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[TheArchduke]

Players turn around!

[TheArchduke]

So, going to do map and civ rolls.

[TheArchduke]

So I rolled for CIVS:

Alhambram: Kongo, Rome, China
The Black Sword: Norway, Greece (Pericles), Russia
marcopolothefraud: America, Germany, Arabia
Grotsnot: Japan, Spain, Aztec
BUFFBUNNY: France, England, India
Alhazard: Egypt, Greece (Gorgo), Brazil  

A reasonable strong civ for every player in my eyes. Any objections?

[Cornflakes]

Need any input at this point?

Do you have any experience with the world builder?

[TheArchduke]

None whatsoever. There was an explanation post of you somewhere. Was it PBEM 11?

[Cornflakes]

The details behind the workaround for loading the map are explained in detail in one of the Civ General threads. Don't worry about that though, just PM me the map file once you are satisfied it's ready and I'll take care of setting up the starting save. The first post in PBEM 11 organizing thread I posted the following guidelines that I suggest:

Some further guidelines the map maker:

• Minimum 12 tiles between starting positions
  
• Minimum guaranteed 1 of each type of strategic resource within easy access (within e.g. 5 tiles of capital, not within CS borders). 2nd copy OK within CS borders or more difficult to access
  
• Number of City States = two times number players as starting guideline. +/- 1 at map-maker's discretion based on spacing/etc.
  
• All CS placed either coastal or dry, not fresh water to avoid capturing size 10 CS early game. Adding a mountain or 1-tile lake within range for aqueduct is suggested especially for dry CS locations.
  
• When locating CS, try to leave as many settling options as possible available for the players (e.g. don't invalidate all freshwater sites in a particular direction from a player)
  
• Don't try to re-roll specific CS when setting up the starting save. Ok to look at the generic type distribution and re-roll at map maker's discretion. (just to re-iterate it is not possible to select the specific CS)
  
• Sprinkle in some mountains into regions which are devoid of rivers/lakes in order to give players the option to build aqueducts later on
  

For actually making the map I'll start from the beginning with a quick overview: The first step is to enable the World Builder, if you have not done so already. It is hidden by default until edit the AppOptions.txt file. For details I'll refer you to the first post here: https://forums.civfanatics.com/threads/h...er.600327/

Now that you have enabled WorldBuilder, you can start rolling maps. MAKE SURE YOU FIRST DISABLE ALL DLC/MODS except what they actually want to play with before you start rolling maps! The World Builder can be launched from the Additional Content screen (same screen where mods are enabled/disabled, top right corner). You'll then select New Map, and choose the game settings as needed [remember to turn huts off]. NOTE: you do not need to wait for players to make their civ selections before you start working on the map, you can just leave the civs as Random on the setup screen and edit them later.

Thankfully one of the later patches enabled a Restart button to make rolling of maps easier. Once you have selected the game settings and launched the map, you can hit ESC key to get the pop-up menu, and one of the buttons will say Restart. It will generate a new map using the same settings. Start by looking at the large-scale geography on the minimap. I'd suggest rolling and saving at least a few maps that you can compare and chose one that you like.

Once you have a map with large-scale geography that you like you can start editing. The tools are locate in the bottom-right with the option to either (a) select a specific tile and edit its properties, or (b) choose a terrain/feature/resource type that you then paint on to the map in mass [useful for things like forests, rivers, and strategic-resources].

One tip when you get into actually editing the map: start by locating all starting positions. To make this easier, the lower-left has the same options to turn off resources & tile yields that you have in game. Turn off resources initially, in order to make the randomly-generated starting locations stand out more visibly. Find all start positions, (re)locate them as desired for balance, and set them all to RANDOM PLAYER. Then you can turn the resource bubbles back on while you do the rest of your editing. But leave the yield icons off, they don't update as you edit terrain and I find they just clutter the screen.

This should be enough to get you started. The editing tools are pretty intuitive once you get into the world builder and start playing around. I caution against touching the Natural Wonders since that usually causes them to disappear without being able to re-add them. Save often, and save as a new file name before making major changes so that you can undo them it you don't like the result. Good luck!

[Cornflakes]

I know they asked for Pangea, but Fractal would be another option. I've found Pangea often tends to be just a blob of land whereas Fractal results in some more interesting landforms (while still giving 1 main continent).

[TheArchduke]

Thanks. I will see what I can scrounge up. I will try Fractal as well.

[TheArchduke]

Not sure what I am doing wrong, but I have trouble checking for starting positions. They seem not to pop up.

Managed to override them. Though finding them seems a bit... difficult.

[Cornflakes]

I agree, it is very difficult to find the starting positions. I turn off the resource bubbles as mentioned to make it easier, but even still it usually takes a couple passes around the map to locate the last 1-2.