Unser Giftzwerg
UgLe Game Promoter
Insteag of just 
ing all the time I figured I'd try a positive appraoch for a change of pace. Since my first spin of FfH I, I've played with the following settings.
Emperor, Raging Barbarians, Agressive AI, Fractal Map fully randomized.
For my money, ya gotta play FfH with the Raging Barbarians setting. The opening game can really be a pain, but in the end the game is a lot more fun. My last couple games have been less painful than my first few, so it occured to me I might have actually learned a thing or two. I'm passing them along, just in case my hunch is right.
1. Regenerate Map. I have no idea how many games I played before I noticed this feature. Now I use it. Just take a look at your surroundings. Does it offer you something you like? Early Stone? Odd geography to exploit? Rich
production? Certain Incense for the mid-game? If not, Regenerate. You'll be playing on the map for a long time. Why not get one you'll probably like once it's explored?
2. Don't settle that settler yet. Locate the sites for Cities Two, Three, Four, and maybe Five. Think ahead before yo plop down that capitol. Having problems finding additional city sites? Regeneration Map time.
3. Don't be afraid to move that settler. It has a huge viewing range and moves at speed 4. In my last game I moved my settler 4 tiles to where I wanted my capitol. But in doing so it revealed so much new map that I moved it again, another 4 tiles. I did not build my first city unitl turn 3, but I ended up with a great spot, and a LOT of explored territory.
4. Site that capitol to cut off some turf for you. Don't always site it in the middle of your projected empire. On some maps you can site it near where you expect your frontier to be. Your cultural expansion might throw off the ideal AI expansion options, and/or allow you to protect yourself against barbarians.
4. OK, you're playing. Workers? - Forget 'em. Don't build Workers until you are able to stem the tide. You won't be able to defend the tiles they improve, if you improve too early.
5. Since you're not building Workers for while, do you really need the Explorations skill? (Yes, for the +
promotion) Or Agriculture? (Probably not.) So why not start off on the tech tree that takes you towards an early religion or such. (In general. Of course certain civs have particular needs.)
6. Build a combat unit. You'll need it. And you'll probably want another. And maybe one more. Once you get one Warrior with 2* or more, you can expect it will defend your city very well. Until then, be sure you have some reserves in a capitol city under barbarian attack.
7. As soon as you can risk it, send out a unit to extend your sighting range. And repeat as conditions dictate. Be they Scout units or Warriors or whatever, look where you can post one just outside your cultural borders, on a hilltop or at least in a woods. If you have an observation tower nearby, man it. Barbarians will not appear in a tile you can see. See more tiles => fewer Barbarians appear. The further you see the further away they appear, the longer it takes for them to reach anything important. And your dug-in skirmishers will likely pick up a few exp points with the fighting safely away from your walls.
8. I especially like to post my first sentinel near my planned first city build. Once the settler is built, I'll know if the route to the site is safe or not. If not, I already have a (dug-in) unit in the area to see about the intruder.
9. Give an expericed unit a movement promotion as soon as you can. You'll appreceate the ability to move it to check new threats as they appear. Movement allows you to defend the same empire with fewer units. And saved production at this stage is a boon. This is the opportunity to pop out an Elder Council, or maybe an extra quick settler.
10. Once you have a few sentinel units up, or when you've built your first city, that's the time to start building Workers. By now you should be able to channel most Barbarian appearances to seninel strongholds or to the new city on the frontier. From here on out you might still face a lot of pressure, but you'll have enough breathing room to start planning ahead.
In short, it's explore very early early, but fall back to defend when the Barbs are likely to show up. Pick your startnig site very carefully before you do anything else. Then raise a force and maneuver to extend your sighting range. At this early stage, sighting range is your most precious national asset. Forgo Workers until you can keep the Barbarians at bay, and do all you can to place that second city, safely, as soon as you can. With the second city up, you can breathe a bit easier.
And don't forget. As annoying as the Barbarians are to you, they're doing worse things to your opponents. Well, most of 'em at least. Neutralizing the Barbs to a manageable level will spell wonders for your fortunes in the mid-game.
