The Promised Land

[CD Light]

Here is a new map I created. It's called The Promised Land.

In the scenario, every civ (up to 12) starts out on a tiny, inhospitable island. They each try to get to a mysterious continent full of riches called The Promised Land. A fierce battle will surely ensue. Can you win it?

Version 1.01 finally removed after 584 downloads.
(Broken) version 1.1 uploaded Feb 22. Removed after 92 downloads.
Current version 1.2 uploaded March 9. See later post for changes. This version works with 1.17f!

 

[CD Light]

Here's a screenshot of the map.

[Mod Edit: Screenshot should be in JPG or GIF format so they show up on the page]

 

[CD Light]

And here's the Readme. It's not too long, so please read it.

Readme for v.1.01 removed after 310 downloads. New version uploaded February 22, 2002.
Readme v.1.1 removed after 19 downloads. Even newer version uploaded March 9, 2002.

 

[CD Light]

Does anyone have anything they want to SAY about this scenario? I'd really like to do an update soon, and I'd really like some feedback. Please post a reply with your thoughts if you have played the scenario!

 

[Thunderfall]

The map looks pretty interesting.

The color in the screenshot you took looks pretty weird. Here is a better screenie:

 

[MummyMan]

This looks like a good map! This is the first map that i've downloaded and it looks great! I like how you gave the AI advantages so that they would go to the promised land. What kinds of advantages did you give them? I would make them tend to build a navy so that they would explore more and thus find the promised land. I would also make seafaring techs less costly so that the promised land would be quarreled over early. I'm going to stop writing so i can play the map so i can contribute something that isn't hypothetical!

 

[CD Light]

Thanks for your compliments! I'm glad someone's excited about this scenario.

What I did to the AI was make them build certain things Often, which is an option in the editor. Specifically, I checked Build Naval Units, Explore, and Build Settlers.

Like you said, it would be good for the Promised Land to be fought over early. To encourage this, and also to reflect your citizens' fanatic loyalty at the beginning of the scenario and willingness to research, all techs in the Ancient Age are very cheap. The bonus is lessened in the Medieval times, and it disappears in the next ages as their determination wanes.

 

[MummyMan]

That sounds like you did everything posibble to make this scenario as best as it could be. After playing the scenario for a while i thought that you should make the map have a little less desert. I know that the poor terrain would make the people want to go to the promised land, but it hampers growth and makes the begining a bit tedious. On the other hand i thought it was clever to put a ring of land around the promised land so that direct landings were not possible. I played as the English so i could have scouts and control the seas with Men-o-war when migration to the promised land would be in full swing. At the beginning of the game, I made a beeline for Map Making and quickly made a galley and a settler and loaded a scout. I got to the promised land but did not know it because i didn't think that it would have mountains around it. But after i went halfway around it ,:crazyeyes , i concluded that it must be the promised land. So now i'm making more settlers and another galley(my other was sunk by primitive yet fairly advanced submarines).

 

[CD Light]

Thanks for your feedback. I'm excited that someone is responding to this.

I'm considering your recommendation for less desert; maybe it's a little TOO hard to get a good start. I'll probably do an update soon and make some refinements (bigger/better starting islands, etc.) like I did for another scenario, Sherwood Forest. Thanks again for your response!

 

[ArnMeister]

First let me say that I liked the map and the overall scenario. I've played it three times now and I enjoy the challenge of settling in the Promised Land ahead of the AI. I reached the Promised Land by stacking Galleys and sending out a scout ahead of the group. Unfortunately, I crashed all three times approaching the year 0. I was wondering if anyone else had this problem. I am running XP but I ported the save game to my laptop that runs with 98 and it crashed there as well. I did use the Power Bar utility sparingly. Is that my problem?

 

[CD Light]

Hmmm. How very puzzling.

