Succession Game for Newbies
- Thread starter TheOverseer714
- Start date
CommandoBob
AbstractArt
There is a map generator in the Utility section of the forum that can generate thousands of maps, or so I've read. However, I don't know the name of it. 
gmaharriet
Ancient Crone
There is a map generator in the Utility section of the forum that can generate thousands of maps, or so I've read. However, I don't know the name of it.
lurker's comment: HoFMapFinder -> http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=75992
You set the parameters for what you want (2 cows on grass, 1 lux, no jungle...whatever is your choice), and let it run overnight or while you're at work/school during the day. It will generate hundreds/thousands of maps, but only save the ones that meet your specs. The more detailed your requirements, the fewer the maps saved to choose from.
Othniel
fighting for Achsah
We should wait on TheOverseer to give the official word, but I think we were looking for at least one more player to join, so hopefully you can join us...
Othniel
fighting for Achsah
You set the parameters for what you want (2 cows on grass, 1 lux, no jungle...whatever is your choice), and let it run overnight or while you're at work/school during the day. It will generate hundreds/thousands of maps, but only save the ones that meet your specs. The more detailed your requirements, the fewer the maps saved to choose from.
That's cool how it weeds out only the desired map specs.
I had heard of the MapFinder utility (and downloaded it), but didn't know exactly how it worked. I like the idea of having a solid settler factory start without it being too overpowered. We're gonna be playing a large map after all, so we need to spam lotsa settlers...
and it's good to practice on factories. That means looking for a +5fpt location with enough shields to get 30s every 4 turns. It's not that difficult to get this kind of a start. The effects of whether we're an Agri civ aside (bonus food), a nice mix of 2 strong food tiles (game, cow, wheat), fresh water, and then a mix of BGs, forests, and plains is usually enough. There are TONS of more "exotic" combinations of tiles that can get us to the magic +5fpt and 30s, but the one I mentioned is more easily spotted.
Tad Empire_0_o
GAHH... Puberty
english but I also speak other languages
Tad Empire_0_o
GAHH... Puberty
english but I also speak other languages If I cant play I guess ill just lurk this gameI'm semi-interested. If you'd care to nail down the specifics I could say yes or no. What I really don't want is another long and drawn out game like the last SG that I played. There was really no need for it to go on for a month when it was a simple and straightforward conquest.
For that reason I'd suggest a Standard map.
Fyi I usually play Demigod or Emp if I'm trying a variant. Also we are talking about Conquests 1.22 (I think) right, not PtW?
For that reason I'd suggest a Standard map.
Fyi I usually play Demigod or Emp if I'm trying a variant. Also we are talking about Conquests 1.22 (I think) right, not PtW?
Othniel
fighting for Achsah
@Tad Empire
-Although TheOverseer hasn't given the official word yet on whether you're able to join us, let me repeat that we're looking for more players, so it's likely you can take part. Don't worry too much about the English thing; your English sounds fine.
@drakdan
-I tend to agree with you about the Standard size map so its not too drawn out, but I remain flexible on that subject.
Yes, we're talking C3C 1.22. @TheOverseer
-Can you post a screenshot of a start and some map specs so that we can get this going? Thanks!
TheOverseer714
Overseer
Hiya folks! Tad, and Drak, I say welcome to the party! I see we have some new and helpful lurker comments. The map making process can indeed be tedious, and get plenty of bad randoms. I hate some of the starts the computer offers, and if you guys want to do maps, I say go for it. I've done more thinking on the civ's to play as, and I've narrowed it down to A MA UU, like the netherlands, vikings, ottomans, someone who gets a well-timed GA and a not so over-powering UU. Any other ideas, just sound off. I think a Monarch level would be appropriate, and as far as numbers, I think 5-6 would be optimal. Drak, as far as drawn out because of a large map, the 10 turns rather than 20 might help that. I guess we could vote on some of these now that it's a larger group. Map-wise, how about Large Continents with everything else normal(average rainfall, normal climate, roaming barbs, 70% ocean, standard rules) and a MA or later UU tribe? Nuts and bolts issues, yes, Conquests v1.22. Where is everyone located? I am US eastern time(GMT-5), and my weekday time online is evenings from 7:30-10:30PM. I assume from the timing of posts that most of you folks are farther west or east of me (which is good, we can play and post while others sleep or work). Any other comments, post away and if you come up with a good map, share it.
