Game settings: How do you get good terrain on a small map?

I multiplay and we tend to avoid small maps because its so difficult to get good terrain. Usually you get lots of mountains and deserts and ice. We play the default settings except for archipelago for land mass, nothing worse than one big lump of land because we usually play 6 or 7 civs.

Anyone know good settings for small maps? What we want is lots of rivers and grasslands and preferably a few land masses large enough to set up decent size civs. A big ask perhaps.


------------------
Chaos, panic and disorder - My work here is done.

[Exile]

Horse, whenever I play the default game, I never allow the game to make maps. They always come out looking like you're on some sort of patchwork-quilt world. Deserts right next to swamps, right next to tundra, etc.

There are plenty of maps pre-made by others available if you look around a bit on the civ sites. If you like, I'll be glad to email you some maps that actually look like real plantary surfaces instead of randomly-generated disasters. Some of the better ones even have cute names.

Salutations,
Exile

------------------
Lost in America
"a freaking mastermind." --Stefu
"or a very good liar." --Stefu

[Smash]

you can try normal/cool/3 billion years.50/50

[finbar]

I've experimented with all of the variables on a generated small map setting. You simply can't get the sort of terrain you're talking about, Horse. One civ might get some reasonable land, but the others will suffer mostly mountains, desert and plains.

I was very lucky in the game we started last night. I began with three intersecting rivers in a relatively open area. And suffered plagues of barbs because of it.

------------------
Founder, ACS Pedantry Institute
Founder, ACS Gourmet Recipe Exchange
Troll & Hydey Wrangler
Mono Rules!
#33984591
[This message has been edited by finbar (edited March 22, 2001).]

[Hydey]

finbar and horse started on rivers, Hydey started on the north pole
Hydey loses second settler to barbs , builds new settler , builds second city loses that to barbs as well Hydey still has not seen green land or rivers
I think horses random map hates Hydey

------------------
I am the real Troll
A.H. is a nice guy
Sooky Sooky La La

[finbar]

There's no green land, Hydey.

------------------
Founder, ACS Pedantry Institute
Founder, ACS Gourmet Recipe Exchange
Troll & Hydey Wrangler
Mono Rules!
#33984591

[airdrik]

I've played around with that a little bit and found that the percents of good vs. bad terrain / mountain/hill vs. forest/swamp/jungle vs. flat doesn't really change all that much as you change the settings. The age affects it (generally) in that younger maps have like terrains clumped together (and I think less mountains, but I am not totally sure on this), while older maps turn into the patchwork quilt sort of thing.

[finbar]

quote: Originally posted by airdrik on 03-23-2001 11:49 AM The age affects it (generally) in that younger maps have like terrains clumped together (and I think less mountains, but I am not totally sure on this), while older maps turn into the patchwork quilt sort of thing.

Yes, the juxtaposition of the various terrains is the major difference between the "ages" of the planet. On a small map, though, I've even found those differences to be insignificant.

------------------
Founder, ACS Pedantry Institute
Founder, ACS Gourmet Recipe Exchange
Troll & Hydey Wrangler
Mono Rules!
#33984591