Sirian
Settler
Fried's Alter Ego
Posts: 7
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Post by Sirian on Oct 25, 2005 5:05:31 GMT -5
One thing players will soon discover is that there are a ton of maps and map options in Civ4. I'm sure info about the maps will soon be common knowledge, but in order to better ensure that the conventional wisdom knows what it is talking about, I wrote a Map Info Reference, complete with thumbnails of all of the official map scripts and depictions of their custom map options at work. The thumbnails were all taken from real map images.
My advice? Go to school on the maps. Know what you're in for, so that your performance, and not your ignorance (of the map type), will determine your result. I've done all I can to make this a great experience for all of you. The rest is up to you.
Fried once told me that the Civ3Players ladder community is generally distrustful of mods and fan-made content. I don't know whether that will hold true for Civ4Players ladder as well -- I expect there to be a lot of mods and maps produced by fans for years to come, and it would be a shame if none of it suits your needs here -- but you've got a lot more to work with now on the official side, too.
At some point down the road, I may have the opportunity to increase the pool of official map scripts. I'm sure some good maps will pop up, and some new ideas for maps will bubble to the surface. I plan to rely on CanuckSoldier (and whoever he designates to assist him) to filter through the raw feedback on maps and help me to tap in to your ideas and desires. Please work through whatever procedures he organizes. Thank you!
- Sirian
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Sirian
Settler
Fried's Alter Ego
Posts: 7
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Post by Sirian on Oct 25, 2005 5:19:03 GMT -5
UserName: Sirian Gender: M HomeTown: Washington, DC TimeZone: Eastern, US Location: Pennsylvania Usually Online When: I'm awake Favorite Civ: America/Washington Game Style: Castle Game Strengths: Variant Play, Team Play Game Weaknesses: 1v1 Ideal game Length: Longer than you can stand! Preferred Game Options: Epic Speed, baby! (Well, maybe not in MP) Hobbies Besides Civ: Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Politics, Religion, News FavoriteMovie: Terminator 2 Favorite Music to Civ By: Enigma FavoriteSportsTeam: Redskins When playing CIV4, I also: Take forever to finish a turn! Most Memorable Win: Do you really care about my SP victories? Most Memorable Loss: Lost my first game of Civ4 MP to GUESS WHO!
Favorite Lines: "Sometimes it's better to be lucky than good." "They have chosen unwisely." "That is some seriously bad mojo." "If there is only one right choice, you're not looking at a 'strategy' game."
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Sirian
Settler
Fried's Alter Ego
Posts: 7
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Post by Sirian on Nov 6, 2005 4:51:41 GMT -5
5v5 on anything below small is certain to draw bad starts. I'm not even sure small will give you decent ones. Not necessarily true. 5v5 on Tiny is well doable on MP-tailored maps. These include: Ring, Hub, Great Plains, Inland Sea, Team Battleground, Oasis, Custom Continents (One Per Team setting), Mirror (Small Lakes setting), and Islands. It's not going to work well on all map, though. Some of them, you will have to use a larger map setting or accept suboptimal starts for some players. Pangaea, Highlands and Ice Age should be able to handle crowding, too, but some folks may have thinner starts than others. - Sirian
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Sirian
Settler
Fried's Alter Ego
Posts: 7
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Post by Sirian on Nov 6, 2005 4:45:28 GMT -5
*Begin beta tester reply* "Part of the skill of civ4 is the ability to adapt and change your strategy. If you don't like your land you can try one of the many map scripts for a more balanced game such as East/West, Mirror, Team Battleground. The map scripts have been vastly improved since civ3 and map screws aren't really a problem anymore. The possibilities are endless and there is a vast depth to this game. *End beta tester reply* Actually, you're not too far off the mark. Some of the maps are set up to provide "realistic" terrain, and this will include some godawful stretches of land. Packing these maps with more players than they were designed to handle at a certain size will put somebody in to the inhospitable regions. You should read the threads from some of the SP players who complain that the deserts aren't large enough (to be Earthlike), or that civs are starting too close together, which is pretty much the opposite of the complaints here. You can't please all the people all the time. I'm wise enough not to try. Some of the maps are aimed at SP, and some are aimed at MP. Some serve well for either. Some can handle crowding, some cannot. Some facilitate land wars, some sea wars, and some can do both. I wrote a guide. Please make use of it. Maps that won't ever stick you deep in the ice: Great Plains, Inland Sea, Oasis, Islands, Ring, Hub, Wheel, Team Battleground. These maps were all made with MP game balance foremost in mind. If you play the maps aimed at SP balance foremost in mind, you may still get a good game, but it helps to know the settings. Don't expect any changes to the "realistic" maps that would run against the interest of SP players. "Balanced" map script is not my baby. That one is literally one of only two maps I didn't touch. The other is Continents, and that one is the "anti-MP map" according to Soren. I could do a number of things to improve the balance of Balanced map, but Soren was happy with that one the way it was. ::shrug:: Maybe if you guys tally up your complaints against it, he'll let me do a new version for the expansion (or a later patch) and spruce it up. For the moment, Balanced may be the worst map in the game in terms of handling overcrowding, so I recommend not having more players there than the map size would default to in SP. "Balanced" refers only to strategic resources, and not to actual game balance or fairness of starts, etc. Are ladder players finding it to be the least well balanced map, and this is an irony? ... Sorry about that. But you -can- try the other maps. Give the guide a look, please. There are fun games waiting for you, but you should actually look at the menu before ordering! - Sirian
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Sirian
Settler
Fried's Alter Ego
Posts: 7
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Post by Sirian on Oct 25, 2005 4:34:34 GMT -5
You may find the AI a bit more of a challenge, even after mastering the mechanics for multiplayer, actually. *grin* "When there is but one right answer you're not in a strategy game!"Hey, that sounds familiar. ::Waves to all the cool MP peoples:: Fried's keeping his articles under wraps for a few more days, but I'm hanging the Single Player folks out to dry. I'm not writing any articles for them! So I can break it loose a little sooner, not having any NDA conflicts to babysit. (They can get Fried's official guide if they really need the help -- and some of them probably will.) Say, how do I change this REALLY DARK BLUE background so I can see what I'm typing. - Sirian
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