Finding polder spots

[DrPepper836]

Having recently purchased (and much enjoying ) G&K on the steam sale, I've been playing a few games with the Netherlands recently and I noticed an odd contradiction in their civ characteristics. Since they have a grass start bias they tend to not start near any flood plains/marshes, so I never seem to get a chance to build a polder. I've played 2 games with them pretty far in, and I still haven't built one! Have other people playing the Dutch found that they get a good use of polder in?

 

[kamex]

Marsh only appears in grassland so grassland start give the highest chance (tho no guarantee) of starting near marshes

 

[Tachii]

I don't think Netherlands have a start bias.

 

[Koiranputki]

When I play as the Netherlands I usually get at least some opportunity to build polders, if not in Amsterdam, then in another city....but sometimes not. I think if you play the Netherlands enough you'll see a bit of a pattern emerge....

Also I often find I get some flood plain hexes, which are even more productive with polders than marshes. One minor annoyance that crops up occasionally....uranium or oil will often show up later in one of those beautiful polder hexes...and a painful decision has to be made....

If it's not critical, I'll keep the polder, but it's situational of course.

 

[turingmachine]

A marsh bias doesn't exist. They do have a grass bias (where marshes can spawn) so they have an appropriate start bias. Polders are a mid to late game improvement; there's no need to ensure your capital starts next to the tile. You have enough time and appropriate bias to purposefully settle next to marshes for when the improvement is unlocked.

Biases are primarily to facilitate early game abilities so you can use something and not have to worry about bad luck and the ability going obsolete before you can settle the terrain. They're not really necessary for uniques that unlock mid to late game.

 

[de_baser]

The solution is to rush the hell out of any civ with marshes in their borders before they research Masonry and start getting Machete-happy on those beautiful bogs and swamps.

 

[strijder20]

Simple solution: cook the map settings. Go in advanced setup and make the climate hot and arid/normal, or play one of those sandy maps.

 

[gozpel]

Simple solution: cook the map settings. Go in advanced setup and make the climate hot and arid/normal, or play one of those sandy maps.

Amen to that, floodplain galore if you have the patience! You can also turn off the startingposition bias and restart until you fall asleep, or find that great map.

 

[budweiser]

I read there is only about 7 marsh tiles average on the whole standard size map. They are not very common and if you dont have them in the first place then, you dont need them.

 

[Hyperion529]

Sandstorm maps are fun as the dutch. its an interesting run for desert folklore and Petra (which is on the straight research path to polders) and you are pretty much guaranteed a start with flood plains

 

[kamex]

I read there is only about 7 marsh tiles average on the whole standard size map. They are not very common and if you dont have them in the first place then, you dont need them.

That can't be right, i see a lot more than that, although a fair few have calander resources under them!

 

[adwcta]

That can't be right, i see a lot more than that, although a fair few have calander resources under them!

Not a lot of marsh tiles in the world (even less without other resources on them, which block polders). What you really want are flood plains anyway. If you can found your second city on flood plains (on balanced maps like fractal or continents, there's usually one near your start, since deserts go with grasslands, just explore toward the desert instead of away), then build Petra... you will have I think the richest city any civ can have.

Like posters above said, Amsterdam doesn't need marshes/flood plains, those tiles just determine where you put subsequent cities. You do have to hunt for them (and/or take over city states who have them), and will probably end up with a rather disjointed empire, but such is the Dutch empire historically.

 

[comatosedragon]

What you really want are flood plains anyway. If you can found your second city on flood plains (on balanced maps like fractal or continents, there's usually one near your start, since deserts go with grasslands, just explore toward the desert instead of away), then build Petra... you will have I think the richest city any civ can have.

My most recent game was as the Dutch, and although I had no suitable land for ploders near my first 4 cities, my closest neighbor was Arabia. Needless to say, adding his (almost entirely flood-plains desert tiles) cities to my empire was pretty much an instant win. Mecca had six flood plain tiles with ploders, which is almost unfair.

 

[Aosher]

I had one game where I conquered the Inca as the Dutch. One of their cities was a network of five flood plains surrounded by hills and mountains that the AI had already improved with terrace farms... It didn't get fully up and running until the late Industrial era but by the time it was going it was insane.

 

[Crafty Bison]

Polders are a mid to late game improvement; there's no need to ensure your capital starts next to the tile. You have enough time and appropriate bias to purposefully settle next to marshes for when the improvement is unlocked.

Biases are primarily to facilitate early game abilities so you can use something and not have to worry about bad luck and the ability going obsolete before you can settle the terrain. They're not really necessary for uniques that unlock mid to late game.

This. The UA makes the Netherlands one of the best REXers about, so there's little excuse on most maps for not finding something by the time polders come out.

 

[iconocast]

they have a grassland bias iirc.
marsh is usualy found there. also floodplains can have poulders on them, very nice indeed.

look at it this way. u will expand towards marsh/floodplains and ur second and 3rd citys will become large very fast

 

[MarauderCH]

Play on the Amazon Plus map! If you can get lucky and start near the delta area, you'll get a lot of marshes the expand into. In one game, I had a city that was all polders and ocean tiles. I should take a look and see if I have any save files and post a screen shot.

 

[dashwinner]

download perfect world too... there's usually a LOT of marshes in that map... everytime i play i ask myself why i didnt choose the dutch

 

[buchengshi]

In me experience, the best way to guarantee plenty of marshes on the map is not to play as the Dutch. I swear the map generator only exists to taunt me.

 

[Dig-Doug]

You could use the WHoward69's map restart mod. Which will let you move around several spots on the same map until you get the one that has the marshiest start.(there's always one start with marshy tiles on every map)

Here's the link: http://forums.civfanatics.com/member.php?u=210828