Flamegrape
Warlord
(I had posted this in a thread discussing the 512 city limit. I thought this deserved a new thread because I don't think anybody was reading that thread anymore.)
One of the biggest problems for people creating scenarios on Earth maps is the AI building cities everywhere. Unless some limitations are put in place, the AI will build dozens of useless cities in Siberia, Greenland, the Sahara desert, and other useless places. This usually causes the game to slow down tremendously.
Here is a good solution. But you'll have to say goodbye to using the Marsh terrain. On the other hand, if you weren't eagerly awaiting the use of it in Conquests, you won't miss it.
Download the CitySites.zip attached to this post. Extract the CitySites folder from the zip archive and place it in the Conquests/Scenarios folder. Run the Conquest map editor (Civ3Edit) and load your favorite Earth map. (Or import the map. Whatever you want.) In the Scenario Properties, add "CitySites" to the list of Scenario Search Folders (e.g. "YourScenarioName;CitySites"). In the rules editor, rename the Marsh terrain as "City Site". Change the terrain's tile values to Food: 3, Shield: 3, and Commerce: 3. Change all Terraform Bonuses to zero. Change the terrain's flags so that it allows cities, colonies, airfields, outposts, radar towers, and forts (leave the impassable flags unchecked). Make sure that Causes Disease is unchecked. Now make sure that all other terrains do NOT allow cities. Save the map as a new scenario file, quit the editor, run the editor again, load the new scenario. Start placing the City Site terrain tiles wherever you want cities. Voila! Your map now has a fixed number of cities that you can raise or lower as you choose.
There are only a few minor disadvantages to this solution. You can't use Marsh terrain anymore. All City Site tiles look like Grassland tiles. So that means that the locations for the cities on the banks of the Nile will look green instead of desert or plains. A City Site tile on a coast might change the shape of it's coastline. Cities that were usually placed on a Hills tile will now look like it's on a flat Grassland tile. And, most importantly, you can't build cities anywhere you wish. This last point is either good or bad, depending on the way you look at it.
I think that the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. You can completely control where cities can be built and limit the number that can exist on your map. You can precisely focus the placement of bonus resources to maximize the use of City Site tile locations. You can change the Food, Shield, and Commerce values for City Site tiles to suit your scenario's style. In the editor and while playing the game, you'll be able to plainly see all City Site tiles designated with a small crosshair-circle that is similar to the start location graphic seen in the editor.
I've just started experimenting with this solution. But I wanted to share my ideas as soon as possible.
One of the biggest problems for people creating scenarios on Earth maps is the AI building cities everywhere. Unless some limitations are put in place, the AI will build dozens of useless cities in Siberia, Greenland, the Sahara desert, and other useless places. This usually causes the game to slow down tremendously.
Here is a good solution. But you'll have to say goodbye to using the Marsh terrain. On the other hand, if you weren't eagerly awaiting the use of it in Conquests, you won't miss it.
Download the CitySites.zip attached to this post. Extract the CitySites folder from the zip archive and place it in the Conquests/Scenarios folder. Run the Conquest map editor (Civ3Edit) and load your favorite Earth map. (Or import the map. Whatever you want.) In the Scenario Properties, add "CitySites" to the list of Scenario Search Folders (e.g. "YourScenarioName;CitySites"). In the rules editor, rename the Marsh terrain as "City Site". Change the terrain's tile values to Food: 3, Shield: 3, and Commerce: 3. Change all Terraform Bonuses to zero. Change the terrain's flags so that it allows cities, colonies, airfields, outposts, radar towers, and forts (leave the impassable flags unchecked). Make sure that Causes Disease is unchecked. Now make sure that all other terrains do NOT allow cities. Save the map as a new scenario file, quit the editor, run the editor again, load the new scenario. Start placing the City Site terrain tiles wherever you want cities. Voila! Your map now has a fixed number of cities that you can raise or lower as you choose.
There are only a few minor disadvantages to this solution. You can't use Marsh terrain anymore. All City Site tiles look like Grassland tiles. So that means that the locations for the cities on the banks of the Nile will look green instead of desert or plains. A City Site tile on a coast might change the shape of it's coastline. Cities that were usually placed on a Hills tile will now look like it's on a flat Grassland tile. And, most importantly, you can't build cities anywhere you wish. This last point is either good or bad, depending on the way you look at it.
I think that the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. You can completely control where cities can be built and limit the number that can exist on your map. You can precisely focus the placement of bonus resources to maximize the use of City Site tile locations. You can change the Food, Shield, and Commerce values for City Site tiles to suit your scenario's style. In the editor and while playing the game, you'll be able to plainly see all City Site tiles designated with a small crosshair-circle that is similar to the start location graphic seen in the editor.
I've just started experimenting with this solution. But I wanted to share my ideas as soon as possible.
For scenarios, how about pre-placing all cities, then removing from settlers the "build city" ability? Will this work?
