Starting conditions

[Blanny]

I bought this game on the day it came out and I haven't got very far because I must have restarted at least 100 times. This is because I keep generating excellent looking maps, only to find that there are either no starting areas anywhere near where I want to build or there are but they are far too small and/or a completely mental shape.

I recently noticed a 'Own all territories' option which says "Start with ownership of all territories on the map, with no territory upkeep costs". I didn't really like the idea of the 'with no territory upkeep costs' part but I decided to try it anyway. When I started the game, I was surprised to find that I still had to choose one of the pre-selected starting areas and place the Village Centre there, which makes no sense at all. I was expecting the entire map to be one big starting area where i was free to build wherever I like.

Is this how things are supposed to be, or is it a bug? It would make far more sense to me if you were free to place the Village Centre wherever you want and it automatically creates a starting square/hexagon around it.

P.S. It would also help me a lot if the page where you create your own shield and name etc was somewhere that you could just set it once and be done with it, instead of having to redo it every time you restart.

[Maehlice]

Originally posted by Blanny:

When I started the game, I was surprised to find that I still had to choose one of the pre-selected starting areas and place the Village Centre there ... Is this how things are supposed to be?

Yeah. I think it's kinda strange, but I don't think it's very hard to overcome.

Originally posted by Blanny:

... there are either no starting areas anywhere near where I want to build or there are but they are far too small and/or a completely mental shape.

That might be a little harder to overcome, though. If there's not a starting territory (one with a small stone deposit) where you prefer to start well ... :shrug:

I can't say I've ever had a map where there weren't Stone territories dotted all over the map.

At the very least, you can start with 4 Territories without painting yourself in too much of a corner (3 on Challenge), so you should generally be able to manage a decent start.

But that's kinda part of the fun, though. Expand towards where you want to be instead of away from it.

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Here are a couple threads I can recall about good maps:

https://steamcommunity.com/app/690830/discussions/0/632295902087781333/

https://steamcommunity.com/app/690830/discussions/0/596268777261287622/

https://steamcommunity.com/app/690830/discussions/0/591764731433343977/

[Kastalia]

The thing with the village center was bothering me as well but i got around it.

technically you can place down your village center anywhere. this will unlock all the remaining territorries. Then you just click on the village center again, press the edit button below and move it where you actually want to have it.

This way you can also move the center later when you established your final city if it happened to move somewhere else throughout the course of the game.

[Blanny]

All starting areas have stone deposits. They would be useless otherwise. Maybe that's why they only have a limited amount of them. I am just trying to express that I personally find the starting conditions quite frustrating, or at least that they could be improved.

[Cotaks]

Originally posted by Blanny:

All starting areas have stone deposits. They would be useless otherwise.

This is not true, not all starting areas have stone!

When you look for a starting area, always check 2 territories, so even if its a crazy shapy look for one next to it to make it a big shape.

This is due to the first 2 territories you buy are free(and no upkeep)!

#edit
Also the city center can be moved at any time, for 1 gold coin.

Also your shield and colors can be changed during gameplay, so just put in your name and a town name and do the shield later. This saves some time, but i agree it should be saved!

or just do like me and click trough it quick, look at map and if you like it take the seed and start a proper game with that seed.

[Maehlice]

Originally posted by Cotaks:

Originally posted by Blanny:

All starting areas have stone deposits. They would be useless otherwise.

This is not true, not all starting areas have stone!

What they said is true. The presence of a small Stone deposit is what makes it a starting territory. Stone is critical, so it's hard-coded so that you must start with access to it.

[Blanny]

OK, so I don't like the 'own all territories' option either, as it unlocks a load of prestige points for you at the beginning of the game. I don't see how I can play this game in its present state. The starting areas are not in the right place 99% of the time and when they are they are either far too small, too weird a shape or covered in trees so you can't see what you are doing.
I suppose the only other options are to constantly demolish and redesign areas, or wait for the devs or modders to come up with a better way of going about things.
I really like the look of this game but I think that the developers have made some very strange decisions that desperately need addressing.

[Maehlice]

Originally posted by Blanny:

OK, so I don't like the 'own all territories' option either, as it unlocks a load of prestige points for you at the beginning of the game. I don't see how I can play this game in its present state. The starting areas are not in the right place 99% of the time and when they are they are either far too small, too weird a shape or covered in trees so you can't see what you are doing.
I suppose the only other options are to constantly demolish and redesign areas, or wait for the devs or modders to come up with a better way of going about things.
I really like the look of this game but I think that the developers have made some very strange decisions that desperately need addressing.

99% of the time? I hope that's rhetorical hyperbole.

You get two starting territories for free, and a third one is easy enough to afford from the start even on Challenge difficulty.

The likelihood that no three territories can combine into "the right place" seems pretty far out.

I guess it depends on what exactly you think is "the right place". What is "the right place" to you?

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Case in point: Here's 4 territories my current village is thriving on:

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3454989728

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3454989840

I'm about to start up Cheese production and expect these territories to support a population of 300.

[Blanny]

I haven't been skipping the onboarding because I'm still getting to grips with the game. I will give it a go.

[hidaway52]

When I start a new village, I like to have nearby mineral deposits. I can spend an hour generating random maps till one pops up that seems right. But that's fine by me. Seems this game is more of a Zen thing than a hurry up type. That might annoy some people, but it's okay by me.

[Maehlice]

Originally posted by hidaway52:

When I start a new village, I like to have nearby mineral deposits. I can spend an hour generating random maps till one pops up that seems right. But that's fine by me. Seems this game is more of a Zen thing than a hurry up type. That might annoy some people, but it's okay by me.

I used to do that, but now I avoid them, since the territories around quarries are usually awkward -- often crescent shape.

You can get by on trade and small nodes well into the mid-game, so now I aim for quarries as a goal for the late game, when gobbling up 5 or 6 territories is easily afforded.

[Doc_Hotpants]

I play with all territories unlocked. Just choose one of the options the game presents you with at first, place your village center, then simply move it to where you want to start building right as you enter the game.