I'm just wondering how you guys deal with expanding and early wars. Do you all adjust for the surrounding terrain, or do you stick with the same sequence each time? Do you all like early wars? Do you build granary first or other things first? Let's hear about it...
Let's hear your starting strategies
- Thread starter homeyg
- Start date
The Commander
Warlord
A hammer and sycle on the american flag? That's just shameful, man! 
Anyway, now to the topic.
I usually build 2 warriors (or scouts) for exploring, and then a warrior for defense. Then i build a settler, all the while researching pottery. If my civ starts with pottery i go for bronze working.
As soon as i settle a new city i always build a defender, BTW. In my second city i build a granary and make it a settler factory, as in, i just have it crank out settlers until there's no more land to take.
While my settler factory goes nuts, my other cities are building military units, (even if you plan on being peaceful, you still want a big military, especially early on) some workers as they're needed, and then i get going on infrastructure. (Temples, libraries, etc.)
I try to get Iron working early to get swrodsmen before everyone else, or find out where the Iron is to go nab it, and then change course for Monarchy. Monarchy is way better than Republic early on IMO, because it allows you to afford a larger military before you get a bunch of marketplaces and whatnot, and by the time Republic becomes useful you typically already have Democracy.
If you want to go to war early on you're pretty much limited to your immediate neghbors, prefferably the weaker ones, if you can snuff out another civ before Medieval times and set up a Forbidden Palace in his captured capital, you'll be at a major advantage.
Remember, early on it's military before everything else, but don't build too many barracks because they're expensive and there's really not much to upgrade in Ancient times. If you find yourself without Iron immediately build up a ton of archers and go take some, same goes for horses, if you hesitate to attack it'll be that much harder to take later on.
Ok, that's all i got for now, and think about changing that avatar.....
Anyway, now to the topic.
I usually build 2 warriors (or scouts) for exploring, and then a warrior for defense. Then i build a settler, all the while researching pottery. If my civ starts with pottery i go for bronze working.As soon as i settle a new city i always build a defender, BTW. In my second city i build a granary and make it a settler factory, as in, i just have it crank out settlers until there's no more land to take.
While my settler factory goes nuts, my other cities are building military units, (even if you plan on being peaceful, you still want a big military, especially early on) some workers as they're needed, and then i get going on infrastructure. (Temples, libraries, etc.)
I try to get Iron working early to get swrodsmen before everyone else, or find out where the Iron is to go nab it, and then change course for Monarchy. Monarchy is way better than Republic early on IMO, because it allows you to afford a larger military before you get a bunch of marketplaces and whatnot, and by the time Republic becomes useful you typically already have Democracy.
If you want to go to war early on you're pretty much limited to your immediate neghbors, prefferably the weaker ones, if you can snuff out another civ before Medieval times and set up a Forbidden Palace in his captured capital, you'll be at a major advantage.
Remember, early on it's military before everything else, but don't build too many barracks because they're expensive and there's really not much to upgrade in Ancient times. If you find yourself without Iron immediately build up a ton of archers and go take some, same goes for horses, if you hesitate to attack it'll be that much harder to take later on.
Ok, that's all i got for now, and think about changing that avatar.....
Hmmm... Specifics vary based on a numbe of factors. Generaly, I move my first settler maybe two spaces *max* before settling on a site. You'll never get a perfect spot, just find the best spot that's right around you. Moving one square significantly expands the area you can see, and makes a final spot choice worthwhile. If the spot you start in looks good, just build there.
I build a "scout" with my first build (could just be a warrior). Then typically a defensive unit, then a settler. By now, I've explored enough around my starting city to build my next city. Either my starting or second city will be my settler factory, so that's the biggest choice there. One of them should have spaces that have a high food output (there's lots of strategy posts on doing this already).
I more or less alternate workers, defensive units, and settlers based on city growth for awhile, building in more or less a CxxC pattern (You can do any of the variety off more corruption efficient city patterns, but I'm a traditionalist, and taking advantage of a game calc just seems a bit silly to me. No civilization in history would really build their cities in a circle...). Focus is on keeping my cities small (faster population growth that way oddly enough), and churning useful stuff out fast.
Somewhere in there, I'll generally pop a grannery into my settler factory. Honestly, it's not a priority anywhere else though. When you calculate in "useful growth" (which means you have units to hold the land, and workers to work squares), building pop faster really doesn't do much more then toss your cities into civil disorder faster.
