I used Full of Resources to roll a Big and Small map due to the customizeable options. I toned down the resources to near minimum levels to provide a standard level of resources. I selected Massive continent, all coastal starts, tiny islands option BUT minimum island size 3 tiles (to prevent polka-dot), group resources (to allow for more trade options), force the appearance of all strategic resources + ivory "in the neighborhood" of all starts, force the appearance of marble + stone "in the player zone".
Screenshot of the geography, starts noted with YELLOW dots. I only moved one start (#6) as indicated by the Yellow arrow since the two in the south were very close together compared to the rest. I moved two islands closer to the continent since those two starts didn't have any islands available [well, they had one about equidistant between them that I still there for them to contend]. About half of the "Astro islands" can actually be reached by popping borders to 2nd ring if they plant cities correctly.
Starting screenshots:
I verified all strategic resources using GJ's MapCAD and it is about as balanced as I have time for. A double-check on the starting screenshots is appreciated. The full map file is attached if anybody wants to take a more detailed look.
I haven't done any of the math on the starting screenshots to know if those are balanced, but i did notice that the northern starts look like they could be cut off from settling much of the land by their neighbors. Also start #2 i think, needs their aluminum pushed a bit closer. Stuff like that. I like the islands, but those dont look at all balanced from a quick glance.
I would peg either of the two southern starts as the winner, with a slight leaning towards the southwest start.
(March 8th, 2020, 21:57)Hollybombay Wrote: I haven't done any of the math on the starting screenshots to know if those are balanced, but i did notice that the northern starts look like they could be cut off from settling much of the land by their neighbors.
The northern starts indeed are more likely to be cut off from the center. That being said, both of their "river valleys lead directly to the center, while the "river valleys" of their nearest neighbors turn south. This is partly by design, partly rolled this way. The western start was the only one without a starting river valley, just a 1-tile stub. The only way to improve this would be to build new land and fill in the northern "V" coastline and turn the heart-shaped landmass into a circle. That is beyond the scope of my editing ... and if the players wanted that then they should have asked for a script that rolls a perfect circle such as Doughnut.
Quote:Also start #2 i think, needs their aluminum pushed a bit closer.
Easy, I'll add to my list
Quote:I like the islands, but those dont look at all balanced from a quick glance.
I didn't balance the islands at all, other than making sure that everyone can settle a nearby island for intercontinental trade routes. Most of the islands require at minimum 2nd ring culture borders to be accessed by galley, or astronomy. By the time islands really come into play, neighbor luck will play a more unbalancing role that the islands.
Quote:I would peg either of the two southern starts as the winner, with a slight leaning towards the southwest start.
(March 9th, 2020, 00:17)BaII Wrote: I think start 2 looks a bit more more powerful than the rest with triple floodplains
Which starts would you each consider the weakest (maybe post it in spoiler)? I can take a second look at the weakest and most powerful starts to bring them back to the mean.
I think the weakest start might be start 6. Sheep is a somewhat weak food resource and both crabs are 2 tiles away from the capital. They do have ivory as a tile but I don't think it will make up for the weaker food bonuses.
At start #6 I bumped the plains ivory up to grass and moved one of the crabs 1st ring. #6 is in the southwest position which Holly pegged as the strongest so I think that is enough. #5 with wet rice is another 5-food start, with a dry rice to compensate (that can be shared with a decent 2nd city FWIW). At start #2 I swapped one of the floodplains with the plains forest 1E, moving it to 3rd ring. I'll give it one more day for lurker comment and for players to lock down settings, and then post the starting screenshots.
I took a closer look at the food in the immediate vicinity and swapped a couple of things around to give more options for cities 2-4. I also hacked some more jungle away from start #4 which was my personal pick for overall weakest. I thought about making a pass at balancing the islands, but stopped at shuffling a couple seafood around in the frigid north to make settling for the ice-locked furs less ... painful.
