AI Builds Cities Too Closely!

[Gatekeeper]

Everyone:

I've recently created some customized maps and have been playing on them. It didn't take me long to realize that the AI has a habit of building its cities right next to each other w/o the proper spacing — 100 percent so w/other AI civilizations.

Land is plentiful and the squares are quite nice, if I do say so myself. But it is really irritating to discover these AI cities so close together (usually from trading maps). It just doesn't look "natural," so to speak. So I've taken to destroying the city's defenders, putting barbs in, then wiping the city from existence w/my own units. Afterwards, I "salt" the soil by turning it into a glacier square in an effort to prevent a repeat on that spot.

This is really annoying and has me seriously considering going back to my Earth maps. Only on very rare occasions do I ever have trouble w/"too close" cities on those maps. Usually when the Celts are colonizing and the French or Germans are also in the game. Or, once in a while, when Japan is colonizing and China happens to be in the game. The fact remains, however, that "too close" cities are an extreme rarity for me on the Earth maps, but almost too damn common on the customized "natural" maps.

**sigh**

CYBERAmazon

[Scouse Gits]

What do you mean by 'too close' it strikes me that we may all have very different interpretations of this expression - ie DaveV might be thinking 'adjacent'

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Scouse Git[1]

"CARTAGO DELENDA EST" - Cato the Censor
"The Great Library must be built!"
"A short cut has to be challenging,
were it not so it would be 'the way'." - Paul Craven

[Julius Brenzaida]

quote: Originally posted by Scouse Gits on 01-26-2001 04:59 AM What do you mean by 'too close' it strikes me that we may all have very different interpretations of this expression - ie DaveV might be thinking 'adjacent'

Adjacent, or one on top of another. But unfortunately, it adds to the population, so it is no good for ICS. BTW, has Dave finished his 10 turns for 200 cities and 1000 units in the ICS-gigamap-sucession game ?


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Oh Man, when will you understand that your greatness lies in your failure - Goethe

[Gatekeeper]

quote: Originally posted by Scouse Gits on 01-26-2001 04:59 AM What do you mean by 'too close' it strikes me that we may all have very different interpretations of this expression - ie DaveV might be thinking 'adjacent'

Hmm ... by "too close" I mean when one city's radius takes over another city's squares right up to the actual city square itself. Kind of like this:

1. Too Close: X--X

2. Good enough: X---X

3. Perfect: X----X

The AI is guilty of doing No.1 way too much in my book, at least on the maps I've created. BTW, it seems to happen only when the AI puts cities on landmasses other than its home one. That's probably why the situation never rears its head much on Earth maps, because Eurasia and Africa are pretty much joined together, with only Australia and the Americas being significant separate landmasses.

CYBERAmazon

[War4ever]

the ai likes it's cities about three squares apart.... ever notice the patern in a large area of grasslands on a blank map. Its reminiscent of the trade special and hut patern

It also likes it's cities in groups of threes.... like triangles

[Scouse Gits]

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x Just right.
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SG(2)

[Gatekeeper]

War4Ever:

Yep, I've noticed those patterns. I don't have a problem with them, either, because the city environs don't overlap as much as indicated in my No.1 in the above "graphic" post.

CYBERAmazon

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Scouse Gits:

Scousy! Stop being a scoundrel! I'm in serious pain here! Serious, I tell you!

CYBERAmazon

[War4ever]

CYBERAmazon... i notice the early cities are usually closer together than the later ones as well. What annoys me more is the ai's lack of judgement on terrain... irrigation.... city squares to use etc.... i cannot play this game anylonger unless it is mp or i am trying a new strat..... the ai simply is too dumb