As a general rule, I road a few squares around each city, then irrigate/mine as needed (road/improve each square then move btw, not all roads first), then connect cities via roads (which is pretty easy when they're only 2 or 3 spaces apart. This will save a lot of time as you expand as you can keep your settler factory in one spot, and move your new settler (joined by a defensive unit built elsewhere) quickly to any border area of your civ. If you move even a couple units over an unroaded area, you should have spent the time roading it. Roads are good...
Obviously, the specifics of this phase vary wildly based on terrain around me. The key is density and speed. Don't try to sprawl (unless you're playing a low level on a big map with a small number of AI opponents). Pack your cities together. Each city adds to your civ. Raw numbers is what matters, not the mostly empty space between them. Certainly, look to roading in resources, but don't overreach.
Early wars. I'm generally a proponent of the early war. There's something satisfying about just smacking one opponent into the dust just to show them all who's boss. There's a huge caveat though. The higher the level of the game you are playing, the closer the AI has to start to you for this to be a good idea. As you get higher in levels, the AI will produce faster then you, especially in the early game (gets free units with each new city). If he's not right next to you, don't start an early war. Make peace with him. Heck. Make him your best friend. You can use him later to fight a war with the second most close AI opponent instead, which is vastly better for you during the mid to late expansion phase.
When I do go to war, it's pure attrition. Put a spearman with an archer and march them towards the enemy. Always keep some of your produciton building units, but keep most expanding your empire. If killing the AI will significanly slow your own growth, don't do it. You have to weigh the cost of units with the hopeful gain of a few easy cities from the other civ. Drop your first units off next to his cities and just entrench. Let him fight you (he often will). This will cut off his growth since he wont send out workers or settlers if you've got units nearby. Try to avoid attacking with the only units you have in the area. Control of the spaces around his civ is the key to victory. Don't be afraid to fight a slow, plodding war. If you've stopped his expansion, you can take all the time you want (more or less). Don't take too long, but don't rush either. Build up sufficient units to take each city. Attacking the AI piecemeal in the early game will just result in you losing produciton that could have benefited you instead. Let him attack you piecemeal instead.
The most important part is to Know where he is! Know where all his cities are. Not just the closest one. Sometimes you can get away with just wailing towards the first AI city you see, but it's always a good idea to send a unit or two past that city and cut off his expansion in other directions. The AI will expand to, and you don't want him to do that. If he does, you may take a few early cities, but then he'll come back with a whole ton of units 20 turns later. If you can corner the AI that's even better. Always think in terms of stopping his growth while continuing your own. If war wont let you do that, then don't go to war.
Oh. Trade with him first! Especially if you're reasonably confident that you are the only civ he's had contact with yet. Trading a couple techs with a civ and then immediately wiping him out means you have that much more to trade with the next civ you run into. Don't do gpt deals (unless you are *really* positive he's met with no one else), since you'll either lose your gpt or take a rep hit when you start the war. Just trade techs straight accross if you can.
Depending on the type of barbarians you have in your game, hit those barbs often. You get 25 gold each time you break up a settlement. I've even specifically left a little corner of my continent unexpanded simply so that barbs will regularly pop up there so I can get the extra money. Just run a unit down there periodically to see what's there. Be careful though. If you've got rampaging hordes set on your game, you don't want to do this. The AI generally ignores the barbs unless attacked by them, so this is a source of income you get that the AI doesn't. I often find I have more money then the AI early on, which allows me to buy techs as needed.
Hmm... There's some more stuff about specifics for trading techs and whatnot, but that's not really just "early game" strategies. Early game to me is that first 50 or so turns and what you do with them. Often that can determine the direction your game will take. These are just some off the cuff ideas that I tend to follow. Not really a total thought out strategy. There are a ton of pretty nice early game guides on this site already though...
I build a "scout" with my first build (could just be a warrior). Then typically a defensive unit, then a settler. By now, I've explored enough around my starting city to build my next city. Either my starting or second city will be my settler factory, so that's the biggest choice there. One of them should have spaces that have a high food output (there's lots of strategy posts on doing this already).
