Premade maps may specify the starting location of specific civilizations, otherwise initial settlers are placed randomly. 'Start on Premade World' allows the user to load an existing map file. By default, they use the same settings as the initial map certain mods use special logic to configure landmass composition and player starting locations. Test of Time games using multiple maps apply additional layers after the main game setup. Younger worlds cluster terrain with like types, while older worlds are more randomly distributed. Warmer worlds are drier when arid, and lusher when wet.Īge Affects distribution of terrain, especially Hills and Mountains. Temperature The world's average temperature, combining with Climate to determine topography. Drier worlds have more plains and deserts, while wetter worlds have more forests and grassland: Varied: Mix of continental and archipelagic features.Ĭlimate The world's average humidity, affecting the frequency of 'forested' terrain ( Forest, Jungle and Swamp).Archipelago: Narrow snake-like continents and scattered islands.Land Mass Composition of land tiles compared to ocean: Custom: Allows custom dimensions, with several restrictions.In addition to defining the total playable area, map size interacts with the difficulty level in several game mechanics and determines total playable turns.

Size Dimensions of the map, width times height. 'Customize World' allows the player to configure additional attributes of the world: 'Start a New Game' and 'Customize World' will create a randomly-generated map to the specified size. When starting a new game, the player can choose between a randomly-generated map, or a pre-existing file that may have assigned starting locations for different civilizations. Perpendicular intersections of land and water tiles in cardinal directions (a + pattern) form a strait: ground and sea units can move through to their respective terrain unobstructed.Water access for irrigation is checked on ordinal tiles (in an x pattern).Both land and naval units can cross the intersections to their respective terrain tiles unimpeded. Two special considerations exist:Įxample of straits. Terrain divides between two domains: land and ocean.įor most purposes, adjacent tiles are the eight tiles surrounding a given coordinate. Tiles can contain a number of elements, rendered in ascending order as follows:Įach tile represents a type of terrain that determines unit movement cost, defensive combat modifier, and resource yield. Games with multiple maps include arrow buttons to navigate between map layers.Ī tile is the basic unit of distance on the map. Using ToT's default map layout, the minimap initially appears as a rotating globe clicking on it expands to the flat layout as in original Civ II. In Test of Time, the minimap is colored to the specific terrain. A white rectangle outlines the portion of the map currently on display clicking within the minimap centers the view on the given coordinate. The minimap is located in the upper right of the screen, displaying a simplified map of the whole world distinguishing land and ocean tiles, and city locations color-coded by civilization. How much of the entire map is shown varies based on the window's resolution and current zoom level, adjustable from the View menu and/or hotkeys z and x there are 16 possible zoom levels, with graphics optimized to Level 9 ( Shift+ Z). The map is the largest portion of the main game screen. The second example is excerpted from the Extended Original mod, and includes buttons to navigate between map layers. Minimap of WORLD.MP in Civilization II (top) and Test of Time (bottom) with highlight boxes omitted.

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