[BTS] Shadow Game: Monarch w/ Charlemagne

[MrBungler]

Hi fanatics! Finally ready to improve at this wonderful game, and looking forward to learning from you. First shadow game, so let me know if I'm doing things wrong.

I've been hooked on Civ since I first played the original with my cousin back in '92. Played all of them over the years, but keep coming back to 4.

:edit: BUFFY mod is used

***
Map
***
Pangea
Cylinder
Standard size
Temperate
Normal speed
No Events
No Huts

RNG delivers Charlemagne

Spoiler the start :

Looks interesting - my first thought is send scout to the hill 2N1W, but default to settle 1E to grab the pigs. Thoughts?

 

[lymond]

My first thought is to settle 1E to nab the pigs for better overall food. I don't see much here to improve the center tile, but 1E makes for a better city. AH first ofc....other techs tbd.,,,well Mining def. Fishing can probably be ignored her for now...you got those juicy gems in BFC so commerce will not be an issue.

scout moving does appear much help on settling decision so i will defer to others.

Note: BUFFY mod is used. Please note mod in OP. You also appear to have Locked Modified Assets on as well. This can be quite limiting for folks to access the game. Best recommendation for forum games like this is to install BUG/BULL into custom assets so folks can run with or without a mod. Also, are you using the Steam version?

 

[MrBungler]

Thanks lymond for the reply and advice, I'll edit OP and I'll make the changes you suggest for future games. And yes, this is the steam version.

 

[sampsa]

I'd move scout NE-N. If you reveal food like wet corn, you can consider moving that way. Otherwise settle 1E. Of course double gems is great, but still it's a pretty slow start.

 

[MrBungler]

thanks sampsa, I'll probably do just that. I'm actually happy with a slow start, good opportunity to learn - I've usually only played financial leaders on river starts

 

[sampsa]

Though the thing is - double gems give you a lot of freedom and will forgive you a ton of mistakes. I'm sure the game can be educational nevertheless!

 

[MrBungler]

already is! I wasn't valuing double gems as much as you, but now i'm realizing they'll be 2 x 2f1h6c, which of course is crazy good. This example will generalize to most of my current play - rough intuitions not thought all the way through

 

[MrBungler]

Scouting NE-N actually revealed wet corn, but far away and against jungle. I decided to settle 1E.

Where to scout for city 2? Lots of jungle E, 1 tile jungle N, river SE - I'm thinking of heading there first

Spoiler T1 - settled and scouting :

meta note: work and kids means I'll probably only play 1 set of turns per day or so, but I'm planning on going all the way with this

 

[sampsa]

Scouting NE-N actually revealed wet corn

I meant the other NE. To reveal the tile 1N of silk, but no biggie at all.

Where to scout for city 2?

Excellent question! I would probably move 1S of corn, if nothing, immediately head east to scout the river. If you plant 2nd city by the river, you gain 2 from trade routes.

 

[MrBungler]

I meant the other NE.

oh, is that how directions work oops, well, glad it worked out

move 1S of corn, if nothing, immediately head east to scout the river

sounds solid, i'll try that

 

[coanda]

This is pangaea. You've got jungle to the west, east, and north, so you're probably slightly south of the equator. The western corn has ocean tiles 2N and 2S of it, so it's very likely on a peninsula; if it is a peninsula, the mountain plus one border pop from your capital will wall it off. Wet corn is a powerful tile, and you'll definitely want a city there. But with jungle and ocean tiles visible around it, the odds of it being a really great city site drop. And if your capital protects that land, there's no urgency to out-race the AIs to fill it, nor are you going to be meeting neighbors by looking in that direction. So personally, I'd skip poking around the corn for now, just get the scout heading east. Get started on scouting that area two turns faster.

 

[lymond]

(Note on Steam: Make sure you are running the Beta version if you are not already. As for now, no one will be able to open your saves.)

Also, please turn on resource bubbles for your pics

GEms are crazy good. I almost don't like to have them in my cap cause they are not much production wise (food/hammers) and I feel bad whipping off of them, but great tile none-the-less.

 

[MrBungler]

no urgency to out-race the AIs to fill it

coanda that convinced me to scout east immediately

running the Beta version

am i correct in thinking that the beta branch would break my current save, and so I should switch for future games?

 

[MrBungler]

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TURN 5
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building worker, researching AH

Spoiler river scouting :

lotsa sugar, lotsa brown, a flood plains, some desert hills, the pigs but no other food - not sold. Thoughts?

hard to generalize, I know, but how do you think about balancing information gathering against the risk of losing the scout?

 

[lymond]

coanda that convinced me to scout east immediately


am i correct in thinking that the beta branch would break my current save, and so I should switch for future games?

Yep

 

[sampsa]

hard to generalize, I know, but how do you think about balancing information gathering against the risk of losing the scout?

Losing the scout is very bad. After animals start to appear I wouldn't leave it in the open, but try to finish every turn in forest. I don't think there exists any kind of info that is worth risking your scout on.

 

[Fippy]

I would look west for seafood soon, but i think 2se first for a nice hill overview makes sense.

 

[Peteyboy]

lotsa sugar, lotsa brown, a flood plains, some desert hills, the pigs but no other food - not sold. Thoughts?

I don't think this is too bad, depending on what is west and south of the hill 2S from pigs, there is a solid future settle more likely 2E of pigs, slight nuisance re jungle but enough forests to chop - Pigs will get you started, with decent grassland, and ability to share with capital and even 1 flood plain thrown in. Possible further option SW depending on what is there, but I'm with Fippy for scouting, let's see what in the water below those hills.

 

[coanda]

It's not a disaster if you lose the scout, but assuming you've found somewhere decent for a second city - which is already true here; you've got two decent spots, the corn to the west and north of the floodplain to the southeast, neither amazing but both at least decent - it's more valuable to have the scout alive to help block out barbarian spawns than it is to be spotting more distant city sites you won't be prepared to fill for another couple dozen turns anyways.

You do still want to keep looking. Decent chance you can find somewhere better than you've got so far, and it's always nice to increase your chances of meeting other civs early and get a feel for the diplomatic situation. But once barbs start showing up, be cautious with it. Ending turns in forests should keep the scout fairly safe from animals. Scouts can also use one of their two moves to poke forward. Then if that move exposed them to an adjacent enemy unit, use the second to back away. That's riskier near jungle, where jaguars can ruin your day.

 

[MrBungler]

thanks all for the input - I'm hearing that the scout is valuable for later fog busting, so ideally preserved; but should keep exploring for now, ending turns in defensive forest, first 2SE, then west to look for seafood. Depending on what is seen, the scout will either continue (north probably?) or position to bust fog.