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[Leucarum]

Ask yourselves; if the maps had been amazing, would it really change anything?

Preempting the pedantic "Yes by definition it would have changed something" answer.

And it's not bad to have more maps, nor do we really know how good they are. But it looks unlikely that this is the patch to turn 7 around. I guess I was hoping this would be a bigger patch.

 

[Crashdummy]

Ask yourselves; if the maps had been amazing, would it really change anything?

Not much, but if they are using resources to improve them, then at least they should make a real effort instead of just changing the bricks from vertical to horizontal

If they change the map generation, they should at least change it for real into something that has good quality

 

[stealth_nsk]

Ask yourselves; if the maps had been amazing, would it really change anything?

Yes, and a lot. To me, access to treasure resources in Exploration is the biggest problem in the current patch. I'm not exaggerating, it's the heaviest hit on replayability to me.

 

[Seek]

The continent shape issue is small potatoes compared to the real travesty that is the predictable stripy biome generation imo.

Hoping this gets fixed, it’s the #1 reason I haven’t played much recently, it just makes exploration so samey, and it’s hard to find large areas of one biome (aside from tundra) to make different games have different vibes..

Please give us realistic climate informed biome shapes!

 

[Leucarum]

Yes, and a lot. To me, access to treasure resources in Exploration is the biggest problem in the current patch. I'm not exaggerating, it's the heaviest hit on replayability to me.

Really? I mean it's not great. But it seems like the pain around treasure fleets is as much a symptom of all the other explo legacy paths being too easy, and snowballing too strong, as it is an issue with the path itself. If exploration was significantly slower treasure fleets would likely be ok... A little prescriptive but ok. I think they're probably the most interesting legacy path in Exploration at least.

 

[stealth_nsk]

Really? I mean it's not great. But it seems like the pain around treasure fleets is as much a symptom of all the other explo legacy paths being too easy, and snowballing too strong, as it is an issue with the path itself. If exploration was significantly slower treasure fleets would likely be ok... A little prescriptive but ok. I think they're probably the most interesting legacy path in Exploration at least.

There are multiple issues with treasure resources. Like in some games on Continents+ I had only one treasure resource on my side of islands and instead being source of treasures, those islands became an additional distance to cross on your way to settle the real distant lands and for treasure fleet to reach back. And sometimes I settle with like 8 resources on those islands without any problems (the last time it happened I was playing Songhai in exploration exactly to negate the problem, which was quite ironic). Having unpredictable land masses with more evenly spread treasure resources should help the game a lot.

And yes, I agree that it's a symptom of deeper problems with how the exploration legacy paths were designed. I think the distant lands as a feature were bad idea in the first place. But if we'll have some improvements of legacy paths on top of those improved maps, it could end up fine.

 

[stealth_nsk]

The continent shape issue is small potatoes compared to the real travesty that is the predictable stripy biome generation imo.

Hoping this gets fixed, it’s the #1 reason I haven’t played much recently, it just makes exploration so samey, and it’s hard to find large areas of one biome (aside from tundra) to make different games have different vibes..

Please give us realistic climate informed biome shapes!

It's interesting, because the game doesn't seem to be focused on biomes the way Civ 5 or 6 did, it's more about resources to me.

 

[CaesarCS]

For me it would. Ever since Civ 2, how interesting I find a map determines if I’m going to continue or abandon a game. Civ 7 maps just don’t give me a desire to play.

 

[McSpank01]

Ask yourselves; if the maps had been amazing, would it really change anything?

Actually yes. I think the maps on release were appalling, I didn’t realise how boring a game could be simply due to having dull and predictable maps. The game became immensely more enjoyable once maps had more variety and exploring became fun.

I also agree on the Treasure Fleets thing, the current map generation makes Exploration age legacy paths horrible to interact with. I can only imagine how good the game could be if the original idea of actually going out and finding new landmasses wasn’t a huge chore and the treasure fleet interaction worked in the way that was promised.

 

[Xur]

Actually yes. I think the maps on release were appalling, I didn’t realise how boring a game could be simply due to having dull and predictable maps. The game became immensely more enjoyable once maps had more variety and exploring became fun.

