First Terra game!

[goldenhero]

Thats right! I finally decided to quit playing Pangaea and move on to Terra. I found that its SO much more fun than Pangaea. But my question is, How do the tech decisions change from a pangaea map to a terra map? Do you first stabalize in the Old World, then beeline Astronomy?

 

[Gliese 581]

I've only played it once but I found it played out much like a Pangea. I imagine now with the increased colonies cost in BTS it would be even more so. That is; If you go for domination and crush the opponents in the old world, you win. It doesn't matter then if someone establish a colony empire in the new world, it will spawn a new civ eventually that are hoplessely backwards compared to you.
I would only try it with the no vassals option.

 

[WaxonWaxov]

I've long enjoyed Terra maps, especially for Space Race games.

The new costs in BTS make it a pain, but I will often put a couple of those 'colony' cities on wealth production.

The extra cities and production, especially if you dominate the 'New World' help a lot in the space race.

 

[Refar]

Big, whidespread intercontinental empires just call for State Property, which completely shuts down the colonial taxes. SP also benefits your production by boosting watermills and workshops.

 

[Pariah]

Big, whidespread intercontinental empires just call for State Property, which completely shuts down the colonial taxes. SP also benefits your production by boosting watermills and workshops.

State Property is very useful here, yes. Another good tactic is to delay building your Forbidden Palace until you have several cities in the New World. I once saved 100 gold per turn in colonial expenses this way!

 

[tycoonist]

it's very simple to win quick dominations or conquests on terra because of the proximity of civilisations

 

[Stolen Rutters]

it's very simple to win quick dominations or conquests on terra because of the proximity of civilisations

Yeah. It's like a Pangaea, except everyone is closer together in the old world... with the option of a new world rush later in the game.

 

[goldenhero]

So would you say that for a more challenging game...something like Continents or Archipelago would be good to play on?

 

[noto]

I have played almost exclusively on terra maps for a while now, and I have to agree with other posters that it is heavily geared towards warfare. Playing Terra with Rome is almost cheating. That said, if you want to play the peaceful game and play a civ such as England or Portugal and actually make an effort to colonize the new world, it will be a much closer and possibly very fun game. The thing I like about Terra is that suddenly a lot of aspects in the game become more important, such as the age of sail and privateers, explorers, etc. I wish there was a way to generate a random terra map but make it so that the advanced resources (aluminum, oil, uranium) were all in the new world. Now THAT would be cool

 

[goldenhero]

That WOULD be cool! It would make the late game so much more interesting and challenging!

 

[Pariah]

Playing Terra with Rome is almost cheating.

I've never tried that. Will do soon! (But it would be just my luck to find myself with no iron for praetorians...)

So would you say that for a more challenging game...something like Continents or Archipelago would be good to play on?

Archipelago - tiny islands & low sea level, especially - is best for peaceful expansion and exploration. There will be coastal water routes most of the way around the world, but invasions are very rare and difficult before galleons are invented.

 

[Stolen Rutters]

So would you say that for a more challenging game...something like Continents or Archipelago would be good to play on?

Depends. The civs are all constrained to a smaller portion of the map than the other maps, so war becomes easier for everyone (since the enemy is really close by).

The players fill up the old world faster than other maps, so you won't have as many cities as you might be used to if you try to go peaceful. Diplomacy can be quite important. (OK, keeping track of diplomacy is generally important, so that's nothing special.)