This is more of my thoughts on how might be best to buff the Dutch (and possibly Portuguese) after a brief but frustrating game as the Netherlands than a true write up because the game was far too brief. My frustrations are a fewfold, and I will list them below, as well as proposed solutions that can apply to them (and possibly Portugal) to help them survive in the very crowded and competitive Europe.
- Number 1: you are too weak to deal with the many enemies who want to pounce on you within the first ten to twenty turns, so you cannot establish yourself. This is compounded by the Viking minor civ roaming around and raiding randomly.
- Number 2: the starting gold deficit is extremely difficult to deal with when you’re split between improving that, city yields, happiness, and defense.
- Number 3: the happiness situation is abysmal as you have no luxuries, not even a single one to trade away to benefit from their power, and no good access.
So I’ve given it some thought and had a couple of solutions for these points.
- Number 1: reiterating my suggestion for Walls in their starting cities, which was received well it seems. However I also think that the starting units that Netherlands receive should be a higher tier than they are. Currently it’s three Composite Bowmen and a Horseman. I’d give them straight crossbowmen and instead of a Horseman a Pikemen. Their starting situation is difficult enough and the tech level close enough to these units when they spawn to warrant them having better than Classical Age units. I also think a Trireme is warranted for naval defense and exploration of the coastlines, and emphasizes their naval nature.
- Number 2: for gold, I think just spawn a Caravan or Trade Ship immediately to help with the bleeding. It’s a good solution since otherwise you really don’t have the production, gold, or priority to start the vital gold trade before you are attacked. Adding a starting work boat for those fish would also help with growth and commerce. If all this is too much, take away one of the starting settlers to balance it (though I don’t think it is).
- Number 3: I think take a page out of Indonesia’s book and give Netherlands two copies of one of the luxuries like Jewelry or Porcelain (or find a new one for the mod) in their capital would be ideal. That way they have something to trade but you don’t have to try and fit it on the map. This is of course not an issue for Portugal since it has access to Wine and Whales easily.
Anyways those are my thoughts after trying these difficult starts to make them somewhat more survivable.
- Number 1: you are too weak to deal with the many enemies who want to pounce on you within the first ten to twenty turns, so you cannot establish yourself. This is compounded by the Viking minor civ roaming around and raiding randomly.
- Number 2: the starting gold deficit is extremely difficult to deal with when you’re split between improving that, city yields, happiness, and defense.
- Number 3: the happiness situation is abysmal as you have no luxuries, not even a single one to trade away to benefit from their power, and no good access.
So I’ve given it some thought and had a couple of solutions for these points.
- Number 1: reiterating my suggestion for Walls in their starting cities, which was received well it seems. However I also think that the starting units that Netherlands receive should be a higher tier than they are. Currently it’s three Composite Bowmen and a Horseman. I’d give them straight crossbowmen and instead of a Horseman a Pikemen. Their starting situation is difficult enough and the tech level close enough to these units when they spawn to warrant them having better than Classical Age units. I also think a Trireme is warranted for naval defense and exploration of the coastlines, and emphasizes their naval nature.
- Number 2: for gold, I think just spawn a Caravan or Trade Ship immediately to help with the bleeding. It’s a good solution since otherwise you really don’t have the production, gold, or priority to start the vital gold trade before you are attacked. Adding a starting work boat for those fish would also help with growth and commerce. If all this is too much, take away one of the starting settlers to balance it (though I don’t think it is).
- Number 3: I think take a page out of Indonesia’s book and give Netherlands two copies of one of the luxuries like Jewelry or Porcelain (or find a new one for the mod) in their capital would be ideal. That way they have something to trade but you don’t have to try and fit it on the map. This is of course not an issue for Portugal since it has access to Wine and Whales easily.
Anyways those are my thoughts after trying these difficult starts to make them somewhat more survivable.
If you could borrow it from this mod that would hopefully be easy 
