How good is this start?

[Windsor]

So I rolled this start. And it's a variation of the infamous plains cow start, but it's also a double gems start. So that got me wondering, what does the Civ4 community think about such a start? Does the gems save the day and turn this into a good start or is it still bad?

Spoiler :

 

[Qactus]

Well, depends more on the surrounding land which may look bleak - looks like you're on a small peninsula which is pretty much just your BFC cut off by jungle. But the capital itself looks really nice. The French have good starting techs, all you need is AH, Mining and Bronze Working. You probably won't ever whip in your capital, but chopping those 12 BFC forests gives you a lot of flexibility (settlers, GLH, early rush units, depending on what you explore).

 

[lymond]

Sorry can’t see anything

 

[Windsor]

I added the screenshot in a spoiler tag in case people can't see the attached file.

 

[lymond]

Ha. You missed the point

 

[Windsor]

And I'm still too stupid to get the point!

 

[lymond]

No resource bubble and tile yields

 

[6K Man]

I really like gems because they're food neutral. The same start with gold instead of gems would definitely be a restart. You could actually work gems at size 2.

I think it could be a fun start if there's a decent second city site with food nearby. Or with an imperialistic leader to help with Settler chopping.

 

[lymond]

I say that spot is Mediocre at best. Flat grass gems are very nice. As 6k said they are food neutral, but they don't help much with building settlers and workers. But food is the name of the game. Actually, I'd say the most positive aspect of this start is all the forests which will help chopping out those setlters and workers.

However, the warrior has not moved yet....at least I assume this is Turn 0. I'd move 1NE to look for food with the idea of settling 2E even at the expense of 1gem. I'll always take more food over anything

 

[drewisfat]

Amazing. Just don't whip - often good advice for capital. Half the issue with plains cow is having to tech AH, gems make that painless. Low food doesn't matter that much for settler/worker production early, chops can do the heavy lifting as we've got plenty of forests. I see we're France, so 2/3 chance we have IND with all those gems/trees. Gives us the option to secure GLH. Heck it's an ideal setup to attempt a deep HoF-like Oracle sling.

What's the worst case scenario? We're stuck on a small peninsula with nowhere to expand save the jungle and we're Napoleon? Could go full dankok and self-tech IW. Gems can carry you through an inefficient early tech route. Just get 2nd worker before 1st settler.

 

[Fippy]

Same, for my standards (i play only poor starts for fun) it's HoF
Iso always makes for good comparisons, and this start would already remove it's major problems (happy, commerce).

 

[dankok8]

Amazing. Just don't whip - often good advice for capital. Half the issue with plains cow is having to tech AH, gems make that painless. Low food doesn't matter that much for settler/worker production early, chops can do the heavy lifting as we've got plenty of forests. I see we're France, so 2/3 chance we have IND with all those gems/trees. Gives us the option to secure GLH. Heck it's an ideal setup to attempt a deep HoF-like Oracle sling.

What's the worst case scenario? We're stuck on a small peninsula with nowhere to expand save the jungle and we're Napoleon? Could go full dankok and self-tech IW. Gems can carry you through an inefficient early tech route. Just get 2nd worker before 1st settler.

Wow I'm honored. Didn't realize self-teching IW is my trademark.

What difficulty level is this game?

 

[Windsor]

What difficulty level is this game?

Immortal
DeGaulle of France.
Standard speed and map size.
Continents
Aggressive AI
No huts, no events
No Tech Brokering
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