Rushing settlers

[tetley]

Try a high-food hurry rush when you start the game. I did this and I was cranking out Horsemen every other turn. Later on I was cranking out KNIGHTS every other turn!

Here's what I mean: settle your first or second town in a SWEET food spot (i.e. flood plain, 2 wheats, etc.). Irrigate the bonus squares--irrigation works for these, even in despotism. Hurry a grainery (cost: 2 citizens) then a Barracks (1 citizen). Whenever you hurry something be sure to start it the turn BEFORE so you get a shield on it first; that one turn lowers your hurry cost significantly.

Now, you just hurry your military units every other turn. Hurry-grow-hurry-grow.... They're all Veteran. In the meantime, you're getting Bronze, Wheel, Warrior, and Horseback techs. You'll be outproducing even your Deity neighbors at that rate. Who needs Settlers when you can get your enemies to settle for you?

 

[BurnPoodle]

you just do 2 cities like this?!?!?
and you produce military units like you can with those 2 cities until computer makes cities near you and then u take them?

 

[xenzat]

This post may be a little, but I just found this forum so you'll have to forgive!
I like Arrian's post very much. For the most part, that is the strategy I have adopted...
My main focus in the early game is getting warriors out to explore for many reasons:
1) I can send the settlers to regions I know have serious resources that will jump start my cities.
2) My warriors can make contact with other villages, getting either a science, military unit (to do more exploring) or even a settler...
3) Meeting other barbarians and killing them for sometimes 25 gold or 50 gold and in the process, making an elite out of the warrior
4) Meeting the rival AI's early in the game is good because they often want to trade sciences, and I just do counter proposals and give them cash from the dead barbarians instead of my science.

Now, you're probably thinking, how the hell do you do that with a unit that only moves a single square at a time?
Well, here's the trick, take it to the mountain! The warrior travelling from hilltop to hilltop can survey an incredible amount of space.

During your exploration, your initial worker needs to get to work. His initial moves and roadbuilding can also have a significant effect on the long term. I think that it is worth the effort to build a road to a luxury, even if it's in the mountain... But if there are no luxuries in plain sight, then the worker should focus his work on plains so that he can build roads faster.

Usually, I build the road in spaces previously explored by one of my exploring warriors. My first city builds three warriors: the first two go and explore, the third stays behind to guard the city. If my city is at population 4 after the third warrior is built, then I build my first settler, otherwise I recall the worker to increase the city's production.

The first settler get's no escort because by the time he's off to build a city, one of my exploring warriors is one his way back, to pass through and he'll take on any wandering barbarians. The second city will first build a 1-warrior, 2-temple or barrack and the worker should already be working on a road for the third city. If the second city grows rapidly because of the choice location and the mines and road already in place then after the city improvement, both the capital and the second city should be ready for settler production.

If I've met an AI already and he's not to far, then I would get the two settlers to go near the AI's border to settle there, for two reasons:
1) I'm creating a border with the AI and chances are he'll start expanding in the other direction, so I'll be able to settle the rest of the spare space at your leisure.
2) Later in the game, I can build palace in those bordering cities and chances are, the AI's bordering cities will want to join me.

After I've established four cities, there isn't another city established without a warrior or archer for immediate security and city happiness. I try to build as many wonders as possible too. The first two wonders are usually built in my capital city, after I build a second worker... The second city may also build two wonders... But it's not impossible to get more than half of the wonders completed.

My general rule is, until the date is 0 A.D. I try to expand aggressively, after 0 A.D. I need to work at seriously improving the city, roads, irrigation, mining, the works.

I don't worry too much about the time it takes to research new sciences because most of the time, I can just buy them and they're not expensive at the beginning of the game. Once I notice the AI has no more sciences for me to buy, then I pay more attention to sciences I pick. But I only start accelarating research when I'm in the middle ages.

Anyway, I feel I'm telling my life story here... This usually get's me off to a good start, sometimes a great start!

Good luck
Xenzat

 

[Agni Neres]

All the posters here have solid ideas, a little risky IMHO. Here's a little safer way that works for me:

Have your Worker put roads on the best squares next to your city. This will ensure you get as much commerce as possible and also let the Worker hide in the city if barbs come by

Unless you are an expansion civ with a scout, choose The Wheel as your first tech to research. This will give you move-2 chariots to explore with. Your Capital build order would be:

Warrior
Warrior but change to Chanot when tech is discovered. Don't go too far, you're looking for your next city site. Allocate citizens to make sure this warrior is NOT completed before discovering Wheel.
Warrior- to protect Worker, who starts road to next city site

Settler - follows road, ends turn protected by the Warrior. Should arrrive at city site next turn and build the one after that. Warrior accompanies the whole time.

