How I Play Prehistoric....

[Thunderbrd]

Yeah, I disliked that I used this strategy in every game; so I made it far more punishing to do the same in my modmod.
I made it so that the captured fire tech wouldn't unlock much more than "Captured Fire" NW and that 7 other techs could not be researched before "Captured Fire" were built or fire making was researched.
Techs that require Captured Fire OR Fire Making tech are, cooking, druidism, horticulture (new name for naturopathy), heat treatment, slash and burn, poison crafting and earthenware.

So waiting with building captured fire could be a bad idea, as it stops you from building many buildings for a long time in my modmod.
It would also be the only way to get to the druidism religion first.

Doesn't matter anymore since the first civics no longer cost any anarchy time.

I wait until I have 4-5 cities before I build it, just so that the golden age has some benefit.

Either this or nearly immediately to cut down the time to get a 2nd population by 80% (some games it can do this for you) and sometimes even jump you to the 3rd pop in your capital before the GA ends.

 

[Hydromancerx]

So is it better to get Chasers first or go down the research path like Oral Tradition?

In fact which do you guys choose first? Language or Nomadic Lifestyle?

 

[Shoobs]

So is it better to get Chasers first or go down the research path like Oral Tradition?

In fact which do you guys choose first? Language or Nomadic Lifestyle?

I try to start hunting early. Wanderers -should- be better at that than stone throwers ( size matters makes it iffy )

 

[Thunderbrd]

I think that's a core decision where one is not better than another but it's about how you play. Do you prefer a more stable bonus such as what you get from language, or do you prefer to immediately start taking risks with your production on units that COULD get killed.

That said, I find hunting far more lethal without Size Matters than with it. Though I admit that the peaks of danger are much higher in SM, (aka the toughest threats are much tougher) they are also far less common so you are much more likely to get a good start with the earliest hunters before falling prey to a larger predator.

 

[lordrune]

So is it better to get Chasers first or go down the research path like Oral Tradition?

In fact which do you guys choose first? Language or Nomadic Lifestyle?

If I've got a cave in my starting area (and I try to get one - plus a nearby tile with 3 or more hammers for early production) it's always nomadic lifestyle -> cave dwelling. I like going for an early wonder if I can, too.

I go for trackers pretty early if I can, but I'm usually getting oral tradition, herbalism, and a couple of others first. I don't bother building chasers. I've yet to try Size Matters as I'm a bit scared by it.

 

[Shoobs]

I think that's a core decision where one is not better than another but it's about how you play. Do you prefer a more stable bonus such as what you get from language, or do you prefer to immediately start taking risks with your production on units that COULD get killed.

That said, I find hunting far more lethal without Size Matters than with it. Though I admit that the peaks of danger are much higher in SM, (aka the toughest threats are much tougher) they are also far less common so you are much more likely to get a good start with the earliest hunters before falling prey to a larger predator.

I only wish that was the case in a good portion of the games, regarding early hunters. Lynxes, Tigers are horribly common and for some reason aurochs, if they start spawning, can grow to be the biggest land threat for a LOOONG time. These things scare the crap out of me and despite the fact that cow herds can be rare, in size matters they become walking death for any of my hunters. I have also had Caribou attack me at times. Oh and don't forget bears.

 

[Hydromancerx]

Dose anyone focus on getting rid of the unhealthiness? Such as going the whole herbalism path? Or the Stone Worker's Hut route where you try to get all the bonus techs for it?

I have tried many different starts and I still cannot decide which one i prefer. I also think the area you start in largely shapes what I do.

Like in my new game I have a coastal city at the mouth of a river and it also is a cave! Super combo of awesome. However it took me a few turns to walk there. So I am a bit behind everyone. I got cave dwelling of course. I also discovered that I have llamas nearby within the first ring and then horse in the 2nd city ring. So later in the prehistoric era I know that both Equine and Camel Domestication will be important.

However I am still early enough that I have a lot of paths I can choose down the prehistoric era. I am leaning towards getting hunting units. I also used my starter units to take out the 2nd city of an AI so that crippled them back to one starting city.

 

[Hydromancerx]

I have also had Caribou attack me at times. Oh and don't forget bears.

I love all the herds of animals! And a bunch of the animals now are even animated! Lets just say I was super thrilled when i came back after 2 years of being away. Not only did DH add most of the animals I provided 3D models for but it looks like some were improved upon. Then add in all the separate AI nature factions.And well the hunting part of the game is a masterpiece!

 

[Thunderbrd]

Or the Stone Worker's Hut route where you try to get all the bonus techs for it?