Your grammar is appauling
Not that I mind though
Tad Empire_0_o
GAHH... Puberty
My time is GMT-pacific time, I would want 60% and no barbs but watever, I h8 the barbs
TheOverseer714
Overseer
We gotta have barbs, how are we gonna get elites before any major wars? I think Tad and Kumquat are builders, I'm in between, and Othniel is a war-monger, and middle of the road barbs are the best compromise. I like barbs for the money and military experience they give your troops. And no competitive game I ever see has no barbs. Don't worry, we'll build so many towns that barbs will be few and far between fast. And us war-mongers will protect you... Speaking of towns, I think it's time to discuss spacing of our cities, what our government will be, and when to fight our first war. I think we all have to move out of comfort zones in order to get better, so prepare to be war-like if you are a builder, and build more than normal for war-mongers. It's still gonna be fun though.
Othniel
fighting for Achsah
Ok, my extensive post on map thoughts. 
My vote on map stuff:
Map Specs
Worldsize: Large --> The compromise we reached, I think
Landmass: Continents
Land Ratio: 70% --> due to the Large map size we agreed on, I think the 70% is a good compromise in available land space
Barbs: Roaming --> See below
Environment: Normal, temperate
World Age: 4 billion years
Rules: All normal except please turn of wonder victory and possibly culturally linked starts. Also, lets have random civ enemies.
Barbs:
To me, barbs are a whole lot more about adding a little more difficulty to the game than for promotion opportunities, but that might be because at the higher difficulties that I play at, the human doesn't get bonuses vs the barbs. That can make the barbs VERY annoying. They say having raging barbs can up the difficulty level by a full notch. I kinda believe them...
On monarch, I think we still get a significant bonus... Anyhow, roaming barbs sounds like another good compromise to me, just to spice things up a touch.
Civ:
For civs, how about the French, Arabs, or Russia?
French: Industrious and Commercial are excellent traits for a large continents game where we have plenty of land to fill in, and our numerous cities will quickly exceed the OCN. Plus our builder players will probably like them for the infrastructure strength they offer. Lastly, the Musketeer is a mostly useless UU (except for special strats) because it's so expensive and pikes are more efficient. That way, we can't depend on our UU to win us the game. Plus, it's a later UU to boot.
Arabs: Expansionistic and Religious; scouts would be good for our large land area and religious is again for the joy of the builders among us. The main thing good about the Arabs are the Ansar Warriors. Fantastic UU that is cheap, quick, and dominating, plus it's a Middle Age unit. Drawback? We might depend on the UU too much and hide the other flaws in our gameplay.
Russia Expansionist and Scientific: Similar to the Arabs above. The Cossacks are a late UU with blitz, which I think is a powerful ability (lots of elites). Some people hate the Cossacks because they are expensive, but I think they might be a great fit for our game.
Other Civs
Ottomans are Ok, but the Sipahi might be too overpowered for the reasons I mentioned about the Ansar Warriors. Germans and Americans would also be good for a challenge, so I'm cool with them. Perhaps the English or else the Portuguese if we want a difficult, sea-oriented game. Other civs such as the Vikings or Chinese seem too militaristic for ya'll.
So, in conclusion (whew), my vote is for the French or Russia. Both will stretch our gameplay, I think.
If it's cool with TheOverseer
, when I get home tonight I'll do some starts to see if I can come up with a suitable map based on the specs I gave above. Please post back if you agree/disagree with the things I posted.