I more or less alternate workers, defensive units, and settlers based on city growth for awhile, building in more or less a CxxC pattern (You can do any of the variety off more corruption efficient city patterns, but I'm a traditionalist, and taking advantage of a game calc just seems a bit silly to me. No civilization in history would really build their cities in a circle...). Focus is on keeping my cities small (faster population growth that way oddly enough), and churning useful stuff out fast.
Somewhere in there, I'll generally pop a grannery into my settler factory. Honestly, it's not a priority anywhere else though. When you calculate in "useful growth" (which means you have units to hold the land, and workers to work squares), building pop faster really doesn't do much more then toss your cities into civil disorder faster.
As a general rule, I road a few squares around each city, then irrigate/mine as needed (road/improve each square then move btw, not all roads first), then connect cities via roads (which is pretty easy when they're only 2 or 3 spaces apart. This will save a lot of time as you expand as you can keep your settler factory in one spot, and move your new settler (joined by a defensive unit built elsewhere) quickly to any border area of your civ. If you move even a couple units over an unroaded area, you should have spent the time roading it. Roads are good...
Obviously, the specifics of this phase vary wildly based on terrain around me. The key is density and speed. Don't try to sprawl (unless you're playing a low level on a big map with a small number of AI opponents). Pack your cities together. Each city adds to your civ. Raw numbers is what matters, not the mostly empty space between them. Certainly, look to roading in resources, but don't overreach.
Early wars. I'm generally a proponent of the early war. There's something satisfying about just smacking one opponent into the dust just to show them all who's boss. There's a huge caveat though. The higher the level of the game you are playing, the closer the AI has to start to you for this to be a good idea. As you get higher in levels, the AI will produce faster then you, especially in the early game (gets free units with each new city). If he's not right next to you, don't start an early war. Make peace with him. Heck. Make him your best friend. You can use him later to fight a war with the second most close AI opponent instead, which is vastly better for you during the mid to late expansion phase.
When I do go to war, it's pure attrition. Put a spearman with an archer and march them towards the enemy. Always keep some of your produciton building units, but keep most expanding your empire. If killing the AI will significanly slow your own growth, don't do it. You have to weigh the cost of units with the hopeful gain of a few easy cities from the other civ. Drop your first units off next to his cities and just entrench. Let him fight you (he often will). This will cut off his growth since he wont send out workers or settlers if you've got units nearby. Try to avoid attacking with the only units you have in the area. Control of the spaces around his civ is the key to victory. Don't be afraid to fight a slow, plodding war. If you've stopped his expansion, you can take all the time you want (more or less). Don't take too long, but don't rush either. Build up sufficient units to take each city. Attacking the AI piecemeal in the early game will just result in you losing produciton that could have benefited you instead. Let him attack you piecemeal instead.
The most important part is to Know where he is! Know where all his cities are. Not just the closest one. Sometimes you can get away with just wailing towards the first AI city you see, but it's always a good idea to send a unit or two past that city and cut off his expansion in other directions. The AI will expand to, and you don't want him to do that. If he does, you may take a few early cities, but then he'll come back with a whole ton of units 20 turns later. If you can corner the AI that's even better. Always think in terms of stopping his growth while continuing your own. If war wont let you do that, then don't go to war.
Oh. Trade with him first! Especially if you're reasonably confident that you are the only civ he's had contact with yet. Trading a couple techs with a civ and then immediately wiping him out means you have that much more to trade with the next civ you run into. Don't do gpt deals (unless you are *really* positive he's met with no one else), since you'll either lose your gpt or take a rep hit when you start the war. Just trade techs straight accross if you can.
Depending on the type of barbarians you have in your game, hit those barbs often. You get 25 gold each time you break up a settlement. I've even specifically left a little corner of my continent unexpanded simply so that barbs will regularly pop up there so I can get the extra money. Just run a unit down there periodically to see what's there. Be careful though. If you've got rampaging hordes set on your game, you don't want to do this. The AI generally ignores the barbs unless attacked by them, so this is a source of income you get that the AI doesn't. I often find I have more money then the AI early on, which allows me to buy techs as needed.
Hmm... There's some more stuff about specifics for trading techs and whatnot, but that's not really just "early game" strategies. Early game to me is that first 50 or so turns and what you do with them. Often that can determine the direction your game will take. These are just some off the cuff ideas that I tend to follow. Not really a total thought out strategy. There are a ton of pretty nice early game guides on this site already though...
