Immortal Authority Austria Photojournal (of an amateur)

[amateurgamer88]

Hi everyone! I'm amateurgamer88. I'm still learning on immortal and my games are getting better (I think). My last game as Portugal, as shown in my photojournal, is definitely getting to a very steep uphill climb. As the title suggests, I am going to play as Austria. Do note that this is my first time playing this civ on VP so it should be interesting.

I know I'm not a great player so I appreciate any advice as I want to learn more. I have many areas lacking so feel free to point them out to me. I like to improve more as I actually want to eventually play and win some deity matches. As a result, I'm doing these photojournals so people can see what I'm doing wrong and give me constructive criticism.

An additional note is that, due to various reasons, I have to play this game windowed so, in later eras, you'll see the various things like gold, resources and etc overlapping. I also have to lower my graphic setting so my game can run smoother. I apologize for that but it's the limitations I work with.

Spoiler Game Settings :

Immortal (7) Difficulty
Marathon Speed
Large Size, 10 civs, 20 city states
Frontier (Large Continents) [Wanted to try something different]
Strategic Balance
No events, vassalage, ancient ruins, tech brokering and tech trading

The Patch used in this game is 10-10. It should be with hotfix unless I messed this up terribly.

Spoiler Rule(s) :

I don't know where else to put this but I do want to specify one thing I want to do from the very beginning. Instead of going Tradition, I want to try Authority Austria and see where that takes me. I hope I won't regret it.

Spoiler Initial Thoughts on the Civilization :

Habsburg Diplomacy:
This just screams out diplomacy as it's very closely tied to CS. The idea is simply ally CS and get marriages with them and just profit. Of course, the benefits are going to be more noticeable late game as none of these help drastically early game (except maybe that science reward you get from finding another civ since I think it gets a boost too?).

Coffee House:
This UB replaces the Grocer which's available in the Renaissance. Unlike the Grocer, it also increases Great People generation and converts some of your culture to science. Overall, it seems like a decent building to have, though it seems to benefit your capital more than the other cities. I guess I don't have a huge opinion since I don't normally prioritize grocers as they come quite late and they are highly dependent on what resources I have near the city. I know I'll want one for my capital but, for my other cities, we'll see how the situation develop. Renaissance takes quite awhile to reach on Marathon and who knows what can happen until then. In addition, there are also quite a few Wonders in Renaissance that might take priority over the Coffee House.

Hussar:
A Cuirassier replacements that ignores ZOC seems pretty nice. I guess I got some practice after playing Mongolia whose mounted units get +2 movement and ignores ZOC while Hussar only gets 1. The extra sight can certainly be interesting because knowing the locations of the enemy can be so vital. I will be emphasizing these units but we'll see how well I use them.

Spoiler Starting Location :

Let's see the starting location.

My initial thoughts are staying where I'm at. Seems like I have access to the Gems monopoly which will help me secure marriages with CS faster. I'll get a bit more production from the hill and, naval wise, this is quite defensible. I will need to build a navy later but that's some ways away unless I get more intel on my neighbors.

 

[SpankmyMetroid]

I was playing Austria recently and was torn between going for a statecraft or artistry build. All those bonuses to GPP from marriages and the covfefe house let you spam great people as well as Arabia when you get going. But the marriages also give extra votes which obviously scream a WC victory condition, and city state quest bonuses from statecraft get stack with her UA (probably?). Not to mention you need money to arrange the marriages, which tradition builds lack but statescraft can help with.

I appreciate the more flexible civs that are geared towards multiple win conditions but they’re a lot harder to play for me than a onetrick civ.

 

[amateurgamer88]

I was playing Austria recently and was torn between going for a statecraft or artistry build. All those bonuses to GPP from marriages and the covfefe house let you spam great people as well as Arabia when you get going. But the marriages also give extra votes which obviously scream a WC victory condition, and city state quest bonuses from statecraft get stack with her UA (probably?). Not to mention you need money to arrange the marriages, which tradition builds lack but statescraft can help with.

