Right Next to Me!

[Aces & Eights]

Why do they design the game so that all of the AI Civs always start RIGHT NEXT TO ME? I choose the huge map so that the AIs have the entire world to start in and they are all clustered around me like flies around a bug lamp. I love exploration the most about this game but that can never happen because all of the other Civs get all of the villages before I even get a scout out. And with the new expansion it's even worse! With the loyalty rules I can't start any new cities because all the territory around me is too close to the other Civs who are crowded around me and any new cities I try to start rebel and go independent. For me the game is unplayable.

[Viper]

That has not been my experience starting on a huge map. Usually I don't even meet other Civs for a couple of dozen turns and the closest is usually at least a dozen spaces away if not more.

[Aces & Eights]

Then is there a setup I'm missing? Because this happens to me every game.

[tempest.of.emptiness]

Are you playing on a pangaea with high sea level? How many tiles away is your closest neighbor? If you start in the middle of the landmass then naturally you are going to be surrounded by other civs.

[Suicidemoon]

Probably so you can hold the AIs hand.......They are very special.....8 Tiles away which is around default is a joke........Like the Ai and their cheating.

[Awen]

I have started fifteenish games since R&F came out and so in almost every single one there was an AI capital city within 10-12 hexes of my start, with the exceptions being on archipelago maps where they were the next island over.

It's good and bad. On one hand you have a nice juicy capitol close for conquest, on the other hand you can get steamrolled pretty quickly with the AI's boosts on higher difficulties. But I guess that's what the restart button is for.

[Astasia]

I'll add to the above. I've started like 10 or so games myself in R&F, all on huge, all with only 6-7 AIs or less, various map settings but never pangaea. In every single game I had at least one civ within 10 tiles, usually 3-4 within 20 tiles. It's fairly clear to me the game is intentionally clustering AIs around the player, perhaps to try and spice up the early game. This is something Stellaris does, but they eventually added a non-clustered option. I do not enjoy it. I don't like instantly being unable to expand in one or more direction, or running into an AI on turn 3 and having them instantly pestering me about their agendas.

[ⓀⒾⓦⒾ‰]

yeah way too crowded imo
current game is true earth teddy vs cleo that way im guaranteed to start on a different continent

[BitterKlinger]

sometimes you have bad starts and the civs are close regardless of map size. I am hopeful one day it will get resolved. usually I expect to restart a couple times. It sucks but thats what you have.

[Sir Slasher]

maybe u can take them out with some stone age wars and turn bad start to good one

[GhostDragon]

I think it's way better to have an AI spawn right next to you. Because in Civ 5 you could just sit alone on a whole island and win a science victory without ever having to build an army or really defend yourself

[BadMojo]

Yeah. Just started as the Cree last night and Arabia's capital was founded within 12 tiles or so of my capital. Friendly little guy liked me so much he built his next city on my front yard. Then there was the sudden but inevitable betrayal. This is where it really gets good...

I quickly capture his city and start cranking out troops. His capital suddenly builds walls just as my troops arrive to lay siege. Barbarian camps start popping up around my cities, dividing my attention. Arabia magically whips up more troops and 2 more cities. Finally, Khmer and Indonesia - who were both friendly - decided to launch a formal war against me.

I'm guessing the AI really didn't want me to take Arabia's capital.

I eventually rage quit and went to bed. Lol.

[Excrucian]

I know, the starting loc of AI is ridiculous!

This is what I tend to do now: start a huge map, take down city-states from 18 to 9, remove about 3 AIs and usually start on continent.

What happens almost every damn time? I got 4-5 AIs in my vicinity or continent, another huge continent has only 2 AIs with plenty of room and 2-3 smaller continents are empty besides city-states and barbs....

I know I read somewhere the file to edit to force AI start loc farther away, I think I'll need to dig to find it again...

[Kanjejou]

the I.A is a bit too bent on ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ the player... if they were as bad whith each other i would be ok

[Kanjejou]

play on a small map... 3 of the 5 other IA are 4 hex away ... we have 4civilisation, 4hex from each other... on the same continant on a plain.... what the point... i won by killing all of them before turn 50...now im pretty much have won the game without even trying.

[U-Think]

I know same here, really stupid game design.