Seafaring on Arch - Why do I suck?

[mimi]

Ok, I play on Monarch and usually win (though I mostly quit once I see that I'll win) I never pay tribute demands and it makes me insane when I lose a city.

Now, I thought I'd try an arch game as the English since I've never played them but couldn't even take over a neighbor. So I thought I'd try the Byz 'cause they might be easier and that's no better - by the time I have enough galleys and troops to attack anyone, they either have more advanced troops or I don't have enough to actually take a city.

So I figure I must be doing something wrong. Should I be buidling temples to expand my borders or just barracks? Should I bother trying to send settlers to neighboring islands since they'll only be 1 producers anyway and focus on troops to take over any neighbors I find? How do I make my towns that are not on my home island build anything?

With only 3 or 4 towns of any use, how can I afford to use one of them to go for GLight and still have enough galleys & troops to launch an invasion?

Perhaps I'm just trying to attack too early? But if I wait, they'll be dug in even harder since they won't expand to cross the ocean and have nothing to build besides troops. I mean, they all seem to have one wonder and I'm still trying to crank out horsies!

[Harovan]

Archipelago with the English? Great game, I had a couple of them.

- Set research to Writing at 10-20%, so that it's barely running on a 50 turn base. Adjust it, don't waste money. Save the rest.
- Build a couple of explorers (warriors) and send them out exploring your landmass. Build a few more to monitor your near surroundings and to fight barbarians.
- Don't guard your cities, manage happiness with the luxury slider
- Build Curraghs. At least 4 of them, may be even more, and send them out to make contacts. Build the first one quickly, yet before the first settler!
- Contacts are the make or break! Find all civs you can reach with your curraghs ASAP! Contact them on a regular basis, ideally every turn. If one discovered a tech, buy it and sell/change it to all others. You'll keep up by tech whoring, while your cash heap grows.
- When you discover Writing, use it to keep up in tech (useful if you didn't get quick contacts and lost on the exchange race for the starting techs). Otherwise don't sell it. Set research to Philosophy on a 50-turn basis. With a bit of luck, you get it first and get a free tech. Take Code of Laws and research Republic at full speed. Change to it ASAP.
- Don't give in to demands, unless it's a close neighbor on your landmass. If it is a neighbor, consider to give in; don't be proud, war is not in your best interest, and you'll let him pay back later. Tell others from other landmasses to bugger off. If they declare war, laugh at them. Don't attack, it's not worth the money.
- Don't run for Map Making, if your landmass is enough for settling. Your seafaring Curraghs are just as mobile as the galleys of others.
- Don't attack everyone in sight. Consolidate your empire first. Since contact trading is pushed back, you'll be the boss of tech whoring, because the AIs suck at naval exploration and contact making. All you need for this is peace.
- Don't connect iron too soon, but connect horses ASAP. Build warriors and chariots. You will upgrade them later. You'll have heaps of money for it.
- Build ships. Build more ships. And if you think you have enough, build yet more of them. There is no such a thing as enough ships on an archipelago.

[Harovan]

One more note:

Build a network of harbor cities on other landmasses far away from yours, if you have the opportunity. Think globally: Ships can't heal by resting, they need a harbor. Redlined ships on the other half of the world are as good as dead. Garrison these cities well, 3-4 good defenders (keep them upgraded!) and 2-3 attackers and 1-2 bombardement units are enough.

[joncnunn]

Yup, rule of thumb for Seafaring civs for Curragh buildment:

Pangena : One or Two depending upon map size and number of land based explorers. They boats will use be useful establishing contacts to those on the far side of the landmass that they were denyed access to by intervening civs.

Contients: Two or Three depending upon the same factors.

Arcepello: Four plus! Save up some cash and arrange for a couple to get back about the time Map Making is discovered (and an existing build switched to a Harbor to complete very soon) to
upgrade a couple Curraghs to Gallys for settling overseas.

[Aqualung71]

Got check out AU501 in the Apolyton University forum. It's a ripping archipelago game as the Byzantines - lots of reports from players from Monarch level up to Deity, so you will glean a lot of very useful information on how various players approached it.

[Harovan]

Originally posted by joncnunn
Pangena : One or Two depending upon map size and number of land based explorers. They boats will use be useful establishing contacts to those on the far side of the landmass that they were denyed access to by intervening civs.

Contients: Two or Three depending upon the same factors.

Yes, on pangea and continents I usually build exactly two and let them explore around my landmass in opposite directions; one clockwise, one counterclockwise. When they meet, I decide what to do: Either I use both for suicide runs in promising places, or I call them back and use them as barbarian bait or border guards.