I appreciate the more flexible civs that are geared towards multiple win conditions but they’re a lot harder to play for me than a onetrick civ.

The Medieval Era policy tree can be tricky for sure. I think it really depends on the map you are playing on and what AIs you are dealing with. There are so many factors that goes into that. Personally, I feel like statecraft is pretty strong but Artistry does have a shot too. I don't even know what I'll be going with this game so we'll see...

 

[chicorbeef]

Why exactly do you feel the need to restrict yourself to Authority? Even if you don't want Tradition, Progress can be nice too. Gives lots of Gold for those marriages.

 

[SpankmyMetroid]

Why exactly do you feel the need to restrict yourself to Authority? Even if you don't want Tradition, Progress can be nice too. Gives lots of Gold for those marriages.

It allows you to complete more quests. Playing aggressive with authority lets you do city capture and bullying quests, which are pretty much locked out if you play peacefully.

 

[amateurgamer88]

Why exactly do you feel the need to restrict yourself to Authority? Even if you don't want Tradition, Progress can be nice too. Gives lots of Gold for those marriages.

It's less of a restriction but more of "that's cool, I want to try it" sort of thing. Progress can be nice but it's not the strongest early game where Austria is technically the weakest. I like to see it less as a restriction but more as a trial and error sort of thing and see where it goes. The point is to have fun and probably learn from it.

It allows you to complete more quests. Playing aggressive with authority lets you do city capture and bullying quests, which are pretty much locked out if you play peacefully.

It's certainly a different playstyle and it can be quite fun for sure. Playing a civ only one way can be boring unless everything in their kit demands one certain playstyle.

 

[amateurgamer88]

Chapter 1: Who are My Neighbors?

Spoiler I. The Beginning :

I chose to settle where my settler was at and go from there. Of course, there's India in this game. I am curious how they will fare. I have never used Frontier before so there's a lot I have to learn as I played a bit into the game. Still, this will be an interesting game and I'm glad I set the rule for Authority because things are going to get heated very quickly at the rate they're going.

Spoiler II. Found the Celts :

I found the Celts very quickly and that's unnerving. I didn't find them within 5 turns but I found them early enough to know their capital isn't that far away. I'm not sure how I'll feel about having such a neighbor given how early her UU comes up. Depending on how the map is, I might be forced to fight her early on. Let's hope that isn't the case, though the tundra south of my capital don't look promising so far.

Spoiler III. Spain Joins the Game :

Spain didn't fare too well in my Mongolia game so I'm curious if she'll do better here. It took awhile to find her pathfinder so Spain isn't likely close to where I'm at. However, I know there are three religious superpowers already. India, the Celts and Spain are going to snatch up a religion each and, unlike Arabia, I don't have anything that can help me secure a religion easily.

Spoiler IV. Early Aggression to Set the Tone :

I'm only attacking because the Celts have a worker vulnerable and I'm going to take advantage of that. And yes, I did wait for the farm to finish so I can pillage it as well. The idea was to swoop in and capture the worker. My pathfinder is going to take some damage but the pillage will heal him somewhat. Then, I safely escort the worker back to my capital and that's the end of the story.

Spoiler V. Expansive Iroquois Shows Up :

I just hope the Iroquois isn't too close because they will forward settle me if given the chance. The three civs I met so far are all going to be problems in the long run, especially as I realized that the map is huge and they have lots of room to expand. The Iroquois is definitely going for Progress and all that territory, as I steadily explore more of the map, is going to help him tremendously. If anything, I think I'm the only one boxed in.

Spoiler VI.Found Edinburgh :

That territory northwest of Vienna is going to be highly contested. I need to grab that as soon as I can. The plan is to finish Mining before I go for Pottery. Then, I get a Settler and settle a coastal city right next to that lake. I didn't think that the Celts were going to expand that quickly so I wasn't prioritizing Pottery. In addition, I got a Worker from the Celts so it makes sense to use him.

