Game Set Up Questions?

IRON_BRIGADE · June 12, 2002, 17:54

OK so how does the 3,4 and 5 billion years in the game setup affect whatever?

and how does the climate affect the game?

Spiffor · June 12, 2002, 18:10

The older the planet, the less mountains and hills you'll see.
temperature and climate affect the game for the appearance of desert and the quantity of warm / cold zones (jungles, tundras...)
I personnaly always play 5 by old planets which are wet and warm, because there are plenty of rivers, jungles and grassland, and I love fertile terrain.

Wittlich · June 12, 2002, 18:13

The 3, 4 and 5 billion year old setup deals with the age of the planet you want to play on. For example, a 3 billion year old world would have sharp/rugged hills and mountains, but in a 5 billion year old world, the hills/mountains have been worn down over time.

Concerning the climate - Simply put, this effects how dry/wet, warm/dry the terrain is.

Willem · June 12, 2002, 18:18

Quote:

Originally posted by IRON_BRIGADE
OK so how does the 3,4 and 5 billion years in the game setup affect whatever?

and how does the climate affect the game?

At 3 billion years, you get a lot more mountains. The reason being as that as the earth gets older, erosion will eventually make large mountains smaller. Also they tend to be more concentrated on the map. Over a couple billions years the earth will create new mountain ranges where non existed before, while the old ones becomes hills, so they're more spread out.

As for climate, if it's colder you get less jungle but more tundra, etc. If it's wetter, you get more grassland, less plains and desert.

Theseus · June 12, 2002, 20:25

I haven;t look much at 5B, but here's what I can say, approximately, about the differences between 3 & 4 B.

3B results in, compare to 4B:
* Mountains go from appr. 5% to 10%
* Hills go from appr. 9=10% to 20%
* Flood Plains go from 3-4% to 1%
* Clustering of luxury resources

Map size also has an effect... the bigger the map, the higher percentage of jungle tiles.

I have a spreadsheet examining this stuff if you really want to know.

Willem · June 12, 2002, 20:31

Quote:

Originally posted by Theseus

I have a spreadsheet examining this stuff if you really want to know.

You certainly take this game seriously don't you?

Theseus · June 12, 2002, 20:49

Don't know if you saw the thread, but I was trying to figure out how to create "killer AI civs."

My premise was sorta based on "Guns Germs & Steel," that geography and resources are the key factors. So I had to analyze all the basic set-up factors: age, climate, temperature, map size, number of civs, etc., in various permutations.

Yeah, I know, a little over the top. But it was a fun little weekend project...

Increased my respect for the designers. Kudos, Firaxians.

Willem · June 12, 2002, 21:04

Quote:

Originally posted by Theseus

Yeah, I know, a little over the top. But it was a fun little weekend project...

I know the feeling. In Civ II ToT, I spent at least a week working with the "Change Terrain" event, trying to simulate weather in the game. But I had an "accident" with my system which wiped out the text file, and I just didn't have the heart to start all over again.

And I was almost done too.

planetfall · June 13, 2002, 11:30

Theseus, ne rpodos-- what a teaser you are? I'll bite where is the spreadsheet?

Theseus · June 13, 2002, 12:05

Here ya go...

A deeper explanation is on the "Unbalanced Settings" thread.