Civilization IV – Part II – Selecting a Map - by John Sinitsky - How to select a map in civilization IV

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Introduction

It is widely known and recognized that Sid Meier’s Civilization had become THE computer game when it was introduced. It was first real turn-based strategy ever. The latest PC playable version of Civilization is “Civilization IV”, launched in October 2005. For a computer game 3 years is an eternity - but not for Civilization series game – it is very playable and enjoyable today. With game victory options described in “Civilization IV – Part I” article, we are now going to discuss the pre-game selection – choosing the map, and the consequences of the choice – the relevant strategy of playing.

Map selection steps

Generally, there are 3 steps in map selection – selecting a map, choosing climate and size. For several maps the climate is predefined, for others more options exist.

Archipelago

This map will have little land and many ocean squares. You should construct a powerful fleet in order to control the seas. Discover fishing and as soon as possible. You can pick one of three landmass types – “snaky continents” (pretty large islands, usually “long” and “thin”), “archipelago” (islands situated close one to another) or “tiny islands” (this option is the ultimate “Sea world”).

Continents

This will produce a map with two or more relatively large continents – and somewhat resemble our planet.

Great Plains

This is a map with almost no sea. Only small inland lakes will be present, with most of the terrain being grassland, plains and hills. The will be many rivers though, making it possible to “connect” cities with almost no roads. The world climate is predefined temperate and sea level predefined as medium.

Highlands

Exactly as the name suggests, this map will have many mountains and hills. The land should be also rich with resources found in mountains: silver, gold etc. The world climate is predefined temperate and sea level predefined as medium. You can select one of three mountain patterns – “scattered” (small groups of mountains positioned randomly on the map), “ridgelines” (mountains and hills going form top to bottom of the map ,dividing the map into regions) and “clustered” (mountains come in groups, forming large impassable areas). Then you will be prompted for a mountain density – how many mountains will there be on the map (either “dense”, “normal” or “thin” peaks). You last choice will be considering a water setting – do you prefer “small lakes”, “large lakes” or “seas”. If you are playing this map you should consider “Guerrilla I” and “Guerrilla II” unit promotions, giving your units an edge when in the hills.

This post is part of the series: Civilization IV - Guide To Sid Meier’s Civilization IV PC Game

This series on Civilization IV tells you how to get the best out of the classic Sid Meier PC game. Game strategy and options are reviewed and disscussed

  1. Mastering Civilization IV - Victory Conditions
  2. Mastering Civilization IV – Starting the Game Part I – Selecting a Map (A)
  3. Mastering Civilization IV – Starting the Game - Part II – Selecting a Map (B)
  4. Mastering Civilization IV – Starting the Game - Part III – Climate and Sea Level
  5. Mastering Civilization IV – Starting the Game - Part IV – Map Size
  6. Mastering Civilization IV – Starting the Game - Part V – Difficulty Levels (A)
  7. Mastering Civilization IV – Starting the Game - Part VI – Difficulty Levels (B)
  8. Mastering Civilization IV – Starting the Game - Part VII – Game Speed
  9. Mastering Civilization IV – Choosing the civilization - Overview
  10. Mastering Civilization IV – The American Empire in Civilization IV
  11. Mastering Civilization IV – The Arabian Empire in Civilization IV
  12. Mastering Civilization IV – Choosing Your Player Nation – Aztec Empire
  13. Mastering Civilization IV – Playing As The Chinese Empire - Choosing Your Playable Nation
  14. Mastering Civilization IV – Playing as the Egyptian Empire in Civ IV
  15. Mastering Civilization IV – Choosing Your Nation – English Empire
  16. Mastering Civilization IV – Choosing Which Nation to Play – French Empire
  17. Mastering Civilization IV – Choosing Playable Nations – German Empire
  18. Mastering Civilization IV – Choosing A Playable Nation – Greek Empire
  19. Mastering Civilization IV – Choosing Which Nation to Play – Incan Empire
  20. Mastering Civilization IV – Choosing the nation – Indian Empire
  21. Mastering Civilization IV – Choosing Which Nation to Play in Civ IV – Japanese Empire
  22. Mastering Civilization IV – Choosing Which Nation to Play – Malinese Empire
  23. Mastering Civilization IV – Mongolian Empire in Civ IV - Choosing the Nation to Play in Civ IV PC Game
  24. Mastering Civilization IV – Choosing Playable Nations – Roman Empire
  25. Mastering Civilization IV – Choosing the Nation to Play in Civ IV – Russian Empire
  26. Mastering Civilization IV – Playing as the Persian Empire in Civ IV - Player’s Guide to Choosing their Nation in Civ IV
  27. Mastering Civilization IV – Selecting Playable Nations in Civ IV – Spanish Empire