i just started a game as rome and started exploring the map when i noticed i was very inland, i then was exploring the the south east of rome hoping to find some other nations when i came across a group of elephants of 6 elephants and another group about 4 tiles away of 3 elephants,
i know its quite soon but have you seen any wierd clusters of resources?

i just started a game as rome and started exploring the map when i noticed i was very inland, i then was exploring the the south east of rome hoping to find some other nations when i came across a group of elephants of 6 elephants and another group about 4 tiles away of 3 elephants,
i know its quite soon but have you seen any wierd clusters of resources?

Actually, there are many resources that are designed to cluster like that, but often people aren't used to seeing that behavior because many of the map scripts from the origional game scatter terrain almost randomly, thereby prevent resources from clustering like they were designed to do.

This behavior encourages trading and makes self-sufficiency more difficult.

thereby prevent resources from clustering like they were designed to do.

Why do you think the resource scattering was unintentional, rather than being designed in conjunction with the map scripts?

I enjoy the clustering, as it makes for some truly potent cities.

My first impression is that this is great, check out my High likeliness massive world size England start.

Is there something wrong with my Babylon start? I think I should have floodplains... Babilu in this start can grow to size 3:

http://img171.imageshack.us/img171/8889/civ4screenshot0002mw9.jpg

Not actually something wrong with the map, but I noticed the last Viking goals still says to found a city in America and not "the New World" like with other civs.

Is there something wrong with my Babylon start? I think I should have floodplains... Babilu in this start can grow to size 3:

I think that's just the way it works.

But I think the starts (especially, the fat cross around the starting settler) that the desert civs get that are too weak. I suggest adding more floodplains and food resources near the capitals.

Playing a game as Rome I noticed that Athens, Carthage, Thebes and Rome were all very close together. The Egyptians, Carthage and Greece all declared war on me very early on. No worries, by 1AD, Thebe and Carthage were productive parts of my empire.

Now for the problem... When Arabia spawned (founded both Christianity and Islam on spawn) Carthage seeemd to be within Arabia's flip zone eventhough the city was 5 plots away and on a different continent. Interstingly enough, a Greek city that is closer to Mekka did not flip.

Rhye, was this intended?

Why do you think the resource scattering was unintentional, rather than being designed in conjunction with the map scripts?

I've studied the code in depth for my own scripts, and the way the XML rules are designed the intent is clear. For each time such a resource is placed there is x chance that another will be placed in each adjacent tile around the first placement that will accept that resource. I can't remember the exact tag names involved, but that's basically how it works.

It's a good system for non-critical resources actually, everyone usually has something that everyone else might want.

Playing a game as Rome I noticed that Athens, Carthage, Thebes and Rome were all very close together. The Egyptians, Carthage and Greece all declared war on me very early on. No worries, by 1AD, Thebe and Carthage were productive parts of my empire.

Now for the problem... When Arabia spawned (founded both Christianity and Islam on spawn) Carthage seeemd to be within Arabia's flip zone eventhough the city was 5 plots away and on a different continent. Interstingly enough, a Greek city that is closer to Mekka did not flip.

Rhye, was this intended?

that city was probably close to the greek capital too

Problem with the map script is that none of the early civs are starting regularly with stone or marble. 5/5 of my Greek starts have no marble or stone, which pretty much makes the wonder building part impossible. (instead I had tons of elephants, desert and even copper). Maybe the map script can let Egypt, Greece, Babylon and India start with some decent stone/marble?

For each time such a resource is placed there is x chance that another will be placed in each adjacent tile around the first placement that will accept that resource.

Why do you think that recourse placement algorithm was designed for map scripts unlike the majority of those that shipped with the game?

I enjoy the clustering, as it makes for some truly potent cities.

My first impression is that this is great, check out my High likeliness massive world size England start.

I suspect your 3 cows were added at your spawn and not by the map script. I saw the same thing happening when France spawned near my Leptis Magna.

I suspect your 3 cows were added at your spawn and not by the map script. I saw the same thing happening when France spawned near my Leptis Magna.

Interesting. I did go on to win that English game, which you can look at in the thread I started. I have some screens of the world posted there and colonization efforts.

Also, I was out for a few hours so I loaded an American spawn game. Unlike in RFC, the starting resources for the Americans seem a lot more scant. In RFC you can get a good 4-8 resources per American city site. In this RFC game I got 2-3, if I was lucky.

Why do you think that recourse placement algorithm was designed for map scripts unlike the majority of those that shipped with the game?

Why go through the trouble to place them this way if you don't intend for them to cluster? Strategic and wonder resources are not placed like this.

Not all the maps use the fractal landscape generator, but it's easy to imagine that people settle into their favorite map script and might never see a large cluster of resources. So when they see it for the first time, it looks wrong, even though I suspect it's actually right..:D

It definately adds something to the resource trading game, so if it wasn't intended to the degree we see in non-fractal maps, it shouldn't be viewed as 'broken', just 'different'.

I had a city flip that was 3 spaces from my capital. twas my second city, and my religous capital. the mongols tyranized babylon this day.

I have some screen shot attachments to show everyone, remind me how to upload and show them

thanks

Disregard i figured it out (obviously)

Here are some shots of my recent start as France. Note that Europe is in an Ice age, London spawned in the middle of Spain (rather than the nice looking island jsut off shore), and Germany spawned in the middle of Barbs, who conquered them rather than flipping to them.

I was playing playing as Rome and everything was going well with 5 cities. Then the Germans spawn and flip a city. Then three turns later the Russians spawn and flip my second city full of wonders!
In RFC you know where they are going to spawn, but in RAND if you're unlucky, you could probably have 2/3 of you cities flip and you would collapse.

In RFC it's too easy to exploit the knowledge of spawning spots of new civilizations. You could for example build Lisboa as Spain, or Rome as Carthage etc. In RAND, you can't know where a new civ spawns. It can be very very frustrating seeing a stack of Ottomans spawn next to your builder civilization's capital, I agree, but it's nice to see that happen to your biggest rival.

Oh BTW, I also encountered a "holy cow" on a mountain next to Paris in my France game.

That's why your Roman capital should be at least 3 tiles away (preferably north/northwest since that's where the Germans/French should spawn in the future), founded on the 2nd move.

It can be very very frustrating seeing a stack of Ottomans spawn next to your builder civilization's capital, I agree, but it's nice to see that happen to your biggest rival.

Now we know how the Byzantines felt. :(

Now we know how the Byzantines felt. :(

Yeah, except that the Byzantines didn't have the chance to take control of the Ottomans. :D

In my three test games so far I have seen an inordinate amount of silk. In my Greek game (abandoned early) I was surrounded by 6 silk. My French empire was the world leader in Silk (7 to trade) and Rome had 4 sources in its homeland in my newest game.

Oh BTW, I also encountered a "holy cow" on a mountain next to Paris in my France game.

Too bad you can't use them. But I like the way the animals are placed on the mountains graphically :D

In my three test games so far I have seen an inordinate amount of silk.

I confirm this. There was overly much silk, and also cotton, near the European nations.

i found the stone! it's in maya and inca.

I just rolled up 5 consecutive starts as Japan. I never spawned on an Island (High Likelihood world) and always was at or near the top of the map (lots of ice and tundra).

Kind of strange I think

I was wondering, question for Rhye: with the possible exception of marsh (and perhaps resources, not sure how it works), is it possible to export this map script for traditional civ ?