forum.freeciv.org

Dear forum readers,

I’m french, but let’s suppose I’m british : I start in an earthlike world, but not really on a continent, rather an island. Is that possible with Freeciv ?

I ask because if I want an earthlike world, FRACTAL seems recommended, but everyone starts on the same continent by default. So I could set startpos to VARIABLE, but then, is there a reasonable chance that one player at least will get a british scenario ? Not 100%, just a reasonable probability, i.e., say, 20% ?

There’s also some mystery around the FRACTURE map generator, what’s the default startpos for it ? Is it the “anything goes” generator, and what makes it less earth-like ? Too many islands ? I’ve read that it tends to place hills and mountains along the edges of continents, but I did generate one once just to have a look and that didn’t seem excessive to me… after all, cliffs do exist. That being said I didn’t check the whole map, only the island on which I happened to start alone.

Your testimonies and advices are welcome.

Hi there,

Yes, it’s entirely possible to create a British-like scenario in Freeciv, but it does require tweaking the settings a bit. For an Earthlike world with a chance to start on an island, FRACTAL is still a good choice as the map generator, but you’ll need to adjust the start positions to increase randomness. Setting startpos to VARIABLE is a great idea—it ensures that players aren’t necessarily clustered on the same continent.

To increase the odds of spawning on an island, you can try reducing the landmass percentage and increasing the number of continents in the map generation settings. This will create a world with more islands and scattered landforms, boosting your chances of a British-like start. While it won’t guarantee a "British Isle" setup, it should give you a reasonable chance of around 20% or so.

As for the FRACTURE map generator, it’s more unpredictable and less Earthlike because it focuses on rugged, random landscapes with a higher tendency for odd land shapes and small islands. It can be fun if you want variety but less ideal for replicating real-world conditions. If you’re set on a historical vibe, FRACTAL with manual fine-tuning is the better choice.

Happy gaming! Let us know if you find that perfect British island.



Tags:#MapGeneration#FractalMap#IslandStart #WorldBuilding#CustomSettingshill climb racing#StrategyGameTips#EarthlikeMaps