What do you if you get a crappy starting spot?

exsanguination · January 22, 2002, 19:08

What you do if the game starts you off in the middle of a jungle or a desert, or somethign crappy of the sort?

If you restart, what is the minimum you ask for? I require no disease-causing terrain and not surrounded by mountain/forest - unless I am truly looking for a challenge. Other than that, I erally don't care... but a cow is awful nice next to a capital...

MonsterMan · January 22, 2002, 19:18

I require a decent chunk of fertile land, at least enough to get hold of galleys in reasonable time. In my current game I started out on a moderately-sized island, while my main empire actually developed on another continent. There's also a little icy continent to the south that I've settled... interestingly no enemy unit has ever walked on that continent, they must not value fishing-from-tundra at all.

TinCow · January 22, 2002, 22:23

I need grassland with a couple hills (or other high-shield squares) and a fresh water source nearby. Unlike may other people though, I like jungle. I love continents full of grassland, and the only way I've figured out how to get this on a regular basis is to play on a wet world and hope for lots of surrounding jungle. I quickly conquer my island or a large share of my continent and then build lots of workers to turn that crappy jungle into beautiful grassland. I always end up with an entire continent of 25-30 pop cities.

Quokka · January 22, 2002, 22:35

Depends. When I was first started I wanted better terrain but now I am beginning to play the higher levels I take what I get more often. The major thing I don't like is a coastal Capital. With corruption as rampant as it is having 1/4 or more of the immediate radius of the capital as sea doesn't work for me. I want to be able to get at least one ring of decent cities around the capital. Once again this depends on the map. This is unlikely on smaller or archipeligo maps. When I get better I will take anything that comes. Challenging games are more fun, at least when you are upto the challenge.
Answer: Quit, Restart

simwiz2 · January 22, 2002, 22:49

definately no jungle, and preferably a nearby "perfect spot" with river, shield grassland, and a hill or two for my second city, so i can get the pyramids and colossus quickly. Of course i only quit if i get a really bad spot, like desert, floodplain, jungle or mountains.

Changmai Beagle · January 22, 2002, 22:57

I haven't got all that far yet, but I generally play until it's clear I'm so far behind I'm toast. But I do keep the good maps to replay.

What I like is some grassland and some hills. I don't mind a coastal capital, especially on a bay so I can get some of the coastal wonders.

What I really value, however, are interesting layouts with some nice strategic pinchpoints and terrain issues. I always go for the young planet to group mountains and deserts, etc.

aebbeka · January 22, 2002, 23:58

The random map generator stinks compared to SMAC and Civ2. I have to restart a dozen times before I get a map where the whole continent is filled with mountains, desert is just to the north and jungle to the south, or on a tiny piece of land that resembles Antarctica.

So you say to continue playing? It will be a challenge? Ha!

moi · January 23, 2002, 00:06

i eat bananas when my starting position sucks.

moi · January 23, 2002, 00:06

i eat bananas when my starting position sucks.

pauli · January 23, 2002, 01:26

unless i get a coastal spot with plenty of plains and rivers, i tend to restart. i don't find the game enjoyable otherwise.

and i agree, the map generator is garbage compared to smac and civ2. in those, anything other than an extreme polar spot was playable.

wouldn't be so bad if i could terraform!

MonsterMan · January 23, 2002, 02:43

I value the inability to terraform. It brings back memories of what my empire used to be in its infancy. Still, I had some ideas in another thread about 'terraforming' to a tile inbetween two, ie light forest tile which can be irrigated but still show the shadow of the olde forest.

Skanky Burns · January 23, 2002, 04:12

Quote:

Originally posted by pauli
and i agree, the map generator is garbage compared to ... civ2.

Youve got to be joking. The Civ 2 map generator couldnt have generated a decent map if its life depended on it!!

EDIT: Typo

Atahualpa · January 23, 2002, 04:23

A game with a biting start position is on the other hand much more of a challenge. Because I guess then you are glad that the AI is "dumb".
If however you look for a game where you will be the king right from the start the game is much less of a challenge.

Plus, tundra and desert are perfect places for oil!! I always have some cities in unihabitable terrain just because there might be oil. Desert is also place for salpeter. And in jungle there is rubber.

ata

Harovan · January 23, 2002, 04:55

I think the random map generator is good. Maps are balanced and look realistic. And a vehement NO!

to the Civ2/CtP-like terraforming.

My only condition to play or not to play a starting position is: I hate to have my capitol at the coast (or the coast is in sight). It has to be at least 3-4 tiles away. So I play a few turns and quit if I am too close.

kittenOFchaos · January 23, 2002, 05:37

I will find someone else's empire and take it...

s3d · January 23, 2002, 06:08

He, he. In my mod I have early hidden nationality unit (raider 2.1.2 wheeled 6 shields), and if I feel I'm in disadvantage I just grab couple of AI's poor defended cities without declaring war. If I have good start I just don't use them.

ratbert9 · January 23, 2002, 08:32

Just because you have a bad starting position, that does not mean that the civ next to you also has a bad starting position.

Thrawn05 · January 23, 2002, 21:33

Well, I thought I was on a good spot, my capital had three cows in the city zone. But as my civ's boarders developed, it turns out I had no coal and no rubber, but the one civ I boarder had three coals and two rubbers and the jerk Cleo wouldn't trade with me! And the coal and rubber were a too far to waist time in a war. I had to dump my idea for a space win and just win by diplomacy.

Thrawn05 · January 23, 2002, 21:37

Quote:

Originally posted by Skanky Burns
Youve got to be jocking. The Civ 2 map generator couldnt have generated a decent map if its life depended on it!!

If you thought that was bad, try Civ for the super nintendo! I was stuck on a 5 tile island!!!

kittenOFchaos · January 24, 2002, 04:52

The "Colonisation" map maker took the biscuit...for the purposes of enjoyment the real world map was the only one I played. The map maker in colonisation poorly allocated terrain types so that you rarely had more than 3 squares of the same terrain in a colony and the indian tribes were virtually always on most of the land, so hindering development and exploration.

Qilue · January 24, 2002, 19:49

Last game I played (Egypt, warm, wet, 5 billion, monarch), I was alone on this huge continent where the terrain was about 30% plains, 15% desert, 50% jungle with a scattering of other types. I almost restarted after seeing what I had to develope, but decided to perservere.

My first stealth bomber rolled off the production lines in 1784 and the spaceship launched in 1880 (I wasn't really in a hurry). Final score - 8485.

The moral? Sometimes, what looks like iron pyrites can turn out to be gold.