How to reduce tundra and desert

[Katorok]

Can anyone tell me a quick way to reduce desert and tundra, nearly completely?

It just makes me really bored and kills my game. I know there is a file I can edit somewhere, but I'm not entirely sure which one.

Thanks in advance.

 

[ywhtptgtfo]

While you are at it, you may want to remove barbs and maintenance costs as well.

 

[Paperbag_Hobo]

haha jerk.

 

[z0wb13]

Can anyone tell me a quick way to reduce desert and tundra, nearly completely?

It just makes me really bored and kills my game. I know there is a file I can edit somewhere, but I'm not entirely sure which one.

Thanks in advance.

is that a wind waker handle?

anyways, if you are just getting into the game, just use world builder (Ctrl-W in world screen). or you could change the map settings to tropical. or, don't settle cities near deserts or tundra.

 

[Wulf38]

Set the climate to Tropical if the map script allows. You'll get a lot of jungle and only small bits of tundra near the polls.

 

[Zx Zero Zx]

While you are at it, you may want to remove barbs and maintenance costs as well.

Hey now why don't we remove the AIs bonuses as well while we are at it. Ooo oo I got an even better idea, why don't we make everything a grassland too!

 

[DNK]

Arboria or whatever it's called. Looks like the dullest maps in the bunch, but if it's what you want, there you go.

 

[Mikehendi]

Can anyone tell me a quick way to reduce desert and tundra, nearly completely?

It just makes me really bored and kills my game. I know there is a file I can edit somewhere, but I'm not entirely sure which one.

Thanks in advance.

Map type: Donut (standard center)

Translation: very lush - about 95% of the tiles on the map are green. Think big round Pangaea, with all of the initial city locations on the outer coast, approximately evenly spaced.

(quoted from another thread)

 

[mariogreymist]

Arboria or whatever it's called. Looks like the dullest maps in the bunch, but if it's what you want, there you go.

He who has the highest worker/city ratio wins. That's all you need to know to play arboria, in my experience.

to the OP: Tropical maps have less tundra, but I've never noticed less desert. I suggest you learn to milk those less than perfect tiles...one good tundra woodmill city can be the difference between being the first or second person to launch a spaceship. Alternately, it can build a lot of bombers/rifles/artillery etc.

This assumes you have the self restraint to not chop down every forest on a landmass.

 

[Paperbag_Hobo]

Loaded up an arboria map to see what it was like.

Holy 73 deer resources batman!

 

[coanda]

If you really want to remove all of them from a map, you can do it by making it into a custom scenario. Load up worldbuilder after you create the map (control + W I think). Save the map as something (e.g., "MapToEdit.CivBeyondSwordWBSave"). Close the game. Navigate to the folder that was saved in (by default, <My documents>\My Games\Beyond the Sword\Saves\WorldBuilder I think). Open the file with any text editor (word or notepad work fine). Use find-and-replace to replace all "TERRAIN_TUNDRA", "TERRAIN_SNOW", and/or "TERRAIN_DESERT" with some other form of terrain. Save it, then load that up as a custom scenario.

Alternatively, you could copy-paste your CIV4TerrainInfos.xml file (from Beyond the Sword\Assets\XML\terrain) into your Custom Assets\XML\terrain folder (which is in the same general area as your worldbuilder save would be), then use some judicious copy-pasting to "over-write" Tundra terrain with any other terrain of your preference. To give a simple example, you could take everything from "<Civilopedia>TXT_KEY_TERRAIN_GRASS_PEDIA</Civilopedia>" to "<bGraphicalOnly>0</bGraphicalOnly>", copy it, then paste that over the same portion for TERRAIN_TUNDRA. Then you need to also create a custom assets copy of CIV4ImprovementInfos.xml - everywhere you see "<TerrainMakesValid>" followed by TERRAIN_GRASS, you're going to need to add another entry making it valid for TERRAIN_TUNDRA. That should make all "tundra" look and act the exact same as grass, in every game. If you decide you don't like it, just delete those two files from your custom assets folder.

As other people have been mentioning, you'll be in for some weird games if you do either of those.

 

[Paperbag_Hobo]

When I played on the lower levels I hated tundra/desert as well. When I played on noble (before I started reading these forums and actually understanding the game), I would open up the wb at the start of the game replace almost all desert/tundra with grassland and turn almost all the mountains into hills. It finally occurred to me the AI has to deal with this horsehockey land just as much as I do

 

[AutomatedTeller]

Desert blows. I kind of hate that they put in this dead terrain.

Tundra, on the other, is not always horrible - if it's next to fresh water, it's improvable. if it's next to a river, it's not bad at all - and with forests, it's ok, too - particularly if it has sea food.

 

[Dhoomstriker]

Loaded up an arboria map to see what it was like.

Holy 73 deer resources batman!

They're the GOOD kind of Deer, though! These Deer live in the Grassland Forests, meaning that they are more plentiful and act as a better Food source.

They are smarter than normal Deer, who tend to stick to the Tundra areas, often even living in Tundra without a Forest, which makes for a really poor square to work.

 

[DNK]

Desert blows, but the vast majority of the Earth's landmass is covered by pretty unarable terrain. I'm not really sure tundra is typically liveable either, seeing how unpopulated northern Canada and Russia are...

I like maps with lots of marginal terrain because it makes good terrain really strategically important, far moreso than with standard maps. It also tends to create strong natural borders and give the game more of distinct flavor. I also hate jungle (and think it's excessive normally), so "arid" is my favorite option there.

 

[Paperbag_Hobo]

Northern Canada is populated!

I taught in Nunavut for a year, and the 6200 people who lived in the capital would agree with me

 

[Torrello]

I've notice that on a few maps you tend to get a sheep near the river tundra squares (2 on my current continent) - these make good city spots

 

[Jarlaxe Baenre]

I've notice that on a few maps you tend to get a sheep near the river tundra squares (2 on my current continent) - these make good city spots

I always get sheep if I have an isolated start on a 9-10 tile island.

 

[Dr.Null]

I always get sheep if I have an isolated start on a 9-10 tile island.

Historical accuracy (New Zealand)?