OK, make to griping and moaning for me. In the meantime, perhaps other players wil add to the list.
ing all the time I figured I'd try a positive appraoch for a change of pace. Since my first spin of FfH I, I've played with the following settings.Emperor, Raging Barbarians, Agressive AI, Fractal Map fully randomized.
For my money, ya gotta play FfH with the Raging Barbarians setting. The opening game can really be a pain, but in the end the game is a lot more fun. My last couple games have been less painful than my first few, so it occured to me I might have actually learned a thing or two. I'm passing them along, just in case my hunch is right.
1. Regenerate Map. I have no idea how many games I played before I noticed this feature. Now I use it. Just take a look at your surroundings. Does it offer you something you like? Early Stone? Odd geography to exploit? Rich
production? Certain Incense for the mid-game? If not, Regenerate. You'll be playing on the map for a long time. Why not get one you'll probably like once it's explored?2. Don't settle that settler yet. Locate the sites for Cities Two, Three, Four, and maybe Five. Think ahead before yo plop down that capitol. Having problems finding additional city sites? Regeneration Map time.
3. Don't be afraid to move that settler. It has a huge viewing range and moves at speed 4. In my last game I moved my settler 4 tiles to where I wanted my capitol. But in doing so it revealed so much new map that I moved it again, another 4 tiles. I did not build my first city unitl turn 3, but I ended up with a great spot, and a LOT of explored territory.
4. Site that capitol to cut off some turf for you. Don't always site it in the middle of your projected empire. On some maps you can site it near where you expect your frontier to be. Your cultural expansion might throw off the ideal AI expansion options, and/or allow you to protect yourself against barbarians.
4. OK, you're playing. Workers? - Forget 'em. Don't build Workers until you are able to stem the tide. You won't be able to defend the tiles they improve, if you improve too early.
5. Since you're not building Workers for while, do you really need the Explorations skill? (Yes, for the +
promotion) Or Agriculture? (Probably not.) So why not start off on the tech tree that takes you towards an early religion or such. (In general. Of course certain civs have particular needs.)6. Build a combat unit. You'll need it. And you'll probably want another. And maybe one more. Once you get one Warrior with 2* or more, you can expect it will defend your city very well. Until then, be sure you have some reserves in a capitol city under barbarian attack.
7. As soon as you can risk it, send out a unit to extend your sighting range. And repeat as conditions dictate. Be they Scout units or Warriors or whatever, look where you can post one just outside your cultural borders, on a hilltop or at least in a woods. If you have an observation tower nearby, man it. Barbarians will not appear in a tile you can see. See more tiles => fewer Barbarians appear. The further you see the further away they appear, the longer it takes for them to reach anything important. And your dug-in skirmishers will likely pick up a few exp points with the fighting safely away from your walls.
8. I especially like to post my first sentinel near my planned first city build. Once the settler is built, I'll know if the route to the site is safe or not. If not, I already have a (dug-in) unit in the area to see about the intruder.
9. Give an expericed unit a movement promotion as soon as you can. You'll appreceate the ability to move it to check new threats as they appear. Movement allows you to defend the same empire with fewer units. And saved production at this stage is a boon. This is the opportunity to pop out an Elder Council, or maybe an extra quick settler.
10. Once you have a few sentinel units up, or when you've built your first city, that's the time to start building Workers. By now you should be able to channel most Barbarian appearances to seninel strongholds or to the new city on the frontier. From here on out you might still face a lot of pressure, but you'll have enough breathing room to start planning ahead.
In short, it's explore very early early, but fall back to defend when the Barbs are likely to show up. Pick your startnig site very carefully before you do anything else. Then raise a force and maneuver to extend your sighting range. At this early stage, sighting range is your most precious national asset. Forgo Workers until you can keep the Barbarians at bay, and do all you can to place that second city, safely, as soon as you can. With the second city up, you can breathe a bit easier.
And don't forget. As annoying as the Barbarians are to you, they're doing worse things to your opponents. Well, most of 'em at least. Neutralizing the Barbs to a manageable level will spell wonders for your fortunes in the mid-game.
OK, make to griping and moaning for me. In the meantime, perhaps other players wil add to the list.