My vote on map stuff:
Map Specs
Worldsize: Large --> The compromise we reached, I think
Landmass: Continents
Land Ratio: 70% --> due to the Large map size we agreed on, I think the 70% is a good compromise in available land space
Barbs: Roaming --> See below
Environment: Normal, temperate
World Age: 4 billion years
Rules: All normal except please turn of wonder victory and possibly culturally linked starts. Also, lets have random civ enemies.
Barbs:
To me, barbs are a whole lot more about adding a little more difficulty to the game than for promotion opportunities, but that might be because at the higher difficulties that I play at, the human doesn't get bonuses vs the barbs. That can make the barbs VERY annoying. They say having raging barbs can up the difficulty level by a full notch. I kinda believe them...
On monarch, I think we still get a significant bonus... Anyhow, roaming barbs sounds like another good compromise to me, just to spice things up a touch.Civ:
For civs, how about the French, Arabs, or Russia?
French: Industrious and Commercial are excellent traits for a large continents game where we have plenty of land to fill in, and our numerous cities will quickly exceed the OCN. Plus our builder players will probably like them for the infrastructure strength they offer. Lastly, the Musketeer is a mostly useless UU (except for special strats) because it's so expensive and pikes are more efficient. That way, we can't depend on our UU to win us the game. Plus, it's a later UU to boot.
Arabs: Expansionistic and Religious; scouts would be good for our large land area and religious is again for the joy of the builders among us.
The main thing good about the Arabs are the Ansar Warriors. Fantastic UU that is cheap, quick, and dominating, plus it's a Middle Age unit. Drawback? We might depend on the UU too much and hide the other flaws in our gameplay. Russia Expansionist and Scientific: Similar to the Arabs above. The Cossacks are a late UU with blitz, which I think is a powerful ability (lots of elites). Some people hate the Cossacks because they are expensive, but I think they might be a great fit for our game.
Other Civs
Ottomans are Ok, but the Sipahi might be too overpowered for the reasons I mentioned about the Ansar Warriors. Germans and Americans would also be good for a challenge, so I'm cool with them. Perhaps the English or else the Portuguese
if we want a difficult, sea-oriented game. Other civs such as the Vikings or Chinese seem too militaristic for ya'll. So, in conclusion (whew), my vote is for the French or Russia. Both will stretch our gameplay, I think.
If it's cool with TheOverseer
, when I get home tonight I'll do some starts to see if I can come up with a suitable map based on the specs I gave above. Please post back if you agree/disagree with the things I posted.
Othniel
fighting for Achsah
TheOverseer714 said:
Strategy Post:
City Spacing:
City spacing should be approximately cxxc or (sometimes) cxxxc for the first few cities (10-15 cities?) and then be tighter after that.. cxxc at the most.
Why? Because we want to balance having powerhouse cities in the core with making use of our non-corrupt land more quickly. If we build cxxxc or looser with our early cities, it is a HUGE disadvantage due to more time moving from one city to another, and more importantly, so many quality tiles are wasted until hospitals can be built. Its an enormous efficiency waste. Remember that one portion of corruption is distance to the palace (or FP). Too loose of spacing = more corruption in the core.
Of course, build the core cities in the best available locations when following these spacing rules.
Further out cities will be corrupt anyways, so build them tightly to maximize the land, irrigate everything, and start specialist farms (trust me, they are POWERFUL). If it's a tundra location, set up fishing villages for the same specialist purpose.
Probably the best thing to do for early city placement is to post a screenshot of the starting area and dotmap in the best city locations so that we can discuss it. BUT that requires us to actually HAVE a starting location...
Government
Probably Republic to begin with, although if we decide to do long-term conquest instead, Monarchy can be a better choice. We can easily get the slingshot at Monarch difficulty. Later on, Communism is the decided best option for a large empire.
First War
Uhh, let's decide that when we actually get a map rolling and see where enemies are. That's too situational at this point.
