Slower Expansion Tweak

[WildWeazel]

Not exactly a mod, just a few rule changes to slow down the initial land grab. For a more realistic ancient era, civs take longer to expand and barbs are more powerful. Settlers now cost 3 population and 60 shields, and are wheeled. Not only will your cities have to be larger before sending out settlers, but colonization will be limited by terrain before roads are built. Barbarian units are Numidian Mercenaries and Ancient Cavalry. Before the Iron Age, barbarians will pose a serious threat to exploration and even settlements. Granaries, irrigation, and escorts will be more important.

I haven't played extensively with these settings, but in a few test games most civs had 3-4 cities at 1000 BC, which seems about right to me. It's possible that a civ will be unable to build a settler, but hey, not everyone can build an empire

Play!