Any advice for Incan with horrid start location?

[Yosho]

Well, my normal stratagy when starting out alone on a small landmass is that you can afford to skimp a little bit on millitary production; depending on the size of your island, you should be able to wipe out almost any forces that land on your island with a small number of horsemen, especally if you explore and figure out which directions the ships have to come from in order to avoid sinking (usually, there's only one way to get to an island like that without going over ocean tiles, and if he tries to sail around your island to hit you somewhere else you should have pleanty of time to see him). Especally with your pyramids, and the shields you can save on military units, you should be able to get an early lead on developing your cities and building improvements and settlers; focus on early economic development and expansion, you'll need that advantage to keep up with civilizations who make early contact with each other and thus get to trade techs quickly. Just make sure you fully develop your island as soon as possible, before someone else lands a settler and builds a city on that ugly desert-covered part of the coast you didn't really bother to care about, forcing you to eather start a war you don't want or let your opponent have a beachhead to bring in as many units as he wants.

[joncnunn]

What Desert???

I'd love to replace all this Tundra with Desert! It could be irrigated. (Doubly since I'm Agricultural)

First Settler completed, will form a city next turn, 2-1 from the capital at the coast taking in the fish instantly. I'll probably have it take over working the mined roaded plains sugar tile next to it.

So far neither my starting Scout nor my Chican Scout have found a possible sea invasion route either onto or off my island. I might know more as soon as Alphabet completes as a Curragh is built. I've discovered the entire landmass and have just been having the scout units look at what sea tiles can be seen from it.

No luxaries whatsoever found.

[alva]

I remember taking over an MP game like that: small island, no fresh water, mountains and jungle.

Should I mention I didn't win this one.

[joncnunn]

Well, Jungle can be greatly improved upon with a large worker force.

Can't improve tundra much.

Originally posted by alva
I remember taking over an MP game like that: small island, no fresh water, mountains and jungle.

Should I mention I didn't win this one.

[joncnunn]

First city founded in 3300 BC. I'm now trying to decide where I'll want my second city to be while building it in 3250 BC.

At least one other player doesn't like his starting area either:
No luxaries either and described as horrible / awful.

[joncnunn]

2950 BC update:

Curragh built. Immedately rules out directly towards center of the map as an escape. Will check out adjoining areas in following turns.

Town number 3 to be built next turn.

Both towns alternating between settlers and units.

[joncnunn]

2670 BC update:

a second landmass discovered; appears to be another mostly tundra one. appears much smaller than my starting one.

a third landmass discovered, having my curagh explore that one before finishing up the other.

And one of the players declared war on another. I'm suprized he told everyone about it. Unless I'm the only civ missing contacts.

[joncnunn]

2590 BC update.

discovered a 4th landmass and the Greeks

Hoping the Greeks have techs to trade.

[Solomwi]

Got to be a tense period waiting to find out just how behind you are.

Good luck.

[Thrar]

Good luck! At least you can't complain it's not challenging ^_^

maybe you can put a city on a tundra tile next to the fresh water, and then irrigate an adjacent plains or grassland tile (if geographically possible)?
Not sure if this works, on hills or mountains it doesn't, but I never heard anything about tundra. It certainly works on "normal" ground tiles.

[joncnunn]

The fresh water lake is surronded by two levels of non-irrigatable tiles. In Civ II, cities could be founded back to back to form a chain but not in Civ III. (But in Civ II, ocean counted as a source of irrigation)

Yes, I sent an email to the Greeks and am awaiting their response. I was kind of suprized that the point of contact is apprently at the Greek landmass and not mine considering the Greeks start with Alphabet and the ability to build Curraghs.

My homeland coastal cities are building Curraghs between settler builds for later upgrades to Galleys.

[joncnunn]

Update, I'm slightly ahead of the Greeks:

I'm 1 turn from Writing. They are 5 turns away; but will have the tech cost cut by 12.5% very quickly.

We both have Cerimonal Burial.

They lack Pottery and Masonry

I lack Bronze Working. Maybe more, but doughtful.

I've proposed both a current trade for now, and a future trade.

I think both are obvious.

[kiurkugord]

[QUOTE] Originally posted by joncnunn
Update, I'm slightly ahead of the Greeks:

I'm 1 turn from Writing. They are 5 turns away; but will have the tech cost cut by 12.5% very quickly.



How did you manage to know that the greeks were 5 turns away?

[joncnunn]

Simple, along with my contact message I disclosed I was almost done finishing Writing, they replied back that they were 5 turns away. I then sent back that they'd discover it slightly ahead of their schledule since I was (on my next turn) now 1 turn away.

On my following turn, we wrapped up a my Pottery [2] for their Bronze Working [3] deal, and have a deal for the future trade of my Map Making [12] that I just started reseraching at max speed for their Literature [10] which they will start reseraching as soon as they finish writting. I just found out they have The Wheel so I've proposed a my Masonry [4] for their Wheel [4] deal as well. (Allows unit I can't really use in exchange for a wonder that's already been built, so a nothing for nothing.)

To find out a human's status, ask them.
Now to find out an AI's status, you can't get # of turns they have remaning, but if you have their tech and the AI has enough cash on hold, you can find out what percent they have towards it based on how much they are willing to pay.

[QUOTE] Originally posted by kiurkugord

Originally posted by joncnunn
Update, I'm slightly ahead of the Greeks:

I'm 1 turn from Writing. They are 5 turns away; but will have the tech cost cut by 12.5% very quickly.

How did you manage to know that the greeks were 5 turns away?

[joncnunn]

2470 BC update:

Their reserach time for writting got cut down to 2 turns.

Executed the Masonry for Horses trade.

OMG! My home island is cut off from horses until Astronomeny!
That landmass I see the horses has one good city spot.
Horses on Hill and founded there with cultural expansion works a whale and fish. When growth maxed out can work the hill north.
Rest of that island is all tundra, and it's much smaller.