[NO PLAYERS] WW err CIV6 Game 4

[Sullla]

I'm happy to let Cornflakes use one of the maps that looks promising from that approach. Very much appreciated Cornflakes.

[Cornflakes]

Mini-map, expanded as an overview shot:

   

I marked each player starting location in RED circle and outlined expected "core" in RED. I outlined the expected contentious areas in YELLOW. The PINK dots represent city state starts. I tried to locate the city states on the starting islands where logical scouting would find them around T5-10-ish (keeping in mind that the starting warrior always begins west of the settler). There were 2 or 3 where I put them in the opposite direction because I didn't want to unnecessarily limit options for 2nd/3rd city locations. The remaining 4 city states are located where they cannot be met from the starting island.

The starts (in no particular order) ... again, RED indicates player starting location and PINK indicates city state. Start location numbers are only for reference if you have any comments. I intend to assign the starts randomly to the players:

               

[Cornflakes]

Continuing with the remaining 2 players:

       

[Cornflakes]

And finally the 4 contentious areas:

               

[Cornflakes]

Scrolling through the screenshots, I noticed that it wouldn't hurt to sprinkle some more seafood in near the starts to aid the early naval eureka.

Also I was pondering assigning the civs based on their traits, rather than randomly assigning. What do you think about this:

England: Start on own continent (one starting island is 50% a tiny continent ... I can easily expand the continent to the cover the entire starting island)
Spain: Weakest civ, therefore start in largest area
Japan: Coastal strength bonus, start with largest % coastal tiles
Norway: Coastal start for quick Longboats ... After accounting for the above, there are 2 coastal sites left. Toss a coin between the two.
Germany I don't really see a trait dependent on terrain (all islands have resources). I can toss a coin between Germany and Brazil for the last 2 spots and then change some forest to jungle on whichever one Brazil lands.

Illustrated thus:

   

[Mardoc]

Well, this will certainly push naval combat!

A few comments, take them or leave them:

I don't really like the idea of assigning starts based on civ, I would think the players would prefer it be totally random.

I might do a little carving of the world to make interaction easier:  
I would add a couple small islands NW of Start 3 in the big ocean, to enable Start 4 to sail to Start 1 without having to go via Start 2 or 3.
Put a strait through the city state island between Starts 3 and 6
I'd be inclined to dot in a few more small islands in between the main continents, or else cut off some of the peninsulae, or both.  Also turn some of the 1-tile mountain islands to terrain that can be settled.  That would make them more likely to fight small wars, that could stop short of elimination but still have profit.

Strategics I couldn't find:
Start 1: Missing Niter
Start 2: Missing Niter
Start 3: OK
Start 4: Missing Coal
Start 5: OK
Start 6: Missing Niter, Oil, and Uranium.

[Sullla]

Cornflakes, this is outstanding work! Much much better than the map that I was working off of. Since you were requesting feedback, my one suggestion would be to dole out the starts randomly as the fairest method of handling the process. I wouldn't give a larger territory to Spain just because it's a weaker civ, for example. It's your map though, so please use your best judgment.

[Azoth]

I've only played a handful of single player Civ6 games, so take my feedback with a grain of salt:

1. I think the most important thing is that every start has fresh water, and the option to move to the coast. From what I can see, this map already does that!

2. Mardoc looked at the strategic resources. I looked at the luxuries. Most starting islands have four different types. Start 5 has five, as does Start 4 if you conquer/suzerain the city-state. Start 2 only has three (Salt, Wine, Citrus) so it might be worth adding a fourth, although it's quite well balanced for a random map.

3. Players will have access to only one city-state immediately, and there's some consensus that Industrial ones have the weakest early bonus. I tend to agree. I'm not sure how you were planning to distribute the city-states, but I'd leave the Industrial ones off the starting islands if possible, and otherwise pick randomly.

Looks like a great map overall.

[Cornflakes]

Thanks for the input! After some further tweaking to incorporate your suggestions I am satisfied. Going with random distribution of the starting locations. Rolling for the starting player at Random.org gave me 6, so TheArchduke will be player #1. I'll be generating the save accordingly, passing it to TheArchduke, and then off to bed!

[Commodore]

Super cool map, man.