Fractal Maps

[WuphonsReach]

Next was a 2-continent style. I started on the 2nd image in the upper left corner of the continent. Unfortunately, the civ in the middle got wiped out by barbarians. This cause the other AIs to be very much behind on tech (while I built the Great Wall). So when the civs from the other continent made contact, I was way behind.

 

[WuphonsReach]

I sorta remember this game. You can see the Great Wall that I built in the left-end of the first image. It also shows the civilization map down in the lower right.







Due to the ice age, there was no way to sail ships around the globe. There's an ice-locked ocean in the upper-middle of the larger continent.

If you look closely at the 3rd image... notice the spot at the bottom of the large continent? A little oasis surrounded by ice and tundra! I pity the AI civ that started down there.

The vertical gap in the ice coverage seems to be a display bug. When you zoom in on that area, it is properly covered with ice.

 

[WuphonsReach]

Here's a very snaky layout. There's basically only a single continent, with a few small islands. Notice that there's not one, but *two* isthmuses.

If you look closely at image #2, you can see the great wall on the lowermost area, just west of the isthmus.







During the game, I had 2 cities just east of that isthmus near where I started (including 1 city straddling the isthmus location to allow ships to pass). There were some very intense wars fought over control of that area and it made it very easy to keep the enemy away from my production cities.

The other isthmus could've been used, but it would've require placing 2 cities at very specific spots in order to cross via the fresh water lake. And I'm not sure that was possible... it's 1 tile too wide at that point.

 

[WuphonsReach]

And... the last one.







I started at about the center of image #1 at the north end of a long narrow peninsula. Sadly for Ragnar, he started right next to me on the very end of that peninsula. My first step of the game was to settle my city to strangle him from ever having more then 2 land tiles. Then I gobbled him up once I got to copper.

I had a zillion and a half seafood resources along the sides of that peninsula. So getting the Great Lighthouse and Collosus wonders was critical.

 

[Onagan]

I get ALWAYS the same map, one big continent with all civilization on it. Except that island with only one civilization. So I think fractal map is the most predicable map you can choose.

Yes, I'm frustrated about it.

 

[magicalsushi]

My housemates told me to use it when I first bough the game, but I stopped after a nasty experience started on a tiny island, with no neighbours. My housemates subsequently stopped using it because they were sick of it always being like the Continents map, where they had to abandon many games because the other continent was always full of peacemongers who were approaching the modern era by the time the human players were able to build galleons.

 

[AThousandYoung]

That first image looks like Asia if China sunk into the sea.

 

[Becephalus]

I personally find the inverted axis maps to give the best results. Other than having to wrap your head around them a bit, which I have no trouble doing, I find the small continents setting gives excellent results and the continents are moe realistic. You get usually one main continent, and a few with 1-3 civs on them, along with some unreachable islands, very earthlike, without the empty continent to abuse.

In my most recent game I rolled Caesar on a tundra peninsula, hemmed in by Alex. Just off my coast was a good 10 city holding mini-continent for only Mansa I hurried 3 cities on my peninsula and squeezed two onto the island and focused on the sea and prats.

Alex declared war just as the first prat was built, and I barely fought him off. The next war i took half his cities including the captial, and then used my now experienced prats to kill Mansa. Now I have been slowly marching across this huge continent with maceman for ever (I play 18 civs and marathon). Goddamn Cathy and Khan won't stop dowing me and it is making finsihing off Alex, Louis, and Happy difficult. Great game so far and the map is a huge part of it. I am winning but fragile and always dancing on the edge fo the volcano.

 

[AThousandYoung]

What kind of computer are you running? I'm looking for a cheap laptop that can handle games like that because I like them too.

 

[futurehermit]

Those are very nice looking fractal maps!

 

[aronnax]

In some of my games I was stuck in the lonely continent and/or island

Since I dont build cities, I retire the game at middle ages when I find out I cant conquer no one

 

[Yxklyx]

These fractal maps don't seem to be very unpredictable (playing without expansions). I seem to have gotten only two different types so far. One is the snaky continent that wraps nearly all the way around the world (as listed here) and the other is multiple continents isolated from each other. In one I had one continent all by myself totally isolated.

 

[troytheface]

Fractal can give some interesting maps and most are superior to continents which as someone stated above is a bit stifeling.

 

[gdgrimm]

I have Warlords, and I always play Fractal (along with Random Sea Level, Random Climate, and Random # of Civs). I find it generates plenty of unpredicatability.

Current game map is quite interesting. 3 large continents, all longer N/S than E/W, with 3 or more civs on each continent. The one I started on was the smallest of the 3, but had a largish island near it that could support 4-5 large cities.

I only with there were a way to make the map even less "discernable". For example, if a little exploring shows a cluster of 5 Sugar, than you know that there's going to be a bunch of civs. If you only see 1 Sugar, than it's likely there's only 2 or 3 civs.

 

[Yxklyx]

I have Warlords, and I always play Fractal (along with Random Sea Level, Random Climate, and Random # of Civs). I find it generates plenty of unpredicatability.

Current game map is quite interesting. 3 large continents, all longer N/S than E/W, with 3 or more civs on each continent. The one I started on was the smallest of the 3, but had a largish island near it that could support 4-5 large cities.

I only with there were a way to make the map even less "discernable". For example, if a little exploring shows a cluster of 5 Sugar, than you know that there's going to be a bunch of civs. If you only see 1 Sugar, than it's likely there's only 2 or 3 civs.

How do you set random number of Civs? Is this a BTS option?

 

[gdgrimm]

How do you set random number of Civs? Is this a BTS option?

Ooops. Sorry, I misspoke. I think the setting is actually Random World Size (for whatever size it randomly picks, there's a predetermined number of civs).

I play Warlords.

BTW, one of the neater mods I'd like to find is one that WILL generate a random number of civs for a random size. Well, perhaps not for the Duel size. But the Tiny size could probably play well with from 2-4 civs. Small could play well with 3-6. Etc., etc., etc.

The more I don't know about the game at the start, the happier I am.