How random is random?

[Adagio]

Is it me who's doing something wrong or is randomness when creating maps not that random as it should be?

I have set the game to pick random map size for my last 4 games, but for the first 3 games the map size was the smallest avaliable and with one AI only (I quit the to last of those games, because I didn't want to play a duel again). For the fouth game it looks to be the same (smallest map avaliable), but I can't tell for sure, since I haven't discovered that much of the world yet, but considering that all Civs are very cramped up, I guess the map is the same (or at least it's VERY small)


Also is there a way for the game to pick random number of AIs? I don't like to know from the beginning how many AI's there is in the game (kinda makes discovery more dull)

[Adagio]

So nobody else who has tried random map size?

[Aro]

Nope.
But I had the same map, twice, two different games, different days, all civs randomly chosen, including mine (different ones - Egypt and Arabs), all the rest medium or random, except size (huge) and the kind of map (continents). . Warlord level.

I quit the second game as soon I discovered that I was playing the same map...So, I'll second you. How random is random?

[RalphTrickey]

Originally posted by Aro
Nope.
But I had the same map, twice, two different games, different days, all civs randomly chosen, including mine (different ones - Egypt and Arabs), all the rest medium or random, except size (huge) and the kind of map (continents). . Warlord level.

I quit the second game as soon I discovered that I was playing the same map...So, I'll second you. How random is random?

I've seen the same thing using the defaults (Medium world, temperate, medium sea level, all else random). I got an identical map, same starting civ, etc. I also gave up on the random map size, since it always seems to give me a duel world.

[Finarfin]

The Randomize Leader Personalities function isn't random, either. You always get the defaults.

[Dis]

I've been meaning to ask this.

And what about combat results?

And is there a random seed like in Civ3? It seems like whenever I reload, I get the same crappy battle results.

[Sleestax]

Originally posted by Dis
I've been meaning to ask this.

And what about combat results?

And is there a random seed like in Civ3? It seems like whenever I reload, I get the same crappy battle results.

I think they got rid of random seed for that reason. At least, I noticed that with the huts that I get the same thing no matter how many times I reload trying to get a tech advance instead of a map or some gold.

[Drachasor]

If you reload and do everything the same then the battles wil turn out the same, so far as I've noticed. If you mix things up then they can turn out differently.

[Aileron]

Sorry if this is a lame reply, but I've read another thread about the "getting the same maps" problem, and I believe there was a way to fix it too. Unfortunately I can't find that thread anymore, and I don't know what the fix is, because I've never had that problem. Try searching the Civ4 Help forum for "same map" maybe?? I searched for "random map" but it wasn't there.

[Aileron]

Ok, finally found it. Don't know if this will help:

http://apolyton.net/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=141553