Help, I'm stuck on Long Island!

MadHatter

Warlord
Joined
Jul 16, 2002
Messages
140
Location
Holland, PA
I usually leave the map generator on all random settings. This time my continent is shaped long and thin (like Long Island for those of you that know L.I.)

Any strategy tips for a map shaped like this?
 
it will be piece of cake if u have modern armour, some marine and a few landing craft. use the tank to attack cities along your border. the enemy will no doubt move their troops to the border to defend. then land some marine on the other end and give them a surprise attak. (D-Day):D . if you have marines to spare, You may also land some in the middle of the island to cut off thier transport route so the enmy can not move his troops back. This way, the enemy force will be near ur border for ur tank to crush. The other side of the island will be left poorly defended. Crush them!!! Victory belongs to us!!!:D
 
Originally posted by volothamp
it will be piece of cake if u have modern armour, some marine and a few landing craft. use the tank to attack cities along your border. the enemy will no doubt move their troops to the border to defend. then land some marine on the other end and give them a surprise attak. (D-Day):D . if you have marines to spare, You may also land some in the middle of the island to cut off thier transport route so the enmy can not move his troops back. This way, the enemy force will be near ur border for ur tank to crush. The other side of the island will be left poorly defended. Crush them!!! Victory belongs to us!!!:D
What??? :confused:

How long and thin is the map? post a pic or a save so we can see it. We also need to know who you are, and who if any rivals are on your island/within sight. I'm assuming you're on your own if any of my tips depend on that.

Research pottery, then get to map making asap. Scout with galleys to try to expand overseas. Place as many cities as possible on your land. Build harbors as they add 1 food to each water tile, they help your growth and allow sea trade.

If you do share your island, you need to either kill off your rival, or restrict them to the smallest area possible. Place a blockade of warriors/scouts asap. more tips if you have more info.
 
I'm the Americans, on a large map, the continent is about 1-2 city radii thick but winds around for about 15 - 20 city radii. The Aztecs are (currently) the only others on the continent but they have better position to expand to about two thirds of it.

I, on the other hand, am ahead scientifically, on the verge of Chivalry and I believe am better developed (thanks to those industrious workers).

I am playing on Warlord.

Do I concentrate on land or rush to get a foothold on the other end of the continent before he fills it up?

(How do I post a save file?)
 
OK, it's a decent sized island, so there's no problems there at all. In fact it's a huge island. Firstly you need to trade world maps with the aztecs to see the lay of the land. Also get contact with Rome through the egyptians. Now, i assume that you've been at war with the Aztecs, but are just recently at peace. OK, now i can get started on my advice.

Firstly, i'm a bit concerned about your city placement, especially the core cities. Dallas for example could be a fairly good city if placed one tile down from it's current location. Don't be concerned about a little overlap between your cities, it's fine. Place your cities to get the best benefit from the terrain. make sure you get all the grassland tiles with rocky outcrops. They all need to be closer together to make the best of corruption too.

Next, it looks like you went to monarchy too early. One of the benefits of despotism is it's 4 unit support whatever the town size (whereas monarchy is only 2 for size 6 and under). Use Despotism to fight your early wars. Build aqueducts in core cities at least before you make the switch. Since you're in monarchy, lets make the best of it. For happiness, you need to have 2 units at least in your 6 and under towns, and 3 in cities. Also, you can support a larger military, so build knights as soon as you can to take the aztecs quickly. Your military is far too small BTW, you should have taken the aztecs earlier than now. You have a far better production base than the aztecs so you will easily win.

Now. Why is Chicago building the hanging gardens? That must've taken ages! It's getting only a very small number of shields. Leave it to build now, but if this was a harder level than warlord, you would never build it before the other civs. Next game, concentrate on your core cities, and only build your wonders there (at least at this stage of game, ie before forbidden palace and communism).

Now to military. May I ask exactly why all your units are standing like harry's on the border? They should be in the border towns to keep the peace. Also you get a defence bonus in towns. I can only assume they've been trying to send settlers through (which they shouldn't as they have stacks of land). Build about 5 knights, then you should go to war (when at war, have all cities doing military work for swift and lower effort conclusion). Take Tenochtitan first, and it is here that you shall build the Forbidden Palace. Enemy capitals are always great for that. The rest should be effortless.