Spoiler VII. There You Are! :

I've found India and I don't know what to think yet. He'll definitely grab a religion and that can't be great for me. I find that India is normally one of the less dangerous civs, especially when I'm playing a warmongering style. We'll see in this game as I have yet to locate his capital. Right now, I know there's another civ which you can see in my previous screenshot. On the minimap, there's a yellow that's either Siam or Egypt (I don't have the colors memorized yet).

Spoiler VIII. Oh, It's Siam :

Well, Siam is going to be a pain from the very beginning. He will get quite a boost from meeting all those CS so, if we have enough religious CS, he'll secure a religion too. In addition, Siam is going to be a fierce competition for CS and I'm going to put a stop to that. After the Celts, they will be the next target. First, I must defeat the Celts of course and that's no small feat.

Spoiler IX. Grabbing Authority :

As part of the rule, I picked Authority. Note that this is less of a restriction but more of an attempt of something different and fun. I know that Austria tend to have a weak early game so Authority makes some sense as it gives you quite a strong early game. Given the Celts are my most immediate neighbors, I might actually need those extra hammers to deal with early wars.

Spoiler X. Another Policy :

Normally, I like to go dominance first because working down the left side of the tree. However, I don't want to delay my free Settler too long so I took Tribute first. We'll see if that will pay off or not. Soon, I'll need to go hunt for Barbarian Camps to speed up my policies. The only civ I know that will take a decisive lead will be Siam given all the culture CS we have on this continent.

Well, that's it for our update! Will the situation grow more dire for little Austria?

 

[Minh Le]

I think instead of showing the leaders screen, you should show the map screen so we could see your neighbours location .

 

[amateurgamer88]

I think instead of showing the leaders screen, you should show the map screen so we could see your neighbours location .

I will do that once I discover their capitals. I just like to show who we're up against to give a bit of a teaser of what's going to happen. I usually meet their pathfinders first before their capitals or else they are really close.

 

[YukiN]

I think Authority is great for Austria. CS diplomacy really benefits from muscle and reach, and both Imperialism and Autocracy have very strong diplo benefits. For the 2nd tree I would still go for statecraft. The benefits are just too synergistic for a diplo game. It's tempting to grab all the specialist and great person synergy from Tradition Artistry, but Austria actually benefits less than most from additional great person points modifiers. When you already have 200% extra in your cap, another 25% doesn't mean very much. While the other benefits are very nice, I feel this makes Artistry relatively unattractive.

On a side note, you are playing a lot of civ games at once or in quick succession. It's actually kind of insane to me that you can do that.

 

[Galbias]

If you're going to put the text in the spoiler can you put it at the top instead of the bottom? That makes it easier to read, at least to me.

This just screams out diplomacy as it's very closely tied to CS. The idea is simply ally CS and get marriages with them and just profit. Of course, the benefits are going to be more noticeable late game as none of these help drastically early game (except maybe that science reward you get from finding another civ since I think it gets a boost too?).

I think it boosts all rewards, both the Influence and other yields as well. The quest bonus is pretty nice, you have to work to get the benefit out of it but you can get pretty good yields from the quests directly and it can get you a lot of friendships or alliances early that you wouldn't otherwise get, early game there tend to be a lot of quests that only offer 20-30 influence normally.

And then the Diplomatic Marriage is something that's expensive to do early on (I think it costs 500 gold the first time and increases from there) but that's when stopping the Influence decline is the most valuable.

Hussars are solid, go for the Barrage line so you can get Logistics ASAP, build a decent network of roads so you can rotate them in and out and they're fantastic for defense.

Austria is a fun civ, I want to play another game with them myself. Interested to see where it'll go, though Boudicca as an early neighbor usually isn't a good thing.

 

[amateurgamer88]

I think Authority is great for Austria. CS diplomacy really benefits from muscle and reach, and both Imperialism and Autocracy have very strong diplo benefits. For the 2nd tree I would still go for statecraft. The benefits are just too synergistic for a diplo game. It's tempting to grab all the specialist and great person synergy from Tradition Artistry, but Austria actually benefits less than most from additional great person points modifiers. When you already have 200% extra in your cap, another 25% doesn't mean very much. While the other benefits are very nice, I feel this makes Artistry relatively unattractive.

