Lost tech focus as Balseraphs

[xAlephx]

I used to play quite a bit, upon coming back have discovered that FfH is not like riding a bike.

Current game had ridiculous builder beginning with Keelyn (2nd city had double gold mines) and pretty isolated, but I lost tech focus somewhere along the way and wanted to check in with better players.

I grabbed, in order, Calendar-Festivals, Chant-Education-Code of Laws, Crafting-Mining, Fishing-Mysticism-Message from the Deep, Bronze Working, Masonry-Construction (for irrigation to max out aristagr), and Writing. Clearly, Writing should have come earlier to take advantage of Library in double goldmine land, but there's got to be other things I should have focussed on earlier. I did want to found OO, but that's probably less important than getting Adepts/Necromancy rolling earlier with Keelyn.

It doesn't matter in game, since I believe I'm alone on a continent with the vamps and Loki has kept them from expanding, but it just feels really sloppy. Someone want to help me get my psycho circus on?

 

[Emptiness]

Are you saying that your economy has collapsed, or that you aren't sure what to research next?

 

[xAlephx]

I'd like to push up to Necromancy for puppets. It's more that I'd like to eliminate some links in the tech chain already established... some of that has to be extraneous. I know I'd be massively outteched in combat options against a tougher AI.

 

[cabbagemeister]

I don't know your exact situation, but Message from the Deep may be of dubious value here. Unless you really have a dearth of luxury resources, your Freak Shows mean you don't really need the happiness from religion. And you got BW, so you don't need the Drowns. Even if you're planning on running OO and shooting for twincast puppet-summoning Hemah later on, I'd skip Message for right now, since founding the religion or not founding it isn't really that big a deal in FFH.

Writing is also probably something that could be delayed. Libraries are nice, but they're very expensive to build in cities that are still small and have weak production. Putting those hammers into puppet-summoning adepts is probably a smarter move.

Finally, Construction is a tech I often delay for quite a bit. Unless you have very few rivers, your economy can run just fine on your riverside farms for a long while. Non-riverside farms are relatively weak tiles anyway before sanitation (3 food 2 commerce).

 

[DaveGold]

If you're on a crowded island with the calabim you might want to match their religion so they become very friendly and then use your cultural advantage with OO to roll back their borders. I'd guess your strategy will depend on your map to be honest.

 

[xAlephx]

I don't know your exact situation, but Message from the Deep may be of dubious value here. Unless you really have a dearth of luxury resources, your Freak Shows mean you don't really need the happiness from religion. And you got BW, so you don't need the Drowns. Even if you're planning on running OO and shooting for twincast puppet-summoning Hemah later on, I'd skip Message for right now, since founding the religion or not founding it isn't really that big a deal in FFH.

Writing is also probably something that could be delayed. Libraries are nice, but they're very expensive to build in cities that are still small and have weak production. Putting those hammers into puppet-summoning adepts is probably a smarter move.

Finally, Construction is a tech I often delay for quite a bit. Unless you have very few rivers, your economy can run just fine on your riverside farms for a long while. Non-riverside farms are relatively weak tiles anyway before sanitation (3 food 2 commerce).

This. Thanks. Works well, simply subbing Adepts with Inspiration for early research boosts.

I'm remembering some mix of basic civ 4, SMAC, and FfH where there used to be a lot of free techs for the first people to the writing techs, and I reflexively prioritize them. Apparently not useful in FfH.

If you're on a crowded island with the calabim you might want to match their religion so they become very friendly and then use your cultural advantage with OO to roll back their borders. I'd guess your strategy will depend on your map to be honest.

Interesting. I almost always pick a religion that has good synergy with my culture, rather than for diplomatic reasons.