Civman2004
Something goes here...
It really depends for me on the level. I'm playing mostly at emperor now, so I build a warrior to explore and then another warrior to keep in the city for happiness. Then hopefully I've got Bronze-working by this time and it's time for a spearmen, then it's time to start trying to crank out the settlers, maybe a granary first, maybe not, often depending on which Civ I am.
I find that without an early swordsman war on emperor I would fall too far behind, and I'm too busy trying to keep up with the expansion to worry about culture early on, so my cities start to culture flip. By taking out one opponent early, I am able to keep up with the other AIs, and it gives me time to build culture in my home cities to make sure my outer ones are less likely to flip. Then as commander said, FP in the old capital of the other civ, and I've got two production centres instead of one. I find this is enough to keep up until Industrial Ages, when it might be time to take out the smaller civs and try to shoot for a spaceship, or conquest if it looks like the AIs are going to fight wars of attrition with each other and I can mop up the leftovers.
My strategy does rely very very heavily on either having Iron within my borders, or being able to capture it early in the war and connect it quickly.
I find that without an early swordsman war on emperor I would fall too far behind, and I'm too busy trying to keep up with the expansion to worry about culture early on, so my cities start to culture flip. By taking out one opponent early, I am able to keep up with the other AIs, and it gives me time to build culture in my home cities to make sure my outer ones are less likely to flip. Then as commander said, FP in the old capital of the other civ, and I've got two production centres instead of one. I find this is enough to keep up until Industrial Ages, when it might be time to take out the smaller civs and try to shoot for a spaceship, or conquest if it looks like the AIs are going to fight wars of attrition with each other and I can mop up the leftovers.
My strategy does rely very very heavily on either having Iron within my borders, or being able to capture it early in the war and connect it quickly.
Berrern
Prince
When my capital is founded, I always build Scouts or Warriors (depending on whether my civilization is Expansionist or not) to explore, until I can build a Settler. I use all these units for exploration.
After the first Settler is built, I keep building Scouts or Warriors, until I can build a second Settler. All units are still exploring, but the last Warrior I build (before the second Settler) will fortify in the capital.
Once the second capital-produced Settler is ready, I immediately switch production to Pyramids. If you're on a large continent you will benefit enormously from getting the Pyramids early - as you save an endless amount of turns which would be wasted building Granaries.
The first city I build who has Cattle/Wheat within its borders, is always instructed to build a Granary asap. When the Granary is complete, meaning a Settler factory is in place, I switch production orders from Settler to Worker in my best coastal city (best = most shield production), and once the Worker is finished I start building the Colossus. The Worker will then improve all necessary tiles in this city, to make the shield production increase.
In every new city I found, I build 1 Warrior for defense, then I go for a Settler (unless the production/growth is very bad, in which case I build more military units first). Cities that can't grow to more than size 2 are constantly building Workers.
As for worker actions, I always improve 4-6 squares around my capital, then 2 squares around every other city. The reason I only improve 2 squares, is that I use all cities to pump out Settlers until there's no more landmass to grab - and since all cities are producing Settlers, they're normally always only of size 1-2. Once the Worker(s) can't keep up with the workload (because of the many cities that yearn for improvements), I build another one.
When it comes to wars in the Ancient Era, I try to stay away from them. As I've explained I really don't prioritize military, and often at the end of the Ancient Era, half my cities are only protected by a single Warrior.
To ensure peace in the early game, I bribe my neighbours until they are Polite, and I make Right of Passage agreements with them. I never declare war myself until I have a strong unit like the Knight - and at least 2 Pikemen in every border city.
After the first Settler is built, I keep building Scouts or Warriors, until I can build a second Settler. All units are still exploring, but the last Warrior I build (before the second Settler) will fortify in the capital.
Once the second capital-produced Settler is ready, I immediately switch production to Pyramids. If you're on a large continent you will benefit enormously from getting the Pyramids early - as you save an endless amount of turns which would be wasted building Granaries.
The first city I build who has Cattle/Wheat within its borders, is always instructed to build a Granary asap. When the Granary is complete, meaning a Settler factory is in place, I switch production orders from Settler to Worker in my best coastal city (best = most shield production), and once the Worker is finished I start building the Colossus. The Worker will then improve all necessary tiles in this city, to make the shield production increase.
