The definitive(lol, I wish), JS starting conditions guide?

[Iazo]

Hi. I have been asked multiple times to give an opinion on starting conditions, especially on JS.

I have played only a handful of starts, and there is no secret to which one is my favourite, but in order to broaden my horizons, I think I will have to attempt to try them all, in order to definitively (until next version) answer which one is best. Or at least, sort them into tiers.

I have theorycrafted a bunch of promising candidates, in no particular order:

Pacific/None

Siberia/Turan

N. Africa/Thebes

N. America/Cali

Arctic/Northfed

Europe/Blackmarch

Europe/Romanica/M.Touch

If you are experienced, you can probably see a pattern as to why I consider those the strongest starts.


I plan on trying them all with Gray/Dumbass/Male Touch to limit variance a bit, and play each for 6-ish months, about to the time the missile rain starts. The ideal preparation would be 4 Overcharged radars by 1st of July.

Any other ideas? Suggestions?

Since playing such a start is A LOT of work, I will not promise to play all suggestions. If you come here suggesting that Middle East/Thebes or S. Africa/Rogue Fields is the best start ever, I will not even attempt it, unless you can argue it well in words.

[Psyentific]

If you get it almost pixel-perfect, there's a patch of western Canada that is actually in the Pacific region rather than North America. I'm not sure if that's actually a desirable combination for you, but it's an interesting find regardless.

[Iazo]

I know about it, but it is not, since Canada bonus is weaker than the None bonus.