Right now I am pondering if I should settle on the sugar or the plains hill tile 1 west of my settler - the former scout position in the initial screenshot. Here is my comparison between those two with the new added informations.
Plains Hill position:
Pro:
- Extra foodhammer from plains hill
- On a river
- 6 forests (the 6th is under the fog 2W of the position)
- Best defensive position due to hill
- Great commerce ouput
- 5 hammers from initial 4 resources
- Best hammer output with 3 hills and the ivory
- Solid food output in the long run
- Preserves city spot 1SE 2S of settler
Con:
- Loses 1 turn from movement
- 19 food from initial 4 resources
- Slower start, movement and food resources in second ring (3x5 food resources, although one is 6 foodhammers)
- Still coastal, but entrance can easily blocked with ships
- 1 mystery tiles
On Sugar:
Pro:
- Extra foodhammer from sugar
- On a river
- 6 forests!
- Best commerce ouput
- Best hammer output with 3 hills and the ivory
- 21 food from initial 4 resources
- Quick start due to 6 food tile and 2x5 food tiles
- Removes the jungle
- Preserves city spot 1SE 2S of settler
Con:
- Worst defensive position due to flatland and no rivers to the W,N and E
- Loses 1 turn from movement
- 3 hammers from initial 4 resources
- Worst food potential due to more plains
- Still coastal, but entrance can easily blocked with ships, but the coast tile E is another way of approach.
- 1 mystery tile
If I get rid of the stuff that is with both those spots or very similar I have the following differences:
Plains Hill position:
Pro:
- Best defensive position due to hill
- 5 hammers from initial 4 resources
- Best hammer output with 3 hills and the ivory
- Solid food output in the long run
Con:
- 19 food from initial 4 resources
- Slower start, movement and food resources in second ring (3x5 food resources, although one is 6 foodhammers)
- Still coastal, but entrance can easily blocked with ships
On Sugar:
Pro:
- Best hammer output with 3 hills and the ivory
- 21 food from initial 4 resources
- Quick start due to 6 food tile and 2x5 food tiles
- Removes the jungle
Con:
- Worst defensive position due to flatland and no rivers to the W,N and E
- 3 hammers from initial 4 resources
- Worst food potential due to more plains
- Still coastal, but entrance can easily blocked with ships, but the coast tile E is another way of approach.
It's important to note that both spots are equal in foodhammers from the first 4 resources.
I'm still in favor of the plains hill spot mainly because it is the more secure position. I fear that this map will have some more naval action and having a more secure capitol is worth it in this case. Both spots can achieve a settler on T31, but the plains hill produces more hammers and gets a few more worker turns out of it though.
I also wanted to add to more things unrelated to above.
First of all thank you for fixing the ugly river, Lewwyn.
And second a
question for the lurkers
How do you calculate the map dimension in-game with information given to me? I think it was related to the score and the land score displayed in their. Or did you, Lewwyn already tell us the map dimension somewhere?
