Capital Change Eligibility

[Sufyan]

Does anyone know how the game selects the settlements that can become your new capital when you change ages?

 

[TheMarshmallowBear]

I don't know 100% but I do know that captured settlements get priority, usually if you captured another city from another civ that'll show up as one of the options.

 

[Zaarin]

During Exploration Age, coastal settlements also seem to be prioritized.

 

[Yzman]

I wonder if it as simple as size.... in my first game as Carthage my biggest town and Persia's capital that I captured were my two options.

 

[Sufyan]

Playing as Isabella of Rome, I just moved from Antiquity into the Exploration Age. I am playing on the YnAMP world map. I only had two cities in Antiquity, my capital of Roma and one city I settled on the Iberian Peninsula. Besides Rome, this Iberian city is by far my most populous settlement. Since I am playing Isabella and planned to choose Spain during the Exploration Age, I basically set up this second city as my new capital of Madrid.

But, when I did transition between ages, only a small mining town without coastal access was offered as my new capital. I am annoyed and confused. Neither size, nor city status, nor coastal access appears to matter.

 

[Navelgazer]

I don't know 100% but I do know that captured settlements get priority, usually if you captured another city from another civ that'll show up as one of the options.

Weird! I've never gotten a captured settlement as an option - even when it was the biggest city in my empire aside from my Capital. I'd started to assume that captured settlements weren't eligible at all.

 

[Jkchart]

I don’t think anyone knows the parameters. I just wish there was one “Change Capital” wildcard and it let you select any settlement you like. When they give 2 options they feel arbitrary more often than not and frustrating, and occasionally you get no options for unknown reasons.

 

[Mr Jon of Cheam]

I don’t think anyone knows the parameters. I just wish there was one “Change Capital” wildcard and it let you select any settlement you like. When they give 2 options they feel arbitrary more often than not and frustrating, and occasionally you get no options for unknown reasons.

Yes. A weird design decision imo, what is the harm in allowing the player freedom of choice?

 

[Fluffball]

From what I have seen it is usually the 2 biggest pop cities. They often happen to included captured AI cities, usually an AI capital as that will obviously be large.

In my last game I repeatedly got a AI capital I captured in antiquity and my 'second city'.
The AI capital was not coastal but was on a navigable so had sea access, my 'second city' was totally landlocked.

 

[sixty4half]

The only thing I've noticed in my 2 complete 3-age games is that is largest 2 population wise.

 

[Fletchers_Requiem]

My options have almost always been either the 2nd/3rd largest cities in my civ OR cities I've captured from AI cities.

 

[alphanikolas]

I specifically created an account so I could rant about this as it is one of the biggest things that bugs me about the game so far (that and not being able to change city names which I know is coming)

I also was under the impression it would give you the option of your 2 most populous cities after your current capital to change into.

In my current game as the Norman’s, I settled a city in distant lands on a large island that I was planning as a perfect upgrade into London. It was my third most populous city, I had the white tower built in a perfect place with a spot saved for battersea.
I even went as far as to wipe napoleon off the face of the island and raze his cities so that I could settle new cities in the modern age with British city names (another thing that bugs me, we never get to see our modern civs city names).

Upon reaching the modern age, the game gave me one, not two, one option to change my capitol, a small town on my homeland.

Firaxis, please let us choose which city will upgrade to the next capitol. It really breaks the immersion for those of us who like to play that way.

 

[UWHabs]

If you're not giving choice, it should be a fixed rule (like largest city, captured capitals, settlement with the most urban districts, etc...). At least then it would be harder to complain.

So far, I've never had a problem, in each case, I've felt the choices were quite reasonable and valid options. But that's only a sample size of 6, so very easily I might just have gotten lucky.

 

[chazzycat]

Somewhat off topic, but I actually find myself wanting the option to keep my current capital, while renaming it to fit the new civ.

 

[queenpea]

I've often had no choice to change the capital. Does anyone know why this would be? And no, I don't suck at the game and have really crap towns as choices

 

[Zaarin]

I've often had no choice to change the capital. Does anyone know why this would be? And no, I don't suck at the game and have really crap towns as choices

I've had the same happen once. Altogether, I can see no rhyme or reason for eligibility. The one rule I thought I'd spotted in my limited sample has been contradicted by others' experiences.