limited # of cities??

[shall_we_talk]

is there a limit to the number of cities you can have in a game??


if yes, can that be changed??

(multiplayer.warlord....)

 

[Mercator]

255, it can't be changed (unless you're into reverse engineering).

 

[insurgent]

There are some very complicated exceptions: something with the ability to build settles, cities under Barbarian control. I can't explain them, however. But they are, of course, exceptions: 255 is usually max...

 

[yaroslav]

I believe that you can only have 254, because if you have 255, there is not enemy, and you win the game.

And, as far as those units with 'NONE' support uses 'FF' in their support byte, the 255th city will make strange efects, in my humble opinion...

 

[insurgent]

256 is 2 multiplied with itself 8 times, and that's why the number i 255. I don't know why a city slot has to be left open...

 

[ferenginar]

The reason it is 255 and not 256 is because the data is stored in 8 bit binary code

00000000 = no cities
00000001 = 1 city
00000010 = 2 cities
00000100 = 4 cities
00001000 = 8 cities
00010000 = 16 cities
00100000 = 32 cities
01000000 = 64 cities
10000000 = 128 cities

therefore

11111111 = 128 + 64 + 32 + 16 + 8 + 4 + 2 + 1 = 255

ferenginar 36

 

[Wil]

On the other hand, you could have:
city0
city1
...
city255
Which would total 256

 

[Mercator]

No no no no...

You're all close, but not quite there. (well, yaroslav was just about right)

The very first city has number 0 (00000000 binary, with computers, counting almost always starts at 0, not 1)... From there on through the 255th city (11111110 = 254).

The "256th" city can't be built because that's what the NONE value is assigned to. That is, unit support is saved as the city number it is supported by: 0 for the 1st city etc. but 255 if the unit is unsupported.

And, of course, as yaroslav pointed out as well, while the total maximum amount of cities is 255, the per civ maximum is essentially 254 (even though you might get 255 if one of your opponents is still wandering about with a settler).

 

[ferenginar]

Mecator, how do you know that the non unit is not assigned to the 00000000 no cities slot rather than the 11111111 256th city slot as you suggest? I know which way I would do it, if i was programming it.

ferenginar 33

 

[Marlos]

Really, 250+ cities is plenty! Do you want more? You must be more in-sane than I am as far as playing maximum games!

 

[Mercator]

Originally posted by ferenginar
Mecator, how do you know that the non unit is not assigned to the 00000000 no cities slot rather than the 11111111 256th city slot as you suggest? I know which way I would do it, if i was programming it.

Since programmers always start counting at 0, starting at 1 for the cities would make it very inconsistent and would only complicate things. After that, the choice is easy.