I also agree on the Treasure Fleets thing, the current map generation makes Exploration age legacy paths horrible to interact with. I can only imagine how good the game could be if the original idea of actually going out and finding new landmasses wasn’t a huge chore and the treasure fleet interaction worked in the way that was promised.

I can understand that for someone that bought the game and still plays it. It just seems like an odd area to put focus given the current situation.

 

[stealth_nsk]

I can understand that for someone that bought the game and still plays it. It just seems like an odd area to put focus given the current situation.

It depends on how you see the current situation. But in any case, the map generation is one of the biggest problems of the current state of the game, so it's totally understandable focus.

Sure, I expect to see some UI improvements under "more" and they are needed, just not the thing to spotlight.

 

[Gorbles]

I can understand that for someone that bought the game and still plays it. It just seems like an odd area to put focus given the current situation.

Retaining existing players is just as important as bringing others back.

You asked folks to ask themselves. Don't move the goalposts just because you got some positive answers.

 

[King Flevance]

The big major changes everyone is looking for isn't going to be some quick update. I don't necessarily agree that we have to wait for an expansion to see big swings by Firaxis but we do need to wait some time for them to develop, troubleshoot, rebalance the features, code the AI to respond, perhaps even add in additional support features, etc. We all agree that the game still needs big changes but they are currently trying to fulfill DLC that people already paid for 6 months ago. They are well aware of the fan outcry and poor reviews and are working on damage control and have even told us as much. They need time to deliver this DLC and time to work on addressing the problems within the design, which mean going back to the drawing board a bit and redesigning. I don't want them to just hastily slap a new system in place and just hope it will do.

While they work on whatever their plan is, we are needing these patches anyways. Napoleon was weak. Map generation was pretty bad. These new city states weren't necessary but are a fun addition. Perhaps they were something they were already planning before release. It doesn't hurt to release this stuff until we get the big updates we are all hoping for. At least it gives some of us some new mechanics to play around with while we wait.

 

[bigjim1]

Personally I'd like more interesting and varied maps, and this update may move us towards that. But the real problem for me is the unimportance of strategic resources in Civ VII. I've been replaying Civ V (still my all-time favourite) and, once again, and am engaged because of unexpected resource distribution. If my empire lacks iron, horses, coal, oil or aluminium at different areas, I often have to fight for them, usually at at a strategic disadvantage because of the resource I'm missing. Whether I'm rolling along peacefully, or planning world domination, I have to change direction.

I'd like to see more of that in a future update: more genuinely vital resources (not just "good to have" ones). And the penalty for not providing a luxury your people want could be higher (as in the Anno games). Anything to avoid being able to put your strategy on rails in the first dozen turns and never have to rethink it.

 

[Krikkit1]

Also one note... the "much more" may include things they Might have in this update, but they aren't sure yet because they are still working on it. (they may be preparatory things like they did for expanding the number of players on bigger maps)

 

[queenpea]

Yeah, I think we are all looking at “more” and hoping it does some heavy lifting.

 

[Krikkit1]

Yeah, I think we are all looking at “more” and hoping it does some heavy lifting.

Well either “much more” does heavy lifting
or
They give us a roadmap about when the heavy lifting will happen.

 

[Niallism]

Ask yourselves; if the maps had been amazing, would it really change anything?

For me, yes. After all the bugs and lack of polish, the maps are the biggest problem. I like exploring, I like virtual worlds, and I like reacting to the game environment I discover. Right now, in Civ 7, there's very little exploration and discovery.

 

[queenpea]

Well either “much more” does heavy lifting
or
They give us a roadmap about when the heavy lifting will happen.

I’m sorry to be this person, but I don’t see “much more” anywhere—I only see “more” on the patch teaser. Might have missed the qualifier somewhere!

 

[stealth_nsk]

I’m sorry to be this person, but I don’t see “much more” anywhere—I only see “more” on the patch teaser. Might have missed the qualifier somewhere!

"much more" is in the post itself