I am not sure how to "Host" a map. However, I will attach it to this post.
I've since modified the map from the one I described. This one after several hours I think is far more balanced.
Here is the scenario:
It's noble difficulty, marathon speed. Naturally, you can go into worldbuilder, save it and do whatever you want with it as well.
There are 14 civilizations. This time I put 4 on one side of the map (The Romans, Greeks, Babylonians and Egyptians).
Then I put on the other side, Hitler, France, David, England and America. I made sure each starting place was fairly balanced.
Then in between them is a vast stretch of desert. "No mans land" where there is a lot of oil. It is dotted by oasis and there is one large one in the middle. It is interesting to watch the AI build roads across the desert. It adds a lot of depth to the game.
The AI wouldn't be able to cross the sea in 1000AD to mount a full scale invasion, but they could potentially cross that vast desert to make war.
Japan, China and Korea vye for dominance on a perfect Island to the north. It is well balanced. Tea, Jade, Spices and Silks you'd expect to find in that region.
The Dutch have another ideal location, its full of wonderful goods to trade.
I made sure no one was 'self sufficient', so the dutch sort of need to trade their surplus. They are well away from most of the major nations that a priority is going to be travel.
Then I added "The New World". This is much smaller than the Americas would be. It's got two indian tribes, and no horses. They have a lot of good raw materials. Excellent for colonization!
Ragnar once again rules a frosty domain to the north. Heavy on the metals, no horses. Ragnar was intended not to be playable. He is more for color. A minor nation.
I think this time, any of the nations beside that one would pose an interesting challenge.
I enjoyed babylon. I got my butt kicked this time, when Hitler and France jointly declared war on me. So this time, it was much more enjoyable.
I think the big thing I noticed, is that if you get a MASSIVE empire, it becomes fairly unweildy and that reflects historically. I watch as the Japanese dominate the game, yet only have four or five cities, meanwhile I have 20 and we fall behind because we just can't field large enough armies to be everywhere at once. That seems very 'realistic' to me, so kudos. It must have been a fluke the last two times I played.
I hope someone enjoys my maps. I made this more for strategy, than I did to look 'pretty'. Cosmetically, I don't think nature would put such a vast dead space between continents this way, but I really thought it added a lot to the game to avoid me gobbling up all the nearby empires.
Really, I intended the game to be played
arty:
