I think it is daft that my Civ-III cities are not named in accordance with available observations: Southampton could be in the north of my empire, Birmingham created near the start of the game, &c.

The game could look at the map, and base naming decisions on landscape, year or era, politics or war, natural resources, &c.

Lists of cities could be categorised for simplicity

<culture>
London
Edinburgh
Cardiff
Liverpool
</culture>

<ports>
Dundee
Portsmouth
Newcastle
</ports>

<south>
Southampton
Plymouth
</south>

<industrial>
Birmingham
Coventry
Manchester
Glasgow
</industrial>

Obviously many cities have more than one association and bias is required, but the CivIII ordering is a bid silly.

Thanks :p

Civ is not about this world, it is about a bizarre parallel dimension(s) I dunno, all kidding aside I see your point, but that sounds really hard to do as hard-and-fast rules.

I usually just name cities myself. I name my capital "Ernie Werbel City" if I switch to communism (like Ho Chi Minh City) :D Then I may name my cities after people I know. Stevestown, Garysburg, Danopolis. Whatever the mood permits me.

Other times I'll name my cities after things in my room (and have the locations on the game map in relation to my bedroom layout). Television City, Printville, Speakertown, City of Marantz (my stereo system), 'Putertown.

Still other times I may just name them based on the terrain around them, with a twist. Seaside Town, Plaid Hills, Frigid Shallows, Werbel Plains.

I mix and match here and there, but it's fun to keep with a theme. Since I have no life, I enjoy the peoples' names idea the most. :crazyeye:

Sorry? the second cultural city for the English Civ after London should be Edinburgh and 3rd Cardiff!!! Scotish and Welsh!!!

Who said I play for England? Rule Britannia! :p

kidding aside I see your point, but that sounds really hard to do as hard-and-fast rules.

It is a case of using a different list of names depending on the situation, new cities started in the industrial age would come from a different list to those started in the ancient era, &c.

My solution to this problem is simple: Instead of a text-box that gives you the default name of the next city in that particular civlization's list of cities, just make it a drop-down menu where can select from the entire list, or select "Custom City Name" where you can name it yourself.

This way if you're starting a city in the north and the next one in the list is Southhampton, you can skip it and name it the next one on the list without the name Southhampton losing its place in line.

St. Petersburg was always created 5000 years before it existed. I like the drop-down list. AIs can choose random, with the top of the list weighted.