Reading Dom's brilliant take on GA's (that I've had some experience with myself) I decided to share another experience I have had using a different non-mainstream strategy. Though highly unlikely as good or effective, it has a certain charm.
NOTE: This strategy is possibly not the most effective use of land, nor is it applicable on bad terrain. I did it purely as an experiment and that it worked I find extremely surprising. I played Napoleon and therefore I'm gonna call it
Forgeron de France
Here is the basic outline. Screw cottages. That's right, forget about them. They won't be needed. The grand plan is to go for the highest possible hammer production you can get and pump it into your research when not needed for other things. You're basing your cities on large food production and workshops. This does have certain requirements.
1. One really really good city site. (In my game Paris had 2 Fish, 3 Clams and 1 Corn!!)
2. Grassland/Jungle/Floodplain dominated terrain.
3. At least 1 (preferably 2) food resource (sugar etc works also) in each city.
There are certain technologies that are very important. Alphabet is the most important since it is what will allow you to build Research. Then just go for things that will improve your production, Metal Casting, Code of Laws (+1 workshop with CasteSystem) Machinery, Guilds, Chemistry, etc etc.
Base yourself on farms and mines, then workshops. Forges and such are a must. Windmills for cities with little food.
Your technology will suffer, you cant run it on producing research alone (but quite close), you need to have 1 city to balance this out. Probably your capital. Or another city with abnormally high food production. Here you will have specialists, scientists mainly. LOTS of them. And when you get a GP (Great Scientist), put him to work in the city. After a while it adds up... (I have 6 or so and the GL).
The way it works is that your far superior production will allow you to build units, improvements and wonders far faster than any of your opponents, giving you a head in everything except science. which you will produce by converting hammers. try specializing as well, some cities produce science, a few others will produce wealth. dont build banks or groceries in science cities etc. Early on this strategy relies on some poprushing to get going, then when caste system becomes available go for it.
Midgame head for chemistry and then communism. You want state property to boost you even further. On a river this will give you more food freeing up more workers for more workshops (that now produce more food) and specialists. Then Biology to get your farms going, giving you more land to convert to workshops. I am currently running Representation, Beureaucracy, Emancipation, State Property and Free Religion.
this has worked for my game (so far I'm in the industrial age). I am still ahead technologically and productively, the inca's are close in tech, but weaker on production, though they are about twice as big (leading AI). and I have not built a single cottage during the entire game... and if there's a war.... I'm gonna have a lot more troops. I hope....
I'm gonna experiment with this a little more and type up a more detailed guide, but basically, against all sense, this seems to work.
(Prince level, big and small, standard size)
NOTE: This strategy is possibly not the most effective use of land, nor is it applicable on bad terrain. I did it purely as an experiment and that it worked I find extremely surprising. I played Napoleon and therefore I'm gonna call it
Forgeron de France
Here is the basic outline. Screw cottages. That's right, forget about them. They won't be needed. The grand plan is to go for the highest possible hammer production you can get and pump it into your research when not needed for other things. You're basing your cities on large food production and workshops. This does have certain requirements.
1. One really really good city site. (In my game Paris had 2 Fish, 3 Clams and 1 Corn!!)
2. Grassland/Jungle/Floodplain dominated terrain.
3. At least 1 (preferably 2) food resource (sugar etc works also) in each city.
There are certain technologies that are very important. Alphabet is the most important since it is what will allow you to build Research. Then just go for things that will improve your production, Metal Casting, Code of Laws (+1 workshop with CasteSystem) Machinery, Guilds, Chemistry, etc etc.
Base yourself on farms and mines, then workshops. Forges and such are a must. Windmills for cities with little food.
Your technology will suffer, you cant run it on producing research alone (but quite close), you need to have 1 city to balance this out. Probably your capital. Or another city with abnormally high food production. Here you will have specialists, scientists mainly. LOTS of them. And when you get a GP (Great Scientist), put him to work in the city. After a while it adds up... (I have 6 or so and the GL).
The way it works is that your far superior production will allow you to build units, improvements and wonders far faster than any of your opponents, giving you a head in everything except science. which you will produce by converting hammers. try specializing as well, some cities produce science, a few others will produce wealth. dont build banks or groceries in science cities etc. Early on this strategy relies on some poprushing to get going, then when caste system becomes available go for it.
Midgame head for chemistry and then communism. You want state property to boost you even further. On a river this will give you more food freeing up more workers for more workshops (that now produce more food) and specialists. Then Biology to get your farms going, giving you more land to convert to workshops. I am currently running Representation, Beureaucracy, Emancipation, State Property and Free Religion.
this has worked for my game (so far I'm in the industrial age). I am still ahead technologically and productively, the inca's are close in tech, but weaker on production, though they are about twice as big (leading AI). and I have not built a single cottage during the entire game... and if there's a war.... I'm gonna have a lot more troops. I hope....
I'm gonna experiment with this a little more and type up a more detailed guide, but basically, against all sense, this seems to work.
(Prince level, big and small, standard size)
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