On an archipelago map where your relatively safe on your own starting landmass do most of you shoot straight for mapmaking and pump out settlers to get off that mass before the AI or do you take your chances with a few other techs in between and hope for the best?
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Archipelago Strategies
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Depends on difficulty 
Tomoyo
Fate
Yep. And whether you're Seafarin', to an extent, I suppose.Gyathaar said:Depends on difficulty
GoToParaguay
Chieftain
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- Apr 4, 2004
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how does the difficulty alter it? Are you more adventurous on higher difficulty levels, or the other way round?
Tomoyo
Fate
On higher difficulties, the AI will have stuff to trade (techs) so you need to send out a lot of boats early on. On lower difficulties, it's better to concentrate on growth.
mastertyguy
I'm tired!
Two words : Great lighthouse
It is THE most important wonder of all on archipelago
It is THE most important wonder of all on archipelago
Actually, I was in a way thinking differently.. thou I would send out curraghs to explore and make contacts in both cases, but that only require alphabeth.Tomoyo said:
On low to medium difficulties I would go for mapmaking since I would be almost sure I would get there first and be able to colonize nearby islands undisturbed.
At high difficulties it is likely AIs will get mapmaking and will be settling nearby islands before you even finish settling the home island (unless it is small), and you can trade for mapmaking (or get it from great library) instead of researching it.
Tomoyo
Fate
Oh, I didn't know he was talking about colonizing other islands. I never do that. Lucky when I even get my own continent.
I cannot speak to island maps, except on sid as that is the only time I use them. In my style, I will not have mapmaking as my target, but the GL.
I won't colonize any tiny islands as they are going to slow me down and need defenses. Especially from ships with bombardment.
Get curragh out asap. Most likely the AI will be settling those island before me anyway. You will not be trading for MM as you will have little to offer, except if you get Philo and Lit. You probably won't have much in the way of contact before then anyway.
The Lighthouse is not going to be happening either, although I once, only once did make it on sid. My second city was coastal and had super tiles and I had not learned to not make any wonders other than the GL and maybe SoZ.
My focus is to try to grab my island, if alone, before someone shows up and starts helping themself to it. Then turtle until I can find someone to strike. This usually after some AI wars with me and I get a leader or two for armies.
I am not sure where the break point is for going out to grab land at the start, but probably below demi. The first three levels, you can do whatever makes you happy.
So in short I agree with Gyathaar.
I won't colonize any tiny islands as they are going to slow me down and need defenses. Especially from ships with bombardment.
Get curragh out asap. Most likely the AI will be settling those island before me anyway. You will not be trading for MM as you will have little to offer, except if you get Philo and Lit. You probably won't have much in the way of contact before then anyway.
The Lighthouse is not going to be happening either, although I once, only once did make it on sid. My second city was coastal and had super tiles and I had not learned to not make any wonders other than the GL and maybe SoZ.
My focus is to try to grab my island, if alone, before someone shows up and starts helping themself to it. Then turtle until I can find someone to strike. This usually after some AI wars with me and I get a leader or two for armies.
I am not sure where the break point is for going out to grab land at the start, but probably below demi. The first three levels, you can do whatever makes you happy.
So in short I agree with Gyathaar.
I always play large archipelago maps,60% water.
None of the civs gets isolated (almost never,99%),
maybe you have your own continent (straight for
Republic) or share it with another civ (also Republic) or
when it's a very large continent almost from east to
west,it depends if I have iron or not,if not Monarchy
and later Communism.(I'm not gonna pay for it anymore.
prices are far too high.)
MapMaking has not the highest priority.
None of the civs gets isolated (almost never,99%),
maybe you have your own continent (straight for
Republic) or share it with another civ (also Republic) or
when it's a very large continent almost from east to
west,it depends if I have iron or not,if not Monarchy
and later Communism.(I'm not gonna pay for it anymore.
prices are far too high.)
MapMaking has not the highest priority.
The exception where I put some higher priority on mapmaking on higher lvl is if you are byzantines... 
With a few dromons you can make sure no AIs can land any units or settlers on your home island
With a few dromons you can make sure no AIs can land any units or settlers on your home island
Assuming you are playing on a high difficulty level, #1 priority is to send out Curraghs to find other AIs and trade techs, hopefully before they swap everything themselves.
I do this on continents as well, trying to find the other continent.
Seafaring is incredibly helpful for allowing you to do this, and thus gain a tech lead or at least not get behind. But you must send the boats out, even without seafaring.
In my current continents, 70% water, deity map, I sent out suicide Curraghs across the ocean. Send out 2, pretty early, non seafaring race here. One found land, and in fact, the other continent, and the other 3AIs over there. They had a tech that AIs on my continent didnt. Ais on my continent had a tech they didnt. By buying these, swapping for other stuff, I was able to gain all the techs known to more than 1 AI, for a net cost of only several hundred gold. I went from knowing only 1 tech beyond my starting techs, to knowing 3/4 of the ancient age techs. This was essentially in return for the effort of 2 curraghs, for 30 shields.
Great library wouldve cost 600 shields to do a similar thing.
Also, because I was the only one in contact with all civs, the others only knew each other on the continent at the time, I was able to continue this tech brokering until the middle of the middle ages (when GL wouldve gone useless). I got about as much benefit from the couple curraghs as I wouldve from GL. And, there is no way I wouldve been able to get the GL.
I do this on continents as well, trying to find the other continent.
Seafaring is incredibly helpful for allowing you to do this, and thus gain a tech lead or at least not get behind. But you must send the boats out, even without seafaring.
In my current continents, 70% water, deity map, I sent out suicide Curraghs across the ocean. Send out 2, pretty early, non seafaring race here. One found land, and in fact, the other continent, and the other 3AIs over there. They had a tech that AIs on my continent didnt. Ais on my continent had a tech they didnt. By buying these, swapping for other stuff, I was able to gain all the techs known to more than 1 AI, for a net cost of only several hundred gold. I went from knowing only 1 tech beyond my starting techs, to knowing 3/4 of the ancient age techs. This was essentially in return for the effort of 2 curraghs, for 30 shields.
Great library wouldve cost 600 shields to do a similar thing.
Also, because I was the only one in contact with all civs, the others only knew each other on the continent at the time, I was able to continue this tech brokering until the middle of the middle ages (when GL wouldve gone useless). I got about as much benefit from the couple curraghs as I wouldve from GL. And, there is no way I wouldve been able to get the GL.
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