IMPORTANT: I will say this again, it is critical that we decide what victory condition we're going for e.g. space, conquest, culture, etc. What we decide on that will affect what civ and map we choose and all strategy decisions from the start of the game to the end.
Personally, I think a conquest/domination objective would be the most beneficial to everyone's gameplay, but if not that, then let's do a space race / diplomatic game because that can teach good trading/diplomatic skills.
Othniel
fighting for Achsah
CommandoBob
AbstractArt
lurker's comment:
If you plan to max out at city size 12, then what you plan is rather easy and efficient. If you plan to grow larger than that and work all 21 tiles of a city, then this plan has a problem, since many workable tiles will not be worked for two ages. In this case, plan your core cities, but until you get hospitals build some cities-to-abandon that will let you work the tiles between the 'real' core cities.
Uh, I have heard this talked about but have yet to see it done in a game. It might be helpful to gives those cities-to-be-disbanded a special name even something as dull as 'Disband01'.
I like the idea of France conquering the world. It so does not match with their UU!
Both are fun. It just depends upon your mood.
or 
How big do you plan your cities to be? If more than 12, well, you will need hospitals to do that, and they don't come early.
If you plan to max out at city size 12, then what you plan is rather easy and efficient. If you plan to grow larger than that and work all 21 tiles of a city, then this plan has a problem, since many workable tiles will not be worked for two ages. In this case, plan your core cities, but until you get hospitals build some cities-to-abandon that will let you work the tiles between the 'real' core cities.
Uh, I have heard this talked about but have yet to see it done in a game. It might be helpful to gives those cities-to-be-disbanded a special name even something as dull as 'Disband01'.
Yes, decide your preferred victory condition first and then select the civ to best match it. Or be very brave and let the game decide whom you will be.
I like the idea of France conquering the world. It so does not match with their UU!
In general terms, a war game will take longer to play in time per turn because of all the fighting and unit movement. Takes longer to record in Notepad, also. A space/diplo game will take more turns but each turn will require less time.
Both are fun. It just depends upon your mood.
or TheOverseer714
Overseer
Othniel, you hit so many things right that I wonder if you should be running this thing. 
I think we are in synchrony here, and I need to work on my french France is a good traits combo, but I rarely play them. I haven't done Russia in awhile, but with a good starting location, they should be an excellent choice. I will be uploading as soon as I can network my computers (my game computer is having modem problems), just need to get the ethernet cable. I haven't seen anything from Drak, so I may need to recruit another player or 2, but I'd like to get started soon. If no luck, 4 would be enough but leaves little room for skips and computer problems. I think the VC should be Domination, with Spaceship, Diplo and Cultural mean a very late game, which could be tedious. I have learned to tighten up the spacing of cities, with cxxxc or cxxc in the core and cxc in the highly corrupt areas. With a large map, it might be better to do all 3. with cxxxc in the core, cxxc in the near core and FP areas, and cxc in the highly corrupt areas. I have Conquests v1.0 on this computer, would a map made with that work for v1.22?
I think we are in synchrony here, and I need to work on my french France is a good traits combo, but I rarely play them. I haven't done Russia in awhile, but with a good starting location, they should be an excellent choice. I will be uploading as soon as I can network my computers (my game computer is having modem problems), just need to get the ethernet cable. I haven't seen anything from Drak, so I may need to recruit another player or 2, but I'd like to get started soon. If no luck, 4 would be enough but leaves little room for skips and computer problems. I think the VC should be Domination, with Spaceship, Diplo and Cultural mean a very late game, which could be tedious. I have learned to tighten up the spacing of cities, with cxxxc or cxxc in the core and cxc in the highly corrupt areas. With a large map, it might be better to do all 3. with cxxxc in the core, cxxc in the near core and FP areas, and cxc in the highly corrupt areas. I have Conquests v1.0 on this computer, would a map made with that work for v1.22?
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