Starting with 1 or 2 colony pods?

I've just recently begun playing this game, and I am noticing something I find odd. With exactly the same game settings and faction (testing right now with the normal map of planet, using current settings, and picking the gaians several times over) I sometimes get 1 colony pod to start with, and other times I get two. I have the setting that allows you to select your base location rather than having it auto-dropped on. I've also used the scenario editor to look around and the same situation applies to other factions; a lot of the time different ones will start with different numbers of colony pods, but it doesn't seem to be connected to which faction it is.

Is this a bug, or an intentional feature? And if it's intentional...what determines whether you get one or two pods to start with? Having one less free pod to start with is a big downside, after all.

This feature is intentional and is related to the difficulty level of your game and your starting position. If you play at Transcend difficulty, I think that you'll always start with 2 Colony Pods. At lower difficulty levels, the computer will evaluate your starting position. If it considers your starting position to be relatively disadvantageous, it may compensate you by giving a second Colony Pod. Other forms of compensation include additional Supply Pods or a Unity Foil (if you start on a small land mass).

I usually play Talent level. When I see that I have two colony pods I usually start again because it means starting position-wise I'm already screwed.

Hm, interesting. I'm not sure how good at judging what's really good land or not it is (the AI does tend to make some atrocious settling choices, after all; if it's using that same logic, well...) but that was definitely confusing. I thought it might be intentional, but I couldn't be sure.

As for being screwed if you're in a two-pod area, I'm not sure I agree. When using the huge map of Planet it often gives two pods for areas near the Monsoon Jungle, making it easy to quickly start building toward the jungle.

Does anyone think that with two pods it is worth it to travel with one very far a field so that you can nab some cool unique land like the jungle or crater? or do the negative consequences of splitting your empire (no road connection for a long time) outway this?

Fabio1701 said:

Does anyone think that with two pods it is worth it to travel with one very far a field so that you can nab some cool unique land like the jungle or crater? or do the negative consequences of splitting your empire (no road connection for a long time) outway this?

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If I find some prime real estate, such as the Jungle or the Crater, before founding my second base, I would definitely go for it. However, I usually establish base #2 by turn four or five, so it would be unusual to find a landmark by then. (And I play mostly on Really Big Maps, making it even more unlikely to discover a landmark that soon.)

In my experience, the disadvantage of the starting location is easily outweighed by the advantage provided by the extra pod about 95% of the time, such that I would always take a two-pod start over a one-pod one--though I mostly play on Transcend so don't experience the difference much.

Not establishing first base first turn and second base by turn three is never to the advantage from my experience on transcend, which is the only difficulty I've played for more than a decade.