I usually plop the settler down immediately, <snip>
I think I would settle on the wheat tile or the tile next to the incense to gain the production value of the surrounding hills.
I admit, I'm also one who typically settles the starting spot, so I'm not the best to discuss this, but settling on the wheat isn't very optimal. With a farm and Civil Service this tile will produce +4
, whereas if we settle on the wheat, it'll only produce two. As to your other suggestions, I'm not really sure without being able to see what would be within our borders. Hence why I tend to just settle the starting location.
I think its always a good idea to research animal hubandry first...for showing horses on the map so you can plan ahead, and as its a pre-requisite to horseback riding. Next tech should be pottery however, so we can have fishing and calendar once the worker is ready.
when possible in order to get in contact with city states and other civs asap. In this situation I'd probably hit pottery first
I vote for Pottery 1st as well
lurker's comment: Both of the happiness resources are calendar based, which makes the early tech path simpler. If you want horsies early (which your post mentions you do), then animal husbandry is probably the first stop followed by pottery and then calendar. I suspect this is one of the choices that I am making wrong. Bee-lining to horseback riding may be a better tactic and then coming back for pottery and calendar.
I like Animal Husbandry first to find horses. Then research to Calendar for resource development.
While I agree with all of you that Calendar is important and needed, the question arises as to when its needed. I believe we start out with 6
. While that's not much starting out, its good to consider how long it'll take for it to reach zero. If we do as has been suggested, then we'd be able to improve our first lux resource long before our happiness is to the point of needing it. I agree that we will need Calendar soon, I just disagree on prioritizing it that early.
I liked Krystalshield's statement:
Bee-lining to horseback riding may be a better tactic and then coming back for pottery and calendar.
This is what I would do. More then likely if we do this route, we'll be just completing our first lux resource around the time we're attacking one of our neighbors, which is when we'll need it due to the
of puppeting someone else's capital.
I'm like the rest of you in that I typically start with building a scout. I prefer scouts due to their terrain ability. One thing I prefer to do early in the game is clear the map around me and figure out who my neighbors are and what kind of land they have. Of course we can't forget the goody huts either.
My build queue is typically Scout -> Worker -> Settler, though its subject to change based on the game. If there is enough time between the completion of the settler and getting horses connected then I'll build a chariot archer. Note, I typically plant that settler next to horses, within my borders.
For my first war I don't build warriors. The reason is their so weak compared to the horsemen and they're very slow. Since I tend to send my initial warrior to the battle, I do often build a warrior after my attack force is built, so that he can protect my two cities. BTW my attack force typically consists of one warrior, two or three horsemen, and either an archer or a chariot archer. The warrior is used to deal with any units of the civ I'm invading, while the horses and archer attack the cities. TBH I'm not very fond of chariot archers, since they're so weak. I've found if one is within range of an enemy unit, then its basically dead.
In summary, the plan I would use is beeline to Horseback Riding, while building a Scout, Worker, and Settler. The warrior explores the surrounding area, but heads back to the capital once the Scout heads out. I locate my neighbors and determine which one I intend to attack. The settler I try to complete around the time HBR is completing, so that I can quickly settle near a horse and once its improved I immediately begin building my small invasion force.
Note, the AI starting out is very weak and practically defenseless, hence why such a small force can easily wipe out a nation.
Now, having said that, what do you guys think? Is this something you're willing to try? We would very quickly jump up to four, possibly five cities and have several good resources. Well, two cities and two or three puppet cities. After that point, then we'd decide on whether to attack another civ, or work on infrastructure/expansion.
Disclaimer: If it sounds like I'm insulting you by quoting you and then implying your wrong, I apologize. That's not my intent. My goal is for all of us to learn and that includes me. So if I do offend you in some way then I apologize. Feel free to PM me if you have a problem with something I said. This isn't for just this post, but all future posts. If I recall correctly, in the training game I was in, I often felt like I was being called dumb, hence this disclaimer.