Ducki went Regent... How'm I doin'?

[ducki]

Ok, I've moved on from the game in the FP+Palace Placement thread, tried my favorite Civ on Warlord, got into a drawn-out Horsemen v. Bowmen war with Bismarck, but got in a commanding position, so....

I decided to try my hand a Regent.
Regent, Small, Respawn OFF, everything else Default.
As Egypt again, hoping for some cultural/happiness advantage instead of my favorites.

Here's the start position. With .SAV and progress to 320 AD to follow.

[ducki]

Boy, talk about lucky!
I did move SE one square to be coastal, but wow!
2 Game, Hills, Shielded Grass, AND a River! Whee!

Here's the save.

[Theseus]

BTW, check the two coastal tiles where the river delta lets out... I can;t tell from the screenie, but often one of them will generate 2 extra gold.

[ducki]

I didn't think my luck would stay so strong, but on my first goody hut, I found a settler, and nearby Ivory - 3 of them.

With a cow. And rivers. And Hills and Mountains.

I was a bit unsure where to place this settler. I wanted the cow for early growth, but I also wanted the ivory.
But I also wanted a half-a** defensible site. I very nearly followed the warrior over to the goody hut for placement 1 square South of the SE Ivory, but opted for less defensible immediate growth... and less corruption.

Could it possibly get any better? One more screen, questions, and a save in the next post.

[Datajack Franit]

Having a settler so soon is definitely a huge advantage- don't waste it, build as many settlers as you can and fill the whole place with cities

[ducki]

And now, 320 AD

I really wish Alexandria and Giza weren't so far away, but I had to really hustle to beat the Romans to those spots. I had to move MUCH faster than I'm used to, so my infrastructure is suffering. My tile development is sub-par, but I DID get the Library, Pyramids and I _think_ the Lighthouse(I forget, really).


Now, I need to decide where to put the FP and Palace for future development. Corruption is killing me in the North.

Also, Greece and Rome finally got tired of waiting and wandered through my lands to settle on the big chunk to my SouthWest. I really should have done it, but I was working on the Library and Colossus and Lighthouse(I think I accidentally built the Pyramids on that one as a prebuild, causing my Golden Age, which ensured the Library).

I'm pretty sure I can flip Hispalis and the other one that's hiding behind the minimap...Memphis is insane.
Both Memphis and Thebes actually gave me problems early on...I could NOT keep the population low enough to stay happy...they grew so fast that I could have done nothing but settlers and workers and spearmen, but I always get lured away by Wonders....


Anyway!
I'm thinking Pi-Rameses for the FP, as you should see in the screenshot.
Once I start fighting, I'm looking at Antium for my new Palace.

Neither one is "centered", but this continent isn't symmetrical, either.
I don't have much of a military, 2 or 3 Chariots, 3 or 4 Swordsmen, average 1.5 Spearmen per town, I think.

Thoughts? Suggestions? Critiques?

[ducki]

Here's the SAV from 320 AD for anyone that likes to look at other people's games. Also it will allow you to see how badly I bungled the Southwestern "subcontinent".

I was just too hung up on the Lighthouse and the Library, especially with only 2 other Civs on my continent.

Also, I'm hoping I can out-culture Pompeii and Neapolis to flip them and make the FP even more useful.

If not, I guess I'll take them the hard way, but not until Knights, probably. Horsemen vs. Legions doesn't sound very promising.

[vmxa1]

ducki, too bad you did not prevent Rome from getting a settler behind you. With the found settler, you could have gotten your first grown setter to a town down where the FP is going up. The not allowing any roman units to roam past your borders, there by keeping the land back there yours to back fill once you bumbed up to their cities.

[ducki]

Oh, I think you misunderstand, vmxa1.

The Romans and Greeks plodded through my settled lands, past Alexandria, past Pi-Rameses, past Memphis.

I tied up two pairs of them with 3 units on that little isthmus with wheat next to Alexandria, moving one in and out of their way for several turns, until it got tedious.

I really was too enamored with the Library and Lighthouse and culture/temples/courthouses/barracks to stop them. I just got too involved in building and not enough with settling. I also despise unproductive cities, so I was saving that. Plus, while they churned out settler/warrior pairs, I cranked out 2 or 3 wonders.

I'm positive I can flip or take Hispalis very easily once I build up my military.

It's a learning experience, and I appreciate the input.
Keep it coming, I just wanted to clarify that those towns only settled in the last several turns, not in the "early" game so far.

[ducki]

Besides, there's room down there for 6 or more cities, easily.

[vmxa1]

Ducki, what I was saying would not be impact by any of that. The first settler you created, Could have been sent to where the the FP is going up. Once the first culture bump occured, you should have had culture all across the land there and the AI would have stayed out and never learned about the land behind it. You could have grown as you did and not had to worry about flip the city. I would say it could flip, or not or it could be a very long time. That city is a staging area that can be used against you. Anyway, all I wanted to do was point out a tactic that I have used to keep the AI out of chunks of unsettled land, of course you must not trade maps. You can use it or not.

[ducki]

Oh, I see. Yes, they did explore that in ancient times.

It was _I_ who misunderstood. Thanks for the clarification on that.

Hispalis did flip, by the way. I found India, China, and Japan. I'm worried about India and China, as they are larger than I am. Hopefully they'll beat up on each other.


Thanks again, more screens and savs later on.

P.S. Now I see why FP placement is so important. Suddenly Alexandria and Giza are productive powerhouses.

[vmxa1]

cool

[Konquest02]

looks like you have a Roman city hidden behind the minimap on your last screenshot. You really should settle this land before they can use it against you. If your culture is good (you gotta love the Egyptians' cheap temples!), you might be able to flip it before it gets too big.

--Kon--

[Theseus]

ducki, I can see at least 4-5 sites in your existing territory where I would lay down towns... cheap temples, and you become a culture / financial monster.