On a side note, you are playing a lot of civ games at once or in quick succession. It's actually kind of insane to me that you can do that.

One thing I don't think works too well is trying to have a bunch of alliances on Marathon Speed and expect the CS to defend themselves against the AI. In my Mongolian game, Morocco had a huge lead but that lead would've been eliminated if I just focused on taking over their allied CS so they lose so many benefits. As for the 2nd tree, I'm likely to go for Statecraft. I don't feel like Artistry is great for Austria and those Royal Marriages need a lot of gold and Artistry doesn't give you much of that.

I don't actually play that much. There are days when I take breaks and I might mention why in one of my future Portugal photojournal updates.

If you're going to put the text in the spoiler can you put it at the top instead of the bottom? That makes it easier to read, at least to me.

I think it boosts all rewards, both the Influence and other yields as well. The quest bonus is pretty nice, you have to work to get the benefit out of it but you can get pretty good yields from the quests directly and it can get you a lot of friendships or alliances early that you wouldn't otherwise get, early game there tend to be a lot of quests that only offer 20-30 influence normally.

And then the Diplomatic Marriage is something that's expensive to do early on (I think it costs 500 gold the first time and increases from there) but that's when stopping the Influence decline is the most valuable.

Hussars are solid, go for the Barrage line so you can get Logistics ASAP, build a decent network of roads so you can rotate them in and out and they're fantastic for defense.

Austria is a fun civ, I want to play another game with them myself. Interested to see where it'll go, though Boudicca as an early neighbor usually isn't a good thing.

I can certainly put text at the top. I put it at the bottom because I'm someone who likes to see pictures first before texts. I honestly don't mind doing it differently.

The early quests require some good luck to get ones you can complete. At my current point, I saw the rewards for a quest and I'm like, that's so broken.

Since I play on Marathon, the first marriage costs 1500 gold and increases by 100 from there. However, it will save me gold that would otherwise be spent on diplomatic units.

I honestly don't know how to use mounted horse units too well. I played Mongolia recently and, while nice, they can be very terrain dependent. I don't think I'll be using Hussars too effectively given how things are developing. I've played up to Renaissance so a lot has happened.

So far, the game has been a blast but it has some interesting situations developing. I think I need more AIs or a smaller map next time. Boudicca will be a problem for sure as she's the opposite of me where the Celts excel early game more.

 

[amateurgamer88]

Chapter 2: Those Celts...

Spoiler I. Boxed In :

I didn't expect the Celts to get a Settler so early and settle Dublin. If I had known this would've happened, I would've got Pottery first and get that stellar location. I think the Celts are really testing my patience as war is inevitable. What annoys me even more is the fact that the Celts didn't settle their third city for quite awhile. It's as if the Celts AI is purposely annoying me by settling this city and just boxed me in as I have nowhere else to go other than the corner I'm in.

Spoiler II. Birth of Salzburg :

This city isn't very stellar but I would rather control this area than let the Celts settle even closer to my capital. Defensively, this city isn't too bad with the river a tile to the north and marsh to the west. I know hills don't help me much once the Celts get their UU which they will no doubt be spamming a lot. I better invest in an army soon or the Celts will be attacking me very soon.

Spoiler III. New Policy :

I went Imperium to get my free Settler. At this point, I might as well settle all of my cities as soon as possible so I can develop them as quickly as possible. I will need a strong foundation to prepare me for war against the Celts because, even if she didn't attack, I must attack her to expand outwards. Even if I didn't set my rule to go Authority, I think I have to if I want to break out of my little corner.

Spoiler IV. Birth of Graz :

Graz is going to be an alright city. It has wheat and deer for food while the gems and stone can help with production. So far, I'm not liking my start too much but I am going to keep playing and see where this goes. I want to keep going until defeat is inevitable because these sort of games usually teach me the most. Anyways, I need to first focus on the Celts and hope the other civs don't snowball too much.