I fast-forwarded in the scenario on my (Windows XP) computer to A.D. 300, and nothing happened. Therefore, it is not a problem with the year or anything. Were you building a certain unit or wonder at the time it crashed, or had one first became available? This occasionally crashes a scenario that I am testing if I accidentally rename a unit or something, though I don't think that applies to this scenario. Perhaps the PowerBar is the problem, but I can't be sure; I never use it. Did you use it in all three games? Then maybe it could have been the problem.

I would like to know if anyone else has experienced problems with this scenario; I could make some changes in an update or something.

PS: Thanks for your response. I will be glad to fix any errors that are found with this scenario.

 

[Arcturus]

I enjoyed playing this map alot - thank you for making it!

The only thing that didn't work for me was the ring of barbarian islands. There is no way to kill them off in the early to middle game, and their incessant and pointless milling about really drags after awhile. Either make it possible to land on the islands and kill the barbarians, or perhaps reduce the number of them greatly.

 

[CD Light]

I think you're right about those, Arcturus. I'm doing an update now, and I will eliminate a number of those and delete one camp on the rest, so the player can land on them and destroy the camps. I'll also change some of the barbarian islands to Tundra, so they don't have such a high defense bonus and can therefore be killed more easily.

In the update, I am also upgrading the starting islands like MummyMan suggested a while back. If anyone has more suggestions, just post 'em here!

 

[CD Light]

I have finally gotten around to finishing the update for this scenario! Thanks to those who suggested the changes! I have implemented the suggestions I received in this thread and I have also made a few other minor tweaks:

-The starting islands are somewhat bigger and more hospitable.
-All barbarian islands have been converted from Mountains to Tundra so they can be cleared more easily.
-One camp has been deleted from each island so landings are possible to destroy the camps.
-The attack bonus versus barbarians has been increased for the player on all difficulty levels.
-The AI has been given some minor bonuses (i.e., Max. Gov. Transition Time lowered) to balance the game because of that tweak.
-The Promised Land is slightly more fruitful.
-A few barbarian encampments have been added to the Promised Land.
-Submarines now have an attack strength of 7.
-All technologies in the Middle Ages have had their costs decreased by 2.

Enjoy the updated scenario! You can still download it in the first post in this thread. Keep on suggesting changes!

 

[CD Light]

I have also updated the readme for this scenario with recommended settings, new changes, and credits to those who suggested things in this thread. Those who have already downloaded the original readme don't need this one; it just has the extra info I already posted. However, I strongly encourage those who have not yet downloaded it and wish to play the scenario to do so, as it can be quite helpful in understanding the scenario.

 

[Arcturus]

The updated scenario will not load with the patched (1.17F) game. Gives an error message saying not compatible with this version.

 

[CD Light]

EDIT: This was recently fixed. Don't worry about it.

Uh-oh. I just noticed that as well. I've tried fixing it by loading the scenario in the updated editor, but it hasn't worked. Does anyone know how to fix this? As it is, no one with the patch can download the scenario. I'm going to tack a notice onto the first post in this thread as a warning. Thanks for the heads-up, Arcturus.

If anyone knows how to fix this, PLEASE contact me! I want to get this scenario ready for playing ASAP!

 

[Malta]

I had to restart my update of "Malta" after having edited with the corrupt editor. It made my map unplayable. I downloaded the old version here and started reworking it. It works fine with the new patch, but I still think it´s disgraceful that they released something that completely messed up maps, and then ask people to download another editor instead. They should have waited a bit longer and posted a properly working patch.

B.t.w. I played your map but had to give up since the game froze, even after restarting Civ, upon entering a new age.

 

[CD Light]

Hey, that might work! I could just use the older version of this scenario to redo the changes I did in the update and then upload it. The only problem is, I can't find my copy of the old Promised Land and the one on the site is the new one. Could someone who downloaded this before PLEASE email it to me so I can make it compatible with the new patch?

Thanks for the help, Malta. Once I begin working on the update I'll try to find the bug you mentioned and fix it.

EDIT: Malta already sent me this, so don't worry. Thanks a lot, Malta!

 

[Malta]

I just sent the old version to you. Let me know if there is any kind of problem with it (if it doesn´t arrive, etc.).
- "Malta"