Map Sizes?

[vootguy]

I couldn't find this information in any previous posts, and I'm at work, so I can't do my own manual check...

What are the different map sizes? I know you can create map sizes up to 256x256 and greater, but what are the dimensions of the tiny, standard, huge, etc. maps?

[Vlad Antlerkov]

From alpha.txt:

#WORLDSIZE
5
Tiny planet|(early conflict), 24, 48
Small planet, 32, 64
Standard planet, 40, 80
Large planet, 44, 90
Huge planet|(late conflict), 64, 128

[MariOne]

Re: Map Sizes?

Originally posted by vootguy
...I know you can create map sizes up to 256x256 and greater...

Actually, you THINK that the game lets you create maps with width and/or height greater than 256, but if you hit Ctrl+X and go to the bottom of your wireframe map to read the coordinates, you realise that you CANNOT create map sizes greater than 256x256, despite the interface lets you input bigger numbers.

Remember that the X max coordinate gets doubled in the map w/r to the figure you enter.
For instance, the standard 40x80 size has both coordinates ranging from 0 to 79 (=80 tiles). Indeed this is due to the slanted-skewed isometric tiles arrangement. The X coordinates are doubled because each column is split into 2 skewed semicolumns.
Actually the tiles # in a standard map is exactly 40*80 = 3200 (which is hence the reference value in the MapRoot bureaucracy factor), and not 80*80=6400.

So:
each coordinate can't be greater than 256
the maximum # of tiles the game can handle is 256*256= 2^16 = 65Ktiles.

[vootguy]

Does anyone play on larger-than-huge maps often? 128x256, etc? Does it bog the game down way too much?

[Vlad Antlerkov]

I've done so occasionally. For some reason, three of the other six factions are near you when you start, and the other three have craploads of land.

If there were a way to have all 14 factions (or more!) in play simultaneously, I'd play oversize maps more often.

[gwillybj]

I think I did my math right...

I make maps 256w x 208h.

This makes each space 1.40625 degrees (1°24'22.5") across the diagonal (360/256), or 185 km. The manual says the equatorial radius of Chiron is 7540 km.

The 208 height becomes 146.25°, leaving 16.875° for each polar cap. The furthest navigable space north or south from the equator is then 73.125°, entirely believable given Chiron's strange climate and ecology. No human can explore beyond that because of the severe conditions. No aircraft can fly there because the winds are constantly changing speed and direction.

This makes the edge of each space about 131 km and the area of each space about 17,123 km². (On a globe you would see this get smaller away from the equator.) That's really not a lot of ground: about 1.7 km² for each citizen's food, clothing, shelter, recreation, etc. Plenty of elbow-room. No overcrowding on my planets!

I like to think of the base as the urban center, with the citizens spread throughout the base's production area in suburbs, villages, farms, mining camps, etc.

Take all of that and decide: How much ocean coverage? How large are the continents? If there are no huge continents, how many smaller ones are there, and how big are they? Is the planet eroded heavily, or in the throes of tectonic activity? Highland plateaus? Vast lowlands? Mountains in ranges that meander for several thousand kilometers, or are they in clusters?

As far as game-speed, that's tough for me to judge. I always have Tech Stagnation on, along with some tweaks I've made in alpha.txt. I like long games anyway - always have since the days of tabletop war games that went on for weeks. It's a matter of personal taste. One player might love it that way, another hate it.