what are your first 10-20 moves?!?!

[cooolguy]

the question comes down to how you get an edge when u get started, how do you guys do that? please helppp

 

[Moonsinger]

Use your starting settler to explore the world during the first 10 turns. Pop a few huts while locating the best site for your first city.

 

[Cam_H]

There are a lot of variables including; leader traits and unique unit, starting technologies, difficulty level, starting location including resources. These can each affect the optimum choice.

A common approach is to start building a Worker and research towards Bronze Working while you send your Warrior or Scout off to get a better look at the landscape.

The 'resource bubbles' point towards the equator, so you get a quick idea whether you're in the Northern or Southern hemisphere. I tend to follow the river for good sites for the second city.

On the less difficult levels, you can alternately head towards researching the technologies so you may found one of the early religions, especially if you begin with Mysticism.

Take a look at the Strategy Articles forum (incl. Sisiutil's Guide) and some of the Succession Games for further ideas.

 

[PeteJ]

It would definitely depend on the starting location, starting techs, and leader traits. If you gave a sample map we could certainly elaborate a little better. I usually start a worker first unless I am going for a religion, or if my civ starts with fishing and there is seafood close by. The proximity of other civs is also a factor.

 

[Sisiutil]

As most of the other posters have said, it depends. The opening moves are very important, but there's no one formula for what to do.

To get an idea on how to best react to your opening environment, check out some of the many game threads in this forum. Yes, there's my own ALC games, but there's also Aelf's Emperor Master's Challenge and Pete2006's Warlords Playthrough, among others. Even if you're not playing at Emperor (or even Prince, where my games are set), the strategic discussions are still relevant and, I should hope, helpful to reveal what good players are thinking during the opening.

 

[Rathelm]

Well I usually build a worker, 2 warriors and then a settler. That takes about 10 turns.

 

[Cam_H]

Four units in ten turns with a population of less than three ... good going!

 

[jedimogg]

i tend to first build a warriors (or scouts) until my pop hits 2, while exploring with my original warrior. after the worker is done i improve the land or resources, while the pop gets to 3. when the pop hits 3 i build a settler.

 

[Rathelm]

Sorry you're right Cam, I meant 20.

 

[alpha wolf 64]

I play on marathon. My first 20 moves are to build my first city, turn my scout/warrior are auto explore, then hit enter 20 times.

 

[DigitalBoy]

The first things I build in my capital are almost always:

Warrior, warrior, worker, warrior, warrior, settler, barracks, (goes from here).

 

[Sibben]

Use your starting settler to explore the world during the first 10 turns. Pop a few huts while locating the best site for your first city.

Radical approach, at least to me. Can you recover that turn disadvantage without some heavy and early mongering?

I usually play marathon/pangea with makes it quite interesting, for two reasons:

1) 10 turns is not that much.
2) Moving inland would maybe helps you cut off AI:s in initial landgrab.

Might try it sometime.

 

[TheRealCzar]

Use your starting settler to explore the world during the first 10 turns. Pop a few huts while locating the best site for your first city.

I would never think of doing this!

Firstly, am I right in saying the map gen script is built so your start location is usually fairly nice with some resources? So you have a good chance of not finding a better start location.

Secondly, 10 turns is a loooong way to fall behind on anything except maybe marathon, which I'm thinking you must be playing.

Thirdly, unless you're playing no barbs, your eating into your grace period. At monarch, I need every turn to try and squeeze out an extra city or two with adequate defence before the hordes decend.

Fourthly, your settler can't explore that much, so any great location you find will be close to your start location, and would be a good second city location anyway.

I usually start with warrior, and wait til size 2 before worker, because I often go for early religion, so worker would arrive before he has the ability to develop resources, so he would just sit there looking dumb until he figured out how to farm or something.

