TSG81 Opening Actions

Welcome to the TSG81 Opening Actions thread.

STOP - Please do not continue reading this thread until you have completed at least 80 to 100 turns in your game.

This thread is used to discuss the game once you've started playing through your first 100 turns. Apart from normal decency, the only posting restrictions are to please not post videos until the deadline is finished and to use the spoiler tags for screenshots. Here you can post questions related to the game and share your achievements/anger/frustration/victories while you play. Please remember that we are running a family friendly site, so express anger or frustration with this in mind.

Please use this thread to discuss your goals for the game and your opening moves through the first 100 turns. We are going to try something new and limit your game description in this thread to the first 100 turns. Anything after that should be posted in the After Action thread once you have completed your game.

- How did the terrain and map settings affect your early decisions?
- What were your initial priorities?
- What tech path did you follow and why?
- What Social Policies did you choose and why?

Man, so much city spammers here. Settled on spot - seemed like a good idea in retrospect too, particularly money-wise; allows me to get trade routes over water later hopefully.

My UA was incredibly helpful - combined with Honor opener, clearing Barbarians is a giant boon. It got me allied with a bunch of city-states too, which gifted me catapults when inevitably I had to war Montezuma (who was forward settling on me). Got Texcoco from him in a peace deal because it's right on the way to Marrakech, which will be my next target.

With the great resources right there I settled in place. Making a scout and worker priority. Since we already knew from the announcement that this was a Pangaea and a Domination challenge I decided to try for a steam-roll. So I went straight after the animal husbandry for the pasture and then to masonry for the quarries. After that it was horseback riding. I focused on building archers, horse archers and horsemen at this point and was able to take out all three Shoshone cities fairly easily, which I puppeted. My happiness is really suffering now though, and I'm currently doing everything I can to help improve that situation. Everyone has already denounced me.

Turn 135: (keep in mind I have never actually finished a domination game on Emperor, so I'm not racing).

Settled on hill next to Mountain (poor choice).

Honor opener, Tradition opener, Liberty left side, liberty right side, almost to liberty finisher and golden age.

AH (ruins), Archery, Pottery, Writing, Mining, Calendar, Masonry, BW, Wheel, Trapping, Sailing, Mathematics, Currency, Engineering, Philosophy, Horseback Riding, Guilds

Have 6 Composite Bows and 2 Spearmen with Swords, Horses, and more CBs on the way. Barracks, Shrines, Monuments, Markets in all cities plus some happiness buildings (Cols, Circus and Stone Works). Stable and Library in capital.

Settled 1W of Iron, 1E of Horses, and 1NW of Marble. Got whales developed and sold. Fixed money and happiness problems resulting from not having those damn whales earlier. Friends and trading partner with Shoshone. Never ending war starts in about 10 turns. Monty's two cities go first.

I am clearly playing out of a hole this point. Any advice?

I am on turn 79. No wars yet. Once my 5th CB finishes, I will attack the Aztecs.

I chose to settle in place. I thought about settling on the sheep, but I did not want to move away from the stone.

I decided to build a shrine (after 2 scouts). This meant that I researched pottery first. Hopefully that was a good decision. I ended up taking god of the sea. I was hoping for stone circles, but someone beat me.

Next I decided that I would found a second city. So, I needed to connect a luxury resource. I was hoping that my border expansion would take the silk, but it did not. I ended up researching sailing for whales. Perhaps what I should have done was to research AH>Mining>Masonry(for quarry)>Archery>Sailing.

smitsk00 said:

Any advice?

Click to expand...

It's getting late in your game for composites to be effective. You're gonna need crossbows, trebs, and the UU. Keep clearing barb camps for gold for upgrades later.

Thought I would do a detailed accounting of battles this game, keeping track of units killed and lost. I built 3 cities initially and went full tradition, sending caravans to my 2 satellite cites from my capital. This probably wasn't the most efficient because of the whales. Lost some time/hammers having to build work boats. I also made a boneheaded mistake and forgot to beeline philosophy. Once I had all 3 libraries and was ready for the NC, I realized I didn't research philosophy. Ended up completing NC around turn 95 or something. Once I had that done and had a handful of archers, I grabbed construction and upgraded to CBs. Then it was time for Monty to die. Figured he was a good first target as he would eventually attack me if I didn't attack him first. That leads me to:

Aztec War START: turn 109 END: turn 125 -> 16 turns
Result: killed 13 units, lost 1
Captured: 1 city (their capital)
Left Monty with 1 city and no units

After making peace, I picked my next target that my CB army should be able to steamroll. I wanted it to be Morocco but stupidly, I had made a DOF with them not too long ago and it still had 30 turns remaining. I can't afford to backstab him or the rest of the world will mass denounce DOW me in short order. That will happen eventually anyway, but I'd like to delay it as long as possible. So my next target has to be the Shoshone. I had a DOF with them earlier but it expired and they wouldn't renew it after my aggressiveness towards poor Monty. Now it's time for them to die...

T100, I'm late Gao only 9 pop. I went 3 cities Tradition. I ended it with Oracle. No other wonders.
- How did the terrain and map settings affect your early decisions?
I settle next to mountain, so I need a coastal city for baleins. Pocatello catch east Ivory so, I was unable to have four cities.
When I scout the map, I realize caps are far and early city spammers push in an artillery rush.
No horse, so no Mandekalu rush.

- What were your initial priorities?
3 city. NC ASAP. No construction rush cause Monty settled a city right front of me.
Religion for prod bonus.

- What tech path did you follow and why ?
Pottery - AH - Lux tech - Writing - Construction (I thought I'll had an early DoW from Monty) - CS - Optics (cause I settle Tombouctou 4 tiles north of gao next to mountain, near baleins).

- What Social Policies did you choose and why ?
Tradition - Honor opening, because there's a barb camp somewhere sending me a lot of annoying trireme, and I plan to close honor after secularism.