Post Patch Empire Placement

[2ndACR]

While playing the vanilla version, opposing empires were spaced across the map, now after the Beta patches, I seem to have the empires clustered all around me with over 1/2 the map unoccupied. Did something change by accident?

Only going against 9 enemy empires but always seem to have 5 of them almost on top of me. Using the random placement. Using the 1400 15x15 map.

[Erik Rutins]

Nothing was changed in that regard as far as I know. Could you have changed some of your galaxy settings?

Regards,

- Erik

[2ndACR]

Not that I know of, I went back in after each beta patch and reset all my options. Might be a bunch of bad dice rolls, but always seemed to have some distance between enemies prior to patch and now always have them clustered right on me.

I will go back and check settings etc to be sure.

[randal7]

I've noticed this too. "Random" distance seems to always result in someone right in my face, and "average" tends to make clumps. Some sort of "evenly distributed" option would be appreciated.

[feelotraveller]

I have had no problems with 'random' on various 15x15 1400 maps with 19 opponents. Sometimes I'll have a close neighbour (one game there were four of us in a cluster), sometimes no one for a couple of sectors. Generally the empires are pretty evenly distributed. I think the 'clusters' sort of maps exaggerate clumping but that's to do with system distribution rather than empire distribution. Irregular maps, courtesy of their smooth system spread, generally have more even distances between empires. Sometimes you just have to swallow the RNG though.

[HectorOfTroy]

No problems for me so far either. I played average size with 6 other empires.

[Gelatinous Cube]

Although a check box for "Balanced and Random" would be neat.

[Baleur]

I actually have the opposite experience, they seemed more well spaced out across the entire galaxy.
I think it may help mentioning what alien civilization settings we started the game with.
I always start with the game just generating 11 on it's own, so the "close, average, distant" value may adjust to spread them out properly, compared to if you put them all on average "by hand"?
Just a guess to what might cause ppl to have different experiences.

[2ndACR]

Looks like just bad dice rolls then, just started a new game and have explored 4 sectors with no enemy empires found. Disregard.

[lycortas]

2nd ACR,

I think i know what is happening. Or i am completely wrong as usual. Sigh.

I just finished a 10x10 700 star game with mew losing, the largest empire near me was the Baskurans or whatever, the nasty bugs. They were just slightly ahead of me in all areas, although i had more colonies. Suddenly the frogs won. Never met them. So, i was looking at the major races that were in the game and the Boskarans were not one of the starting race so they were just a minor who grew up.

Maybe this also happened to you.

Michael

[ASHBERY76]

Sometimes it messes up the starting placements and I have seen 2 empires start right next to each other a few times when I looked at game editor.

[Keston]

I assume random placement means truly random, so no minimum spacing - multiple spacefaring races could appear in close proximity.

[Baleur]

ORIGINAL: lycortas

2nd ACR,

I think i know what is happening. Or i am completely wrong as usual. Sigh.

I just finished a 10x10 700 star game with mew losing, the largest empire near me was the Baskurans or whatever, the nasty bugs. They were just slightly ahead of me in all areas, although i had more colonies. Suddenly the frogs won. Never met them. So, i was looking at the major races that were in the game and the Boskarans were not one of the starting race so they were just a minor who grew up.

Maybe this also happened to you.

Michael

Yeah I had this happen in my Zerg game (lol, brown Gizurean empire sc2 soundtrack ftw).
The first empire i encountered south of me (ring galaxy) was a Naxxilian independent, 10 minutes later they formed an empire.
As i still only had my homeworld, we were pretty much on even footing apart from my superior military, and they didnt even start the game as a proper empire.

I suspect this may happen all over the galaxy

[2ndACR]

That could explain it, I just discovered a lost human colony on an ice planet and then the dang game crashed. They had a population of 6 billion, more than my home world.