Strategy (3640BC)

[polarnomad]

A few turns from now a worker will be completed and bronze working researched.

What shall we be the next item in Berlin's build queue and what shall we research?

The only things for the worker to do would be build a mine and begin clear cutting. We cannot yet improve the pig tile.

[UnOrthOdOx]

Next build is easy: Military.

What should the worker do? If we have copper, this is also obvious. Otherwise, chopy chopy 1 forest, then mine.

Research: If no copper: Archery. If copper in radius, or close enough (next expansion or perhaps next city) Animal Husbandry, agriculture, the wheel. (my personal order)

[Cptn Fancypants]

Our first order of business should be assessing our copper situation. If we have any nearby, then we need roads to it. If not, then we need to make careful plans (both for building and research) for withstanding our neighbors. Iron working would be an important part of recovery from lack of copper.

Animal husbandry has a lot of short-term benefit.

Berlin at size 2 can work the (pastured) pigs and the oasis. A quick ascent to size 3 from size 2 would allow a short slavery cycle. Building a settler from size 2 would be possible with that food excess.

The east-coast pigs would also be usable. A city that uses the east-coast pigs offers some great advantages. Dedicating a worker that can mine (already) and build pasture (with animal husbandry) will provide us with a steady stream of non-chop hammers. The only cost after founding the city is worker turns.

Berlin could build military in the short term.

[Kloreep]

Worker chop unless there's copper about.

For builds, we desperately need military.

For research, we desperately need a worker tech - either Agriculture or Animal Husbandry. I believe if we have both prerequisites to Animal Husbandry (both Hunting, which we already have, and Agriculture) we get a discount on Animal Husbandry's research cost; anyone know how big this discount is?
If we are without copper, though, Archery may have to take precedence.

[Kloreep]

We get Bronze Working next turn. I suggest the first person able post a shot of the resources so we can look at the copper situation, and then we hold the save for a little bit so people can comment.

Some sort of policy to make sure we get the save out reasonably quickly would be good, though. In general, I suggest Archery if we do not have copper easily accessible, Animal Husbandry if we do. (Animal Husbandry allows us to put a pasture on the pigs, which is worth 3 food. That food is worth a lot, especially if we make the 1-turn sacrifice to switch to slavery. Agriculture, by contrast, only enables us to make 1 food farms along the river. Plus, Animal Husbandry will show us where the horses are.)

[UnOrthOdOx]

I'm with Kloreep.

[polarnomad]

Originally posted by Kloreep
I believe if we have both prerequisites to Animal Husbandry (both Hunting, which we already have, and Agriculture) we get a discount on Animal Husbandry's research cost; anyone know how big this discount is?

I'd never heard of this, so I went and tested it. Started a game with Frederick. Without agriculture, in a city producing 10 beakers per turn, animal husbandry cost 130 beakers and took 10 turns to research... at which point I became puzzled.

Why 10 turns and not 13?

Anyway, after having researched agriculture, in the same city still producing 10 beakers per turn, animal husbandry dropped to 8 turns. What's weird too though is that if you research mysticism on the first turn, then agriculture and then animal husbandry, animal husbandry takes 9 turns. It's probably down to how many extra beakers spill over from previous research...

In any case, if there is a discount it's not huge.