinking Animal Husbandry -> Wheel -> Mining -> BW -> Writing; or would it be smarter to stick sailing in there somewhere? Does sailing do anything if you haven't met any AI yet, or do you get more commerce from discovering it?

http://i248.photobucket.com/albums/gg193/DashieCamel/2.jpg

So, I settled in place. Putting out a worker first. 5 turns to border pop in the capital on normal, so I still don't see a tangible benefit of moving where the AI circle was (losing two turns in the process). Teching to animal husbandry first. Moved the worker 1 W to get 46 gold from the goody hut.

How's this for a queue: Worker (now) -> Warrior -> Settler -> Warrior -> Worker. Is this preferable to Worker (now) -> Warrior -> Worker -> warrior -> Settler?

Thus far:

http://i248.photobucket.com/albums/gg193/DashieCamel/3.jpg

Horses! Plus, rice and seafood. I think I know where New York is going! 3 turns away from popping the worker, where I'll next build a warrior.

http://i248.photobucket.com/albums/gg193/DashieCamel/4.jpg

Met Willem Van Oranje and Saladin. Starting to break out a settler.


Which do you think is the wisest to settle at? A or B?

http://i248.photobucket.com/albums/gg193/DashieCamel/5.jpg



That's all for now.

B doesn't overlap with your capital. However, I'm a little curious as to the land to the south.

add on: cuz u dont know if it'll mash with another excellent city
add on2: what u got against C/1NW Rice?

Wait wait wait :eek: (actually, too late, you posted the update while I was writing this). You're planning five techs ahead, but you're making a mistake with your first tech. There are only two tiles your worker can improve without chopping trees. You need BW ASAP, not animal husbandry. From the screenshot, you had at least 11 turns in which your worker could only build roads. That's not a complete waste, but chopping and mining would get your next cities founded much earlier. You only need animal husbandry if you have an animal food resource that needs a pasture. Or if you don't have copper, then you can research AH.

Going forward, I think A is the better city site. Its only overlap with your capital is one grassland and some coast which won't matter at all until the modern age. But A has immediate access to the clams. Have Washington build a workboat immediately after the settler so New York can work a good food tile right away. Then have Washington build some workers (chopping, farming, mining, hooking up horses) while New York builds warriors (exploring, fog busting).

I didn't notice this before, but you have five tiles of freshwater lakes that can be reached by lighthouses. That's a tile with three food and two commerce that doesn't need workers, and you only have one of those. You could go for sailing next, although the tech and the lighthouses cost a decent amount of commerce and hammers. But I don't know if that would be better than going for pottery or writing.

OK, good luck, it should be an interesting game.

775 BC:

http://i248.photobucket.com/albums/gg193/DashieCamel/6.jpg

Saladin to the South. I think I'll send a warrior to look at his cities since we have open borders. As you can see, however, the lack of copper is probably going to hurt me. Should I'll probably research Iron Working next to see if we can get iron. Was it a mistake waiting this long for IW?

I'm also thinking of settling here:

http://i248.photobucket.com/albums/gg193/DashieCamel/7.jpg

For a third city. Along with that, I also will chariot rush the Barb city, which has pigs as a resource. I'm liking that third city, however, assuming nobody has settled there. Also looking for place for a fifth city, considering I have another settler ready (besides the one that's going up there).

How is this? Is it worth settling so far from the capital?

How is my expansion? Is it too slow? Too quick?

@the dude above me who has BUG

press alt-X

I'd starting building some of those chariots- take that city. I think you need more infrastructure, soon - some cottages or a lib to run some scientists or something.

I think you are fine, not knowing IW yet, but I think it would be a good thing to get next or at least soon. Or you could beeline alpha and try to trade for IW.

You seem to be doing okay, but I would have to say your expansion does seem a little slow, and your exploration is lacking. Also, HBR is not a great early tech unless you have a very specific reason for going after it (i.e. rushing someone). Once you realized you didnt have any Copper (which would have been a lot earlier had you teched BW sooner and explored more), Iron Working should become a pretty high priority. More aggressive exploration/fog-busting would also have netted you some more goodie huts probably, prevented the spawning of that barbarian city, located some copper, and given you some indication of whether or not you are going to need to race an AI for that 3rd city location.

I do like the location for that third city though. Fish AND wheat, as well as five 3f/2c (with a lighthouse), and 2 plains hills and a horse resource for some production when needed (could drop a workshop on the empty plains square as well). Looks like a good location for a GP farm.

Not a bad start.

Not a bad start? :eek: It's terrible. It looks like a bugged 1 food resource all forest start. Lots of coast but no seafood. Which is strange because usually the map generator at least adds seafood when it can't add any resources to meet the 4 minimum because of forests. Only 2 riverside tiles. Corn isn't even irrigated. You got hosed.