Barracks
Spearman (by now you should have BW)
Spearman (for the other city).
Temple
Worker (one just ain't enough, and people are getting restless)
Spearman (for city 3)

City Two: (Defenders provided from Capital)
Chariot
Temple (gotta get that culture going to expand city radius)
Settler (founds city 3. Worker should have built a road there already
Worker
Wonder (choose any, switch to what you really want later) (assumes city will develop reasonable shield count. If not, go for a granary and let city 3 go direct Temple-Wonder route.)

etc like this. You will decide about this time, of your first 3 cities which will concentrate on commerce (fewest shields/most trade), which will get a barracks and develop an offensive military force, and which will provide workers and settlers for the empire.

Anyway theres my 2 cents.

Good Luck!
Agni

 

[BurnPoodle]

I really don't know what I am doing wrong...


After reading all the good suggestions here.. I've made a game, played it for 3 hours.... my start was better then then one before...

but not enough good... the others civs were already better than me (some had twice my cities) and they decided to declare war on me for no reason =(

I was capout =\

 

[ukrneal]

Well, if you improved, that's good!! None of us got better in only one game.

It sounds to me that its your post-initital "what to do" is now in trouble. My thoughts:

1. Before you begin the game, have an idea of what you want to do and stick to it. This will be really important when you get your second city. If you decide to be aggressive, but suddenly decide to expand and explore, you may have difficulties (this is not to say that you may need to chnage strategies midstream, but that you can't be wishy-washy). In other words, think about which type of victory you'd like to aim for and stick to that. Also, choose the civ accordingly as well.
2. Experiment a bit. Don't be afraid to make misakes - that's how you learn. Just for fun, try one game as a raving-maniac aggressive. You'll probably lose, but you'll have a lot of fun learning.
3. If you play on lower levels, you probably can skip sending warriors with seetlers at first. This is risky, but on lower levels the first 3-4 settlers probably won't be harrassed (but don't come crying to me when you get whalloped!).
4. The minute you find a new civ, decide early on how you want to handle them. If you fight, you may need to make peace at less than good terms, but continue building up to crush them. Don't attack if you have only one or two units. Take the time to build up. If you like culture, try to get those first structures up asap.
5. Decide how you're going to use that first worker. I use it to explore a little more than most people here.
6. Once you have 3-5 cities, you'll probably have a feel for the need to build vs the need to attack. In general, don't try to just build everything everywhere, but identify exactly what you need in each place. If you go for culture, it is not a big deal to have 2 or 4 culture growth every turn if rival civs are distant. On the other hand, if they skeak in an early city, one way to try to take it over would be to build higher culture buildings.
7. Use the gold up. In the beginning, gold won't have much value compared to later on. I don't worry about reserves in the beginning. Also, once you get techs (either on your own or otherwise), trade asap (if others have it). You'll often get some surprising deals.
8. If you go for iron building asap, you can search for iron early and get a headstart on swordsman, who can really kick a** if you decide on battle early. Or, if you have horse resources early on, get horseback riding so you can ride in and save the day. The ability of horses to run away to attack again, can be CRITICAL.
9. Use those AI's against one another as much as possible. If you make deals with some AI's early on, you can sometimes make them good allies for the future.
10. Avoid Golden Age too early. Although, this can be advantageous if it occurs just as you are preparing to take out some rival civ.
11. Make sure you explore using mountains to your avantage. It will help explore faster.
12. I tend not to get into workers and building roads, irrigation, etc. until I am more developed, but is just my style.

Another way to do all this is to start a game. If you lose, start again from the beginning. By replaying the same game, you'll hopefully improve.

Finally, the best way we can help is if you post a screenshot and you here what the peanut gallery has to say.

Good luck!

 

[BurnPoodle]

Ok thanks for this good stuff! But I only have 1 question left...

How do you avoid Golden Age ? what does trigger it ?

You say to avoid it... but I don't even know, (when I get it) why I get it ... hehehe ;D

I'll send my Screen shot soon... We'll see what you can say at it ;D

 

[WUM]

The AI probably declared war to you because there was (almost) no space left to settle new towns.

I usually start with warrior-warrior-settler or warrior-settler-warrior, depending on my food-situation.

To hurry things up i send my first settler out on his own and gamble... The worst thing that happens is barbs plundering my gold... But after i build a unit i go for their encampment and get all my money + more back from them. So i don´t see it as a big problem. My settler is´n´t really wandering that long since my initial worker already made a road to a location where i want to build a city.

