How long till you settle your 1st city?

[backthief]

I usually move one or two squares, and if i don´t like the surroundings, i regenerate the map before the turn 1 ends. I rarely walk for 2 or 3 turns before i settle.

Do you settle on the first turn or spend some extra time finding a better spot?

 

[sensual benny]

I always either settle in place or move 1 tile. Not sure if that's optimal but at least it gets a city up and running right away... Better land can always be settled later.

 

[nfw]

I almost always settle in place, except this last game where I was next to a lake, but there is also a river one tile over so I moved to settle on the river.

 

[plasmacannon]

I always either settle in place or move 1 tile. Not sure if that's optimal but at least it gets a city up and running right away... Better land can always be settled later.

+1.

I think this is what the majority of players do too.

 

[xenex]

There is rarely a reason to move away from where you start, at most you could move to a hill thats right there, which burns your whole movement or you move 1 tile to get a better city tile or save the tile you started on ( if it was for exaple a floodplain or hill and you dont have too many). You should not have to wait till turn 3 to settle, in most cases turn 1 is when to plant and in some very few cases on turn 2, but no more.

I know you didnt ask and probably dont care, but moving around and then deciding to regenerate is kind of cheating, the capitol is guaranteed to be decent because of the rules, so regenerating just so you get the "perfect" spot is kind of lame.

 

[Kadazzle]

The game generates maps so that SIP is "generally" the best option. Obviously I move if I see a better position using my scout or warrior, but most of the time I SIP. Other times I may move would be if I want to move to the coast, or if I'm on a hill (only if I lack hills though). The downside to this is you can miss out on "hidden" resources like Horses, Copper and Iron which may be important early on.

 

[DMOC]

I settle in place or move 1, 2 tiles. Occasionally you might start on the coast and do the "move inland" gambit to find a better spot and leave the coast for a later city, but that's very very risky in many cases.

 

[MarcoPollo]

I will only waste one turn moving to a better spot. So it may be on a plains hill, or up to three clear spaces.

If I have a scout, and can see a spot that is a little further, I may contemplate such a move, but generally only a 1 turn burn to get to a better spot.

 

[AbsoluteZero]

I'd say SIP about 50% of the time. The other 50% I move and settle next turn, or move and settle on the same turn if I can. I certainly don't trek across the map looking for a better spot for my first city. I'll waste 1, maybe in rare cases 2 turns moving around but that's it.

 

[jwez11007]

In probably 90% of cases settling on the first turn is optimal. Reasons for the other 10% could include moving towards coast or moving onto any tiles that yield extra bonuses namely a plains hill or certain resources. Even in the cases where you have a feasible tile it takes a good map read to know whether its better to move.

 

[Dhoomstriker]

For Game of the Month games, I have a crack team of specialists (other Civ 4 players) to help me out in deciding where to move the initial Scout and Warrior and what should be done with the Settler based on the info that is revealed by moving the Scout or Warrior.

Since we get a screenshot of our games several days before the game's saved game is released, we have potentially several days to analyse the starting position and to think about the best opening moves possible.

Let's assume that you call the initial turn "Turn 0."

In those Game of the Month games, I'll probably settle on somewhere between Turn 0 and Turn 2.

In other games, where I don't spend a lot of time analysing the starting position, I'll probably settle on Turn 0 or Turn 1.


While it is possible to get a better starting position if you wander for 5 turns, it is also very likely that you'll get a worse position, seeing as how initial Settler locations often come with additional "hidden" Resources, such as Copper, Horse, Iron, Coal, etc and because by wandering, you probably still won't see the full fat cross when you settle.

Even if there is a great location 5 turns of movement away, then you can either obtain it with an early Settler or can build an army to take it away from the AI that settles there first.