Rate my starting location

[Arska]

I tried a search but I found no general thread for starting locations from recent history, so... btw, anyone else asking for help/guidance with a start is welcome to post here.

How does this look to you? Monarch, huge, continents 70% water, other things pretty much random. I've never been very fond of having to go for early curraghs to settle new land.

 

[vmxa]

It is not the worse I have ever seen, but it is ugly. No rivers, but you do have fresh water. Isolated on an island that about half rocks. All that on a huge map, so when you get to the rest of the world there will be some very large empires.

 

[TheOverseer714]

That start is DOA, unless you want a huge challenge. A volcano in your capital radius is a deal-breaker.

 

[Arska]

That start is DOA, unless you want a huge challenge. A volcano in your capital radius is a deal-breaker.

I think I already decided so, at least after vxma's message. The game made me start south of Cuzco so I moved away, but can the volcano still have other effects besides polluting a few of my city squares?

edit: now I got this one, I guess I don't need to ask if this one is nice? (apart from probably having land contact with just one civ)

 

[vmxa]

To qoute from Trading Places, "looking good Billy Ray".

 

[TheOverseer714]

That one is doable. Not an A or a B, maybe a C+.

 

[darski]

A volcano in your capital radius is a deal-breaker.

I thought I was the only one who felt that way. I won't play a start with a volcano anywhere in my capitol radius.

 

[Quintillus]

The first one is definitely F-grade. Very little grassland or plains, and what there is either by volcanoes or tundra. Horrible. The tile 1 E of Cuzco is the only possible place for a decent, safe coastal city, maybe a spot by the sugar for a minor boat factory. It definitely would be a big challenge. Reminds me of what the Games of the Month tend to be on the "lower" difficulty levels.

Moving away from the volcanoes was a good idea, though. They blow most often [per-turn] early in the game, so you'd almost certainly have been toast had you settled by them - especially by both of them!

The second one, C+ sounds about right. Not all that friendly, but certainly much less hostile than the first one. Another luxury or at least two spices would've been nice, but settling/conquering the wines would solve that problem. Then, as long as you've got iron, and ideally horses, you ought to be able to make a game of it.

 

[Arska]

I continued a little last night and got this far. Iron is under Taejon so things are looking good. I'm clueless about Horses yet (gotta remember to fix the science slider) and I found it weird that I saw no other settlers, even American. So maybe not the best possible location but very much playable, yeah.

 

[Lanzelot]

I would even rate the Korean start as a B. 2 luxuries, 3 valuable food tiles, iron, lot's of uncontested space to settle, and your land is very easily defensible against the AI. I think this start is well playable up to Emperor; on Demigod it might be a bit tough, depending on the quality of the AI start positions...

However, you did not capitalize on the most important asset of your position: the 1-tile lake! This could have been used to set up a 4-turn settler factory by irrigating own of the two cows. Therefore the first town (after the capital) should not have been founded in Wonsan's place, but 1SE of the lake (red circle in my screenshot). The second town then goes in Wonsan's place to make the two cows available to the first town.
You then mine the two bonus grasslands and one cow (m) and irrigate one grassland and a cow (i). This should be enough to make the first town a 4-turner.

Optionally you can also bring fresh water to the wheat as indicated in my screenshot, in order to give some decent growth to your capital. (You should never run your capital at size 1. The AI does it, but it wastes the production and commerce of your most powerful city! Let it grow to size 6 and then spit out the settler, instead of producing a settler at size 1. (Believe me: you will get many more settlers if you produce them at size 6 than when producing them at size 1...)

You need to be aware that the irrigation on the two grasslands does not bring any extra food until you are out of Despotism. But I think the power of the 4-turner and a faster growing capital will easily compensate for the "wasted" worker turns. And after you are out of Despotism, the two irrigated grasslands will be useful as well.

Lanzelot

 

[Arska]

However, you did not capitalize on the most important asset of your position: the 1-tile lake! This could have been used to set up a 4-turn settler factory by irrigating own of the two cows. Therefore the first town (after the capital) should not have been founded in Wonsan's place, but 1SE of the lake (red circle in my screenshot). The second town then goes in Wonsan's place to make the two cows available to the first town.
You then mine the two bonus grasslands and one cow (m) and irrigate one grassland and a cow (i). This should be enough to make the first town a 4-turner.

It's a very good plan, I don't tend to think that far ahead even when setting up settler/worker pumps. However I don't think I saw everything around the lake (or maybe not even the lake) when building Wonsan as my second city.

Per your advice I have let the capital and Wonsan grow now before producing more settlers/workers, I'm sure that's a good plan.

Anyway, I wasn't really asking for general advice for that game, just for comments on my starting location(s) so I think this thread has fulfilled its purpose for me.

 

[TheOverseer714]

But it was good advice, nonetheless...

 

[shl7070]

The Americans stand in your way. They are buisy expanding. Sum means they aren't ready for war. Conclusion is that because most prime land is settled it's somewhat late for settler factory but instead need an increase in workers, swordsmen and may be catapults. The fact that America isn't properly roaded will make their counterattack feeble but require large number of your workers. If cultural conversions are on then settlers will be needed as there is a need to replace hostile population centers with friendly one.

 

[Lanzelot]

However I don't think I saw everything around the lake (or maybe not even the lake) when building Wonsan as my second city.

Yes, that's true, and after all: Wonsan is a prime spot for a second town... Two cows and a lux, what could you ask more! In fact, I'm not even completely sure, which order is better. Perhaps Wonsan first and then the red circle is even better. I just wanted to bring one main point across: with a little irrigation you could certainly have doubled your early expansion.

 

[AutomatedTeller]

Wonsan wasn't a bad spot or anything, but the cows needed to be irrigated early early early.

In the beginning of the game, for me, the most important thing is irrigating food resources (nearly all the time - there are some occassions where I don't, but it's rare.)

 

[CELTICEMPIRE]

i give the first one an F- and the second a B, starting out with only one contact is infinately better than none

 

[Desertsnow]

The first one was ugly, ugly, ugly.

The second one is nice, plenty of food, some luxuries, a variety of useful terrain. I wouldn't have put Paegam so far from Manp'o and Pyongsong--you would have had room for another city. You might want to irrigate the cattle and mine the BG near Wonsan, and get a four turn settler factory; otherwise you're off to a good start.

Oh, and settle the north if you haven't done so already, and get set to take out the Americans as they are encroaching on your expansion.

 

[aukrest]

The first is pretty bad. I was looking at that for a while to see where I could put another city on that island without it being absolute junk. I suppose a city by the sugar could work, and maybe by the gold mountain with a harbor (even then a stretch). Looks like a big island that is 90% junk. 3 volcanoes on one island too, did anyone notice that?

 

[vmxa]

Hard not to and it was mentioned that one was next to the start location, but you are correct that is bad news.

 

[Desertsnow]

Oh and a couple other things. Start building more workers for one thing, and also, settle in the gap between Wonsan and Hyangsan, if you have not done so already. Expansion, expansion, expansion!