In every new city I found, I build 1 Warrior for defense, then I go for a Settler (unless the production/growth is very bad, in which case I build more military units first). Cities that can't grow to more than size 2 are constantly building Workers.
As for worker actions, I always improve 4-6 squares around my capital, then 2 squares around every other city. The reason I only improve 2 squares, is that I use all cities to pump out Settlers until there's no more landmass to grab - and since all cities are producing Settlers, they're normally always only of size 1-2. Once the Worker(s) can't keep up with the workload (because of the many cities that yearn for improvements), I build another one.
When it comes to wars in the Ancient Era, I try to stay away from them. As I've explained I really don't prioritize military, and often at the end of the Ancient Era, half my cities are only protected by a single Warrior.
To ensure peace in the early game, I bribe my neighbours until they are Polite, and I make Right of Passage agreements with them. I never declare war myself until I have a strong unit like the Knight - and at least 2 Pikemen in every border city.
boogaboo
Josef Popper 4ever
I currently do PTW conquesf games with Persia for the HoF, and a PERFECT start should look like this:
At least 4 cattle in starting position, and a goody hut 2 tiles away.
Capital is built in 4000BC, and the goody hut MUST produce settler.
The second city is founded 3950-3900.
Capital does settler factory (granary first),
second city does warrior and then becomes a worker factory (no granary is usually required for the worker factory, since I need 5-7 workers, not 20..
Then, each new city does barracks and warriors until it's time to upgrade all these warriors to IMMORTALS!!!
Something like that..
At least 4 cattle in starting position, and a goody hut 2 tiles away.
Capital is built in 4000BC, and the goody hut MUST produce settler.
The second city is founded 3950-3900.
Capital does settler factory (granary first),
second city does warrior and then becomes a worker factory (no granary is usually required for the worker factory, since I need 5-7 workers, not 20..
Then, each new city does barracks and warriors until it's time to upgrade all these warriors to IMMORTALS!!!
Something like that..
My civ of choice lately has been the Incas. Currently, I'm honing my skills in preparation for moving up to Emporer. I play Monarch-Most Aggressive-Huge Map-Max Civs, everything else random. My strategy is to start with the scout given and explore. My capital first produces a chasqui scout or two, however many I can fit in before building the first settler, and exploring. After the first settler, I try and squeeze in a barracks if time permits, otherwise, just build a second settler. If I build the second settler before the barracks, the barracks definitely is next. I then begin building spearmen for defense. I prefer veteran units unless absolutely necessary to build just regulars. I use the second and third cities to build settlers and workers with the capital cranking out spearmen to garrison. The three scouts are usually making lots of progress at uncovering the map, finding goody huts, making contact with other civs, etc. I start building the Pyramids near the completion of my research of writing.
I continue this as my science is aimed at philosophy. I can get philosophy first about 99% of the time. Preferably, I have traded for mysticism before researching philosophy which allows me to get polytheism as the free tech and begin researching literature next. I then switch my build of the Pyramids to Temple of Artemis and can usually manage to get it. I then have Literature usually and can immediately start on the Great Library. Meanwhile, I can trade polytheism for anything else I need (workers, cash, other low-level techs) to make the AIs happy and keep my empire in a dominant position.
The favorite thing I like doing is building cities right up against the AI cities' borders once I have ToA. I automatically get the free temple and culture and can flip AI cities easily early in the game. It helps when they stick a city one or two squares away from where you want it, that way, you can still build your city in a good spot and flip theirs and then disband it and you don't have to star a war to get the land.
Those are my opening strats.
I continue this as my science is aimed at philosophy. I can get philosophy first about 99% of the time. Preferably, I have traded for mysticism before researching philosophy which allows me to get polytheism as the free tech and begin researching literature next. I then switch my build of the Pyramids to Temple of Artemis and can usually manage to get it. I then have Literature usually and can immediately start on the Great Library. Meanwhile, I can trade polytheism for anything else I need (workers, cash, other low-level techs) to make the AIs happy and keep my empire in a dominant position.
The favorite thing I like doing is building cities right up against the AI cities' borders once I have ToA. I automatically get the free temple and culture and can flip AI cities easily early in the game. It helps when they stick a city one or two squares away from where you want it, that way, you can still build your city in a good spot and flip theirs and then disband it and you don't have to star a war to get the land.
