Making Huge Maps Larger

[kserra11]

With the recent purchase of Conquests, I'm just now really getting into Civ3...I love the ability to play against 15 opponents and have had some awesome massive wars going on later in the game...

How can I make my huge maps I use in my games larger...is there a file somewhere that would allow me to change the default size of these maps so that there is a little more room for my civs to start?

One other question...I would like to alter the movement bonus for Railroads...again, is there a file somewhere that I can edit to change this rating?

Thanks for all the help. Happy gaming.

Kevin

[Vlad Antlerkov]

Yes, the rules editor allows for you to change the default size of maps. (It probably allows adding entirely new map sizes as well; I can't remember off the top of my head.)

As for rail movement, that's hardcoded and can't be changed.

Edit: Wait, you're getting cramped early on when playing huge maps? What difficulty are you playing?

[kserra11]

no, i'm not getting cramped early on...but with 16 civs, i think it would be even better to have a bit more room for all of us to get started before the real mess begins around 1000 AD...

so if I just go to the editor and change the map size, what do i save the file as so that it will be used for every game i start? thanks.

Kevin

[Spaced Cowboy]

Be careful. I think that there is some kind of city limit.

[Willem]

Originally posted by kserra11
no, i'm not getting cramped early on...but with 16 civs, i think it would be even better to have a bit more room for all of us to get started before the real mess begins around 1000 AD...

so if I just go to the editor and change the map size, what do i save the file as so that it will be used for every game i start? thanks.

Kevin

Go into the editor, to the World Sizes page. You can increase the size there. The maximum is 300 something x 300 something. Be aware though that the larger the map size, the slower your game will run. I tried the maximum size at first, but the turns took way to long for my liking. I settled for 256 x 256 in my game.

And as mentioned, there's a city limit of 512, for all civs combined. The maximum map size is to big on that score, you'll end up with a lot of empty space that can't be used. I found that the map size I use is just about right, if I don't allow cities to be built on Desert and Tundra. There's only a few fairly small areas that don't get developed.

PS Just save it as a scenario, then load it through the CivContent selection on the main page. The game will always remember the last scenario that was loaded. It's not a good idea to overwrite the default biq file.

And as for the Railroad movement, you're out of luck. There's no way to change it. You can only do that with Roads.

[Vince278]

Originally posted by Willem
Go into the editor, to the World Sizes page. You can increase the size there. The maximum is 300 something x 300 something.

Its 362x362 I believe.

[Dis]

hope you have a fast and capable computer. even then the turn length will be... well lengthy

[Stuie]

I changed ALL the map sizes in my mod because I never play on tiny/small maps. Here's a tip:

When you change a map size, use rename so that the name reflects the size of the map ("160x160" instead of "Huge", etc.). That way it's easier to keep track of your maps.

[vmxa1]

If you keep the number of civs in the game down, it will help with the run time.

[Willem]

Originally posted by vmxa1
If you keep the number of civs in the game down, it will help with the run time.

I only play with 8 on a 256 x 256 map and it still takes a long time for my turn to come up by the end of the game. Mind you, I don't exactly have the speediest computer to work with.

[vmxa1]

I am not sure were the cutoff should be, but when you get to 24 or more it has got to be painful, no matter what your system.

[MrWhereItsAt]

Originally posted by vmxa1
I am not sure were the cutoff should be, but when you get to 24 or more it has got to be painful, no matter what your system.

It IS painful. That's why the first attempt of the Civ3 Democracy Game was abandoned in favour of less thatn 24 civs and less than a huge map!