Map Dependent?

[darski]

I just played a game (as Japan) with a somewhat convoluted map. (cont/temp/cool/5bil). it had an inland lake that was more than 21 tiles and there was some up/down/around/through and over parts to it while it was under shared ownership.

I did find that my choices were really affected by how the map would let me move. Ok, so I'm a wussy warlord player but is that why I had to argue with this map for a goodly bit? I have been reading (as usual) and I realized that it was worth it to leave some marshland in place (with a road) so that enemies were discouraged from 'visiting'. So, in that case the map assisted me.

As Japan, i did have a fast UU but that same tech would have gotten me knights anyway; it was just a challenge to persuade others to find somewhere else to live (heaven is calling) as it just took longer with extra steps.

Do others find that the map does affect your play in ways you likely don't even consider? just curious.

 

[Spoonwood]

There hardly ever exists a good reason to road marshland. You save worker turns by first clearing the marshland to grassland, and then roading it. If you leave marshland uncleared, you can't use it. Better to develop your empire than to discourage the AI from attacking yours.

The map definitely affects how I play. If playing a Sid 20k for example my opening worker moves as to whether road or mine depends on what sort of terrain I have around.

 

[Richie0]

if i have marshland, jungle or vocanos in my capital or in the tiles immediately surrounding, i reload a different map

can't be bothered with the inevitable hassle

loads of jungle/marsh is fine IF it's giving a natural defence for one side of your empire (stretches from one coast to another if you like)

i don't work or found cities anywhere near those types of tiles unless i desperately need a luxury within them, or i've worked and gotten all my other cities up and running

 

[darski]

The city I did build on that edge of the empire was for a lux and I kept the marsh as a discouragement for the English. Actually, that marsh was not all that far from my core and it kept me from moving forward just as it stopped the AI.

I also start over if I get a volcano or marsh in my opening screen.

 

[Raliuven]

Although I do not restart upon seeing marsh or volcanos, I must admit that the addition of volcanos to C3C is not on the top of my list of favorite changes. And Adding bananas to a jungle tile is only a small compensation for the evils of having to deal with jungles in the first place.

 

[Lanzelot]

First of all, I never restart, not even in the most lousy tundra location... If I start a game, I play it out to the finish. (I guess that's the reason why I have never played in the HoF, yet... Would probably keep me busy for the rest of my life, if I install and run a tool like MapFinder... )
I like the challenge of playing "difficult" starts and trying to extract the optimum out of the scarce resources that "fate" has given me... Of course that means I have lost a good portion of the games on higher difficulty levels. But the game can be fun nevertheless, and in those cases I set different goals for myself, e.g building a small well-developed country and "staying alive" until some super-power AI has won.

What does "win" and "loose" mean in history anyway? Take small countries like Switzerland or Norway. They will never become a super-power and rule the world, but I'm pretty sure that the people living there are actually "happier" than the people living in the USA, Soviet Union or China?!

Anyway, back to the original question: the map does definitely affect the way I play a certain game. And it does in several ways:

• it influences in which direction I explore and expand
• it dictates how I employ my workers in the initial phase (emphasis on mining or emphasis on irrigation)
• it influences in which direction I research: if the map has no or very little fresh water, I'll prioritize Construction/aquaeducts, if I have many luxuries, Currency/marketplaces is a priority, otherwise Literature. (Of course other factors play a role here as well, like the contacts/trade opportunities I have.)
• it influences my choice of victory condition
• if I go for a military game, it influences the choice of first target and the type of units I build and employ

In short: the map and the civ traits are the two major factors that decide what kind of game is about to unfold and how I play it.

 

[templar_x]

@ Lanzelot, Mapfinder is not such a necessity for most tables of the HoF. most of my games, including high level #1 games, were played on random maps. i may have used only the 5th or so map, but then i went. i hate to wait for mapfinder results and then check them for playability.

i think there is only one game where i used it actually.

on the other hand, i am just about to start "all random" maps and try to make it into HoF tables with them. some starts are REALLY lousy. since i hardly have time for this project it may take years to finish any of them, but if i do you will learn about it in my HoF-thread.

just mentioning so that you do not forgo the HoF experience because of wrong assumptions.

t_x

 

[CommandoBob]

I'll second what templar_x said. You don't need a hot starting location to place in the HOF tables. All of my games were random starts, even down to the civ. Of course, having empty slots on the table for the map size, VC and difficulty helps too!

 

[del62]

I never use map finder for HOF games, could not get it to work properly, just a few rolls are required to find a reasonable start, it also helps me appreciate different poweful start locations, such as how floodplained wheat, forested game and grassland cows give different starting statergies.

One of my HOF aims though is to have every different civilisation in a table.

 

[Spoonwood]

I agree that plenty of HoF spots don't require the use of MapFinder, or a strong starting position. If you use Quick Start, it really doesn't take too long even, if you say dedicate a period of time to just finding a map, to find a good start for an HoF game. That said there do exist some dates which come as very hard to beat without the use of MapFinder, but not all that many by any means.