Those are my opening strats.
Ozymandius
Prince
Start with 4 warriors, no research until after ancient age. Warriors find all GH for science. After construction research engineering with one citizen.... 40 turns. then every advancement in 4 turns. Use money to build workers & settlers. One warrior always finds friendly tribe early doubling population. Build one granary, 2 barracks... look for horses and rush mobile army... 50 to 60 horseman is enough to conquer world on largeest maps. Always attack, make peace, attack again. Must have supply of elited fro GL. Use first GL for pyramids to rush growth, 2nd for Forbidden Palace for second core. Don't need army to fight distant wars. Declare war make alliances, break alliance... everyone is furious but can't argue with success... all enemies reduced by 10AD... then milk 20,000 to 30,000 pts guaranteed.
CivsCivsCivs
Chieftain
Do you guys use Accerlarted Production? or just default rules.
I'm kind of new to the game, but I've played lots of games like it, so I pick up on things relatively quickly.
I'm wondering about my advancement speed. It seems PAINFULLY SLOW. ie: No Railroads until 1980.. seems like I should have them a LOT earlier. I get the feeling I am missing the boat on something simple. I usually explore around, build starting 2 cities, granary, crank out settlers, gradually start building more cities, all the while researching techs (most of them take 20 or so turns - do I need to increase science spending? I usually try to but it comes at the expense of happiness which makes it hard). I have little/no problem with my military, but my scientific advancement seems pretty crappy. I see people with nuclear power plants, railroads, battleships, the whole kit and caboodle, in the 1700s and stuff, I'm wondering if that's because accelerated production is on in those games or if I'm just missing a component of research strategy?
I'm wondering about my advancement speed. It seems PAINFULLY SLOW. ie: No Railroads until 1980.. seems like I should have them a LOT earlier. I get the feeling I am missing the boat on something simple. I usually explore around, build starting 2 cities, granary, crank out settlers, gradually start building more cities, all the while researching techs (most of them take 20 or so turns - do I need to increase science spending? I usually try to but it comes at the expense of happiness which makes it hard). I have little/no problem with my military, but my scientific advancement seems pretty crappy. I see people with nuclear power plants, railroads, battleships, the whole kit and caboodle, in the 1700s and stuff, I'm wondering if that's because accelerated production is on in those games or if I'm just missing a component of research strategy?
Civman2004
Something goes here...
rtdoplex, welcome to CFC!!!
There are a number of reasons why you might be not developing as fast as others. I almost never play with AP on, I prefer the longer development times, etc.
A lot depends on the level you are playing. I am currently playing mostly on emperor, and aside from a few techs at the start (Bronze Working, Iron Working and maybe Pottery or Writing) I buy almost all of my techs from the AI until late Industrial age. This is because of the bonuses the AI receives in research - it's more efficient to buy.
If you are playing at lower levels, the AI will be slower, and you will need to pour money into research to keep up, as you won't be able to tag along behind them and buy techs on the cheap. On the lower levels I can get techs in about 7-8 turns, with research set so as to make sure my treasury is slowly growing.
Also it depends on your style of game play:
Do you expand rapidly or slowly? Large cities or more cities will help speed up research or production.
Do you have too many cities? Corruption could be a problem. Building FP will help as it basically doubles your potential.
Are you switching governments? If you stay in Despotism you will struggle to research many techs.
There are a number of reasons why you might be not developing as fast as others. I almost never play with AP on, I prefer the longer development times, etc.
A lot depends on the level you are playing. I am currently playing mostly on emperor, and aside from a few techs at the start (Bronze Working, Iron Working and maybe Pottery or Writing) I buy almost all of my techs from the AI until late Industrial age. This is because of the bonuses the AI receives in research - it's more efficient to buy.
If you are playing at lower levels, the AI will be slower, and you will need to pour money into research to keep up, as you won't be able to tag along behind them and buy techs on the cheap. On the lower levels I can get techs in about 7-8 turns, with research set so as to make sure my treasury is slowly growing.
Also it depends on your style of game play:
Do you expand rapidly or slowly? Large cities or more cities will help speed up research or production.
Do you have too many cities? Corruption could be a problem. Building FP will help as it basically doubles your potential.
Are you switching governments? If you stay in Despotism you will struggle to research many techs.
