I'm not trying to thread jack. This relevent to the gold bit, at least to me.
I'm very intrigued by this. So you are saying that a) good starting BFC is an indicator that there are other civs close by, and b) the leader you have influences the choice of AI leaders?
I'd love to know more about both of these things.
The quality of your land at the start has a direct correlation to the distance of enemy AIs. This is scripted and supposed to be fair. You wouldnt want all capitals to be equidistant with the same proportion of starting land available. Look at how close London is to Paris and Amsterdam compared to lets say Moscow to Berlin.
I can almost look at a starting BFC and tell how far away my closest neighbor is.
If you dont feel like putting up with the hassle of one map, just re-roll.
You say it is scripted. I would be very interested to see evidence of this beyond empirical assertions (which are trash). If you can show me any real evidence that start location distance depends on resource quality, I'd be very interested to see it.
Regardless, if the starts were meant to be balanced they failed in epic fashion, but before we even get to that, I have to call out this start distribution weighted against starting tiles...
I did some digging, but I dont have all day. I'd rather play civ.
Sirian may well know the answer. But, it may also be a non-disclosure issue.
I don't think there's too much in IV that's truly a ND issue. People can see how the AI interfaces almost in its entirety...it would seem a little strange to *only* hide start algorithms!
You say it is scripted. I would be very interested to see evidence of this beyond empirical assertions (which are trash). If you can show me any real evidence that start location distance depends on resource quality, I'd be very interested to see it.
Regardless, if the starts were meant to be balanced they failed in epic fashion
Hyperbole. Yes, they didn't get it perfect, but a solution that generates good games 90+% of the time is a far cry from "epic fail".
I for one don't want too much balance. Knowing how to translate a good start into an impressive win and turning a bad start into a chance at winning whatever victory is available takes different skills in my opinion and I like the variety of challenges.
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Desert hill gold for 27 isn't too impressive unless we have food to waste. Yes, it allows a fast tech rate... but other resources allow a head start of expansion which can be even more valuable if you know what you are doing.
If we have other components of a good start, gold can push things over the top... but it certainly doesn't do so singlehandedly.