What kind of Maps do you use?

[NorthSwordsman]

I prefer Random Huge maps. The Standard ones get boring after awhile, as do most of the player-created ones, balanced or not. I like the challenge in the Random maps.

[yavoon]

I can't play huge anymore, I think it hampers the computer too much. that and I like atleast some of my games to not be transcend victories.

[NorthSwordsman]

Yavoon, ever try winning a conquest victory on a huge map? It's extremely difficult, but it can be done. Not quickly.. took me until late 2300's to do it. Boy, was that a game.. Nukes, Gas... but it was FUN!

[Sarxis]

I usually use random maps- more fun and exciting to explore new worlds.

Every so often I will go back to the Map of Planet though.

[Sikander]

I usually play huge random maps. I have also used Dilithium Dad's Ultimate Builder Map, and in fact am playing quite a fun game on that map right now. It's based upon the huge map of Planet, and is designed to give each faction an opportunity to build a bit before the inevitable clashes.

In my current game I'm playing the University and have landed on the northern part of the Eastern continent. Only Yang shares my continent, and he established himself in the monsoon jungle and grew to be the most powerful faction, almost as powerful as mine. He concentrated on air power while I went for fusion. We got to our goals around the same time, and I stole Air Power from him just in time, built the two MMI wonders and whipped together a chop and drop force. Now he is hurting, and I have more than half of his bases. I should have him reduced to sea bases within 10 years or so, at which point the continent will be mine.

I am going to be expanding significantly, and have been cranking out super fusion formers in most of my bases for a decade now. I am considering building a lot of fungus missles to take care of the other factions. The Spartans wiped out Dee, so that should really screw up their productivity and leave me with plenty of time to spread like a disease across my continent.

[yavoon]

hrrm, I never found huge conquest hard at all. long surely, the pure # of times u have to take bases is a lot larger. but rolling around the map w/ drop troops and choppers isnt like strategically difficult. obviously no offensive is that simple, but that really is most of wut u need.

[Blackavar]

I find myself playing most often on huge maps, but in the other settings I tend to go for the extremes: wet flat 90% water worlds, or as deserty as I can make them, or custom maps like DD's HMoP or "Australia" or "Arrakis". Heaven knows that I like to choose my options according to a theme, it's my prime way of making the game more difficult. I ought to run a game on a smaller map and see how it goes. Good for the soul .
Arrakis, by the way, may be a huge map - but it doesn't matter because there's 5 clustered good starting spots. And perhaps two others way out there - but nobody has much time before encountering everybody else .

[DilithiumDad]

It's possible to win on huge maps by conquest, but if you concentrate on pop growth you could win by diplomatic victory sooner or by transcendence with a research emphasis. On Ultimate Builder Map, I have never had conquest be the fastest path to victory. When I have won by conquest, it's been "by accident" usually just short of Transcendence (hard not to win by conquest after buildin the Space Elevator and getting orbital insertion!).

[NorthSwordsman]

DD: Some folks just do not like to win by transcendence because of the concept that transcendence supports. I'm one of those folk. It's either diplo, conquest or energy market (Subspace for Aliens) for me.

[Earwicker]

I most frequently play Huge random maps (though when playing SMACX I will often go to Large to keep the CPU from dragging too much). I prefer builder style so it's nice to avoid Miriam for at least a little while.

The biggest drawback is often long waits before meeting any neighbors, however hard I might seek them out.

[vitamin j]

I like a random custom size map, halfway between large and huge. 30-50% ocean coverage, usually. Variable cloud cover, erosion, and native life, but usually average. My favorite might be weak erosion and dense cloud cover. Makes cool-looking and resource rich maps, and a land route to everyone most of the time.

[Bella Hella]

actually, i like smaller maps. i don't like the enormous ones too much. standard sized is my fave. but my favorite game right now is on a tiny map where i'm keeping to myself on my little island with 5 or 6 land bases on the island and 4-5 sea bases surrounding my island, some built by me, others conquered or mind controlled. everyone else is trying to expand more, but i'm content to have my fewer but massively productive bases and out tech everyone and go for my trancendence victory. every time someone makes a sea base near my island, i yoink it out of their grasp with a probe foil.

tiny and small maps make everything totally chaotic in the beginning, and the stakes are much higher. if you lose a base, a lot of your production capacity goes right out the window. this makes it pretty challenging. i know a conquest victory would be easiest, but i like to play smaller maps to win in other ways - more fun for me. i feel smaller maps are more fun because you meet everyone sooner and there's more pressure because everyone's so close. you need to make your defenses very tight which is another challenge. also, you can really concentrate on your smaller amount of bases instead of maybe overlooking something because you have so many bases on a larger map. i have a lot of trouble keeping track of everything on a big map.

[Master Marcus]

standard random maps ( +/-60 % of games ), huge random ( +/-30 % ), and occasionally ( 10 % of games played so far ) both the standard and huge official map of Planet. In that case, I often ( not always ) start near the Freshwater Sea.

[Haon]

I almost never play with random maps, of any size my personal favourite is a large map o fplanet supplied with SMACX. My favourite continent is the central continent, though i tend not to mind being on won of the larger islands.
For some reasion i never really enjoyed a victory by conquest. Since i normally play as university i like to have the social engineering set to maxium economy and science (democratic, free markit, knowledge, cyber netic) and that reallly leaves no room for military campaigns.

[Cybergod]

I start a normal game with a customized random map, press CTRL-K, edi the map as much as I like, save the map, start a new game with my loaded custom map!

Otherwise it's the good ol' Earth map or the lithium Dad's one. Both are