I'll find a way to post screenshots. I too am intrigued by the relationship between geography and a civilization's fate. When two or more AI civs share a continent, it is always interesting when at least two of them survive into the industrial age. And I'm always fascinated by the way that the land -- whether rich in resources and grassland, or relatively barren -- shapes the ability and behavior of the various civs.
For several months I only played on the Earth map. This map is not bad, considering its flaws -- it lacks hills and mountains in the places where they ought to be, like the Appalachians (there should be hills in eastern North America) the Caucasus (there's one measly hill between the Black Sea and the Caspian, but there should be a mountain or two), and Indochina and Indonesia (both of these have real mountains, but in the game -- have you ever built a city where Cambodia would be? Like, two or three shields before factories...ridiculous). But I digress. Game after game, I would watch and see how the various civs would evolve. One feature was that the Chinese never grew: nearly every game, they never built a second city, and usually died out in ancient times. The Zulus have too much of an advantage -- if they are in the game, they will usually rock. The English never leave their little island, at least not early enough to make them a significant player. Rome also rarely builds a second city, and are usually annihilated early in the game.
Random maps have been my favorite recently. I've had a few amazing-looking worlds during the past few games -- one consisted of two "circles of islands", literally rings of five or six beautiful, shapely, rivery-and-hilly delights. The Egyptians and Babylonians were the second and third most powerful civs in that one. I was the first, with 10 cities built on 4 adjacent islands (two were small continents, the other two were one-city islands). I love the Egyptians and Babylonians -- they build great infrastructure (roads, irrigation and mines everywhere), make awesome trading partners, and can even be somewhat friendly. I have to admit, though, this was one of those games where I saved practically every turn, to ensure that I won every battle and got all the Wonders I wanted.
I love when I'm on a "subcontinent" or peninsula that has HILLS, or better still, MOUNTAINS separating my land from the rest of the continent. Fortresses correctly spaced can make for a perfect game, where I can relax and build up my infrastructure, as a Republic, even with an aggressive neighbor (so long as there only need be three or so fortresses, and these fortresses are on hills or mountains). They can bash all the cavalry, legions and chariots they want up against my forts (catapults are trickier, and require a pre-emptive attack with a catapult or chariot of my own). And, of course, I tend to get Gunpowder first, and then it's smooth sailing.
The rings-of-islands game had a decent "sweet era", as did a couple others lately. The "sweet era" is the age of sails and frigates, when I am beginning to explore all the other lands and civs with boatloads of caravans and diplomats. My favorite period of the game is that one: between Invention and Industrialization, a world of musketeers, cannons and frigates, when I'm usually building those along with caravans, diplomats, banks and universities (I go for Philosophy and Religion VERY early, and often have cathedrals before marketplaces and libraries!). After Industrialization, the game has a different look and feel -- not bad, of course, but not as pretty as the "late medieval" period, for me. And it always goes too quickly...I do wish the period between Invention and Industrialization was a little longer.
At any rate, I'll post some screenshots!
