01-04-2002 19:58									#1
	Is continental starting position random or always better for AI? Support Apolyton, pre-order Civilization IV

I have mostly played continent land mass games. I have yet to have a game where I am started on the largest continent. The AI with the strongest potential always get an excellent starting position. At first I thought this was just the luck of the random numbers. But now, I am thinking this may be part of the programming. It is a huge advantage for the AI to get the largest continent which I can't even explore until I am in middle ages. [Oh, this is on settler and warlord. About ready to try a higher setting, but doubt that will effect starting position.]

Is there hope, does the human ever get a good starting position with continental land mass?

	01-04-2002 21:47									#2
	Enter the AD-FREE zone

I make one map with 3 excelent starting location and don not put any starting locations ribbon... I ALL the games I atart the AI sart in it and Me not one.

	01-04-2002 22:11									#3
	Put an end to popups!

Well, yes I have noticed this too but what´s the matter?

I started out recently in the middle of a tiny island
covered with tundra.

Isolated and with only 4 cities I thought I was doomed...
however, once I met the others (who at that point was way
into the middleage-era while me still struggeling with the key
technologies of the ancient era) I was able to come back...
I had a lot of money (as anyone has starting the game isolated)
and was able to buy myself back into the tech-race.

I still was Isolated having my 4 cities and envied those egyptians having rivers criss-crossing their massive, fertile grassland continent. But egyptians are punished for this - they pay up to 30 times more for their techs than I do.
I am not able to grow my cities to as a high size than the egyptians are but why should I? There seem to be no need to
do so. My level 3 coastal city (unable to grow any futher) had already finished 2 wonders of the world and is ranked first in the top 5 cities - yes, a level 3 city
(Low growth = high prod)

My point is that those rivers, while causing income, also rises
tech-costs for this same reason becouse the CIV beeing at the river is more likely to lead the tech-race - so practicaly speaking they are useless. Everything that boosts a player (or A.I) is more or less useless since there is a mechanism in the game that counters it. Thus having only those 4 cities on the tundra
or 20 cities on a massive, fertile continent matters little.

Actually, In my game it does not seem to matter at all...

-Saurus