Settlers and Workers Getting Wiped Out by Disasters

steveg700

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Safe to say, a settler getting destroyed by a flood is a pretty good case for save-scumming (or is it scum-saving?). I keep my disaster settings at the default of 2, but this still happens. Is there some way to prevent the one-hit destruction of civilian units? Some little checkbox I missed? Maybe an escort helps?
 
Hey, somebody replied after a few days. Neato.
I hope you found the one response well-thought-out, informative, and helpful to you in your situation :rolleyes:

I, personally, can offer you no help since I always change the disaster setting to 0 in my games. Although I will say that I don't shun save-scumming in your own personal 1 player game.
 
I can't remember ever actually losing a civilian unit in a disaster, so I can't really be of help either, except that I know there's at least one mod out there (Better Balanced Game, a multiplayer balance mod that also makes a slew of other adjustments, some of which might not be desirable for single-player games) that makes them immune to disasters.
 
Safe to say, a settler getting destroyed by a flood is a pretty good case for save-scumming (or is it scum-saving?). I keep my disaster settings at the default of 2, but this still happens. Is there some way to prevent the one-hit destruction of civilian units? Some little checkbox I missed? Maybe an escort helps?

Yea it sucks, beyond like making sure they never end a turn on the actual river tile.

No real solution but you don't need any case to save scum though-- just do it.
 
Yeah, personally I try to avoid save-scumming. A builder I wouldn't overly care about, but if an early settler gets wiped out, then yeah, I'm either going back, or I hit the restart game button. I don't want to start on a sour note.
 
Have had it happen with my initial settler as well.
Moving along flood plains is the most risky terrain, so be prepared that it might mean losing the game on turn 2.
 
Well, you know the risk is there. Just avoid moving through floodplains. You can lose damaged military units to flooding as well.

Generally speaking, you should avoid improving floodplains before constructing a dam. Or you risk losing many valuable worker charges.

Floods are as devastating as fires, perhaps more so, and the game shows this well.
 
I've lost whole armies to incoming blizzards.. A few survived but it was like Hitler trying to go to WW2 Russia and his troops died to the blizzards.
 
See, I was hoping to hear there was some tactic, like escorting the settler, that'd protect it.

Anyway, nice to see replies trickless in.
 
Have had it happen with my initial settler as well.
Moving along flood plains is the most risky terrain, so be prepared that it might mean losing the game on turn 2.

That's bad design. Depending on the type of game in question, it's close to objectively bad.

Though in Civ 6 context, it's more of a nuisance than a serious balance issue in most cases. You might need some spoiler-ish information, or just to remember all the possible disasters and be mindful of ones that will randomly delete units. Once you know these things, the risk is functionally eliminated. Which is a reasonable argument to not put such a "gotcha" in the game in the first place.
 
Not sure I agree there.
If I move my settler along that risky territory instead of immediately settling on turn 1, then I am taking a calculated risk that can backfire.
I might just as well run into a barbarian nest and lose too, and that's fine as well.
 
Not sure I agree there.
If I move my settler along that risky territory instead of immediately settling on turn 1, then I am taking a calculated risk that can backfire.
I might just as well run into a barbarian nest and lose too, and that's fine as well.
It's a pointless risk, as the end resalt is the game is aborted before it evens starts. Meaningless stakes means meaningless risk. A setback is more challenging than a "game over". Better to simply knock a settler back to where it came from the proviso turn.
 
Meaningless stakes means meaningless risk
They are not meaningless risks though, because why otherwise would I move the settler?
Rhetorical question of course, because I see that a nearby spot is superior to where I'm standing now.
That there is some risk associated with that is completely fine for me.
You can always settle in place on turn 1 if you dont want that to happen to you.
 
They are not meaningless risks though, because why otherwise would I move the settler?
Rhetorical question of course, because I see that a nearby spot is superior to where I'm standing now.
That there is some risk associated with that is completely fine for me.
You can always settle in place on turn 1 if you dont want that to happen to you.

I think his point is that if it were to happen, you just reroll and it doesn't matter.
 
Not sure I agree there.
If I move my settler along that risky territory instead of immediately settling on turn 1, then I am taking a calculated risk that can backfire.
I might just as well run into a barbarian nest and lose too, and that's fine as well.

That depends how obvious it is offhand that you can lose your settler.

Moving adjacent to a hostile unit is a different class of mistake than not knowing the exact consequence of a potential random event. It's not even clear to an unspoiled player that a flood would kill a settler. You can damage units with a cannon, but you can't damage or kill workers/settlers with those at range for instance.

Nothing in the game gives notice along the lines of "Warning: moving here can cause you to lose instantly". That's kind of important information, though.

It's less bad than t4 barb scout because it has more counterplay. But it's still bad design, UI design if nothing else.
 
I think his point is that if it were to happen, you just reroll and it doesn't matter.

Which I do (reroll a fresh start that is), but that also means that my random start near Mt. Roraima (where I was headed) is now gone, and I have to make do without it in the next game.
 
Which I do (reroll a fresh start that is), but that also means that my random start near Mt. Roraima (where I was headed) is now gone, and I have to make do without it in the next game.
If there was a great start, no need to move the settler and the point is moot.

If the settler gets moved and dies from disaster, so what? There's no conviction of having been better off settling in place or not spending extra time avoiding a floodplain.

Like I said, better to have tossed back the settler back to where he started and effectively lost a torn (which is hardly trivial at that stage of the game).Sometimes inconveniencing a person is a harsher than simply ejecting them.
 
Personally, it's usually less about my opening settler being wiped out than the disaster that wipes out either the first settler that I built, or my early unit. Like there's times that it's basically unavoidable to end on a floodplain if you need to cross to get to a city spot on the other side, and if you get unlucky on that one turn, the penalty is way too steep.
 
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