I'm a big fan of this one. BIG FAN!

I have tried many different starts and I still cannot decide which one i prefer. I also think the area you start in largely shapes what I do.

This is exactly how it should feel to let you know you've got it right. The early part of the game is just... bad ass imo.

Then add in all the separate AI nature factions

If you recall... you were a bit of a naysayer about the animal vs animal bit. We did it in an interesting way that addressed your concerns right? Toffer and Harrier were a huge HUGE help to me with this project and they deserve a huge thanks for the massive efforts they put in on this.

There's more to come on this... animal herds growing and spawning and hunting animals birthing more of their kind if they are successful and don't starve. So much more to come.

 

[Hydromancerx]

If you recall... you were a bit of a naysayer about the animal vs animal bit. We did it in an interesting way that addressed your concerns right? Toffer and Harrier were a huge HUGE help to me with this project and they deserve a huge thanks for the massive efforts they put in on this.

Well consider me "converted". I really like it!

 

[Hydromancerx]

What kind of strategies do you guys use for hunting?

 

[Thunderbrd]

What kind of strategies do you guys use for hunting?

I've got a few now...

But until master hunters I tend to rely on the hunting party method - a scout, a merged spiked clubmen, 2 hunters (one promotes for stealth and tends to wander from the group while the other tries to stay with the pack but promotes for visibility improvements), and sometimes a wisewoman or healer and potentially a wood spear to protect against the really REALLY tough animals and big herds that can overwhelm the hunter(s).

Masters... they go out on their own and develop stealth first to keep them safe and fighting on their terms only.

I have taken to also using canines as hunters for local efforts around the cities. I train 2 canines now for each city... one to hunt and later come back and go on sentry, the other to cap out in camo visibility and stay put in the city on the camo visibility buildup. The dogs can't really subdue very often but I'm not so concerned about that with local animal types usually because I often have those aplenty. It's the far off exotic animals I hope my hunters can bring me.

There's a fascinating array of methods and approaches to promotions... so many that I often vary my approach a lot. It really is awesome... focus to get speed or skill and what kind of skill... amazing variety!

 

[Hydromancerx]

Great ideas! I like your duel canine technique.

 

[Thunderbrd]

The cool thing about the dogs is that they don't get hindered by terrain and they can get hella fast with the racing dog promo so they can really just tear across the map to get at their prey (and they are awesome at pursuit so don't let many things get away - except birds.)

 

[Shoobs]

Since I run with teleporting animals ( to avoid extreme need for support ) right now, I tend to send hunting units out all over the place. Trying to do a Deity game and I'm so hamstrung by gold production there's a civ with 15 cities and I've got... 4. And I'm currently hitting sedentary lifestyle while they've probably hit bronze wroking by now. atleast.

 

[Shoobs]

So.. with all my griping about deity, I am having little to no issues on the difficulty just under that. This leads me to wonder if its the game speed Snail -> Eons, the fact that the AI is apt to build two cities on Deity at the start, or the incredibly punishing inflation I'm not getting on Snail, or just all of what is Deity is just all that more punishing than it is on Immortal.

 

[Galadrion]

Dose anyone focus on getting rid of the unhealthiness? Such as going the whole herbalism path?

Don't know how I wound up missing this thread, but I've found it now...

Me, I usually go for Herbalism right out of the gate, followed by aiming for a LE unit other than the tribal guardian (since you can only have one of those), and then the storyteller. I tend to go for overkill on my city garrison, normally going for three of each type of unit (healer, LE, and educator), upgrading as technology allows, and maybe adding a few extra units if trouble crops up - usually extra LE units, if and when my opponents start using criminal infiltrators. My goal is to get crime and disease down into negative numbers and keep them there, and I usually manage to do a fairly good job of it. After than, as far as units go it's hunters, enough gatherers to get all available resources hooked up, and - when they become available - dogs for border patrol. Oh, and thieves/rogues for black ops, and ambushers (and their followup units) to act as slavers. Meanwhile, I'm also interspersing various city buildings as well - priorities are production > science > food > defense, and from there on down whatever seems most necessary or beneficial. Of course, bear in mind that all of this can be adjusted on the fly depending on circumstances - this is a fairly rough guide, not a definitive be-all-and-end-all approach.