Spoiler V. The Iroquois Capital :

Onondaga is some distance away from my capital, if you look at the screenshot, there's a natural wonder northeast of their capital. That will give their units around their cities more combat strength (of course, when I play the Iroquois, natural wonders are nowhere close to me). I know that, in future wars when I have to attack him, there are some uphill fights, especially with all those hills where Woodlands promotion gives a bit of a defensive combat boost.

Spoiler VI.Found Carthage :

Considering how long it took for her to meet me, I don't think Carthage is on my continent. She probably sent her UU my way which means that the two continents can be reached with even a Trireme. I don't think I'll be busy exploring since a navy is a pretty big investment at this point and the Celts don't have any coastal cities. My land army is all I'll invest my hammer in.

Spoiler VII. Birth of Linz :

Linz once again isn't a stellar city but it gets me another luxury so that helps my happiness. It's also a coastal city so it will eventually help with ship production once I need a navy (a quick spoiler but I will need a navy later). So far, I'm not happy with this game one bit but I have to learn how to dig myself out of a not so great situation. I know next time that I'll add more civs than what's usually recommended for a map size when playing Frontier.

Spoiler VIII. Very Late Pantheon :

I got my Pantheon very late so the options are quite limited at this point. I was thinking of Goddess of Fertility since it's just a generally solid pick when I have nothing obvious. Sadly, that's taken and, after some thoughts, I went for Earth Mother as I have Gems to connect. Ancestor Worship was on my mind but I don't know how big my cities will grow so far. In addition, I won't have access to councils anytime soon and I don't know when I'll have a Specialist in any of my cities.

Spoiler IX. Found Delhi :

India is quite far away so his religion shouldn't impact me anytime soon. I guess that's the only upside I can think of now but maybe I'll find more upside once I explore more. I just need to find where Spain is at and, with the locations of the other civs more or less determined, I can see Spain eventually becoming a rival with India. This will depend heavily on how their cities will be settled until there's no more space left.

Spoiler X. Didn't Think I Got This :

I was running out of buildings to build in my capital so I went for Statue of Zeus. At the very least, I can deny another AI from making progress in their wars. If used properly, I can give my units an edge to take Celtic cities. I'm trying my best to stay afloat in happiness as early game tend to be more unkind to me. As more buildings become available, my happiness will go steadily up until it's no longer a problem.

Well, that's it for our update! Will Celts attack poor little Austria?

 

[YukiN]

Statue of Zeus is really nice even if you aren't attacking cites. The free barracks accounts for most of the hammers and lets you skip military theory for a good while, letting you just build promotrd spearmen. I find that distress is a significant source of unhappiness in medieval and renaissance, so the happiness benefit is really good too.

 

[Galbias]

Thanks, that's much easier to read.

I probably would've settled Linz on top of the Silk so you could grab the Gems to the south (and have the city less exposed to the sea) and not really lose anything, unless you're planning on another tundra city further to the south, though that location to the north on the hills is tempting. I always feel conflicted in situations like this about pushing the inevitable war or staying defensive until the AI's UU is outdated.

 

[amateurgamer88]

Statue of Zeus is really nice even if you aren't attacking cites. The free barracks accounts for most of the hammers and lets you skip military theory for a good while, letting you just build promotrd spearmen. I find that distress is a significant source of unhappiness in medieval and renaissance, so the happiness benefit is really good too.

The free barracks helps a lot for sure. Since my capital will be focusing on units, it helps tremendously. The happiness is still going to be a problem and, honestly, this game is becoming very stressful. I feel so tempted to quit at many stages given how the situation is developing up to where I'm at now. I might just keep updating this and take a break from the gameplay itself.

Thanks, that's much easier to read.

I probably would've settled Linz on top of the Silk so you could grab the Gems to the south (and have the city less exposed to the sea) and not really lose anything, unless you're planning on another tundra city further to the south, though that location to the north on the hills is tempting. I always feel conflicted in situations like this about pushing the inevitable war or staying defensive until the AI's UU is outdated.

