Frustration with generating new maps.

[MrFun]

Well today I spent about three hours just generating one map after another, trying to find one that would actually be fun and playable. But the maps only generated terrain with desert, plains, tundra, or jungle, and usually with a combination of these.

What makes grasslands so scarce when generating a new map? Has anyone found ways to modify the parameters of generating terrain with new maps, using XML or Python?

After three hours, I failed to find a fun, playable new map so I have quit for the night.

[Petek]

You might want to download Smartmap. This map generator gives you lots of control over the items you mentioned.

[phlucas]

Re: Frustration with generating new maps.

Originally posted by MrFun
Well today I spent about three hours just generating one map after another, trying to find one that would actually be fun and playable. But the maps only generated terrain with desert, plains, tundra, or jungle, and usually with a combination of these.

What makes grasslands so scarce when generating a new map? Has anyone found ways to modify the parameters of generating terrain with new maps, using XML or Python?

The scripts are in CvMapGeneratorUtil.py and PublicMaps\* ; I do not know how readable they are, though.

There are several new map scripts at http://forums.civfanatics.com/forumdisplay.php?f=182, try a few of them and see whether they work better for you.

I tried out Smartmap, but found that I did not like the maps it generated, so in general I stick with the normal maps. I found Custom Continents to be OK (although you still might get unlucky and start on a continent without happiness ressources and lots of health; then the time for oversea warfare might come early), and Balanced also gives a good experience.

[Urban Ranger]

Re: Frustration with generating new maps.

Originally posted by MrFun
Well today I spent about three hours just generating one map after another, trying to find one that would actually be fun and playable. But the maps only generated terrain with desert, plains, tundra, or jungle, and usually with a combination of these.

What's wrong with plains and jungle? For starters, you can start clearing jungle tiles after acquiring ironworking.

Desert and tundra tiles aren't that hot, but I usually don't get a lot of these.

What settings do you use?

[Robert]

Custom continents gives you a tundra / nort or south pole start about 6 out of 10 times.

[Will9]

If you really want to improve your starting location go into the worldbuilder and change the terrain some.

[MrFun]

Re: Re: Frustration with generating new maps.

Originally posted by Urban Ranger


What's wrong with plains and jungle? For starters, you can start clearing jungle tiles after acquiring ironworking.

Desert and tundra tiles aren't that hot, but I usually don't get a lot of these.

What settings do you use?

I don't like jungle for that particular reason; I don't want to wait for Ironworking in order for me to be able to clear jungle to build farms on maps that have something like 80% jungle in my region.

Plains can be good terrain when they are mixed with grasslands and hills. But when 80% of the plains are of the flat type of terrain with no grasslands nearby, your cities will not grow very well even with farms.

[MrFun]

Oh, and the settings I use are Continents and Temperate with a huge size map (which I made larger in the appropriate XML document).

Apparently grasslands are scarce with temperate setting??

[Feyd]

I assume since you're getting overloaded on jungles that you are choosing the "tropical" setting for the map? I believe that this generates more deserts than we would have on Earth, but even on the standard setting there are too many deserts...

I think that the thing with deserts (the only terrain I absolutely detest (even a tundra can be viable with a forest and lumbermill) is that the idea is to build them near rivers so they become floodplains which is one of the best terrains, but with the way a random code works nothing is ever guaranteed to work the way it was intended. I once had five four to eight square deserts scattered about throughout my eventual borders. Ridiculous IMO. Deserts are formed in areas where there is little to no rainfall... how is that possible in the middle of a continent squares away from any hills or mountains and with jungle on either side... craziness...

Anyway, I feel you on the maps, but I've been having a lot of success with Terra maps with a couple of the enemy AI removed.

Pax

Edit: disregard my comments about you using tropical... didn't see the last post.

[MrFun]

Feyd, when I mention jungle, that is when I have tried tropical after being disappointed with repeated results with temperate setting.

But right now, I'm extracting the Smartmap to Civilization IV and see how I like using that -- thanks for that tip, Petek.

[MasterDave]

I lke Rocky and Tropical settings more than Temperate generally. Tropical minimizes tundra at the poles and Rocky is good for producing (I don't like having 0 hills in my capital's fat cross). I find that the amount of jungle and desert between temperate and Tropical really isnt that different, you just have less snowy and tundra areas.

I usually am not picky about maps in single player unless I am trying on emperor. In Multiplayer you get what you get the first time, and that is part of the fun sometimes having to scrape together an empire in very suboptimal settings.

[Urban Ranger]

Re: Re: Re: Frustration with generating new maps.

Originally posted by MrFun
I don't like jungle for that particular reason; I don't want to wait for Ironworking in order for me to be able to clear jungle to build farms on maps that have something like 80% jungle in my region.

Okay, now I remember what I did.

I modify jungle tiles so they are no longer at -1 food (I have never understood why anyway). This makes jungle tiles still less attractive than forest tiles, but much easier to live with.

[MrFun]

I don't want to modify jungle though, because as much as I would like to have less jungle, it is realistic to have them decrease the base amount of food.

[Urban Ranger]

Originally posted by MrFun
I don't want to modify jungle though, because as much as I would like to have less jungle, it is realistic to have them decrease the base amount of food.

Realistic?

[Thedrin]

Smart Map