Let's talk about the mountains of Erebus

[Ranbir]

I like it because it feels like a permanent 'great wall'. Although I'm still hoping for a buildable perm great wall which the enemy can batter down!

 

[Grey Fox]

I don't like the 1 tile bottlenecks. I prefer maps like Pangaea with FfH cause of the AI's poor seafaring skills. Hemispheres just develop into two different games, where one side don't need to interfere with the other. You never need to invade the other continent to someone from launching a spaceship or winning by culture like in BTS either.

 

[Asthix]

Mostly through my 2nd Erebus game, liking it more now that I've used the cool map options when starting.

Some related stuff:

I do like it best, but there are still some issues with it (i consider them minor but can very well understand people who don't like it.).

One thing to remember though: Cephalo (the one who designed the creation.py / erebus.py mapscripts) is likely still fiddling with the mapscript so you shouldn't give a final verdict on it before the last major "issues" with it are hammered out. No matter if you like it or you don't.

+ its highly customizable (directly in the erebus.py file) so you can try to fiddle with the settings to produce better results.

One basic rule stands though (at least so far):
It usually plays out much better on map-sizes medium and above. Below small its rather prone to produce results which are subpar.
(Also its a good mapscript to overcrowd usually which is easier / better the bigger the map gets. On medium + its easy to put as many civs as usual for a map one size bigger. Even 2 or 3 more than that usually works out fine.
I would go so far to say its borderline mandatory to get a really fun + rather balanced game.)

 

[Sporkbomb]

While I liked the valleys and flavor starts at first, I started to feel that Erebus was a little unnatural - those immaculately straight mountain ranges with no way to cross seemed to be a deliberate toolm to halt the progression of your game. For this reason, I play highlands, ridgelines, dense peaks, seas. It gives me enough choke points where I can isolate my kingdom and enough water to make ship building necessary, but there is more of a sprawling and random feel to it. I don't know, maybe I am just . .. .. .. .. .ing because I didn't win (or even do well) on the Erebus map.

 

[Antheanian]

As many others, I found that Erebus has too many mountain ranges, choke points, etc. I found the Global Highland much more interesting. You start on big islands with two or three other civs, and there is enough moutain to get the fantasy feel, while keeping everything almost natural.

 

[phoulishwan]

Erebus maps I've often found myself isolated, it does make it pretty easy to take over my bit of turf, but naval invasions certainly aren't a forte of the AI, where as I'm quite good at them.

I don't know if it's a standard setting of the erebus script but there is a setting in the FF modmod version that let's you soften the mountains, I usually drop it down to 20-30% less mountains it keeps the Erebus feel but gives it a slightly more open map where multiple strategic choke points need to be held instead of the just one or two you could get if you don't get completely blocked off by mountains, which also hasn't happened to me yet.

 

[caesarmd]

I started out disliking the Erebus script because of the "fenced-in" feeling I got in the early stages. But since FFH2 is definitely harder than vanilla Civ4, I like it better now as its easier to play defense.

 

[avalonnn]

I've had a mixed experience since I started this thread. One map ended up focusing on a single chokepoint. It took me close to 100 turns to take that chokepoint -- I was Sheaim and my opponent was Ljos + Basium. Those Basium beastmasters were deadly defending on hills.

 

[Bumbar]

I've had a mixed experience since I started this thread. One map ended up focusing on a single chokepoint. It took me close to 100 turns to take that chokepoint -- I was Sheaim and my opponent was Ljos + Basium. Those Basium beastmasters were deadly defending on hills.

Next time you have to take down fortified position with Sheaim, use Pyre zombies, or alternatively with some other civ, catapults.