I don't like the new start locations!

[Willem]

If I start on the coast, I can sometimes get 3 or 4 seafood resources to feed my capital. But if I start out from a landlocked location, I'm lucky if I get 2 food resources, usually it's only 1. And in a few starts now, the only extra food I get is from one of the luxury resources that requires a Plantation and only provides 1 extra food. There really needs to be a better balance happening since anyone who starts from a landlocked position can be thouroughly screwed. The capital is the most important city in the early game and if it can never grow to a decent size, or support a specialist or two, then it's a serious handicap.

[MoonWolf]

[esc] - click regenerate map - click yes. Have found some new, good starting locations this way

[Willem]

Yes I know, but I don't like having to do this time and time again. I've beeen spending more time lately just regenerating/restarting than actually playing the game because I keep getting all these crappy starts. And I don't really like coastal beginnings, especially if the civ I'm playing doesn't start with Fishing. It's generally not a good location for city maintenance reasons so I end up having to move my Palace, which to me is a waste of production.

And it's also a game balance issue. If a civ starts on a coast with 3 seafood resources and a couple of land ones, which I've seen fairly frequently, it's going to have a huge advantage over a civ that starts in the interior with only one food tile to feed it's citizens. By the time it gets the Caste System the city will be well on it's way to being a good GP farm, plus have plenty of people to work the land.

[ghen]

Psh, I play any start I get. Anything less would be cheating IMO.

[Willem]

I keep trying to play that way but I just can't do it. If I see that I have a bad start or the game isn't going well, I'll quit and try again. Which is one reason why I don't play MP.

But there's still the issue of game balance with the current start locations.

[Krill]

If you have a bad start find an AI and choke/rush it.

[snoopy369]

Landlocked starts _should_ get fewer food resources. That's how it is. They have far more hammers available typically, and far more flexible terrain, than the one-use-only water tiles.

You start with a river (always), thus you have irrigation as a possibility. If you're not making a worker in your first few builds, that's your problem... irrigating your nearby grasslands (or floodplains... ) will fix your food problem soon enough.

[wodan11]

Part of the game is adaptability. If you always play the same way, every game, then yes situations like this will daunt you. Looking at it from another direction, that's saying: the game start doesn't fit my play style!

Another way to approach this is to experiment with different strategies and different play styles. Who knows, you might find that this opens an entirely different level of enjoyment for you, as you discover new ways to play the game.

Wodan

[Blaupanzer]

Seemingly bad starts often have later-revealed resources in the fat cross. I agree to the "play the start you get" philosophy, but I do quit if I get hopelessly behind.

[Willem]

Originally posted by snoopy369
They have far more hammers available typically, and far more flexible terrain, than the one-use-only water tiles.

That's a good point, I hadn't thought of that.