What to tech/build first in heavy forest start?

[Hereditary Rule]

Sorry I cannot provide a screenshot (started another game which erased the 4000BC save), but what would you tech/build first with this start?

Was playing Monty

Starting Techs are Myst and Hunting.

Capital is on a river and contains
1 grassland pig
1 floodplains
and the rest is forest (3 hills). The rest of the tiles are about 50/50 plains/grassland under the trees.

If I you tech AH for the pigs and build a worker, your worker will sit around for a long time afterwords while mining/bronze is teched.

Build a Scout/Warrior and grow to size two while teching to Bronze? Or to AH?

 

[Babibo]

Usually with a forest heavy start, I'll go worker-worker and my research path prioritizes Bronze Working.
But here, your starting techs don't allow this. I think I'd go AH-mining-bronze with worker-warrior-warrior-worker.

 

[PieceOfMind]

Since you have the prereq for AH I'd suggest going for it, then immediately head for BW. The decision may depend slightly on difficulty so can you let us know?

If you were daring, you could even use the worker for a bit of exploring, while you built explorers/warriors for exploring til you reach BW. Or you could build a baracks while you head for BW instead.

Just don't build explorers if huts are turned off.

 

[Hereditary Rule]

Thanks for the help.

Difficulty was Monarch, Map was Hemispheres, size HUGE, massive continents. 12 Civs total. Speed EPIC, all other settings default.

In the game I ended up growing to size two, building an extra scout before starting a worker while teching to bronze, but I'm seeing now that I probably should have pastured the pigs ASAP as 6 food from one tile is just too much to ignore, even if the worker sits there for 30+ turns after. I don't know what I was thinking...

 

[CreeDakota]

I would priotize food over chopping

 

[lilnev]

AH-Mining-BW.

Build order option 1) Scout at size 2 (floodplains 'til growth, switch to hammer tiles to finish him), then worker-warrior

11 turns growing
3 turns at 5 hammers/turn, leaves 4 overflow
18 turns for the worker, with 4 overflow
6 turns to pasteurize

So after 38 turns, you're size 2 + 24 food and 10 hammers, and the pasture is done.

Option 2) Worker-warrior-warrior

23 turns to worker, with 2 overflow
6 turns to pasteurize (18 food, 8 hammers)
3 turns to grow (3 food, 11 hammers) onto a 3H tile
3 turns to finish the warrior (15 food, 1 hammer overflow)
3 more turns = 27 food, 13 hammers

So after 38 turns, you've got 3 more food and 3 more hammers, but you haven't had a second scout out looking for goody huts for a lot of turns. I think I'd prefer the first option. (Plus if the Pigs are riverside, you pick up more commerce towards BW).

All this is assuming you haven't settled on a plains hill. And someone check my numbers, especially 'cuz I'm not used to Epic.

And you definitely want the second worker shortly after BW is finished, before building a settler.

 

[Hereditary Rule]

AH-Mining-BW.

Build order option 1) Scout at size 2 (floodplains 'til growth, switch to hammer tiles to finish him), then worker-warrior

11 turns growing
3 turns at 5 hammers/turn, leaves 4 overflow
18 turns for the worker, with 4 overflow
6 turns to pasteurize

So after 38 turns, you're size 2 + 24 food and 10 hammers, and the pasture is done.

Option 2) Worker-warrior-warrior

23 turns to worker, with 2 overflow
6 turns to pasteurize (18 food, 8 hammers)
3 turns to grow (3 food, 11 hammers) onto a 3H tile
3 turns to finish the warrior (15 food, 1 hammer overflow)
3 more turns = 27 food, 13 hammers

So after 38 turns, you've got 3 more food and 3 more hammers, but you haven't had a second scout out looking for goody huts for a lot of turns. I think I'd prefer the first option. (Plus if the Pigs are riverside, you pick up more commerce towards BW).

All this is assuming you haven't settled on a plains hill. And someone check my numbers, especially 'cuz I'm not used to Epic.

And you definitely want the second worker shortly after BW is finished, before building a settler.

Thanks Lilnev - good breakdown. The capital was not on a hill, and the pigs were not riverside. I basically followed Option 1, except my tech order was Mining-BW-AH - which looks like a mistake.

 

[Alexfrog]

Food first. Get Animal Husbandry to use the pig, then Bronze to chop.

Worker #1 should put a pasture on the pigs and then chop out a second worker. The two workers can chop a settler. One then stays to improve the capitol and one goes with the settler to improve the new city.

As DaveMcW would say, the goal at the beginning is to get as many improved tiles (especially improved resource tiles) worked as fast as possible. You need to get a worker and get the pigs going. (And if you dont have BW yet, farm that Floodplain if you have Agriculture)

 

[Cashew]

If I had the pig in my fat cross I'd grow to size 2 on it and switch to the worker as soon as I finished and chop another worker. Go for animal husbandry after bronze.

 

[Hereditary Rule]

If I had the pig in my fat cross I'd grow to size 2 on it and switch to the worker as soon as I finished and chop another worker. Go for animal husbandry after bronze.

This is what I ended up doing in the game.

But is it a better use of the early turns than pasturing the pig immediately and then growing while teching bronze?

I need to do the math next time I have the game in front of me.

 

[DaveMcW]

Worker at size 1.
Warrior if defense is needed.
Settler.

Improve the second city while waiting for BW.

 

[Cashew]

It is SLIGHTLY faster but depending on your game speed you'll only be gaining a few turns (on quick speed it's 1 turn for most starts). It also wastes an extra tree, but that shouldn't be a problem if you are tree abundant. The main advantage that I find though is the metal you (hopefully) find when you tech bronze. Chariots are nice, but axemen are just so much better for early warring on a lot of maps and I find bronze more common than horse anyways.

 

[Skallagrimson]

Although I'll still beeline AH if I've got animal food, like cows, pigs.