How to play as Portugal.

[CivIVMonger]

I love the carrack being able to settle mid game before everyone else, oh yah!
but in the early game he seams kinda dry, but as a naval superpower (if you play right)
seems too make up for it, I'm in the middle of a game with the portugease, and the carrack can carry settlars through the ocean while korea is sitting on the beach.
but in that game I had a serious econmy problem, and portugal just dosn't seem to be an economical civ, idk, anything helpful would be great.

ty

 

[Shackel]

What type of map?

 

[AfterShafter]

Why, sipping a fine glass of port wine of course!

 

[CivIVMonger]

Archipalego, and sipping port wine, what does that mean???

 

[AfterShafter]

It means if you sip enough you'll be so drunk you'll be happy however you're doing

(archipelago means, he has an excellent ocean game - play on an island map and take advantage of it. Also, on new world type maps, his unique unit lets you reach the new world with settlers way before anyone else. Port is just tasty, and it seems only fitting you should drink it playing Portugal!)

 

[TheMeInTeam]

Like any other civ, only expand faster if the opportunity is there.

 

[Bast]

Portugal is one of those civilizations that I've always wanted to play but I've never gotten around to. I fail to see how you had economy problems as Portugal on an archipelago map. Really? You've heard of the Feitoria?

 

[TheMeInTeam]

Portugal is one of those civilizations that I've always wanted to play but I've never gotten around to. I fail to see how you had economy problems as Portugal on an archipelago map. Really? You've heard of the Feitoria?

How is matching financial coast, and only late late at that, going to solve economic problems? By the time that coast is worthwhile even remotely, you'll be working basically every other tile possible (other than seafood). The Feitoria as a great UB that gives Portugal a meaningful edge on water maps is an even worse argument than dikes (which are just average on anything but REALLY water heavy maps).

 

[Iranon]

If at all feasible, shoot for the Great Lighthouse.

Joao is a great city spammer, and the GL makes each coastal city affordable and many island cities profitable right away. I think my record without war was 17 cities at 1AD, and once they grow you will recover nicely.

*

I'm not too impressed with either Unique. On many Archipelago maps, you can reach everyone with galleys. Terra maps offer some interesting opportunities, but more often those are essentially a tiny, crowded Pangaea and a massive bloodbath is preferable to colonisation.

The Feitoria simply doesn't provide enough, considering it comes rather late.

 

[Beornhard]

The Feitoria simply doesn't provide enough, considering it comes rather late.

That's quite true, unfortunately. The Feitoria should be made available sooner somehow.

 

[CivIVMonger]

Portugal is one of those civilizations that I've always wanted to play but I've never gotten around to. I fail to see how you had economy problems as Portugal on an archipelago map. Really? You've heard of the Feitoria?

it's early game, the other "tiny islands" are barren and full of brown squares so I wouldn't settle there, i would have to cross the ocean to settle for most of that game I really could do nothing with my economy I had courhouses in all my cities same with markets, and you have to remember that portugal is not financial, so water tiles don't do as much. so, in order for me to stay in sync technologically, I had to put more cash into research, therefore stifleing my econmy and I mean big bucks on research only had 2 large cities. so portugal is not an econmic choise in my thoughts.

 

[TheMeInTeam]

it's early game, the other "tiny islands" are barren and full of brown squares so I wouldn't settle there, i would have to cross the ocean to settle for most of that game I really could do nothing with my economy I had courhouses in all my cities same with markets, and you have to remember that portugal is not financial, so water tiles don't do as much. so, in order for me to stay in sync technologically, I had to put more cash into research, therefore stifleing my econmy and I mean big bucks on research only had 2 large cities. so portugal is not an econmic choise in my thoughts.

Portugal is tops in claiming land peacefully and does not emphasize economic boosts directly (other than more cities), but no civ is weak economically if played correctly.

Brown tiles are OK if there are food resources in the area, such as seafood or even irrigated wheat etc.

