Starting a game

[Prussia]

I once started a game where I settled down on the spot the game picked for me, and a tribal village happened to be nearby, and it gave me another settler!

I found ANOTHER tribal village nearby, but it was too far so I had to use my scout.

The point is, sometimes the game puts you in a spot for a reason, besides it being a good, fair spot as a capital.

[Six Thousand Year Old Man]

The point is, sometimes the game puts you in a spot for a reason, besides it being a good, fair spot as a capital.

To that point, here's a related question: Is there any evidence that the game puts you in a spot for a reason? Are those bright blue circles really great spots?

Right from the beginning, I wondered whether the blue circles took hidden resources into account when recommending city sites. Quite often, iron or copper appears near these sites in my games. This may, of course, be coincidence. Has anyone tested this?

[Metaliturtle]

I usually notice that if a start appears very scarce in resources that Iron, copper, or coal will pop up there eventually. Usually under a cottage but whatever, I think the circles know.

[Azuarc]

Originally posted by Prussia
I once started a game where I settled down on the spot the game picked for me, and a tribal village happened to be nearby, and it gave me another settler!

You're only going to get a settler from a hut on the lower difficulties. I'm not one of those "emperor is too easy" nuts, but I like to at least play on Warlord or Noble.

[Rancidlunchmeat]

Originally posted by Azuarc


You're only going to get a settler from a hut on the lower difficulties. I'm not one of those "emperor is too easy" nuts, but I like to at least play on Warlord or Noble.

I'm pretty sure you can still get a free settler on Warlord.

It's only on Noble and above that the free settler isn't an option. Somebody on here posted the percentages that were difficulty dependent a few months back.

[Nikolai]

You can get a settler from warlord. I've got it a few times. Unfortunately, that time will end now, as I plan going back to noble now.

[Prussia]

Originally posted by Six Thousand Year Old Man

The point is, sometimes the game puts you in a spot for a reason, besides it being a good, fair spot as a capital.

Right from the beginning, I wondered whether the blue circles took hidden resources into account when recommending city sites. Quite often, iron or copper appears near these sites in my games. This may, of course, be coincidence. Has anyone tested this?

Wow... That really makes you think...
I hope it doesn't take hidden resources into account, because that would totally ruin strategy in the game.
But that opens up a whole new set of questions...
What if the blue circles represent where the AI will put their next city?

And I've gotten a settler on Noble before, but only once in, like 50 games.
I was playing on Cheiftain at the time of my settler incident.

[Six Thousand Year Old Man]

Originally posted by Metaliturtle
I usually notice that if a start appears very scarce in resources that Iron, copper, or coal will pop up there eventually. Usually under a cottage but whatever, I think the circles know.

Not usually under a cottage. Usually under a town, or at least, a village.

[Metaliturtle]

AFAIK: Settlers NEVER appear on Noble, I bet blake or someone else familiar with the XML can prove this.

[Nikolai]

I can't prove it, but I've never got one and I've seen some claims on them not being possible to get on noble and upwards.

[Rancidlunchmeat]

It's not possible.

I found the thread that has the chart from the XML.

http://www.apolyton.net/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=148571

It has all the difficulty level differences in the second post.

As you can see, the odds of getting a settler (or a worker) on Noble and above are zero.

[DrSpike]

I sometimes move, but only to something I can see in the first turn, either close to the start spot, or using the warrior/scout.

If you miss a great spot you can always do a fast second city. Nothing worth than spending a few turns moving then finding where you started was the best spot.

[Rancidlunchmeat]

I almost never move. Even if the AI provides two blue circles for 'better' city spots than the tile they started me on.

Last night, for example, I started a game and there were two blue circles visable, both two moves away from where they had started me.

I thought the spot I was on (no blue circle) was actually better, I stayed and built a city.

It turns out that both of those blue circles would have been good.. but not for what I wanted. (They would have lowered my potential commerce by moving me away from a gold mine and the coast, but increased food production).

The whole AI pick thing is questionable because their idea of a perfect city might not match what it is you wanted to get out of that city.

[Mergle]

Originally posted by Prussia


Wow... That really makes you think...
I hope it doesn't take hidden resources into account, because that would totally ruin strategy in the game.
But that opens up a whole new set of questions...
What if the blue circles represent where the AI will put their next city?

And I've gotten a settler on Noble before, but only once in, like 50 games.
I was playing on Cheiftain at the time of my settler incident.

Some guys on Civfanatics investigated this a while back. In short, the circles aren't supposed to detect hidden resources but there was a bug in the code which meant it had a tiny tiny bias towards hidden resources, all other things being equal (like, it rated them as 1 extra hammer as opposed to their "true" valuation of a few hundred hammers [for blue circle purposes]). Soren joined in the thread & it was fixed in a patch (1.52 I think).

[Six Thousand Year Old Man]

Originally posted by Mergle


Some guys on Civfanatics investigated this a while back. In short, the circles aren't supposed to detect hidden resources but there was a bug in the code which meant it had a tiny tiny bias towards hidden resources, all other things being equal (like, it rated them as 1 extra hammer as opposed to their "true" valuation of a few hundred hammers [for blue circle purposes]). Soren joined in the thread & it was fixed in a patch (1.52 I think).

AHA - I knew it!

Well, I never had the game before 1.52, but I SUSPECTED....