Archipelago

[slyone14]

So i play on emperor level, 22 civs, 18 city states, and large map. Now, I want to try indonesia, but I hear that this map type is the only way to go for this civ? My worry is with these settings this map type will be boring to play as and would give me too much of an advantage.

I think the CPU wouldn't attack as much cause they have to cross the oceans and won't concentrate on navy and other areas. So my question is two fold, what has been your game experiences on this map type? Also, how does it affect gameplay? Just looking for someone to give me an idea on their overal experiences of this map?

What other map types work for this civ?

 

[MerchantCo]

Archipelago is plenty of fun.

 

[joncnunn]

On standard map size, I found about a 1 in 3 chance that a major AI is on the starting landmass.

Large islands has somewhere around 1 in 10 chance of that happening on that size.

Tiny islands: no chance of occuring, but that script doesn't allow changing the resource setting.

The AI can still DOW players on water maps, but unlikely before turn 100 (standard speed)

Edit: In Small contentents, it is more likely than not that an AI will share the landmass with you. But it's also very likely you won't run into any other AIs until somebody has Astronomy.
You may also run into a problem with the Indonesian UA; there might not be a nearby separate landmass you can reach until Astronomy.

 

[slyone14]

So what them fun to you? Any differences I should know about? Can a ai civ declare war on me before optics?

 

[Arachnofiend]

The one time I've seen an AI DOW before turn 100 on a water map and be successful at it was Dido in a recent game. She marched her Quinqueremes over to Persia and ended up wiping him. I was kind of impressed, actually. Situations like that are extremely rare. Personally I prefer Small Continents over the other water maps because you're more likely to have real neighbors.

 

[slyone14]

yeah, so to get the most out of indonesia's benefits and for a fair game, what map types do you recommend?

 

[MerchantCo]

Small Continents, I suppose.

 

[JtW]

Small Continents. Archipelago is too easy due to the AI being virtually unable to wage war on the sea.

 

[MisterSaturnine]

Archipelagos are one of my favorite map types to play, but if you're worried about the balance of other Civs on water maps try hand-picking them so you choose all naval Civs as enemies. Say --

1. Indonesia (you)
2. Portugal
3. Polynesia
4. England
5. Ottomans
6. Carthage
7. Byzantium
8. Netherlands
9. Venice
10. Korea
11. Denmark

You'll still be able to leverage the archipelago bonuses better, of course, but it makes for an interesting game. You'll have plenty of competition to dominate the seas.

I've found that the AIs can often be pretty capable with a naval invasion - Sejong will probably be the toughest foe you'll have on an archipelago. Those turtle ships can be brutal on archipelago. They're like early ironclads.

 

[Calouste]

Small Continents. Archipelago is too easy due to the AI being virtually unable to wage war on the sea.

Not only that, a lot of civs get gimped on Archipelago maps because their UU or UA becomes less useful: Pretty much everyone with an early UU or a terrain based ability (Inca, Iroquois, Aztecs, Arabia) won't be able to use it.