It is probably going to be crowded with 11 rivals on a standard map. Being a continents map, and not seeing any coast from the start position, I think it is very likely that we have close neighbors.
Our UU, the Hussar, is just a Cavalry with one difference - a slightly greater attack strength. This should nonetheless be a fairly powerful UU. Regular Cavalry are one of the strongest units in the game for a short period of time. Hussars may even have a slightly longer useful lifespan. They won't be strong against Riflemen but their loss rate will be lower than Cavalry.
There are quite a few Great Wonders which may trigger our Golden Age before Hussars. The Great Wall will suffice by itself. I don't think that makes the Great Wall worth building but capturing is another matter - after capturing it building any wonder at all would trigger a GA. Pre-Hussar wonders which count as industrious are the Pyramids and the Hanging Gardens. Wonders which count as militaristic are Sun Tzu's, Leonardo's, Statue Of Zeus, and Knights Templar. That's a lot of wonders which are desirable anyway and which can be used to trigger a Golden Age for Austria.
I don't plan to do any research at the beginning. I think the odds of meeting someone and doing a bit trading first are good. If that doesn't happen then I'll probably start on Pottery or Alphabet after a while depending on circumstances. More likely I think will be meeting some rivals quickly and doing some trading. I'll be happy to trade away Masonry - I'd like a neighbor to build Pyramids for me. Taking the Pyramids is always nice and in this game would also result in having 1/2 the requirement for a Golden Age met. My hope is to be able to make an early trade for Alphabet and to then go for the Philosophy->Republic slingshot.
Starting with Warrior Code and being Militaristic does make an early archer rush appealing. But it isn't my style and at emperor level seems a bit risky. More so again with possibly many nearby rivals. Unless an irresistable opportunity or a great need (getting a resource) presents itself I won't try it.
The opening moves are difficult to choose with this start. I want a better place to settle and I'm willing to sacrifice a turn or two to hunt for one. With the two rivers visible so far I'm thinking the best odds are east, west, or northwest. East is a longshot because more time would be lost crossing the mountains. So I'm going to start by moving the worker N to the hills and if that reveals nothing useful then my settler will head west.
) to the NE of the starting position. If the tile to the SE is on a river, I might move my settler there. Maybe Ainwood put some goodies on the other side of the mountains which will be in the city range when settling SE..... then again, maybe not........
