Should I continue?

Started my second Emperor game as Germany. Tech wise I'm not too far behind (probably just one/two techs), but I think the start location is pretty bad (I'd have to expand into the jungles).

Should I continue to play or start over?

YES!!! It make look terrible, but that nasty jungle can be cleared to reveal beautiful grassland underneath, AND that marsh can be drained. Hey, you can take out Jungle/Marsh, you CAN'T take out desert!! Stick with it Man!!

Looks like the starting location for most of my games...

I'd stick with it. Clearing all that jungle feels so rewarding in the end.

I spy a perfect settler factory...
Definitly play it

Play this one out. Challenging starts make for memorable wins.

Keep us informed on your progress.

You're going to need a large workforce - I see you've already acquired one foreign worker. Keep trying to get more until you can clear those banana tiles and build enough of your own.

Also looks like you're trying the minimum resarch gambit with writing - that should work for you: even if you're not first to writing you still have a shot at Philosophy, and the free tech should allow you to (trade and) keep up with AI.

Don't forget that the "oasis" tiles near Berlin work just like bonus grassland under despotism - 2 food/2 shields when mined. And try to get a city that can use those game tiles to the east - cleared and irrigated, they'll allow you to access some low-food/high-shield tiles.

That's what I'd do, anyway - build a workforce to make most of that terrrain, prepare to lay low for the first bit. You're in good long-term shape for having coal and rubber, see if you can expand into some desert, improve your chances for oil, and hope for those Panzers to vault you into the lead.

It looks like theres a spot in the east that has two game, flood plains, two hills and on a river. I think I would have settled there with first settler. It looks like a top notch spot. Some of the most satisfying games have rough beginnings.

Jungle = painfull start.

Look on the bright side, ull most likely have a tone of rubber, and coal.

I see at least five good city sites.

2 W 2 SW of Berlin- drop a city in that space and you have immediate access to 2 shielded-grasslands. In addition, it'll make it easier for you to later bring irrigation from the rivers down into the desert-plains area.

5 SE of Berlin- access to at least the oasis (2F, 1S); worse comes to worse and it's a worker factory.

3 NE, 1 N of Berlin- drop a city on the flood plain and eventually you get access to 2 Forest w/Game for a very productive city.

6 N, 2 NW of Berlin- at the river start, drop a city for access to the fruit and the iron- lots of food and lots of production.

3 N, 2 NW of Berlin- drop a city there for access to the food and start a worker factory for further clearing.


And I can't even see what you have to the south- plains can be fine if they can be irrigated, and cows in plains are super.

Consider also- you have access to iron, and extending into the plains in the south and the hills in the north means you're likely to find horses. The desert and mountains are a good bet for saltpeter, and with all of that jungle/marsh/desert, you will be sitting on top of major oil and rubber supplies (marsh providing oil in C3C).

A fine starting place. It may be a slow builder start, but look at it this way- the computer is no good at slow builder starts, and his encroaching cities will have to be in jungle or plains... which means that by the time you're ready to do some land grabs, your enemies will have dinky undefendable cities lining your border.

I'd skip it, just because I can't be bothered to spend so much of the game clearing jungles and marshes. That doesn't mean you can't have a good game, it just wouldn't be fun on the whole for me. Give it a try if you're not sure.

Everybody, thanks for your suggestions especially those on good city spots and strategies.

My major concerns were: 1) I am new to Emperor (only won once) and 2) I'm not industrious and it costs 24 turns for a worker to clear the jungle. But I'll take the challenge with all the encouragement, after I am more used to Emperor. I actually already started another game but I saved this game and will give it a shot later.

Corrado: There is nothing to the south - if you look at the minimap the south is Maya. I pretty much only have those marsh and jungle tiles left.

I wouldn't start over just clear the jungle and the marsh and your good to go!

Sorry, microbe, I meant southwest- the Mayan territory doesn't seem to go all the way to the coast, meaning there may be a string of plains/grassland down the coast you can filch before he settles it.

I'd stay with it. You never know what might happen and it'd be a sweet win if you could do it.

Test...

Since it is your first emperor game, I would go for a more favorable starting positing. You will still face enough challenges to make you cough... and this starting position sucks.

You will need tons of workers and still lag behind in developement.

Originally posted by Corrado
3 NE, 1 N of Berlin- drop a city on the flood plain and eventually you get access to 2 Forest w/Game for a very productive city.

Click to expand...

Must be the crack I been smoking, but I don't see any flood plain in that screenshot.

@OP: I can understand your reluctance if you've just moved up a level. But as others have pointed out, it's not so bad, what with the iron, gems, bonus tiles. You're going to need a lot of workers, and I wouldn't plan on an early knockout. Shooting to conquer with panzers sounds like a good suggestion to me.

well, if you would have asked me like 3 weeks ago i would say restart.

since i read this boards i would say try it

others win the game with only one city on heavy difficulties, id try it atleast. many things can be learned out of such positions.

but im playing only on monarch and trying to win that - so dont dont whats going on on emperor.

Originally posted by Enkidu Warrior
I'd skip it, just because I can't be bothered to spend so much of the game clearing jungles and marshes. That doesn't mean you can't have a good game, it just wouldn't be fun on the whole for me. Give it a try if you're not sure.

Click to expand...

I have to admit that I also would start a new one. I dislike the tedious chopping of the jungles. That said: it is very interesting to see how a relatively bad starting position but a potential powehouse developes.

EDIT: I'm not used to the original graphics anymore (I use Snoopy's). This is actually a very decent start position and a lot of the trees are not jungle at all. The two games east of Berlin beg for a settlement close by!

Microbe: have you got an early save (as early as possible)?