 

[Astax]

Hahahaha very funny thread topic. I am assuming you play against AI, because against a player there are only 2 things you can do. Build a warrior or partially build a warrior (down to two turns till completion) and then build a worker with warrior in queue. In case one you usually build 2nd warrior or barracks or worker after 1st warrior is complete. In case 2 you build warrior or barracks.

There is a rare case where you can start with worker and no warrior. That is on a big team map with other teamates infront of you, in custom continents where its one team per continent, or if you started with a warrior (you and your teammates all had civs without hunting).

 

[Tennyson]

The first things I build in my capital are almost always:

Warrior, warrior, worker, warrior, warrior, settler, barracks, (goes from here).

I do that to run around, get huts, and find other civs so I know which direction to grow. I also like to let my first city grow during the initial warriors.

 

[Moonsinger]

Radical approach, at least to me. Can you recover that turn disadvantage without some heavy and early mongering?

I usually play marathon/pangea with makes it quite interesting, for two reasons:

1) 10 turns is not that much.
2) Moving inland would maybe helps you cut off AI:s in initial landgrab.

Might try it sometime.

Yes, it would definitely work best on the marathon game speed. Even without war mongering, those extra huts that you are able to pop would usually pay for those lost turns. Plus, you may find better site for your first capital and may be able to position your empire better (with our capital right on the center of your land) to reduce the distance upkeep cost for other cities. Like you said, 10 turns on marathon isn't that much but the pay off in the long run can be huge. This is a log of a game where I didn't settle until turn #13:

http://hof.civfanatics.net/civ4/game_info.php?show=playerlog&entryID=2681

 

[Moonsinger]

Firstly, am I right in saying the map gen script is built so your start location is usually fairly nice with some resources? So you have a good chance of not finding a better start location.

Yes, you may be right about that. However, if resources do turn up where I was at 4000BC, I just have to build my second city there. I love starting by the beach because it's very easy to head in-land for my palace, then come back later and build my second city by the beach.

Secondly, 10 turns is a loooong way to fall behind on anything except maybe marathon, which I'm thinking you must be playing.

Exactly, it works best on marathon. IMO, if you aren't play at Marathon game speed, you aren't really playing much.

Thirdly, unless you're playing no barbs, your eating into your grace period. At monarch, I need every turn to try and squeeze out an extra city or two with adequate defence before the hordes decend.

On marathon game speed, what can you build in 10 turns? May be an extra warrior which doesn't help much against barbs. However, by poping a few extra huts, you may end up with a free unit, gold, tech, or map (or free settlers if you are playing lower level) which is more than enough to pay for the lost of 10 turns.

Fourthly, your settler can't explore that much, so any great location you find will be close to your start location, and would be a good second city location anyway.

I usually start with warrior, and wait til size 2 before worker, because I often go for early religion, so worker would arrive before he has the ability to develop resources, so he would just sit there looking dumb until he figured out how to farm or something.

If you happen to pop a scout or a tech during the first 10 turns, would you consider that a good enough pay off?

 

[Tatran]

I don't think Moonsinger's strategy works with raging barbs and/or AW.
Also I've seen animals wandering around very early.
A handful of turns is ok, but more is risky.

 

[Firebot]

It depends on the starting location, leader, etc...If you have one set way of playing you won't go far at higher difficulties where you must take full advantage of what is offered to you. One loose rule I do though, is I will try to use a warrior to pick off a worker or two from another civ if at all possible very early on. It saves you a ton of turns by stealing a worker that you can use to build something else, while crippling that civ for the game. You can eventually get a peace treaty once you learn alphabet at the cost of one tech, at worse they will send off an archer or two after you which can be defended against adequatly.

 

[Skudor]

I can see how Moonsinger’s strategy would work in a Marathon game, with an explorer for protection. The only benefit would then be the possibility of a better city location (given that the explorer is guarding the settler). Unless Barbs are off – which is boring on Marathon (on of the great fun things on Marathon is the early military activity you have to run against the barbs – including taking several cities….). But I can see how this would be an interesting twist when playing Marathon, with barbs off.