Balancing the Earth Scenario

[Fleme]

I did some research on south american resources for kicks and found out that whoever did the Earth18 map did a pretty decent job in placing the minerals and oil there.

It's actually really easy to make South America VERY habitable.

1) The mountain 1NE from the original spot of Cuzco changed to a hill and a source of sheep placed there (Sheep = Llamas and Alpacas)
2) The mountain south of Cuzco changed to a hill and his capital moved there.
3) Additional source of Fish added to the BFC
4) The desert in the Cuzco bfc changed to a plains tile.
5) The chilean coast deserts either changed to plains or desert hills. A source of sheep should exist here
6) 2 or 3 additional sources of fish for the chilean coast to represent the abundancy of fish they have.
7) 2 more ways to get out from behind the Andes, on both north and south.
8) Jungles on the immediate eastern edge of the Andes should all be changed to Forests to increase habitability. A source of sheep should exist on one or two of the mountainside hills.
9) 2-3 sources of Deer for the entire Amazon Jungle to increase habitability.
10) Additional plantation resources around the continent including incence, spices.

As for Vikings, if you plan to add them please make sure their capital has enough food because in the current state the map just gives them 1 whale and that's not food in anyone's book.

 

[Harv]

I did some research on south american resources for kicks and found out that whoever did the Earth18 map did a pretty decent job in placing the minerals and oil there.

It's actually really easy to make South America VERY habitable.

1) The mountain 1NE from the original spot of Cuzco changed to a hill and a source of sheep placed there (Sheep = Llamas and Alpacas)
2) The mountain south of Cuzco changed to a hill and his capital moved there.
3) Additional source of Fish added to the BFC
4) The desert in the Cuzco bfc changed to a plains tile.
5) The chilean coast deserts either changed to plains or desert hills. A source of sheep should exist here
6) 2 or 3 additional sources of fish for the chilean coast to represent the abundancy of fish they have.
7) 2 more ways to get out from behind the Andes, on both north and south.
8) Jungles on the immediate eastern edge of the Andes should all be changed to Forests to increase habitability. A source of sheep should exist on one or two of the mountainside hills.
9) 2-3 sources of Deer for the entire Amazon Jungle to increase habitability.
10) Additional plantation resources around the continent including incence, spices.

As for Vikings, if you plan to add them please make sure their capital has enough food because in the current state the map just gives them 1 whale and that's not food in anyone's book.

I think it was Rhye - You might be able to find this map originally done on the maps part of the forum. I have been taking another look at Rhye's and Fall of Civilization and he did several interesting things to the world map.

Have you had a look at my scenario? The changes are minor. All I did was remove 6 civilizations to make it less crowded and connected Spain to Africa and opened up the Andes Mountains in South America. I am currently playtesting it as America to see how the AI is managing in the Old World.

I like a lot of your ideas. Around the weekend - Saturday - I should be able to move some resources around and give Cuzco more food and make Santiago, Chile a decent food site also. I am going to try to do this without adding too many resources.

Also, I notice in your list you did not mention stone. The Incas are Industrious. Are there good places where I might be able to place a stone or marble in South America?

 

[Fleme]

I did take a look at the screenies you provided but didn't look at the scenarios as such. I'll get there in due time but for now I'm just glad to be providing feedback.

As for the presence of Stone, I'm not sure. I mean, with all the tweaks he's getting done for South America he'll be pretty damn strong and I fear that Stone could tip him over the scales. Then again, Europe has an abundance of stone, accompanied with trading partners so I suppose it'd even out.

As for possible sources, historically the Inca built all their major structures out of it and living in the Andes stone as such is abundant and they did master fine engineering with it. If you want to add a source of Stone, maybe add it to where Equador is so HC has to expand (to a less desirable location) to get it.

I must say that I don't really like the fact that the Gibraltar strait doesn't exist anymore. I know it doesn't change the game that much but it's still an unrealistic change in my opinion because it's not historically accurate. Other than that I really do appreciate your work and will most likely be playing your map once you finish it.

 

[Fetch]

I must say that I don't really like the fact that the Gibraltar strait doesn't exist anymore. I know it doesn't change the game that much but it's still an unrealistic change in my opinion because it's not historically accurate. Other than that I really do appreciate your work and will most likely be playing your map once you finish it.

Actually, its more historically accurate. Population spread across the Strait is easy and the change reflects that. It's not geographically accurate. However, I would argue that the Great Lakes in North America are the same. They should be contiguous (except for Ontario). They're not shown that way. I think a fort on that plot from the start of the game would make it even. Whichever Civ builds in the area can change it to something else and control passage in/out of the Med. It could be an interesting choke point, like the Gaza is in normal Earth games.

 

[Harv]

Actually, its more historically accurate. Population spread across the Strait is easy and the change reflects that. It's not geographically accurate. However, I would argue that the Great Lakes in North America are the same. They should be contiguous (except for Ontario). They're not shown that way. I think a fort on that plot from the start of the game would make it even. Whichever Civ builds in the area can change it to something else and control passage in/out of the Med. It could be an interesting choke point, like the Gaza is in normal Earth games.

Regarding the Strait of Gibraltar, here is my historical reasoning:
Carthage had colonies in Iberia iirc.
Rome had a presence in Northern Africa.
The Vandals were making a name for themselves there too.
The Moors came the opposite way, coming into Spain.

By choosing a land connection, I can open up that same route. I posted that screenie because if Rome plays without Spain, Portugal, or Carthage, it has a good shot at colonizing all of them and looking a lot like the Western Roman Empire.

I have only played games to turn 100, so I am not sure if that is too soon to tell. Greece seems to need some help because they get boxed in by Rome and Persia and Germany. Persia seems to get strong. Any ideas on what makes the Alexender AI work? Also, how long does it take for the AI to start picking fights with its neighbors?

EDIT - Mali also needs help, but comments on a similar thread by Huerfanista and Dalamb would probably help Africa.

 

[dalamb]

I haven't read the whole thread yet, and expect to have more comments later, but for now: there was an earlier thread by Learningciv where huerfanista showed us some actual Africa terrain maps. I made some of my own fixups in Africa"

• reduced the jungle and added bands of forest, grassland, and plain around it as suggested by his maps
• added some deer representing various kinds of herd animals
• reduced jungle in southern africa
• reduced desert in the Horn of Africa
• turned one mountain in northern central america into a hill to allow the Inca passage (which did happen historically, into the Amazon).

huerfanista later commented I'd gone overboard in Mali; I meant to make some fixups for that but never got around to it.

 

[Harv]

I am planning to make a go at moving some resources around the Earthmap.

Although some areas have too few food resources, I think the world in general has too many - particularily Europe and Asia. So I will be going through and thinning some of it out. North and South America will get some food resources redistributed instead.

Regarding the Fauna, this will be represented by Deer, unfortunately. So far, I am leaving the Americas with absolutely no benefit from Animal Husbandry. I might yet change my mind in a later go-around. On the other side, I saw nothing wrong with brininging in Bananas.

I think I have my ideas in North America pretty much settled. Regarding South America, I plan to move the two Deer towards the jungle and import three . I am open to suggestions on where to put them. I will probably put them close to the edge so that a coastal BFC will catch them.