Map/Galaxy settings are very important in 4X games and the Gal Civ series more than most. I thought I'd show some pics of the state of affairs in GCIV 1.96 and comment on some things that could be improved. I've mainly focused on proximity using all the same settings for each pic otherwise. 12 civs total (player and 11 oponents)
The main settings:
The maximum sectors amount has changed many times with various patches was 10 not so long ago then 12 it's now 16. Was a lot more in very early patches.
Below is a map using these exact settings (Not too close proximity). 2nd tick/4
Basically 6 of the sectors each contain 2 civs each there is about 150-170 ish habitable planets (forgot to record exact amount). The other 10 start uninhabited.
This map below uses literally exactly the same settings as above, however because it has a huge sector (random possibility) the habitable planets over doubles to 385 planets. This would make for a much longer game time to win and is an issue in my opinion. I doubt most people realize, that using the same settings can produce game that lasts remarkably longer. Habitable planets is one of the largest factors that determine how long a game will take to completion. This can still be an issue on smaller maps/sectors though to a lesser degree. If you want a quick/quicker game it's a problem imo.
The map below uses the "close" proximity it has no discernable differences to the two maps above with these settings. Two civs per sector over 6 sectors leaving the rest free. Personally I think the larger sectors especially the biggest huge should have more civs allocated to them on most proximity settings even when there are less civs than sectors. It gives the civs who start in the huge sector too big of an advantage. Changing the close settings might be an idea since there is no discernable difference between the "not too close" setting. It is possible fewer sector maps with more civs than sectors that a difference may become noticeable between these proximity settings.
The map below uses the distant proximity. The 12 civs are now spread between 8 of the 16 sectors. Two civs have a sector to themselves. Sadly some of the tiny sectors have two civs each which doesn't seem to happen on close or not too close proximity settings. This shouldn't probably happen as they are literally too tiny to support two civs. Note the huge has no civs.
In the last pic below we have the furthest away proximity. Each of the 12 civs start in their own sector on their own. The civ starting in the huge sector is at a massive advantage, more civs should start there arguably even with this proximity.
So hopefully from these maps, you can see how things work better, it's not immediately obvious in the game menu. I think improvements can be made to better inform the player, and create more balanced and ultimately more fun starts and enjoyable games.
Things like allowing the player to choose how many habitable planets, links between sectors, the size and amount of sectors, how many civs per sector, should smaller sectors have civs and how many, how many blank sectors on a map, should larger sectors always start with more civs etc.
What do you think?
