Clustered Civ Start - Mapscript/Modmod?

[blacknight678]

Hey all,

Related to a comment on the Orbis subforum... does anyone know a easy way to make all the civilizations start out clustered on the map rather than distributed evenly?

I want a pangea-type map (tectonics actually) but want all the civs to start within x tiles of a central spot (x dependent on map size), with rest of the map left open to animals/barbarians (sort of like old-world start without the ocean).

This will allow early contact and conflict of many neighboring civs and virtually ensure that there remains wild land for the entire length of the game without the world encompassing urban sprawl so common in vanilla civ 4. I realize this will lead to a more crowded feel and I may need to adjust the number of civs downward.

Help or ideas?

 

[Izmir Stinger]

Do you want several clusters, or one big cluster for everyone? Several of the MP team mapscripts will cluster teammates together on the same continent/peninsula, but they tend to have boring, perfectly symmetrical maps for MP fairness purposes.

 

[readercolin]

Oasis gives you a map where the players start off clustered to the north or the south of a desert, essentially giving you 2 clusters. It is however a fairly small mapscript. Great plains is another fairly small mapscript - it places most of the civs fairly tightly packed to the east of the map, with a small bay in the southeast, and maybe 1-2 civs in the west. On the other hand, territory in the east is easier to develop/use. Does lead to a very crowded map feeling however. Another map that generally leads to crowding and wilderness is tectonics 60 or 70% water, but it does give you that ocean problem. Old world is similar here. The last map that I can think of would be mountain coast - that seems to place most of the teams on or near the coast to the west, with much of the east going unused. Not a strict boundary, but it may lead to more open mapspace.

In answer to your question though, unless you play a premade map, no, I am not aware of any way to get them to start more clustered, without going in and editing the DLL.

-Colin

 

[Demus]

The terra mapscript would work as well (at least, that's what i think it's called). It's a script with at least 2 continents, where all civs start on 1 continent, leaving the other one open for expansion.