First city question

[ungy]

On immortal/deity what do people do if the starting location is lousy?
If you move and it is toward the ai you seem to generate an automatic rush which may or may not work out.
But if your capital is weak your game may never get off the ground

 

[Victoria]

But if your capital is weak your game may never get off the ground

Yes it may in certain cases be very much a struggle and some people like it and some people do not.
There have been lots of threads on it and it really comes down to personal preference.
You would be surprised how you can still win with a rubbish start. Basically if you survive the first 50 turns you normally have a good chance of winning but playing the map counts for a lot. An RV is the easiest as long as you can get a religion which can be tricky. A CV can be tricky if you are against remote high culture players. An SV is often the way but you have to push it right to get there in time.

 

[DrCron]

Keep in mind that if you don't have resources next to your starting location, it's extremely likely that you have resources there that unlock later in the game. While this could be as late-game as aluminium, it could also simply be horses or iron.

Either way, it shouldn't be much of a problem. As long as you use the close river/mountain range/coast to help your defense, you should be able to survive any early rushes by the AI.