Dealing with sprawling AI on land-heavy maps

[Bhruic]

I'll preface this by saying I was playing MP with a friend, so I can't post the save.

Basically, we were playing Highlands, Standard map size vs 6 AI on Prince - we aren't allied, but we have a fairly co-operative outlook on the game. Now, on a map like Continents or Pangaea, we would win fairly easily - might be challenged a bit (he's not as good as I am), but overall it'd be easy.

However, I'm having trouble dealing with the excess land in the map. Basically, I can't expand too much because of the city costs. The AI has a much easier time with this, so can expand more - I'm used to that. But here, with so much land, they can expand to an even larger degree. What I'm finding is that I can go to war with one civ, and do well - but I have to raze most of their cities because trying to hold them would be too costly (it's still semi-early in the game). However, razing the land just allows another civ to move in with settlers, take it over, and they assume the lead, thanks to the increase in territory. I obviously can't go to war with everyone or I'll go bogged down.

So what's the solution? Ignore the costs and try and hold more of the cities? Ignore the AI until I get some of the higher level money techs? How have other people handled maps with this much land?

Bh

 

[Jet]

I don't think the principles of how much to expand change a ton on land-heavy maps. A couple hints:
* I think it does tip the balance toward more aggressive expansion and more widely-spaced cities, but I'm not sure by how much.
* On Prince, regardless of the map type, you can cancel out the AIs' bonuses by managing your cities smarter than the AIs manage theirs.
* You know it's a land-heavy map whereas the AI doesn't, although it will wake up a little if its costs get high. So you can prioritize expansion-supporting techs and tactics more than the AI will.
* If the land is of varied quality you might try to grab the better land and get the AI to occupy the worse land and/or more widely spaced land. For the latter you can for example try to leave your backyard open and get the AI to settle there, forcing its maintenance up.
* Land-heavy maps make vassals better, to occupy (marginal) land for you.
* Roads are more important

I agree that above Noble land-heavy maps are mechanically harder. So you might need to pay more attention to stuff that's more relevant at higher levels in general, such as
* Better diplomacy: carefully choose and manage friends and non-friends, beg stuff from friends, give up techs to strategically bribe friends into wars.
* Plan for the fact that it's going to take you longer to catch up.
* The more the AI is settling, the more you need to fight it, at least if it's close by.