Terra Map? Why am i the only colonizer

[Monbijou]

I have a question for the community,

Who has played a match on a terra map?
If so did the AI build any cities on the new world?
What AI difficulty were you playing?

I am playing my second game ever of CiV, my first one on a terra map. (a cIV terra map pro) I'm playing a standard size map with 2 extra civs, and no one except me the player goes to the new world to settle. It seems the AI has no interest in the new world, they just care about what goes on it the old world. This was my favorite map setting in cIV and was looking forward to it in CiV, but if the AI isn't gonna compete in the new world, im gonna have give up terra till a (naval patch maybe)

what are your experiences with terra map in CiV, my fellow fanatics

 

[smellymummy]

i didnt even know they had terra map! i remember that as being one of my favorites

are there city states in the new world?

anyhow, since i haven't played it i can't really comment on it exactly, but I've played several archipelago maps (small size, +1 civ, low sea level) and I see the AI colonize. it doesnt seem to have a problem crossing over coast tiles when he's out of room on his main island

 

[NKVD1938]

Prince difficulty, same experience.

I think with all civs on the same landmass the AI only worries about what happens in the "old" world.

I agree with you - in BTS the terra map was extremely fun and added a huge element to the mid-game experience (and a historically accurate one, I might add.)

Hopefully there will be a patch that will allow for a race for colonies and resources in the Civ V New World

 

[dannythefool]

The AI generally seems to be scared of water. Strange as it is, since moving across water is much easier for a computer to understand now. I haven't played terra maps yet but I only rarely see an embarked settler or any embarked unit, for that matter.

 

[fermionorama]

Ditto on Prince. Large Map, default #civs, maxed out #city states. I only found city states & barbs on the new world.

I didn't beeline to ocean crossing tech, but was 1st or 2nd in score so probably got it first. Met every city state on the new world first (sure of that because I got the 30 gold, not the 15 gold 'meet city state' reward)

I'm reasonably certain other civs have naval tech enough to cross the ocean, but I'm the only one with any cities on the new world, and I haven't seen any other civ units on the new world, or even any other civ naval units.

I saw some speculation in other threads that other civs don't cross water with land units because the pathing turns algorithm is messed up, at least for embarking land units. It seems ok for naval units. To wit, take a land unit and request a path across water (via the hold right click or the 'm' hotkey or move menu option); it calculates the turns required to move as if the unit only had one movement point over water. If other civs use this same system to decide how far away a potential city site is, that would explain why they don't settle or explore the new world ... it looks like it's 20+ extra turns away!

PS
I also found no different resources on the new world. IIRC, in Civ4 you'd always be missing some resources in the old world that were only present in the new world. Could be there are some, I don't have all strategic resources revealed yet, but I explored the whole new world before I settled, hoping that I'd find new happyness resources. Could have had that settler sat down as a city 15-20 turns earlier if I had known that I wasn't going to find any new happy resources.

 

[Niptium]

Yes, me neither Terra map on Prince. The AI never went to the Americas. Although I have to say, it makes a lot less sense to do so now (than in Civ4) since you get punished for expanding.

 

[Abremms]

its not that the AI can't colonize, but it seems to be heavily weighted toward controlling its starting continent before even looking abroad. try playing on the Small Continents mapscript, you sill see lots of naval action.

but as it stands, terra is not a good mapscript for the current AI.

 

[Goosey]

I'm enjoying civ 5 but the navy thing with units can embark has totally killed of naval combat

I dont see the computer go across any oceans at all or build anything except a trieme or 2

hope a mod can bring transports back and kill this lousy idea embark

 

[Johan de Witt]

I'm enjoying civ 5 but the navy thing with units can embark has totally killed of naval combat

I dont see the computer go across any oceans at all or build anything except a trieme or 2

hope a mod can bring transports back and kill this lousy idea embark

It's not the embarking that has killed naval combat, it's the AI's lack of interest in naval expansion. I really like the embarking option, makes water really the highway it is in real life instead of the barrier it is in Civ 4.

 

[smellymummy]

its not that the AI can't colonize, but it seems to be heavily weighted toward controlling its starting continent before even looking abroad. try playing on the Small Continents mapscript, you sill see lots of naval action.

but as it stands, terra is not a good mapscript for the current AI.

sounds like you nailed it. i havent tried small continents either (where are you guys getting these terra and small continents?) but going from my post above, on archipelago settlers start leaving their AI's main landmass once its full followed by workers. plenty of naval action on that map type

 

[Abremms]

if you go into advanced options there are a ton of other mapscripts. i love small continents, its the perfect middle ground between continents and archipelago

 

[Zhahz]

I saw some speculation in other threads that other civs don't cross water with land units because the pathing turns algorithm is messed up, at least for embarking land units. It seems ok for naval units.

In my very first (sloppy) game I controlled a continent and an AI controlled the other (before I crashed his party).

Eventually the AI settled a crap city next to a city state on the tip of my continent and had to cross the ocean to do so. The AI also brought workers back and forth several times (I saw them with my ships at times).

So, the AI *will* cross oceans - especially if it gives them a chance to create yet another utter garbage city with 1 workable tile. Yay. Whoopee.

I would guess the AI values cities on other continents less due to the logistics involved. Kinda surprising given their Civ IV like desire to cover the entire map with crap cities.

 

[AriochIV]

Unfortunately, with the way Unhappiness limits the size of your empire, the Terra map is pretty useless. Though I did have fun running a knight around trashing barbarians and searching ruins until he was a tank.

 

[skallben]

Are the maps larger than normal maps if you compare standard vs. standard ?
I think they used to be in cIV and the description implies it in V aswell.

 

[Duque d'Caxias]

I had the same problem with Civ IV, only softed by the latest patchs for Beyond the Sword. Don't they learn?

 

[Niptium]

if you go into advanced options there are a ton of other mapscripts. i love small continents, its the perfect middle ground between continents and archipelago

I agree. I discovered that one on my own and its the script I now always use.