Ever try regenerating map for hours?

[xifeng]

As a very weak player (and with no intention to improve myself), I like powerful start locations. I used to spend 30 minutes for a good start. Now I just figure out a way to satisfy my OCD without wasting more than two minutes.

First, generate a map.
next, use WB to find out which player has the best location, then save this map in the WB.
Third, exit WB, play a senario, load the WBquicksave, and choose the player you like to start with.

Now I am satisfied. At least I know my starting location is better than any AI in this map.

 

[Ruler]

I like to play what I get I started to play on Shuffle recently there are sometimes very ankward starts and sometimes impossible to finish.

Fastest way is to go to BW and add silver, gem, gold mines at your capital and extra food ie pigs on grass I think it's +6 food.

 

[Blaarg]

Generally, if I don't get 2 or more food resources (or 1 Food Resource and some flood plains or something like that) I'll regenerate the map.

 

[futurehermit]

What I hate the most is:

The generator plops me down 1 tile away from the coast. Inevitably there is also seafood right on the coast. Sooo....I either have to move one tile and settle on the coast, which usually results in getting ocean tiles and giving up a resource or two on the other side of the BFC or I have to "waste" some turns moving inland. (The third option of settling in place I never really consider because it's almost sacrilege to have a seafood that you can't increase with a lighthouse...)

Snaaty has suggested moving inland whenever you get a coastal capital start, so I have started to do this. However, sometimes I still get frustrated and do what I used to do:

Regenerate

I'll also regenerate isolated starts, but only because I'm pursuing domination specifically right now.

 

[Greencardman]

Have you tried playing a fantasy realm map? Choose the most outrageous settings for resources, and have a go at that. I would say at least 50% of the tiles are resource tiles, I remember having around 4 corn tiles, two copper, and a few gold in my city radius. Its a fun map to play, because you get a lot of resources. Of course, so does the AI, but hey, its fun, which is what the game is supposed to be.

 

[SlaineX]

Worst start I've ever had (at least the only one that's made me throw in the towel before founding my first city) was on a little outcrop of land consisting of 2 tiles. This was blocked from the mainland by impassable mountain peaks - i.e. nowhere to go until I could build a boat!

 

[Blaarg]

Have you tried playing a fantasy realm map? Choose the most outrageous settings for resources, and have a go at that. I would say at least 50% of the tiles are resource tiles, I remember having around 4 corn tiles, two copper, and a few gold in my city radius. Its a fun map to play, because you get a lot of resources. Of course, so does the AI, but hey, its fun, which is what the game is supposed to be.

Sounds like the BGH map of Civ 4

 

[futurehermit]

Worst start I've ever had (at least the only one that's made me throw in the towel before founding my first city) was on a little outcrop of land consisting of 2 tiles. This was blocked from the mainland by impassable mountain peaks - i.e. nowhere to go until I could build a boat!

I've had that before. I was like..."wth...?" *regenerate*

 

[Evanesce]

I never regenerate; I normally play into the game some to see if there's any hope (hey, it doesn't take too long), and then occasionally opt to start over. Then again, I haven't been on a mountain-blocked outcrop before

 

[Harbourboy]

I can safely say that I have never ever regenerated my map and I always keep playing with whatever I am given. I would never even have thought of that idea if I hadn't read it here. Part of the fun for me is making the best of whatever I end up with.

 

[Technocactus]

I never regenerate, but I will occasionally quit if, for example, I'm way up north with loads of ice and tundra.

 

[Winston Hughes]

Worst start I've ever had (at least the only one that's made me throw in the towel before founding my first city) was on a little outcrop of land consisting of 2 tiles. This was blocked from the mainland by impassable mountain peaks - i.e. nowhere to go until I could build a boat!

I've seen quite a few of those (both player and AI starts) when there's far too many civs packed into a small map. In fact, you're 'lucky' you had two tiles; one AI civ (China, iirc) had no land squares it could work and didn't start with fishing. I felt so sorry for them that I went into the worldbuilder and flattened the peaks so they could at least get started.

The worst AI start I've ever seen, though, was on an earth map (I forget which one). The civ started in a hermetically sealed arctic hellhole, surrounded by a thick layer of sea-ice, with only ice and tundra (no forests, resources or water), and no hope of meeting the other civs until they discovered flight.

 

[Elandal]

There was a poll by Sisiutil about regenerating here. Based on that, regenerating is fairly common.

 

[Iustus]

As a very weak player (and with no intention to improve myself), I like powerful start locations. I used to spend 30 minutes for a good start. Now I just figure out a way to satisfy my OCD without wasting more than two minutes.

First, generate a map.
next, use WB to find out which player has the best location, then save this map in the WB.
Third, exit WB, play a senario, load the WBquicksave, and choose the player you like to start with.

Now I am satisfied. At least I know my starting location is better than any AI in this map.

If you want to make your own personal mod, you can ensure that you always get the best starting position.

Take a look at this summary of the xml values in Civ4HandicapInfos.xml

What you want to do is change the "iStartingLocPercent" for each difficulty level to 100, which will give you the best spot. You want to make sure you make a copy of the Civ4HandicapInfos.xml file, and put the copy in My Documents/My Games/Warlords/CustomAssets/xml/gameinfo/ (You may have to create some of those folders past CustomAssets)

Hope this saves you some time

-Iustus

 

[Simon Appleton]

What you want to do is change the "iStartingLocPercent" for each difficulty level to 100, which will give you the best spot.

From the link you posted, wouldn't 100 give you the worst slot? And 10 the best? (It's the settler setting.)

 

[SlaineX]

I can safely say that I have never ever regenerated my map and I always keep playing with whatever I am given. I would never even have thought of that idea if I hadn't read it here. Part of the fun for me is making the best of whatever I end up with.

I totally agree with you - however, this just seemed like an absolute non-starter. Now I sort of wish I'd stuck with it....just to see how things progressed. I like to completely immerse myself in the game and have no problem taking the rough with the smooth - just couldn't see how this one could be salvaged at all.

 

[Zionel]

I'll accept pretty much anything that is inland, I like my capital to be a commerce city, and coastal isn't optimal for this. I do however like to have a food resource or two, some trees to chop and a hill so i can get some of the early wonders. But as long as it's inland, i usually don't regenerate.

 

[cabert]

I'll accept pretty much anything that is inland, I like my capital to be a commerce city, and coastal isn't optimal for this. I do however like to have a food resource or two, some trees to chop and a hill so i can get some of the early wonders. But as long as it's inland, i usually don't regenerate.

most of the time I get a coastal starting position, that would mean restarting 4 out of 5 games

 

[Bagpuss]

Just my opinion, but I can't think of a more tedious waste of time than clicking the 'regenerate' button to try and get a better start. Just edit yourself a peach in the world-builder and have done with it. It's the same thing really, except quicker.

Apart from anything else you're totally disregarding the possibility that the territory around your starting position is the land of milk and honey (or corn and fish...). Busting the initial fog and finding out what you've really got is one of the most fun bits of the game for me.

 

[Zionel]

Ah, come on. It's not that bad.

We got the same game don't we? In my experience you start inland every second attempt. Maybe i'm wrong. Anyhow, I stated that I don't regenerate as long as i get a non coastal city, that's not the same as saying i never regenerate.

I'm not so sure regenerating is a bad thing, I want a good start so I have a feeling that i can win the game, if not it's a waste of time imo. If i could win with whatever start location i got, i would move up in difficulty instead.