Hey everyone. I finally got a foothold into this series after a few failed attempts. I've watched (probably hours) of mechanics tutorials at this point about starting out. Things like optimal settling locations, resource types, the different income types, etc.
Now the next step that I'm struggling with is really connecting the multilayered dots in the midgame, mainly involving the tech trees. For example, if I have access to strategic resources x,y,z, how does that chart my tech progress? There are basically a billion different districts, buildings, etc. I can digest what each one does, but I'm woefully unequipped to evaluate how good +2 food is vs +2 gold/+1 science, for example. When do I value production improvements vs food improvements? When do I expand to another city? How do I decide what direction to tech in general? Any good resources for these types of higher level questions?
Most importantly, what speed should I play on? I started with online because I figured I might as well just as on the "meta" speed, but what I'm realizing is that tech happens so quickly that I really don't have an opportunity to see cause -> effect before I'm already 2 layers down the tree. I'm wary about making it too slow and be reduced to just micro-managing military units for 15 turns before anything happens either.
Have you already completed a couple of games? I can tell you all about the tech tree and how to chart your progress, but experience really is the best teacher in this case. For most win conditions, cultural and scientific in particular, there are certain key techs that you want to work towards as fast as reasonably possible. In general the top half of the tech tree focuses on culture/science while the lower half focuses on military. Religion and diplomacy are special in that they depend more on civics than techs.
The civilization that you play as, the resources you spawn with, the natural wonders you are able to claim... all of these will influence the win condition you will want to pursue, which in turn influences your route through the tech and civic trees. Sometimes you can decide on a win condition right from the get-go, for example when you play as a civ that specializes in one of them (for example Korea and their incredible science game). But most often your general strategy will crystalize as you play, ideally somewhere in the Classical Era, after you have laid the foundation for your empire, and your victory, in the Ancient Era.
Yields are something of a balancing act, although food and production are by far the most important, especially early in the game. When you just start out, a basic grassland tile (+2 food) should always be chosen over a truffles plain tile (1 food, 1 production, 3 gold). Simply because the bigger your capital is, the more tiles it can work and the more yields you get.
Settling is something you want to do quick and often. Each city adds science/culture/faith/etc. yields to your total and is worth more than any individual district in your capital. It's hard to explain in layman's terms, but Civilization heavily favors playing "wide" (many cities with relatively low population each) over "tall" (fewer cities with relatively high population each). In practice I often start the game producing a Scout for exploration, followed by a builder if there are at least 2 tiles worth improving. Otherwise I will start working on pumping out Settlers the moment my capital hits 2 population. The moment that Settler is done, I start producing another Settler. Often I only start thinking about building districts around turn 35 or so (regular game speed).
Speaking of which: I started out with fast, but exclusively play regular speed now. It feels slow in the beginning, when you're just waiting for your capital to pop out units. But the bigger the game gets, the more you will appreciate the space it gives you to plan your actions without the game devolving into excessive micro-management. If it really feels too slow for you, fast might be a good compromise between standard and online speeds.
As for guides, I personally learned a ton from PotatoMcWhiskey, a YouTube content creator who focuses on Civilization 6. His videos, especially his livestreams, are quite long, but that's partly the nature of the game and partly because he always explains his actions. A specific video that might get you started it one he did on start locations:
It starts with where to settle your capital in relation to the surrounding tiles and their yields. Later on he talks about settling additional cities, what techs and civics to focus on in this case a culture/tourism victory. I think it's worth a watch.