Could you post screenshots/saves?

 

[war ensemble]

Try playing Portugal with unrestricted leaders and the likes of Darius I or another financial guy. Build The Colossus and then a Feitoria in each city and you're banking a bag of gold per water tile, immediately. Makes for some crazy fast settlements because they're so much profitable land on archipelago.

 

[TheMeInTeam]

Try playing Portugal with unrestricted leaders and the likes of Darius I or another financial guy. Build The Colossus and then a Feitoria in each city and you're banking a bag of gold per water tile, immediately. Makes for some crazy fast settlements because they're so much profitable land on archipelago.

Only for a short time, though, since you don't want to delay astro forever (better navy AND a 25% science multiplier can be built), and that obsoletes colossus.

FIN makes sense though since you can really rely on city spam and water tiles over cottages for short-term boosts, and transition to other things as needed rapidly in the renaissance.

 

[war ensemble]

Only for a short time, though, since you don't want to delay astro forever (better navy AND a 25% science multiplier can be built), and that obsoletes colossus.

FIN makes sense though since you can really rely on city spam and water tiles over cottages for short-term boosts, and transition to other things as needed rapidly in the renaissance.

At the expense of getting side-tracked here, I never understood why certain techs obsolete so much stuff. I end up delaying Astronomy against my wishes due to the simple fact that it harms my Collossus-dependent economy. It bothers me that certain techs hurt, rather than help, your civ. Doesn't make much sense to me. Whatever, I guess.

 

[TheMeInTeam]

At the expense of getting side-tracked here, I never understood why certain techs obsolete so much stuff. I end up delaying Astronomy against my wishes due to the simple fact that it harms my Collossus-dependent economy. It bothers me that certain techs hurt, rather than help, your civ. Doesn't make much sense to me. Whatever, I guess.

My guess is that it's done for game balance (don't want colossus too strong). IMO you almost never want to delay astro though, the overseas trade and observatories cover any loss in commerce.

 

[CivIVMonger]

Portugal is tops in claiming land peacefully and does not emphasize economic boosts directly (other than more cities), but no civ is weak economically if played correctly.

Brown tiles are OK if there are food resources in the area, such as seafood or even irrigated wheat etc.

Could you post screenshots/saves?

well there is no seafood and it's an island of about 2x2 tiles of pure ice, it would be a waste of about -3 per turn to settle there

and, that game was on my other computer, it's not connected to the internet,
the me in team, could you tell me how the "posting saves and screenshots" works please (but don't let the subject get off of Portugal)

 

[Rusty Edge]

Here's something I posted in another thread about rushes.

I found that on a terra map I could reach the new world before the barbs had longbows, capture a couple cities, create a colony, heal my invaders and move on . Add the captured cities to the colony, which spawns it's own defense. I have the resources tied up by the time the Dutch arrive. Then concentrate on privateers. Then concentrate on corps. Game Over.

That's the Carrack rush. Sometimes you need to send a settler to build a proper port, but usually there are barb workers for the capturing and a trade network in place. I'm kind of a trade route junkie by nature, so building Fretorias went without saying. The idea is to tie up those new world resources, ask your colony for them, and build a trade empire. Privateers is just a way to leverage your sea advantage and cripple the competiton at the same time. Then they can pay for your empire. Corporations is the same idea, divert their cash flow into your economy. You can use their money to finance your research, then sell the techs back to them as you see fit.

OK. So it's a long-term strategy. Maybe your trouble is overexpanding, or having challenges with a non-finacial civ in general rather than Potugal in particular?


If you're going to play Archipelago, I recommend Ragnar.

 

[Spectator20]

The Ai can actually play well as Portugal and ends up usually being huge. Joao gets cheap workers and settlers and is one of the fastest expanders. GLH is one way to pay for it. Since the cities grow quickly with cheap granaries, I ran a lot of merchant specialists and ran a lot of intercontinental trade missions later.