On my way to one day beat the stupidly difficult deity R:I (after "finishing" FfH2 MNAI and Dune Wars for Civ 4 in the same manner, both excellent mods for R:I enjoyer I'd say) I have found the very early game to be the most annoying, with either rather unbalanced maps (an issue with both the Planet Generator and Totestra, and the vanilla maps are way too tight) and/or multiple AI opponents attacking only some turns after you settled your 2nd city, sometimes from like 40 tiles away.
That early you have very little tools to work with, so it's exhausting to always replay and replay that part everytime you restart. I'd just love to be able start just a tiny bit ahead, with 3 to 4 cities and the most basic techs researched, knowing there is a balanced world and maybe even a new world, while at the same time being still very difficult in the later game (due to the correct difficulty level)
Sooo.. the early phase of the last game I started just went so solidly well as well the map looking pretty balanced, that I want to share this save, because I myself would love sth. like that. Trying to win difficult maps using different strategies from a solid but basic start. Comparing strategies to win would be a nice cherry on top.
The story so far:
Starting as Federick Hohenzollern of the Germans, being Militaristic, Progressive and Anti-Clerical in kind of a mediocre starting spot. The 3 Jungle Tiles with Oranges (+1 Food, +1 Coin) are very nice with Animism though, providing enough basic Commerce to do stuff without killing research. It's good they did, because our directly surrounding land (except for Danzig) is atroucious though, plains or desert without rivers.
With the Romans and good land to the south-west, we do the usual germanic strategy of face-settling a new tribe in Roman lands out of necessity. After settling our 3rd city Danzig the Koreans, our good friends to the north, were already bored and decided it was time for war. With most forces in Königsberg to dissuade the Romans that was almost a lost game there, but their 2 skirms, 2 milita and archer didnt like their chances against my fortified milita and archer in Berlin, just sitting around outside. The Romans see their chance and declare some turns later, trying to get these barbarians off (presumedly) their land, but with my 5 militias sitting on a hill not much would have happened. A couple of turns later enough of my own skirms were massed in Berlin to kill the Korean Invaders, chasing them back to the border. Korean made peace soon after, funnily going straight to "pleased" because our nation is apparently "no threat to them +2"
With the Asian invaders dispatched and soon successfully asked to go to war with the Armenians (because of pleased), my skirms and chariots take care of these Roman squatters outside Königsberg. German citrus sales in the meantime were so successful, they were able to source enough bronze and weaponsmiths from some dubious sources to finally outfit some buff half naked germanic warbands with short swords. They soon proved the Romans that gains are more important then what they call "armor" (that silly rectangular breastplate of the early Polybian Legion) with a +25% Attack against melee.
The walls of Rome were not as easily impressed by the germanic training regimes alone, but more and more warbands were streaming in to speedrun the Fall of the Western Roman Empire. Finally some gym equipment repurposed as battering rams broke through their gates and the warbands made short work of everyone else in that giant size 10 city.
Marauding tribesmen then made their way to the other cities, which were cut-off and too badly placed as to be able to out-reinforce the German hordes. You can see the stack of pillage gold, which was also used to fund our export of violence when the unit upkeep made my income go to -5 Gold at 0% slider.
Of the former empire only Mediolanum still stands, clinging to starvation with only some cows providing food.
The current outlook:
The current diplomatic situation is stable (meaning AI fight other AIs), the continent seems balanced, the most important techs of Drama and Slavery (The latter boosted by Roman expertise on city conquest) are lined up. There is room for 6-7 good cities, after evicting some current occupants. There is a new world to be discovered. It will be a difficult journey, one not won by late medieval or mid renaissance already after outgrowing the AI. I'd love to see what strategies can win on this forbidden difficulty, if you want to try.
The save and some pictures are attached below.
and 
, which are handled the same way.
3 national unit would be very underwhelming.
