Would you change this start location?

[qadams]

The image embedded below is from the opening turn of Biffa's England gameplay. Now, the question is, would you plunk down your first city right where the Settler is? There are plenty of good resources within the three-tile range — spices, jade, crab, fish — but that specific location has less fresh water than next to the oasis, and it could be better to be closer to the mountain, right?

So, would you move first before settling? If yes, in which direction and how far?

Spoiler :

 

[pietro1990]

Would go straight for the pyramids because you are on the dessert

 

[anandus]

I would be tempted to move to the tile one above, next to the oasis, to move closer to the mountains, but then you'd lose two crab and one fish.

I think I'd move the warrior first to see what else is up there.

 

[qadams]

I would be tempted to move to the tile one above, next to the oasis, to move closer to the mountains, but then you'd lose two crab and one fish.

I think I'd move the warrior first to see what else is up there.

He did, but annoyingly (and inexplicably) he moved the warrior toward the coast instead of toward the mountains or the plains, and didn't get much help seeing what else was out there.

 

[Eagle Pursuit]

I would also move the warrior west, then decide.

 

[JuhQman]

I think I'd settle one tile to west. Get the fresh water from the oasis and only miss out on one crab. But first move the warrior two tiles to nort-west for visibility.

 

[Palantir30]

Sorry to be the first one to say this... but I'd re-load. Desert and all that coast, 6 decent land tiles, just not interesting enough for me to spend a game session on it.

 

[Eagle Pursuit]

I think I'd settle one tile to west. Get the fresh water from the oasis and only miss out on one crab. But first move the warrior two tiles to nort-west for visibility.

You would also lose the whale far to the Northeast.

 

[JuhQman]

You would also lose the whale far to the Northeast.

I think it's fish but yes, you are correct. For some reson I missed it. So then it would be jut s beneficil to move on the hill. However the hill would give a better campus/holy site so I think I just changed my response. Other option would be the hill two tiles to westbut without the visibility, it's very hard to say.

 

[oakdragon]

I would also move the warrior west, then decide.

I think I would also, but unless I found a natural wonder out that way, I'd settle in place.

Sorry to be the first one to say this... but I'd re-load. Desert and all that coast, 6 decent land tiles, just not interesting enough for me to spend a game session on it.

No wonder so many people win on Deity, looking for cushy starts. Challenging starts are part of what makes the game interesting for me.

 

[El Castellano]

I would move the warrior to the right to know whether I should move the settler one or two squares to the right. If there are good resources more to the right, two squares, if not I just move a square to have more land and fresh water. Losing two remote basic resources is a price that I would be willing to pay.

 

[qadams]

Sorry to be the first one to say this... but I'd re-load. Desert and coast, just not interesting enough for me to spend a game session on it.

LOL - that answer is not acceptable.But funny!

 

[Brutus2]

The starting location is not bad, you could always build an aqueduct to connect to the oasis long before you run out of housing (even better if playing Rome) and you will still have two mountain adjacent tiles from there although you will likely have to buy tiles If you want campus there.

Moving one tile west is also not bad. Still will found on first turn and no pressure to get aqueduct. I wouldn't move to the hill because it would mean waiting until next turn to settle which in this case I don't think is worth it.

 

[ExemplarVoss]

Yes, one square to where the warrior is (after moving the warrior west to check what is out there).

The big problem with this site isn't the desert (which is actually good for districts, since you aren't losing worthwhile tiles to districts), but production and long term food.
There are just three hill tiles (assuming you do the sane thing and move off the starting location) and little else to bring in production. For me, that means the city will need at least 2 of industrial district, harbor (well, england's special harbor) or encampment in pretty short order. Which makes the move to the desert pretty vital as the city just doesn't have the time or hammers to spare for an aqueduct.

Food-wise it isn't bad initially, but long term it isn't great. Even coastal bonus resources are pretty poor, and the layout doesn't allow for triangular adjacency bonuses, so the farms won't be as good as they could be in the long term.

I admit I opened the video to find out (eventually) what was to the west. My first impression was pretty poor- I'm always a bit disappointed when someone with the game for first look videos knows vastly less about it than I do. (The bit about 'white tiles' being recommended settler placement rather than the absolute worst places for city settlement baffled me).

 

[qadams]

The bit about 'white tiles' being recommended settler placement rather than the absolute worst places for city settlement baffled me.

LOL, I know what you mean. And congratulations on your first post!

 

[vit_sin]

So, would you move first before settling? If yes, in which direction and how far?

absolutely yes, I would be move one step between Fresh Water Lake and Fish into Desert tile.

 

[GoodSarmatian]

That looks like a pretty bad start. To be honest, I'd probably reload.
If I was forced to play the game, I would move the Settler to the north-west. That would still give me access to two whales and one jade, maximize the land tiles, give me the production bonus from a hill city and allow an Aqueduct (in case the oasis doesn't provide the fresh water housing bonus).

 

[stealth_nsk]

The tile near Oasis is generally sure bet. You found the city on turn 1, you get fresh water, you get more land tiles and more tiles near mountains. Plus you leave the forest intact. Yes, you lose 1 Crab and 1 Fish and the eureka for Sailing, but it's very small compared to benefits.

 

[qadams]

I would move the Settler to the north-west. That would still give me access to two whales and one jade... <snip>

A bit off-topic (my own topic), but you're second person here who has mistaken the fish resource for whales. That's understandable, because the icon is kind of ambiguous. Firaxis could really do a lot better job with that — the whale icon itself looks more like a dolphin than a whale — and I hope they will before release.

 

[qadams]

The tile near Oasis is generally sure bet. You found the city on turn 1, you get fresh water, you get more land tiles and more tiles near mountains. Plus you leave the forest intact. Yes, you lose 1 Crab and 1 Fish and the eureka for Sailing, but it's very small compared to benefits.

I agree. That's very likely the move I would make.