It works reasonably well, especially when you consider that I rely heavily on the Banditry civic (for black ops warfare) and the Slavery worldview (gotta do something with all those prisoners the black ops units capture, after all) from pretty much when they become available clear up to the middle Medieval or early Renaissance era - I don't have a hard-and-fast rule for when I drop Slavery and/or Banditry; it's more of an art than a science at this stage. Although a decent rule of thumb for when Banditry becomes redundant is when you start to have criminal units which don't require the Bandit Hideout to build - Scoundrels, I believe? (No, I don't really give up the black ops warfare. It's just too useful. Between criminal units and spies, I've subverted entire opposing empires in the past without going to a "hot" war. But I'm starting to have to watch out - it looks like the AI is starting to get some sort of a handle on this type of strategy - they're not great at it yet, but they're starting to become a threat.)

I'm actually a bit light on offensive military units, usually. In my last four or five games, I think I've only built about a dozen offensive forces, and three of those were aimed at eliminating barbarian and neanderthal cities. I guess I've been neglecting conventional warfare in favor of unconventional warfare.

 

[cammcken]

I play with Barbarian Generals, which allows GPP from animal kills, and Great Commanders.I've heard some people say that the first thing they do, upon getting a commander, is knock off animals to build up its xp. In a recent game I tried taking this to an extreme: I tried to balance my animal kills between hunters and military so that I had a decent chance getting a Great General first over a Great Hunter. I would use military against any animals with 1 when I didn't care about the subdue, and hunters for the rest. I also play with Barbarian World (barbarians start with cities) and add a few extra AI with "start as minors". (I like the struggle for survival, with enemies all around.)

After besieging and capturing a barbarian city (Tried to sneak an extra city before Tribalism—didn't. Nice job balancing.), I found I had way too many Great Generals, and I didn't get my first Great Hunter until much later. However, that commander was crucial to letting me capture the city, and I used it later to steam roll an AI. So how do you guys like to play? General first, or Great Hunter?

I have taken to also using canines as hunters for local efforts around the cities. I train 2 canines now for each city... one to hunt and later come back and go on sentry, the other to cap out in camo visibility and stay put in the city on the camo visibility buildup. The dogs can't really subdue very often but I'm not so concerned about that with local animal types usually because I often have those aplenty.

In the later stages when there's less untamed land, I had some low-xp hunters on auto-hunt that would pick up local spawns. I also like to use dogs in pairs for automate border patrol: One with Track Scent II, another with Bloodhound II, and both with Racing Dogs I. (Haven't tried Hide and Seek yet). However these dogs pick up more animals than criminals, and run faster than my hunters. If I could automate them to ignore animals I would. If I had a hunter fast enough to keep up (over rough terrain), I would put the stack of three on border patrol. But those hunters are usually pretty elite. If I was more proactive in the early game about picking up tames, maybe I wouldn't care as much. But now I'm wincing whenever I see "An enemy Onager attempted to flee our onslaught but was chased down and dispatched by our Trained Dogs." "Our Trained Dogs entrapped an escaping Onager and forced it to fight for its life." Micromanaging the criminal hunt would be just too much.

 

[JosEPh_II]

I also play with Barbarian World (barbarians start with cities) and add a few extra AI with "start as minors". (I like the struggle for survival, with enemies all around.)

Correction: Start with MInors does not add AI. Barb World adds a barb city for every "player" that starts the game. So if you have the game set up for say default # of AI for huge map which is 11 AI, the Barbs would get 12 cities on the map (11 AI + Human player).

Barb Civ Option allows any barb city that survives long enough to become a "Minor Civ" and if that Minor Civ survives long enough then it can become a New Full AI Civ. No Revolution Option "unchecked" (no check mark in the box) means Revolution is ON and it too will cause new Civs to be generated thru Empires having revolts. But it tears down the bigger AI so it has that drawback.

 

[Enchanteur]

Hi, for my second game, I changed my strategy (as I begin to know better the game).
I choosed Snail speed for the game, no traits at start, city on 1 tile, teleport subdued animals.

I'm also focus on Production. So I choose what can give me production first, and my general strategy is to get Trappers quickly.
I sended my 2 units scouting, and I get lucky because they found some new units ready to serve in the way.
Situation is I am on a little continent alone with another empire far south.

I never build wonders for a very long time. I wait far later for this. Then I build a wonder when I guess I'm the first to discover the tech AND it's a time when I've no urgency to build something else.

Then I builded some warriors and an army of Trappers (or Hunters next). All of this people is sended to hunt auto-mode.
In early game, when troops are not really upgraded, I check sometimes how is health, and eventualy command manualy some guys to rest a little if needed. Later, when troops are enough strong, I just don't check anymore.
Later, my troops are spread in the country, that is usefull because it strongly reduce threat of barbarics neandertals.