I do plan on a tundra city further to the south as it's not too bad as you'll see when I settle it. Overall, I don't like my current situation and, given how things develop, I will like my situation even less as time goes by. As for the Celts, waiting for their UU to be outdated will take far too long and I don't exactly have the luxury to wait that long with the cities I have.

 

[amateurgamer88]

Chapter 3: Bring It On!

Spoiler I. Siam Capital :

We sort of know where the Siam capital was since I pointed out the Siam color on the minimap in an older update. What's interesting is that, just as the Celts are boxing me in, Siam is boxing the Celts in. We are going to see limited expansion for some of us while other civs like India will be expanding their cities are rabbits. Oh yes, I should add Spain to the list of civs to be expanding like mad. The Iroquois will have decent room to get some decent cities too.

Spoiler II. Siam Asking for War? :

Siam clearly has the intent to have cities that will connect the continent from coast to coast. I hate to see how their empire will look once everyone is done settling. However, we might see an early war between Siam and the Iroquois if Hiawatha doesn't like the Siam city placements too much. Of course, I can always dream about the Celts turning their sights on Siam so I can take advantage of the war.

Spoiler III. Spanish Capital :

Like India, Spain has a lot of room to expand. If she keeps settling coastal city, Spain will get at least four more cities. Given how expansive I've seen Spain is, I wouldn't be surprised if Spain settle a few cities further inland. Studying the map now, I think we could've had at least two more civs on our continent. Maybe I can play my next Frontier map with 10 civs and add a few more CS too.

Spoiler IV. New Policy :

I grab myself Dominance but, at this point, I won't get any science unless I go to war (I'm looking at you, Celts). The most important aspect of the Dominance for the upcoming war is healing after a kill. I will need that in case I get a little risky and decide to go after kills. I know better than go after a kill and risk losing a unit but there are times where I can't hold myself back. That heal can make a difference for sure.

Spoiler V. Poor Kuala Lumpur :

I went Authority so I need to get heavy tribute somewhere. Kuala Lampur is the unfortunate choice for me but I'll make up for it. I'm Austria so they will forgive me once I have a marriage with them. For now, they will give me some much needed culture as I wonder about when the Celts will turn their sights on me. It won't be long before they decide to attack me. Just call it a gut feeling.

Spoiler VI.Not Surprised at All :

Spain, as expected went on expansive spree and got several city since I discovered her capital. The faith from those cities are quite massive and I'm not surprised at all that she beat India to a religion first. Of course, I do believe that the Celts will be the next to get their religion. India doesn't have the strongest pantheon and I feel like Spain and the Celts are better geared to get a religion faster.

Spoiler VII. Got the Monopoly and... :

When I settled my cities, I did take into account of all the Gem locations. If Dublin wasn't settled by the Celts, I could've gotten the monopoly sooner and with fewer cities. As a result, the Celts not only made me work for my monopoly but also made me get a bunch of less than optimal cities. I actually just realized that I don't have a screenshot of my fifth city. I'll probably post it in the post after this to give you some idea of why I settled there. Meanwhile, do you see the Celtic units?

Spoiler VIII. I Can Say the Same :

To be fair, I was eyeing the Celtic lands just as she was eyeing mine. The main difference is she has her UU and I have my default units. This is going to be a tough war but I think I did my best to remove her greatest strength. I only have a single hill near Salzburg so she won't get too many benefits there. The screenshot above shows my unit deployment where I have spearmen at the front and archers support in the back. My pathfinder just make my forces look larger than it already is.

Spoiler IX. I Called It :

The Celts grabbed a religion as expect and it will be headache for me. I will no doubt be grabbing their holy city and, by adopting their religion, I will not have a pantheon. Of course, I can avoid all that by getting my own religion but I'm still some way to go and I have no idea what civs are on the other continent. If they have civs like Arabia or such, I question my chances at a religion.

