So what are the basic tenets of an always war game? I imagine close city spacing and a more military focus is required (obviously), but what about things like tech trading? Does the Great Library become a necessity?
And when can we get this show on the road
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lurker's comment: I'm far from being an AW expert, but I play enough of them to put chime in a little here. I would guess that our resident AW experts could win AW without the GLib, but I don't think I've ever done it, at least not at AWM or above. The GLib is huge in staying technologically competitive up to Education, particularly if you've drawn a pan map. You'll almost certainly go Monarchy, because any government with WW is really not an option. No Republic, so no commerce bonus. The GLib will let you build up a stockpile of gold for cash-rushing & upgrades. Other good early wonders (which may be obvious to all) are: Pyramids, GrWall, Sun Tzu's, and SoZ. If SGLs are off, & I assume they are, be very selective in which Wonders you build in the early game. Taking one good production city off-line when you've only got 10 cities is a big chunk of the empire.
Tech trading -- That depends on which variety of AW y'all have chosen. I've seen games where trading on initial contact is allowed & I've seen others where trading was prohibited altogether. I've also played both ways, and the former makes for an easier AA, particularly if I have the cash to build embassies. Knowing where someone's capital is can be very handy. At AW, you'll likely be at war with everyone on your landmass by the Middle Ages, so there won't be any trading after that, until you move on to the next landmass. While on this topic, I would also say this: be careful about exploring too much. In a standard epic game, it's a good idea to get some warriors or boats out scouting to make contacts. In AW, that just means finding new enemies. You'll have to DOW them on the first turn, but you don't have to go looking for trouble.
Tight city placement with a higher-than-usual emphasis on defense is also a good idea. You may have to give up a few shields here and there by settling on hills, but unit & city survival is more important. I have to play AW much more cautiously than a standard epic game. You'll need to try to keep every unit alive. That means: (1) walls; (2) raxes; (3) rock-throwers; and (4) no leaving units exposed. You'll have to resist the urge to kill off that redlined archer with your elite sword if it means that the eSword will be left undefended in the open.
Finally, armies, armies, armies. The short story: you can never have too many armies. Between AW and the Mil trait, you should get a decent number of MGLs. I would expect that you can get your first MGL, and first army, during the AA. At some point, you may want to use MGLs for the Heroic Epic, Forbidden Palace, Pentagon and, later, Mil Academy, but I'd certainly plan on using the first 2-3 for armies.
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