Best World?

[DreamSlave2112]

Maybe it's more a matter of perosnal preference, but what is the best map to play (i.e. Pangea, Continents or archipelagos; dry, normal or wet; 60, 70 or 80% water; 3,4 or 5 billion years)
The books say middle for all, but lets face it, books are rarely right, IME

[Vince278]

It is a matter of preference.

[Anaximander]

I personally like continants, normal, 70% water and 4 billion years, but it is a matter of preference.

[Tall Stranger]

It all depends on a number of factors, some of which are:

- How long a game do you want to play? (Pangaea maps are generally quicker.)
- What civ do you want to play? (Playing a seafaring civ on a pangaea map is rather pointless.)
- How hard a game do you want? (Pangae maps are generally easier.)
- Do you like early warfare (pan maps tend to have earlier conflict) or do you prefer fighting later in the game? (archipelagos tend to be later.)

Ultimately, however, as the previous posters said, it's a matter of preference. All types can be fun, depending on your mood.

[Modo44]

Random does it for me.

[joncnunn]

I usally just click random.

I do note that the AI tends to have more problems with challenging maps than humans. (Jungle starts / Archepello / Food shortage situations)

In SMAC, I really took advantage of that by selecting the worst possible maps from the AI persepective:
1. Max fungus
2. Max water
3. Dryist setting (nutriet challenged)
4. Flatest setting (mineral challenged)

I then build the TWP and mostly made forests and used the terraformers to enlarge my island. (The Blob) Tree Farm & Hyrid Farm techs were my top priorities as well as high priorities in my build queues.

[Anaximander]

However, if the AI already has problems keeping up with human opponents (especially on the lower levels) wouldn't you want more of a challenge?

Personally, in Civ II I always played archepelago maps because I liked being somewhat isolated. Besides it fit with my love of naval units. However, in Civ III limited contact can be a major hinderence in a tech race. Besides, naval combat in Civ III is quite lacking as the AI does not use the units well. A definate strike against archapelago maps in my opinion.

[Modo44]

Originally posted by joncnunn
In SMAC, I really took advantage of that by selecting the worst possible maps from the AI persepective:

What for? That AI was (sadly) bad enough in good conditions...

As to Civ, giving the AI room to expand seems to make them stronger. Just make sure you are not playing on an Archipelago, and reduce the number of civs to about 2/3 of the maximum for your chosen world size. Should be a pretty good show. At the other end, Archipelago maps with lots of civs crammed in seem to produce the easiest (albeit tedious due to all the ships moving) games.

[grassmarket]

It really is a crucial choice when you go up a level, in my experience. If you're an expansionist civ, you want large continents. If you're a militarist civ with an early game special unit, you want a Pangea where you're crowding other civs. If you're agricultural, you want an old, flat world etc etc.

[DreamSlave2112]

Originally posted by joncnunn
I usally just click random.

I do note that the AI tends to have more problems with challenging maps than humans. (Jungle starts / Archepello / Food shortage situations)

In SMAC, I really took advantage of that by selecting the worst possible maps from the AI persepective:
1. Max fungus
2. Max water
3. Dryist setting (nutriet challenged)
4. Flatest setting (mineral challenged)

I then build the TWP and mostly made forests and used the terraformers to enlarge my island. (The Blob) Tree Farm & Hyrid Farm techs were my top priorities as well as high priorities in my build queues.

I hate that when I take over or aquire an enemy city in a jungle. The AI (at least at the Chieftain setting) almost never terraforms it. Unless it's near a resource or lucury, I usually just raze it, not worth the effort. Besides, by the time I get it, all that's left are the Wonder improvments (free granaries, barracks, etc. associated with a Wonder).

[Thrar]

razing such a city is not a good idea imo, for a number of reasons:

- you lose a base for further military actions. Those jungle or marsh cities won't even have large pop, so no high flip danger, and if it's a close war, you could rush barracks and walls to help your campaign.

- you lose a city. Ask yourself, what is better, a couple of completely unused tiles, or a city that right now only produces a few shields and beakers/money and might not grow beyond 2 or 3? Build a worker every time you reach pop 2, and send some over from your core, and soon you'll have a pretty useful city there!
I'd say to bring up a city with not too much corruption from size 1 without improvements to 12 with everything important your core has should be possible in 40-60 turns with a bit of money investment and a couple of workers. The worker formula is easy: if you don't have enough to cut down that jungle, you need more.

- you lose the land you just fought for. When the war is over, your enemy or any other AI will build a city in that open space, probably on the very same tile. What use is fighting if you don't use what you gain?

[Anaximander]

Not to mention losing any valuable late game resources that hide in that jungle. Things like rubber and coal. You won't see them if you conquer that jungle city early in the game and you will be just giving them up by razing the city. The AI always seems to know where those resources will pop up, and you can pretty much guarentee that another AI will move in to take them.

[Vince278]

Razing cities are bad diplomatically speaking; it would be good to keep them as a forward base unless you have too many cities already.

[DreamSlave2112]

if it's an early conquest, yes I keep them, but the ones late in the game when I have everything I need, it feels like a pain to have another city to maintain. by this time, I usually have 40 or more cities. Yes, it does serve as a forward base, but I guess I'm just impatient, a weakness in a game like this

[Anaximander]

Well, if it is late in the game and you have it wraped up then raze away. Although a few forward bases might be handy for healing purposes.