[Map script]Creation.py for FFH2

[cephalo]

Either way I think balanced needs to be added to this mod or something else changed cuz those resources are pretty damn important. My friend is amurites and can't even get archmages lol

I think this is a problem in general with all generated maps. This map currently uses the default bonus placement. The XML rules for those are 75% of the number of players, which is generally too low. I don't know what size map you are playing, but on a duel map there would be only one, and possibly none according to the xml rules. Obviously, on pre-made maps this problem doesn't exist.

 

[tharg]

That's a map crash, and if it happens every time then first restart FFH, then look in your PublicMaps folder for a script called 'random.py'. If you have that in your PublicMaps folder, then rename it.

I searched my documents\my games and program files\firaxis directories plus suboflders, and found no 'random.py'. Found a lot of random.pyc.

 

[cephalo]

I searched my documents\my games and program files\firaxis directories plus suboflders, and found no 'random.py'. Found a lot of random.pyc.

Ok then, time to get out the stethoscope. In your BtS\CivilizationIV.ini file, set HidePythonExceptions to '0'. That will cause a popup when the script crashes detailing the reason why it crashed. If you use alot of mods it's useful to leave it that way so you can report otherwise unseen bugs to the mod developers.

 

[Calbrenar]

I think this is a problem in general with all generated maps. This map currently uses the default bonus placement. The XML rules for those are 75% of the number of players, which is generally too low. I don't know what size map you are playing, but on a duel map there would be only one, and possibly none according to the xml rules. Obviously, on pre-made maps this problem doesn't exist.

We always do the largest map size with 2 humans and 12-16 AI.

When you say premade maps do you mean generating the map somewhere from the menu then loading it to play the game on?

 

[cephalo]

We always do the largest map size with 2 humans and 12-16 AI.

When you say premade maps do you mean generating the map somewhere from the menu then loading it to play the game on?

No I mean maps that someone sat down with WB and created, like the Erebus maps.

On a huge map with 16 civs, you should have roughly 12 reagent bonuses and 12 incense bonuses. See if that's not the case. If you are really getting only 1 or 2 with that size map I'll have to investigate. I'm at work right now so I can't check it myself.

If you turn on cheat codes you can press ctrl-z to see the whole map.

 

[Halancar]

A problem with incense and the creation script is that the script creates huge patch of pure grassland and prairie. Starting in pure prairie is a major pain, food is too scarce and cottages not really an option. Starting in grassland is very comfortable... until you realize that there is no incense in it, because incense only appears in prairies and desert. For that matter, deer and furs are relegated to the rare tundra bits, and so on...

This is made even worse in this script because of the valley-like nature of the map : the only access to incense will often involve sea travel of going through two other civs...

I really love this script, but in my opinion it would be even better if the terrain type was a little more varied, with smaller patches of grassland, prairie, tundra, desert, and so on...

 

[Elm]

I don't really have a problem with the resources. In the current game I am playing as the Sidar, with RoK, I have no gems. But of course, very few of my units make it past level 6

With this map script, and xienwolf's "Animals Build Lairs" and "Dangerous Special Features" modules, or even without them, there are plenty of areas which become barbarian strongholds that likely contain the resources you need, so you don't even need to go to war with anyone to get them.

In some ways, the Sidar are way to easy to play. If you want a resource a neighbor has, create a city nearby, and overwhelm them with culture until the resource is yours

Or, create hidden nationality units with the CoE (or the shadow l2 summon), kill off all city defenders in a neighbor's city, then "delete" a werewolf next to the city (which makes it go barbarian) then capture the city from the werewolf in the next turn. Can do that with any crazed (or is it frenzied) unit.

My Sidar game is getting a bit boring. All I do is create HN units, farm neighbors for experience, shade them, repeat.

 

[JDexter]

As far as I can tell that's the exact point of this script: to generate maps that have a realistic distribution of environments according to weather conditions. If you look at Earth (which has exactly that: weather determining the landscape) you won't find all resources in one spot but all over the world (famous examples are potatoes or corn). It encourages trade, imperialism and wars.

