I enjoyed this game to a much higher degree than anticipated. I like management/strategy games, but futas makes me sick to my stomach. So well done, in making me still have fun with the game.
I played on normal and was sort of bewildered at all the resistance you get in the start. The futamazones are no joke and my "empire" (ramshackle village in the boondocks) was also frequently raped by ghosts. I saw where my "empire" was heading with the annoying religious fanatics trying to convert my citizens. They too had a strong military.
My advice is... just take it in the ass
, but do it in a smart way. You'll be economically ruined to a much higher degree, if you bet on military might in the start. I did clear it on normal.
A few tips and tricks.
Having at least 5-6 forests in your 5x5 starting build area seems to be a sweet spot to get an empire rolling in a fashionable time.
Rush currency either by first researching writing and then building the scholarly house and a woodcutter on the first turn and another woodcutter on the next turn. Delaying getting the trader to turn 4.
Or build the trader in the start, a few woodcutters, and wait with the scholarly house.
I like the second option the best as it secures your economy to a better degree. You will be able to get currency on week 5 with the first option, but you'll be unable to fully utilize it due to the lack of lumber.
Taxation is a powerful tool. Once a number of weeks has passed (10-20, I don't know the exact number), it becomes a tradition and will no longer cost an influence point to upkeep. For most of the time until your empire is fairing very well, you should be focusing on as much population growth as possible. Don't be afraid to tax the heck out of them, when time calls. You'll need the extra money here and there to expand your economy. Don't rely on taxes for your economy till you have 30-50k pop, use very high, extreme, or ridiculously high taxes as a band aid in certain situations. Avoid hiring troops as much as possible in the early-mid game. They are an enormous drain on the economy.
Once you have around 35 in intelligence or charm, you can half the increase of the money the futamazones racketeer/extort.
The arena is a wonderful tool for training your troops.
The outposts only gives you 4 new spaces, in which you can build. Your biggest limitation in the late game will be your food income. Try and make sure as many of the 4 spaces are plains as possible and build windmills on these areas. I haven't found it to matter, on what terrain the outposts themselves are build.
Don't try to fill your entire roster with "avatar of the gods", quite self explanatory as it will be unfeasible. I have much enjoyed the "busty maids" and their combat abilities. They are almost as strong as the avatars and they have half the upkeep. My ol winning roster was 10 avatar of gods, 13 busty maids, and Marcus. I was able to pay their upkeep with ridiculously high taxation and 50812 in pop.
Combat: it's (almost) all about damage and superior numbers. Having double the health isn't as good as having 3-4 times the damage. A team with high damage is much better at mitigating damage, as there'll be way fewer left to responds to their attacks. They don't attack in turns per se. Everyone attacks everyone at once.
Regarding stats. I'd feel uncomfortable having any troops with lower than 40 in seduction. 50 in seduction seems to be a sweet spot.
The rest of the stats should be put into damage, unless you have 3 black star plus troops with 120 in damage points, which roughly translates into 180-190 damage, with their body modifiers. Then maybe yes, add some points into the health of your avatar of the gods or busty maids.
Don't be afraid to say no in the game... unless it's futamazones asking for more money. Taking a small temporary dip in happiness and reputation is worth it, should the population ask for the money to be shared. Provided you are saving for your next big economic advancement.
The ghosts...Make a save before starting and ending every turn in the start. Sometimes their encounter seems to be unavoidable. Spend your faith points if you have uncomfortable many to lose. Then live with a slighter shorter ding dong or whatever else the gods also punishes you with for failing. You can always pray for a much bigger one anyways. Having enough troops to deal with these menaces, will severely set back your economy. Not worth the effort.
For most of the early game to the start of the end game, a lack of wood and stone will be the bottleneck. Unless you have severely mismanaged your gold income. Build woodcutters and stone quarries and their upgrades as soon as you are able.
You can delete buildings by using the trash can icon. Useful for turning the lumber factories into hunter huts, stone mines into monuments (you need faith to upgrade units, the price becomes very steep), or outposts into something else needed in the late game.
When the gods wants to reward you, height seems to be the best option as it's by default the most expensive to increase contra the increase in stats. You get 10 in height, which is more more than when you ask for bigger balls or a larger dick. My dude ended up being a 3 legged, 3 meter tall giant, with melons for balls. The one that's best for combat damage when you use faith points, seems to be ball size.
You get a new unit after building a temple. It's much better than your clansman/woman. The upfront cost is also relatively cheap, the problem is the enormous upkeep. The upkeep is almost the same as a busty maid. The busty maids just have a larger upfront cost, but their stats are far superior. I haven't found the exact trigger to recruit these. I don't know if it's timed, if it depends on the size of your population, your economic state, a specific research, or building. Some clarity would have been nice. My hunch is it's around the time, when your make it to a city.
Centaurs joins when you defeat the chieftain. They have around the same stats as a busty maid, but lower upkeep and lower cost... I just like big tits