Too Many Settlements at First Transition!

[dg55]

At the end of Antiquity, I had 7/8 towns/cities, as I thought this would be a smart move going into the Exploration Age. I was wrong - in the the new age, I still had the 7/8 cap.

The problem is that I would now like to take a nearby minor, settle some choice vacant land, fight a pushy AI neighbour (capture a city or two) and try to build overseas colonies, with only 1 vacant settlement available. I did try to go over the cap, but it is painful for my happiness. Can you raze your own surplus towns?

When I start a new game in the Exploration Age, I am given one city to start with, with an 8 settlement cap.

I read somewhere that, to get a large number of Treasure Fleet points, you should have 5 colony settlements, which would only leave me 3 cities/towns in the Old World.

In your experience, what is the optimum number of cities/towns to end the Antiquity Age with, to carry over to the Exploration Age?
Thanks for any advice.

[Bobs]

You can pretty easily go over the cap by 2-3 cities

[Larkis]

Its not a hard cap. You just get some penalty in happyness.

[dg55]

The first over-cap was painful and the second was terrible. I was at war when I went over the limit by capturing an enemy city - that may have made it worse?

[Fluke]

New technology/civics add additional settlement caps.
It's somewhere around +4 or +5 settlement cap per age.
More cities/towns are always better as long as your happiness is positive. The celebrations aren't very powerful.

I dislike how you have to play half of the exploration age before you can safely cross oceans without damage. The age should start with 2 settlers + the ability to cross oceans + all continents have their outlines revealed.

[Dray Prescot]

Also if you do things right in the 1st Age you can pick up 2 or 3 Settlement Limit during the Transition to Age of Exploration, and you will have another +6 or more to Settlements to get from Tech and Civic Trees during Age of Exploration. By Turn 56 of Age of Exploration I was at 15 / 15 Settlements on Turn 56 after Killing off Xerxes and keeping a total of 6 Settlements from him between the 2 Ages.

I was at 11 Settlement Limit after I started Age of Exploration, and I will be again in my newest game which is near the end of Age of Antiquity.

In fact in those earlier game I was carrying a 11 / 8 Settlements just BEFORE making the transition, although the last Settlement was held back to make on the Last Turn of the Age of Antiquity

Here is a Screen shot from my most recent Turn 2 of Age of Exploration, notice the Settlements at 11 / 11. I also carried forward a Level 5 and 2 Level 2 Commanders into the new Age. They had been Roman Legatus Commanders before my Benjamin Franklin became the Normans.

https://steamuserimages-a.akamaihd.net/ugc/55834678231466750/03D504810018A42BF106B481950175799BE11A34/?imw=5000&imh=5000&ima=fit&impolicy=Letterbox&imcolor=%23000000&letterbox=false

I think it was the Fealty Bonus that got me a +2 Settlements during the Transition. (see below) I think something else got me another Bonus +1 Settlements.

https://steamuserimages-a.akamaihd.net/ugc/55834678229829129/B172FCAD3657E40C48803A5118C18574D4E8F913/?imw=5000&imh=5000&ima=fit&impolicy=Letterbox&imcolor=%23000000&letterbox=false

here is Turn 51 Age of Exploration just after killing off Xerxes, Notice the 16 / 13 Settlements Limit (one of them is still being Razed).

https://steamuserimages-a.akamaihd.net/ugc/55834678229700729/E4386689A02A6E821CE8A2866E0B9D4179877F51/?imw=5000&imh=5000&ima=fit&impolicy=Letterbox&imcolor=%23000000&letterbox=false

I restarted those games because of what I learned playing them, Unfortunately (for me) Xerxes only had 2 Settlements for me to conquer this time. So I will have to take more Settlements from other Empires in the coming Age of Exploration.

[martinolund]

Originally posted by dg55:

At the end of Antiquity, I had 7/8 towns/cities, as I thought this would be a smart move going into the Exploration Age. I was wrong - in the the new age, I still had the 7/8 cap.

The problem is that I would now like to take a nearby minor, settle some choice vacant land, fight a pushy AI neighbour (capture a city or two) and try to build overseas colonies, with only 1 vacant settlement available. I did try to go over the cap, but it is painful for my happiness. Can you raze your own surplus towns?

When I start a new game in the Exploration Age, I am given one city to start with, with an 8 settlement cap.

I read somewhere that, to get a large number of Treasure Fleet points, you should have 5 colony settlements, which would only leave me 3 cities/towns in the Old World.

In your experience, what is the optimum number of cities/towns to end the Antiquity Age with, to carry over to the Exploration Age?
Thanks for any advice.

As many as I can get many hands on. The more the better. I don't care about caps unless you get the happiness crisis then you might want to take it easy with the cap.

[DadouXIII]

Last game I was 8/7 settlements right before the transition from Antiquity to Discovery, and after the transition I was back at 7/7, and the settlement went back to the enemy.

I'm not quite sure what happened.