Not a bad start? :eek: It's terrible. It looks like a bugged 1 food resource all forest start. Lots of coast but no seafood. Which is strange because usually the map generator at least adds seafood when it can't add any resources to meet the 4 minimum because of forests. Only 2 riverside tiles. Corn isn't even irrigated. You got hosed.

Smart Map seems to do this sort of thing. I had a start that seemed okay, and then I realized just how much of it was jungle. I ended up giving up after 60 turns when I realized that I had a worker with nothing to do and no prospects of anything to do but build roads through the jungle.

Horrible start, only one single resource.

Thanks for the nice tips here! :) I played until 225 AD so far. Not at my Civ computer right now, but I just need to post the save and add the screen shots.

Another question: How about balancing chopping forests with leaving them? I know forests give you a health bonus. How does that work? Does the forest need to be in your fat cross? Right now, my understanding is that it's best to leave some forest, since we're at a happiness cap and the city won't work all of the tiles for now anyway. If I chop all of the forests in my fat cross, do I lose that health bonus?? Do forests also add happiness?

I've been running specialists on and off. Is running scientists a good way to prevent population growth because of the happiness gap? I've mostly been changing the tiles in the city screen, however.

Personally I wouldn't worry about keeping forests up for the sake of healthiness. Unless you are near a lot of flood plains or jungles, you will typically hit your happy cap long before your health cap. AFAIK the health bonus from forests is +1 health for every 2 forests in the BFC, but I could be wrong because I've never payed that much attention to it.

In my games I usually dont hit unhealthiness until my cities start getting to the 13-15 population range (on Emperor), and then only in the ones where I've built forges and/or drydocks. By this time, getting extra health is usually very simple, as you should have some extra resources laying around that you can trade for whatever +health resources you dont have in your own land. Don't forget to trade away your outdated strategic resources. AI's will happily trade multiple health resources (and/or hefty amounts of GPT) for some copper or horses in 1500 AD.

If you find that you are hitting healthy caps before happy caps, you probably aren't getting as many health resources as you should, you aren't whipping enough, or you are focusing too much on pop growth and not enough on commerce/production (i.e. too many farms, not enough cottages/workshops/specialists).

EDIT: All of that is not to say that there aren't other reasons for keeping forests around. If you don't need the production just yet, cant work the tiles, etc, then there is nothing wrong with keeping some forests around to chop out some buildings/wonders/units later on, especially in low production cities.

Thanks Syiss! Very helpful. :)

http://i248.photobucket.com/albums/gg193/DashieCamel/8.jpg

So, it's 350 AD, and we find ourselves in pretty mediocre shape. Saladin is making a bid for that barbarian fortress, but he's having about as much luck as I'm having. I think it's time to take another swipe at it again, this time with more chariots. I was hoping Saladin would suicide his units on the city, giving me easy pickings on the archers, but no avail. The hill fighter is going to eat my units for lunch. Unfortunately, I'm a little behind on Tech, as you can see, as my economy crashed from expansion. It does seem to be coming back from the brink, however. I need to start running specialists asap, I would imagine. New York looks like a good contender for it right now, as does Boston, which is under Barbarian attack. I have no idea where Louis is. We also have a great scientist coming in the near future.

My biggest worry right now is Saladin declaring, which would be pretty devastating. I'll make a final city at that iron down there (hoping that Willem Van Oranje doesn't steal it first).

http://i248.photobucket.com/albums/gg193/DashieCamel/9.jpg

On a funnier note, Saladin's bid for the Barbarian city was an absolute failure, sacrificing 7 of his units to leave a 0.8/3 Archer left for my Chariot to chew on. Thanks Saladin!

To 1000 AD:

http://i248.photobucket.com/albums/gg193/DashieCamel/105.jpg

http://i248.photobucket.com/albums/gg193/DashieCamel/105-1.jpg

Land Area looks good. Still trying to throw cottages out there. I think my problem is not having enough infrastructure, such as cottages, to support my economy, causing it to crash. Things are looking a little better. I abandoned researching Math at about 400 AD, and started tech trading for a couple of techs. Now, I'm back to researching it again.

Thanks Saladin!

Hahahaha invade that sucker!

Saladin is definately in my sights if he doesn't get me first. Unfortunately, I can barely afford my expansion so far, and trying to cottage to bring my economy back up to speed. I've been able to stay out of strike, though. Barbarian captures have helped alot. They usually build decently placed cities, too, from what I've seen.

1500 AD:

http://i248.photobucket.com/albums/gg193/DashieCamel/11.jpg

Alexander definately hates us. He was annoyed before, but I gave him a rice tribute to appease him. He's the most powerful in the game so far, and considering Oranje has macemen and longbowmen, that's a little scary. Hereditary rule is helping for the happiness caps, while the cities are starting to get sick.

I had a golden age, which helped. At around 1200 - 1300 AD, I had a strike, which I fixed through micro-managing the city screen.