[BTS] So You Like Coastal Starts?

[floydmcw]

My most recent game:



Normally I would throw my Sid Meier Action Figure at my monitor and respawn. But this is a cooked map:
- Emperor
- Normal size/speed, high sea level
- 5 AIs (those with a naval UB/UU): Rags, WvO, Hannibal, Joao, George Washington
- Custom continent, so everyone is iso
- Huts (but no events)
- Vanilla BTS (no Bug/Buffy)

Knowing there was guaranteed land waiting, I decided to try it.

And it was quite a game.

This map will blow your mind.

 

[soundjata]

rush BW to chop the forest in BFC ?

 

[floydmcw]

rush BW to chop the forest in BFC ?

Do you plan to throw axes across the strait?

I think Sailing should come relatively early. And since this is known to be iso, Mysticism (oops Meditation) might be a good first tech.

 

[soundjata]

Isabella start with mysticism right ?

 

[floydmcw]

Isabella start with mysticism right ?

Doh! I meant Meditation. My tech order was

Spoiler :

Med -> Mining -> BW -> Sailing

BW is important for whipping, since there's not much production

 

[floydmcw]

Rush AH in case there are any seahorses about.

Never pasture seahorses, they just get pillaged by barbarian sealions.

 

[coanda]

The first thing to consider with any start is where to move the scout and whether or not to settle in place. So that seems like the right place to begin thinking about this one.

 

[pi-r8]

My most recent game:

Normally I would throw my Sid Meier Action Figure at my monitor and respawn. But this is a cooked map:

Did you cook it to make that starting location? Or just to pick the opponents? I didn't think it was possible to start on a 1-tile island like that.

Seems... straightforward though. it's not like you can choose where to settle, or build anything useful except a work boat at first. At least you start with fishing.

 

[floydmcw]

Did you cook it to make that starting location? Or just to pick the opponents? I didn't think it was possible to start on a 1-tile island like that.

Seems... straightforward though. it's not like you can choose where to settle, or build anything useful except a work boat at first. At least you start with fishing.

I chose settings (see OP) to produce all AI's iso'd, but I didn't make any changes in WorldBuilder.

I have started on a 1-tile island once before in all the games I've played; maybe it happens once every thousand games or so.

However this map is one in a million. Or billion.

 

[pi-r8]

heh, i played a little and popped metal casting from a hut. that should make things easier.

 

[pi-r8]

Played some more last night. Weird map indeed.

Spoiler lots of spoilers :

Took me a while to realize why my maintenance costs were so high... that "colonial maintenance" is no joke. Once I noticed that, and built a palace on the mainland, the game got pretty easy, despite the lack of happiness and health. Had to go all the way to the south pole before I finally got any luxury resources, and I still haven't found a single granary health resource. Expansive is really helpful here for health!

Poor Ragnar, stuck on his little island forever

 

[soundjata]

Yeah going for religion is kinda cheesy but probably the best option. If you miss it you're in dire straights...
Left to whip unhappy on an isle

 

[floydmcw]

Yeah going for religion is kinda cheesy but probably the best option. If you miss it you're in dire straights...
Left to whip unhappy on an isle

You're sure to get Meditation as your first tech -- none of the AIs start with Mysticism.

https://civilization.fandom.com/wiki/Starting_technologies_(Civ4) is a handy reference.

 

[floydmcw]

You're sure to get Meditation as your first tech -- none of the AIs start with Mysticism.

https://civilization.fandom.com/wiki/Starting_technologies_(Civ4) is a handy reference.

I guess it's barely possible that a hut could give an AI Mysticism.

 

[pi-r8]

@floydmcw
I finished it

Spoiler :

Like I said, I wasted a lot of time early on because I didn't notice the "colonial expenses," but once I built a palace on the mainland things were smooth sailing.
I got the great lighthouse and colossus, so that gave me a huge advantage over the AIs. Ragnar never left his original island, despite having galleons and culture out to the next land mass. Washington only just barely at the very end.
Willem actually put up a good fight. He got the mausoleum and Taj, so he was teching quite fast (and with high culture) before I stopped him. I was sloppy in the naval war, so I lost some loaded galleons to his ships. but on land he was no match for conquistadors + citadel cannons.
Of course, taking his land gave me another huge maintenance hit until I could build the forbidden city there. Because of that he got quite far ahead of me in tech, even as my vassal. I was able to use him as a naval force with destroyers, while I conquered everyone else with my wooden ships and cavalry.

I never got a religion. Might have been a mistake, since that meant I couldn't use pacifism and had to rely on HR happiness for everything. But I beelined monarchy early, so that was OK, and all the AIs in different religions hated each other.

Very, very weird map! I 've never seen a non-edited map with so much land but so few resources, and three of us starting on 1-tile islands. I ended up building quite a few markets since I had most of their :happy: resources, and no other luxuries except silver, so what else was I supposed to do for happiness? One of the rare cases where markets are really useful. I also built Notre Dame, for the same reason, despite not having stone.

 

[floydmcw]

Spoiler :

@floydmcw
Like I said, I wasted a lot of time early on because I didn't notice the "colonial expenses," but once I built a palace on the mainland things were smooth sailing.

I never figured that out, I thought the expenses were just due to distance so I suffered until I could switch to State Property.

I got the great lighthouse and colossus, so that gave me a huge advantage over the AIs. Ragnar never left his original island, despite having galleons and culture out to the next land mass. Washington only just barely at the very end.

In my game Rags slowly got out (as did Joao) but Washington never did and it was painful to watch. Around T200 he landed a settler and a worker ... which were killed by barbarians, wow, what were the odds.

Very, very weird map! I 've never seen a non-edited map with so much land but so few resources, and three of us starting on 1-tile islands. I ended up building quite a few markets since I had most of their :happy: resources, and no other luxuries except silver, so what else was I supposed to do for happiness? One of the rare cases where markets are really useful. I also built Notre Dame, for the same reason, despite not having stone.

It wasn't 3 civs starting on tiny islands. It was 5!! Joao and Carthage also started on 1-square islands. Only WvO started on land which is why he did so well.

I won space on T397. Conquest would have been better but I just don't have the patience for a slog through all that land.

 

[Gwaja]

I'd say the capital needs to be moved as soon as possible. This city will be a Moai, GP farm. I can see at least 11 specialists in this city eventually. Combined with something like the Parthenon... hmm. Yum.