About early war: tetley understands! it´s a good thing to let the AI build cities and just take ´em over. Archers + warrior/spearman should be enough, though i´ve had bad luck against the f***ing aztecs...

Originally posted by BurnPoodle
I really don't know what I am doing wrong...

After reading all the good suggestions here.. I've made a game, played it for 3 hours.... my start was better then then one before...
but not enough good... the others civs were already better than me (some had twice my cities) and they decided to declare war on me for no reason =(
I was capout =\

 

[Kriton]

OK, although I am not usually one to give advice, I feel I must for this thread. I was horrible when I first started this game. Now, I am handling deity pretty easily (i don't mean to sound conceited, btw). Here is my strategy:

1. Choose an industrious civ if you want to get an early lead. Mine the grasslands first -- production is most important early on. Then road. Your workers do these 2 jobs in 5 steps.

2. Build a warrior first. You can use him for exploration since it's Regent. If you are getting 3 or more shields, build Archers.

3. Build a settler, ASAP. A settler costs 30 shields. VERY IMPORTANT RULE: Once your city hits pop 2, look to see how many turns to get to 3. If it's less than the time to build a settler, build a settler. If a settler will be built before pop 3, build something to fill the gap (warrior, archer/spearman, or even wall).

4. Always take a warrior with your settler and settle near grassland. Make sure you have at least one grassland in the 8 square city perimeter. You may make a city on a hill, plains, grassland, jungle, or forest -- all good (exept jungle will give you disease later on). If you build next to a river, that city will not need an aqueduct when at pop 6 to grow.

5. Only build workers when you really have to. Your first cities should not grow beyond 3 so use the first worker to go to each city and mine & road 2/3 grassland squares. Irrigate plains only if you have no grasslands. River squares give you an extra commerce.

6. The best defence is a good offence. Build archers instead of spearmen. When you have enough (maybe 4-6), take them collectively to your nearest civ opponent and have them attack all at once to take the city. When attacking units outside of a city, make sure not to attack units on a hill, over a river, or even in forest/jungle if possible to avoid.

The best advantage I believe is mining grassland to get an archer in 7 turns rather than a warrior in 5 turns. When you meet a hostile unit, the archer will kill it but the warrior may not.

 

[Kriton]

WUM, I believe that leaving your settler alone is reckless. There is always a small chance that barbs may kill him, leaving you extremely behind. When you build the settler, your city should go back down to 1 so you don't need a warrior to keep them happy. Why not send him along?

BURNPOODLE, I forgot to mention that forest can be very useful. Just remember that it take 5 turns for industrious civs and 10 for other, so time it well to make full use of it.

 

[ukrneal]

Golden Age is triggered by lots of events and these differ by civ. FOr example, for some civs building the pyramids will trigger it. For other civs, a different wonder. You need to look before you start. Also, winning with a unique unit also does it. For example, as Babylon, I triggered a Golden Age with a victorious bowman. And it sucked, because I couldn't really take advantage of it to the fullest. In another game, I triggered it with a victory from my samurai, just in time to kick some butt! I haven't played enough to figure out how controllable its is. But it is manageable to some extent.

As to the settler debate, I feel it is riskier to wait in development than to get that settler settled. IF you have explored enough, you really shouldn't have to worry about barbarians or rival civs, becuase there won't be any in the neighborhood. Obviously, if there are, I wouldn't send alone. But usually, they can be cleared out before you send the settler. I would never send the settler alone to an area that hasn't been explored. In my opinion, the risk of losing the settler to a barbarian in areas that have already been explored is minimal. Of course, we'll see if that lasts.

 

[WUM]

Well Kriton,
leaving my settler alone is reckless, isn´t it... I like that.

About the quote. Do i understand correctly that you don´t build a warrior first to explore on deity?

Originally posted by Kriton
Now, I am handling deity pretty easily (i don't mean to sound conceited, btw). Here is my strategy:

2. Build a warrior first. You can use him for exploration since it's Regent. If you are getting 3 or more shields, build Archers.

 

[Kriton]

Only 1 happy person on emp/diety, so if I happen to get a cow/wheat square making my pop goto 2 in 7 turns, I keep my warrior at home for happiness. Besides, I think an archer/spearman is better for exploring. And I've noticed that if I get a goodie hut that gives me 3 barbs, they kill my warrior. So I leave them and explore them with a spearman later.

But you're right that in some cases it's fine to leave your settler alone (i.e. when you've explored the region).