Forests, Start Bias

[Ex Mudder]

1) Where would I go to ask for a "forests" option in world generation? Some / normal / many that increases or decreases the average starting forests. I like forests, and some civs need forests, while other do better without them.

2) Does Start Bias work? I swear I get Jungle more often then Tundra when I start as the Russians. I did not disable them.

 

[bbbt]

There's some sort of Arboreal map option listed that's very foresty. I think it's one of those non-wrapping maps though (ala the highlands (hills/mountains), and great plains (obvious), ones).

Also I think making the world wetter increases forests/jungles in general.

Start bias doesn't work a good bit of the time.

 

[sendos]

1. Not sure. I would love to see this question answered.

2. Yes, it varies depending on civ. If you love forest start bias, then the Iroquois would be your ideal civ. Other examples:
- desert: Morocco, Arabia
- Coast: Venice, Carthage, England, Netherlands
- Plains: Mongols
- Hills/mountains: Inca
- Jungle: Aztecs, Brazil

In other civs, it varies a lot more.

 

[joncnunn]

As I recall, the only civs with Forest bias are the Celts & Iroquis.

Also, if you like forest, you will hate Egypt as they have an avoid forest bias.
It should also be mentioned that the following biases all have zero impact on forest near you:
Grassland, Plains, Hills, Tundra, and Coast.

While both Desert bias and Jungle bias will as a side effect have less forest.

 

[Plumfairy]

1) Where would I go to ask for a "forests" option in world generation? Some / normal / many that increases or decreases the average starting forests. I like forests, and some civs need forests, while other do better without them.

I don't think there is an option for standard maps to control forest cover... I'm pretty sure a "wet" climate only affects the amount of jungle cover.

However, as bbbt mentioned, the arboreal map type gives you a guaranteed heavy forest cover. It's a standard wrap-around map, and it always gives you large, forested land masses. (I can't remember if it generates pangaea, continents, or both.)

2) Does Start Bias work? I swear I get Jungle more often then Tundra when I start as the Russians. I did not disable them.

It works, but it doesn't affect map generation. The way it works is this: the game generates a map based on whatever settings you gave it, and then it checks the start biases of the selected civs. The civs are placed in the various potential start locations according to their start biases. The start biases are themselves prioritized. Venice, for example, has top priority for sea starts. So if a map is generated that only has one viable potential sea starting location, Venice gets that spot and all other sea-start bias civs are SOL.

 

[FeiLing]

Well, since Hot produces more Deserts there will be less other tiles (including forests). Same with Wet for Jungles.
And that's afaik already all that indirectly slightly influences # of forest tiles on the world apart from choosing Arborea or Boreal in the first place.

 

[anrke]

I have wondered if there would be any benefit to including a ancient to classical era lumber resource in Civ - in obvious abundance, but also becomming a necessary trade good for desert or island isolated civs, and makes people think twice before bulldozing every patch of forest within their borders for farms/security.

Was it Civ 1 through to 3 where settlers could plant forests?

 

[Adder]

- Coast: Venice, Carthage, England, Netherlands

The Dutch actually seem to have a grassland start bias, making them the only "naval" civ without a coastal start bias.

 

[joncnunn]

Going thru thread;
Only Venice has a "priority" starting bias. Other civs with same bias will handle in a random order and the "losing" one screwed.
Venice only has it because up-teen civs now have the standard coastal starting bias and so there is a high risk for the standard one of there not being any coast left on some map settings for whichever of the coastal civs it processed last.

On the Dutch Grassland start, The script has a note that a civ can not have both a coastal bias and a regular one (such as grassland) at the same time.
And apparently there is no "Marsh bias"; grassland is the closest you can get, but there will be games with no Marsh in sight. (The Dutch biggest benefits come from their UA in the hands of a human and their UU, and are still a great civ even if in a given game they were unable to build their UI at all.)

Also for the bias with harsh terrain (desert, tundra, and jungle); in all three cases it tries to put you near that terrain type instead of in the middle of it.

 

[sendos]

The Dutch actually seem to have a grassland start bias, making them the only "naval" civ without a coastal start bias.

I stand corrected. I assumed it had a coastal start bias to give some weight for its UU, which is gaining a bit of popularity.

 

[wydon]

I am under the impression that "wet" "cold" world will give you forests.