This is one of the Classic Openings to Empire.....

(Note -- these are guidelines for a country starting on an island.  You
may see land right away and want to scrap your units to build a ship.  You
may want to start edus earlier, or tech later....  This is basically how
many people open their games.  The idea is not for you to follow these as
law, but rather to point out some things you may or may not have already
thought about.... enjoy.)

0,0 -> m
2,0 -> g
move extra civs out of 0,0 and 2,0 into a common sector nearby... usually
a high gold res sector and make it a 'g' also.  If this isn't an option,
then try and get a 'j' going.

Look in the beginning at all your sectors and plan out where the resources
will come from.  Usually, the high min sectors are the same as high gold res
sectors; thus you usually want to get the gold out of some of them and turn
them into m's as soon as you can drain the dust out.  Conversely, the oil and
fert usually occur in the same place as well.

The reason you want 2,0 -> 'g' is because dust is a perishable commodity, so
you want to drain it as fast as you can.  If you do, then you can convert
those sectors to 'm's faster and get an iron surplus early.  2,0 is where your
uw's will start, thus it will drain the gold out much faster than 0,0 will.

Do not move civs out of 0,0 and 2,0 killing the mobility in them.  Try to
keep the population close together, so that you can defend the sectors more
easily and don't waste a whole lot of mobility in the first two or three
updates.

If you are on a start island, then you'll need to spread your civs out a
little, in order to see the areas around your island.  If more than 100 civs
sit in a sector during the update, then your bmap will improve by 2 sectors
in every direction away from those civs (I think it's 100.... it might be
more....).

Don't leave 0,0 or 2,0 as your cap.  You can't waste all those civs sitting
in there doing nothing, especially since those sectors are where your best
resources will be.  (usually.... this game you have perfect resources, so it
doesn't matter, but usually resources are more of an issue.... esp dust...)

After the update, move the iron into your 'j' sector, or into a highway that
will become your 'j' this update.  Use the other sectors around your map as
mobility sinks -- thus don't try and move 60 food from 2,0 to 12,0 or anything
like that.  Roll commodities, ESPECIALLY CIVS!!, to the target sector.  This
will use up BTU's, but will ensure that you won't starve anyone by having your
food stranded in your starting sectors.

Collect extra civs and move them into the new sectors.... by this point, you
should have max civs in 2,0 and 0,0; and a >60% 'g' or 'j'.  Make whatever
sector you don't have (if you made the j, make a g, or vice-versa), and keep
those civs bunched together.

One of the most important things to remember about civs is that their growth
is exponential and compounded.  Thus, if I make 100 more civs than you on the
first update, then I will be able to make even more than you the next, and
the next and the next.... etc.  This begins to add up over time.  Remember
this -- civs == production.  With low civs, you won't produce as much.  You
may not be able to get as many sectors producing as the next guy, but you
will eventually out-produce him because you will have more civs.

(Also, remember that this is one of MANY different openings.... I have won
with this opening, but others play differently and have won as well....)

One commonly known trick -- every non-aggie sector will produce one food at
the update, as long as there is 0 food in the sector to begin with and no one
starves.  Thus, you should have a bunch of 1 civ, 1 food sectors -- drain the
food out of them and save the mobility in 2,0 and 0,0.  You will be able to
delay the need for an aggie by one or two updates by using this.... again --
this will cost BTU's to move them all around, but it's well worth it.

Without market and trade enabled, you will probably not need a warehouse for
a little while.  With market enabled, you can ask a friend to max our on iron
while you max out on food, and trade with one another.  This is one way to
bunch your civs together with fewer side-effects.  It requires a partner-in-
crime, so to speak, but it can be done without too much hassle.

By the third update you should be able to convert 2,0 -> m, and 0,0 -> g; plus
you should be able to build an 'l' and maybe even a 'b', if you have played
your civs well-enough.  Getting a bank up ealry is a plus.  Your delta will
go down pretty steadily until you can get enough bars out to level it off.
The sooner you can level off the delta, the better off you'll be.

You'll want to create edus on this update, and use the natural mapping of your
civs t ofind other islands.  If you can see free land, then get a harbor up
there sometime in the next two updates and get a frigate out there to explore.

You'll need a 'k' and an another 'm'; but make sure you have an o and your tech
factory going first.  Your first ship will probably be a frigate, but you
could try to build a fishing boat if the land is close enough and you want to
use it to feed your civs...

Your capitol will probably need civs soon, so that you can make some BTU's.
Leave them in there during an update to get it to 100%, then move them out
right before the next update to whereever you need the production.  After
the update, move them all back in the cap so they produce BTU's in between
the updates.... this is another commonly used tactic.

The aggie comes next.... along with an 'e'.  And you should have mil on your
coast around now too.  This is when things become more of a judgement call.

Play it as well as you can... just think things out before you waste BTU's on
them.


Head Junkie