PB37 Map and Lurker Thread [SPOILERS]

[The Black Sword]

Speaking of early game micro; Coerva's T25 settler plan but with only a size 1 capital seems a classic case of misplaced priorities.

Also, Mardoc. 

[Mardoc]

Also, Mardoc. 

 I had some inkling of what I was getting into as mapmaker for this crowd (particularly Krill).  I admit I didn't anticipate the particular form his complaints would take.  

I can take it.  Will be a little sad if Krill ends up not getting to play despite his organizational work, but honestly he's on the edge of specifying mutually-contradictory requirements so I'll be shocked if he can find a replacement for me at this point that he'd be happy with.

That said - if someone *does* want to step up, with more time than me or a different vision, I'm not insulted to step aside.  I really only do these things so that I have a game to watch, and I can watch just as well with a different mapmaker.

[Mr. Cairo]

With how lush the maps have been here lately, I think players are almost expecting too much from the map/mapmaker. Interesting, balanced, non-mirrored, # of tiles per player, PH start, % of water, distance between players, etc etc.

IMHO the players should have as little input in the map-making process as possible. Similarly to how the settings of the actual game were presented as non-debatable (by Krill).

Ideally one or more mapmakers with enough free time could make up a bunch of maps for use in future PBs. It would have the advantage of making the set-up process quicker and pre-determine the number of players.

[Brian Shanahan]

The amount of cry for "ugly" rivers is amusing.

If not for our taste in aesthetics, what separates us from the other animals? To decry crudely drawn rivers makes us human!

As Homer would say, our ability to weasel out of stuff.

[Mr. Cairo]

I really can't agree with Krill's comments re: mirrored starts, and this start in particular. PB 32 had a very similar start to this (3 different tech food resources and a base three food tile), and it was just fine, quite fun in fact to try and figure out the best way of improving those resources with my particular starting techs. I also don't understand what he said about turning the start into an exersize in efficiency. Isn't that what any start is? There's nothing else to do, no decisions to make other than how to be as efficient as possible. Two same-tech food tiles would definitely restrict possible openings, and while I haven't looked at the player's micro plans too closely, there certainly seems to be a pretty large variety of openings and different plans out there. Not to mention the picks themselves, some of which I at least haven't seen before here, especially Carthage.

[Mardoc]

Made progress, but not enough to be ready for feedback, but I'm chicken to post that in the main thread . The main thing I got done was figuring out how to get the landform I vaguely had in mind; it ended up as a 54x63 map with each start offset by 14 squares down and 6 squares over; wraps once around the X-axis and twice around the Y-axis. Will mean more water than I initially planned for. Now I just need to fill in the connections and islands, and spend a little time breaking the symmetry for Krill's sake.

Aiming to manage to have something to show y'all in a day or two so I can still get them started by the 23rd. Definitely going to have to be an iterative process.

[Mardoc]

Yay for having today off and no particular housekeeping responsibilities.  I've got my first bit ready for feedback: the symmetry-broken starts.  

I've got a few things I want opinions on while I proceed with the rest of the map:

First, did I accidentally change anyone's BFC?  I tried to keep my changes to only the outer ring but I might have slipped.
Second, did I accidentally create any first-turn moves?
Third, did I do enough symmetry-breaking that you can't predict an opponent's terrain from your own?
Fourth, are there any balance problems?  In particular, did I accidentally give anyone an uber second city or take away all the good options from someone?
Start 1:

Start 2:

Start 3:

Start 4:

Start 5:

Start 6:

Start 7:

Start 8:

Start 9:


Edit: One more question: I seem to remember some angst about having copper in the capital's BFC, making it too easy to rush. Should I move it (and the horses) a bit further away, or leave it be?

[Aurorarcher]

Start 2 has no Calendar happiness next to gems. Is that on purpose?

Edit: I think start 4 has too good 2nd city site (compared to others) with wet Corn, Sheep and Deer all in first ring.

[Mardoc]

Start 2 has no Calendar happiness next to gems. Is that on purpose?

That's the weird interface bug where it doesn't show resource icons because it's too close to the edge of my screen when I took the screenshot. It has silks, banana, and pigs in the bottom-most row.

[Commodore]

Edit:  One more question:  I seem to remember some angst about having copper in the capital's BFC, making it too easy to rush.  Should I move it (and the horses) a bit further away, or leave it be?

I'd be for it *if* you can remove it from the river. Having it so easily hooked is kind of extra scary. Maybe under the forest to the left?