Howdy Civman,
Well, for basis of comparison, what are some of your typical "landmarks" as far as development goes? Around what year might you reach feudalism? The industrial age? Infantry? Flight? Rocketry?
I have certainly not considered the idea of buying techs from other civs, although it seems to be a good idea. If one went this route, would they just worry about resources, military and expansion? All the while trading resources for cash?
Well, for basis of comparison, what are some of your typical "landmarks" as far as development goes? Around what year might you reach feudalism? The industrial age? Infantry? Flight? Rocketry?
I have certainly not considered the idea of buying techs from other civs, although it seems to be a good idea. If one went this route, would they just worry about resources, military and expansion? All the while trading resources for cash?
Ozymandius
Prince
Playing at Monarch level:
All ancient techs found by 1500 to 1400 BC ... all through Goodie Huts. 40 turns researching engineering with 1 scientist... usually in a corrupt city. Entertainment at 50% to keep everyone happy. All the time using gold for rushing settlers or distant chariots. Build temples only to expand territiry or prevent flips near other civs. The most important factor is roads. Income and research depends on roads in your non-corrupt areas. Democracy by 50 AD... domination in huge maps by 300-400 AD RRs by 600 AD. All the while my military never exceeds 50-60 horseman & chariots and the enemy is kept in two cities for GL production when needed.
PS I do not use accelerated production. Play on huge maps with respawn on.... bonus of 1 worker and 100 gp for making peace after "relocation"
All ancient techs found by 1500 to 1400 BC ... all through Goodie Huts. 40 turns researching engineering with 1 scientist... usually in a corrupt city. Entertainment at 50% to keep everyone happy. All the time using gold for rushing settlers or distant chariots. Build temples only to expand territiry or prevent flips near other civs. The most important factor is roads. Income and research depends on roads in your non-corrupt areas. Democracy by 50 AD... domination in huge maps by 300-400 AD RRs by 600 AD. All the while my military never exceeds 50-60 horseman & chariots and the enemy is kept in two cities for GL production when needed.
PS I do not use accelerated production. Play on huge maps with respawn on.... bonus of 1 worker and 100 gp for making peace after "relocation"
Tomoyo
Fate
Playing on any level I feel like... Usually Emporer:
All required ancient techs found by... 2000 to 1000BC, mostly through AI trade. Then continue buying and brokering, fighting sometimes, until early industrial, reaching there at about 700AD, then start research, aim for the ToE, Modern by 1300AD... Then get smashed by the AI who lauches their ship at this time.
All required ancient techs found by... 2000 to 1000BC, mostly through AI trade. Then continue buying and brokering, fighting sometimes, until early industrial, reaching there at about 700AD, then start research, aim for the ToE, Modern by 1300AD... Then get smashed by the AI who lauches their ship at this time.
Just curious about something. Do you play on an edited map? Or something else non-standard set up? Even at monarch level, I don't recall ever getting more then a couple techs from goodie huts in any game. About half are barbarian hordes, and of the remaining (good) ones, most are relatively useless like maps to the region, or a warrior. I was just curious becuase you mentioned in your earlier post about expecting to get a second city via GH in each game. It just seems like you've got the bonuses from GH's cranked up or something. I don't think I've gotten that much good stuff from goodie huts since I played on chieftan, and even then it was never enough to get tons of techs and cities...
Rtdoplex. Don't worry too much if you don't think you're advancing fast enough. It takes a lot of playing to learn how to improve faster. On the lower settings, the AI grows and advances slowly, so trade with the AI isn't that useful (since he's never got anything you don't have already). What that does mean is that you can, should, and will be able to simply outgrow and out advance him. The trick is learning how...
The most common mistake that new player make is the idea of building up one city and only then moving on to build the next. Expansion is key. Building cities as fast as you possibly can is key. On a standard sized map, you should be looking at building your first 20 cities without any stopping. Don't worry about building improvements in your cities. Don't worry about connecting everything via roads. Don't worry about maxing out your mines and irrigation. You'll want to do all that stuff simultaneously while building more cities, but never at the expense of building those cities. Always have a settler being built somewhere.