Spoiler X. 3 Religions Left :

I got quite a few workers to help improve my tiles. For sure, I'm selling all of my Iron and Horses because I have no uses for them. I will need the Iron for Swordsmen who are my only answer to the Celtic UU. I think I can really attack the Celts once I get the Swordsmen because, as you can see from the minimap, my start is less than optimal. I need to expand quickly and go from there. I hope I can expand quickly through war and not fall behind too much.

Well, that's it for our update! Will Celts lost to poor little Austria?

 

[amateurgamer88]

Spoiler City of Klagenfurt :

Here's my fifth settled city. It's in the Tundra but it's not the worst with those gems and deer. It's not a stellar city but it's not shabby either. I feel like I got a really bad roll with my start but this might be salvageable. We'll see how things go soon enough.

 

[YukiN]

I feel like you are underselling your start and your cities.

Take Lindz for instance, I see 3 tiles thay can worked immediately and can be improved further, with a fish you can grow to. It is also surrounded by 3 yield tiles that do not require improvement, which will have excellent yields once you get workshops. It is coastal which means it'll have good food yields for specialists later and will be improved with Imperialism.

Same goes for Klagenfurt. It has 6 good tiles to work including the lake and another okay one once you quarry the stone. I would have settled it next to the lake for the fresh water and extra stone though. The extra food from being a freshwater settle will help this city that is working at least 2 mines.

Overall, your production and gold are strong, which is what you need for war.

Looking at the minimap, you only have one border to worry about for a good while, which is always a huge advantage. The Celts on the other hand are going to die. Badly. They have a long border with Siam and will have territorial tensions, and they cannot possibly maintain a 2 front war when they have fewer cities than both you and Siam. Bribe Siam to go to war if you have to, they should be amenable (maybe even a free joint declaration would work). Feed on corpse of the Celts and grow fat. Just try to make sure you are the ones sniping the Celt cities and not Siam, as that is your next likely opponent.

 

[amateurgamer88]

I feel like you are underselling your start and your cities.

Take Lindz for instance, I see 3 tiles thay can worked immediately and can be improved further, with a fish you can grow to. It is also surrounded by 3 yield tiles that do not require improvement, which will have excellent yields once you get workshops. It is coastal which means it'll have good food yields for specialists later and will be improved with Imperialism.

Same goes for Klagenfurt. It has 6 good tiles to work including the lake and another okay one once you quarry the stone. I would have settled it next to the lake for the fresh water and extra stone though. The extra food from being a freshwater settle will help this city that is working at least 2 mines.

Overall, your production and gold are strong, which is what you need for war.

Looking at the minimap, you only have one border to worry about for a good while, which is always a huge advantage. The Celts on the other hand are going to die. Badly. They have a long border with Siam and will have territorial tensions, and they cannot possibly maintain a 2 front war when they have fewer cities than both you and Siam. Bribe Siam to go to war if you have to, they should be amenable (maybe even a free joint declaration would work). Feed on corpse of the Celts and grow fat. Just try to make sure you are the ones sniping the Celt cities and not Siam, as that is your next likely opponent.

I might be underselling but, for someone with my skills, it doesn't feel stellar. However, I do admit some of my cities don't look too shabby.

Linz is an interesting city given that it's on the other coast. I feel like it can play a pretty key role in future naval battles but, for now, it's going alright. Klagenfurt is decent despite being in the tundra. I didn't settle next to the lake because I wanted my Gem monopoly as soon as possible. Where I settled allows me to get the two Gems sooner.

My production and gold look decent but we'll see how I'll fare. Dealing with the Celts and their UU is the biggest issue I face now because, the longer things drag out, the worst off I am as Authority isn't as strong in mid-game.

While having one border alone is nice, I also feeling my I'm really boxed in. If I had more room to expand, I'd like it better. The Celts aren't going to have a good time and I can tell you now that they will have some nasty wars. However, I don't want to bribe Siam as I'm greedy and want the Celts to myself. In addition, Siam is certainly my next opponent.

Spoiler Spoiler for mid game :

The Celts and Siam are the easy part. It only gets harder from here on out once we enter mid-game.