What determines starting location in MP? and other Qs

[battists]

Hello all,

I've just gotten Play the World up and running on my home LAN, where my wife and I are enjoying it.

One silly question and a few others:

1. What determines your starting location?

I only ask this because we started about 8 games with the same characteristics:

Turn-based (no timer)
Huge map
2 players (me/Egypt and my wife/Persia)
6 computer players (random civs)
Culturally linked starting locations OFF

Despite this, we always seem to end up in the same area. I mean, every time, she's the first civ I find, which seems ridiculous on a huge map.

2. I'm sure this has been answered somewhere already, but is there no way to play with more than 8 players? We want to play 2 humans vs 14 computers on a huge map, but it doesn't seem like an option.

3. What happens if you have respawn turned off and the host player gets killed off? Does he have to leave his computer turned on until the game is finished?

Thanks from a PTW novice...

Steve

[WarpStorm]

1. The default map generator settings likes to clump civs close together to promote early contact. You can change this in the editor to some extent.

2. Not an option.

3. Another player becomes host.

[battists]

Short and sweet. That's the way I like my answers. (^_-)

But still, why do the "clumped" civs always have to be me and my wife? Why can't they clump me with another computer player and her with a different one? Seems uncanny the way we always end up together...

[WarpStorm]

That's just dumb luck (I think, I'll check on it).

[Wittlich]

Actually, try this:

Host a MP LAN game and pick your civilization. Then choose 3 AI players right below you in the setup screen. Then have your wife join the game. Once she is present, choose 3 more AI players.

This way the turn mode will be you, then 3 bots, then your wife, then 3 more bots.

This is the setup my partner and I use, rarely will we both endup starting close together.

Try it, I think you'll like it!

[battists]

OK, WarpStorm appears to be right, it was dumb luck.

Last night we bumped it down to large (huge is too huge with a max of 8 civs) and played and got a nice setup with each of us getting a decent start and NOT NEXT TO EACH OTHER.

Let's face it, the hardest thing about MP is losing the ability to restart the game 10 times to get a better starting location.

Wittlich, I don't think the player order impacts start location, I had been trying the very thing you suggested and was still ending up next to my wife until last night.

Thanks all!