Finding the correct balance of city improvements, combat units, workers, and settlers is what you should be striving for. It sounds to me like you need to just increase your settler rate a bit. As I said before, a good rule of thumb is that until you've hit some kind of boundaries around you (physical, or AI borders), you should always have at least one settler being built at a city at any given time. Building more cities means you can do this more easily. It's a great sacrifice when you only have one city to build a settler. You lose a couple population, and all the turns it took which you could have used to build a temple, or a barracks, or a few military units. But when you have two, it's not as bad. And when you have 10, it's easily absorbed by your civilization without it making much of a dent.
Try your next game with this strategy in mind. Don't worry about what techs the AIs are getting, or who's building what wonder where. Focus on expansion first. See how fast you can fill up the area around you. Make sure to build a good number of workers to improve your cities and connect them via roads. A good rule of thumb for workers is to aim for 2 workers per city though your expansion phase. You don't want to build them all at once, but you do want to periodically stop what you're doing in a city and build a worker.
At the lower levels, don't worry about income that much. The AIs wont have anything you want to buy anyway, so it's not worth that much (this will change later, but you need to learn the basics first). Put your tax rate at just high enough so that you are gaining money instead of losing it. Don't play with the luxury slider that much (or at all at chieftan!). In most cases, especially at the lower levels and earlier in the game, you can much more effectively keep your people happy by using garrisons and keeping city populations low (by making workers and settlers which you need anyway), then by killing your science rate by increasing the luxury slider. Pre-Emperor, I rarely ever had a luxury rate higher then 10 or 20 percent. If I could keep my citizens happy in each city while keeping luxury at zero, I considered that a success. It takes a bit more micromanagement to do this, but that's a good thing to get in the habit of doing as well.
If you do that, you'll find that you can gain science at a good clip. I couldn't tell you what the milestones are, since it's been a long time since I played at that level. Don't worry about them anyway. Just focus on setting your own "personal bests". The lessons to be learned at the chieftan and warlord levels are how to maximize growth purely internally. AI trading and politicing comes into play at later levels. Worry about those after you've mastered those basics. You'll find a much easier road through the game levels if you do that first.
Ozymandius
Prince
No I Don't edit my map. Everything is standard as determined by the computer. You should get a free second city if you don't try to build a settler in the beginning and you are behind the other civs. I am a firm believer in save & loads. I don't know how to crank up bonuses... You can check out my previous game on HOF highest score at previous level... I save just about each turn to prove my games to doubting thomases
Ozymandius
Prince
My objective is to obtain a high score with culture kept very low. I find money is essential to rush settler development... On grassland build a city every other square.... no need of aquaducts... build roads to all luxuries asap to keep the cities happy... attack every civ early on even when you are not in contact with them... They will give you a town to make peace... build a temple the next turn to prevent flips... The number of towns is essential to success..
As you see there are different ways to the end... You must deteremine if your style favours conquest or striving for a high score... I can now conquer a huge map by 500 AD with a score of about 15,000....
As you see there are different ways to the end... You must deteremine if your style favours conquest or striving for a high score... I can now conquer a huge map by 500 AD with a score of about 15,000....
DragonRunner
Certified Band Geek
I start warrior, spearman, settler in my cap, make city, build worker, spearman, settler. Maybe a settler factory if I get a good spot. Every city builds its worker first, and then I try to have every other unit produced by my cities to be a settler. this goes until I've staked my claim in the world, and then I work on infrastructure. I don't usually do early wars, unless I'm forced. The Zulu always seem to do early wars. Has anyone noticed that? Maybe it has to do with the arrival of the UU. I also find that the germans declare war in industrial era, and always seem to start WW1.
Edit: I also try to have each city's cultural borders touching after 1 border expansion. If it's too close, it cuts down on later benefits.
Edit: I also try to have each city's cultural borders touching after 1 border expansion. If it's too close, it cuts down on later benefits.
Ozymandius
Prince
Score: 754 points. 59.900 sq mi, 4 million population, 61 units, 21 workers, 11 warriors, 24 horsemen, 1 chariot, 10 +/- slaves (foreign workers.)10% sci, 20% ent.. 93% happy. because of roads to 6 luxuries.
Check on other civ's every turn to see if you can buy their workers for 25 to 28 gp... slows down their development and gives you free labor.... if you fight them early you won't have to fight them later... they will be too weak.
Check on other civ's every turn to see if you can buy their workers for 25 to 28 gp... slows down their development and gives you free labor.... if you fight them early you won't have to fight them later... they will be too weak.
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