One last point. You are industrious are you not? Then where are all your workers? To make the best use of industrious trait, you need as many workers as you can. I have one per city, in fact it is the first thing i aim to build in a new city. Also America are not the best civ to play as IMO, so you may want to try a miltaristic one, or a religious one (with industrious). I find these are the best civs to begin at.

(EDIT): One thing i forgot: I sure hope buffalo is only pre-building for a wonder, and not actually building a palace. Anyway good luck for the rest of the game.
 
Thanks for the tips, bobgote. I've been winning my games, but I'm sure it's just been because I'm on the (relatively) freakin' easy warlord level.

Monarchy too early: I thought the production boost would be the decisive factor. I'll try holding out next time.

City Placement: I'm a bit conservative on the overlap, yet. I'm a recent convert from the "no overlap" camp and still getting my feet wet in that area.

Chicago building Hanging Gardens?: I dunno, I guess it looked like a good idea at the time. Maybe without much in the way of luxuries a better idea than I thought, but it was mostly a pre-build (as is Buffalo). I'm trying to get ready to grab as many Middle Age Wonders as I can.

Units on the border: What's the big deal, I'm not at war with the Aztecs at the moment. Actually, it's a combo of keeping units out (he's already got a swordsman wandering around my territory) and staging for when I start producing knights. BTW, Only 5 knights is enough? Hmm, dunno how comfortable I'd be with such a small invasion force.

Forbidden Palace in Tenochtitan: Yep, as soon as I get a GL, that was my plan.

Maybe I'm a bit behind in worker population, but not that much behind the growth rate of my cities. Why have workers develop land that won't be used (yet)?

All in all, some good stuff to chew on, thanks again!
 
Originally posted by MadHatter
Monarchy too early: I thought the production boost would be the decisive factor. I'll try holding out next time.
Monarchy is fine to switch to, but if you have an early war to do, do it in despotism, as you can amass a larger force.


Chicago building Hanging Gardens?: I dunno, I guess it looked like a good idea at the time. Maybe without much in the way of luxuries a better idea than I thought, but it was mostly a pre-build (as is Buffalo). I'm trying to get ready to grab as many Middle Age Wonders as I can.

It's not the wonder, but the placement i'm worried about. The hanging gardens, if i remember correctly gives 2 content to the city it's built in, and 1 to all others on continent. If it's been a problem, since your in a monarchy, the first 3 military units in a town give 1 content each. Do this before you build a wonder, and when you build a wonder, do so in the best production cities (except for some that double science/economy effects). In my last game, i only built a few wonders, ie the hoover dam and SETI etc. In the early game, sometimes you can find that what you'd get from normal production is more useful than wonders.


Units on the border: What's the big deal, I'm not at war with the Aztecs at the moment. Actually, it's a combo of keeping units out (he's already got a swordsman wandering around my territory) and staging for when I start producing knights.
I can't remember, but have you got a ROP? If not, tell them to get out if they try to come into your territory. And whether you're at war or not, you get benefits from units in towns, and the AI sneak attacks regularly, so it's better if you have the defensive bonus of your towns to help you, otherwise you may lose units you don't have to.


BTW, Only 5 knights is enough? Hmm, dunno how comfortable I'd be with such a small invasion force.
You've already got some units to support them. If i was you, i wouldn't have waited this long. When i last saw, you still had 9 unit support going unused, even in a monarchy. And 5 knights will easily give you their capital. note that they're all very small towns, like only size 1 (You'll actually probably auto-raze most of them). They are unlikely to have more than 3 defenders even in the capital. (You can use the embassy to verify this). You shouldn't even lose 1 knight to a spearman (unless they're on a hill). Remember that during the war, you have to keep churning out the knights.


Forbidden Palace in Tenochtitan: Yep, as soon as I get a GL, that was my plan.
It's a good plan, but you won't always get a GL, especially against such a small civ.


Maybe I'm a bit behind in worker population, but not that much behind the growth rate of my cities. Why have workers develop land that won't be used (yet)?
The quicker you develop, the quicker they'll grow and produce.

Good Luck.
 
Back
Top Bottom