 

[xienwolf]

And it isn't all that realistic for a single city to span Tundra, Grassland, Forest & Plains (though a few isolated chunks of Plains in the middle of grassland isn't unheard of. Nor a couple isolated desert or grassland in the midst of plains. But if we want to get technical, you can also have desert in tundra, since it is defined solely by annual precipitation, not by heat index like so many people associate it with).

 

[DharmaMcLaren]

"Desert" in Civ is quite clearly a hot desert, though; and "ice" is a cold desert.

 

[woodelf]

cephalo - can your mapscript make sure all of the Unique Features are included in every map? I bugged Kael about this at one point, but it wasn't high priority.

 

[cephalo]

cephalo - can your mapscript make sure all of the Unique Features are included in every map? I bugged Kael about this at one point, but it wasn't high priority.

Actually, it doesn't actually place them, it moves the ones that are already there. It may be possible, since I wouldn't need access to the XML(Not exposed to Python in this case) to place *all* of them. It would look rather silly on a duel sized map though... Do you really want all of them?

One thing that's nice about their rarity is that it makes each game have a slightly different atmosphere. I've played quite a few games by now and there are still a few I haven't seen yet. That's kinda cool.

 

[Calbrenar]

I played a standard sized map on creation and it actually started me (as Sheim) in all hills with a 1x4square inlet of water (goin gto a small sea) with the only grasslands across the water (and still in city range (3 of them)). My warrior and scout started across the water, my settler started on the hills. There were no unforested/jungle/hills on my side of the water and it was impossible to get my warrior/scout over to my side due to the mountain blocking. Pretty funny actually.

I'll check on the number of incense/reagents in our game I bet it probably is close to 12 because there's a ton of incense all up in the north and a pretty big set of the map is blacked out so maybe regents over there.

 

[woodelf]

Actually, it doesn't actually place them, it moves the ones that are already there. It may be possible, since I wouldn't need access to the XML(Not exposed to Python in this case) to place *all* of them. It would look rather silly on a duel sized map though... Do you really want all of them?

One thing that's nice about their rarity is that it makes each game have a slightly different atmosphere. I've played quite a few games by now and there are still a few I haven't seen yet. That's kinda cool.

What about 1/civ guaranteed and always within 3-5 tiles of where they start? I want to see more!

 

[MagisterCultuum]

That might not be fair if one player starts with the Mirror of Heaven and another starts with the Broken Sepulcher so close. Other than that, sound good.

 

[xienwolf]

Dear lord, if you program it to guarantee them near each player than I may be responsible for more deaths on Erebus than Hyborem with my dangerous versions I love it (New themesong for the loading screen should be the Jaws soundtrack with that module....)

 

[woodelf]

Exactly. I'll be gunning for those capital cities!

 

[Halancar]

As far as I can tell that's the exact point of this script: to generate maps that have a realistic distribution of environments according to weather conditions. If you look at Earth (which has exactly that: weather determining the landscape) you won't find all resources in one spot but all over the world (famous examples are potatoes or corn). It encourages trade, imperialism and wars.

Fair enough for most resources : for food resources for instance, it does not really matter if you have rice, corn, wheat, cow, sheep or pigs. Any of them will do. But incense is needed to build priests (well, except the Veils ones), so if you don't get incense you won't get priests. And that takes away from one of the best part of FFH.

And on Earth, as far as I can tell, every civilization that ever existed managed to get some kind of priests, regardless of access to incense

 

[JDexter]

You can also get priests with gems for ROK, no? Not sure about the other ones, but you can pretty much declare anything you want to be incense, that's just a gameplay problem civ has with resources.

Played a few games with this script now and I like it!
Could you maybe include a few more options, for example for amount of landmasses, distance between them, number of islands, size of ocean, over all world temperature and humidity etc.? That would rock!

 

[Demus]

personally, the option i'd like to see is "amount of passages between valley's", just to increase the chance 2 area's are connected. It's a fun map type, but it's getting kinda annoying being forced into naval warfare every single game.