first settlement with soldier or pioneer?

[glee]

abyssmal = abysmal
1. of or like an abyss; immeasurably deep or great.
2. extremely or hopelessly bad or severe: abysmal ignorance; abysmal poverty.

When you us it metaphorically you are using in the second sense, when you really want to say "huge" or "enormous" or "immense."

us = use

 

[tharg]

Always, I repeat, always settle the pioneer.
Take the war to the other Europeans...

Yes it is very easy to take out the Europeans, but do you want to?

They always seem to start in dumb places, typically right next to a native village, and you can’t seem to raze them. So you get stuck with a city in a place you really don’t want it, plus you usually get another free colonist, which is nice.

Also there is always the chance things will go bad, for instance the natives might declare war – (-2 You declared war on a friend, -2 you stole our land).

Not saying its wrong to take out the Europeans, just not as obvious as it might first appear.

There really ought to be some game mechanic that makes it difficult to eliminate the other Europeans. Like the warriors +25% city defend. Maybe an enforced peace for the first few moves.

 

[Andvare]

Yes it is very easy to take out the Europeans, but do you want to?

They always seem to start in dumb places, typically right next to a native village, and you can’t seem to raze them. So you get stuck with a city in a place you really don’t want it, plus you usually get another free colonist, which is nice.

Also there is always the chance things will go bad, for instance the natives might declare war – (-2 You declared war on a friend, -2 you stole our land).

Not saying its wrong to take out the Europeans, just not as obvious as it might first appear.

There really ought to be some game mechanic that makes it difficult to eliminate the other Europeans. Like the warriors +25% city defend. Maybe an enforced peace for the first few moves.

Emm, of course you can raze them...
The native problem is valid, and I did get DOW'ed by the Incas twice because I razed a city of English next to them (there is a bug in the game, if you raze a European city, and they have stolen the land instead of buying it, the natives think you also stole the land).

 

[tour86rocker]

To answer the first question, I tend to settle both asap, often with one inland. I'm working up the difficulty levels from Pioneer currently, so I still have things to learn.'

One time in Pioneer mode I squashed both of the Dutch AI's original settlers and they never recovered, but usually after the first ten turns or so, they're able to bounce back. I've seen the Spanish pick fights with Indians and lose every colony, but they eventually reseed and resettle elsewhere.