The Grid (C-evo)

"The Grid" is a large (304% size) map brilliantly designed by Steffen for C-evo, as part of the "Total Fairness" (TF) series, included in the latest downloads of the game. 
Each of twelve nations (four northern, four equatorial, and four southern) has a large block of varied terrain containing over 420 tiles nearer to its capital than to any other. Each block is almost identical to every other block (subject to slightly irregular distribution of the twelve dead lands and to the grassland/plains and forest/jungle variations inherent in the underlying coding), though orientations differ.
==Capital==
Your capital (always on a plains tile - managed by non-standard editing) is well-supplied with growth tiles, 10 in all, with 4, 5, or 6 of them grassland. Two plains are already irrigated, as in a random map game, so you start with four surplus food, three material production, and three trade. Ultimately it will be over-supplied with food, because you will need to "mine" not only all three swamps but also two or three grassland tiles when you have more food than you can use and want more tiles producing three or four material each; the initial hill and three forests/jungles will not suffice. So irrigate plains and prairies but don't irrigate more than half of your grassland.
==Rivals and seas==
Wherever you start, you have three rival capitals each 15 steps away to the north, south, east, or west (though there are several mountains in the direct line, best bypassed initially). In the fourth direction is a large sea, only five steps away across one prairie and three desert tiles. If your location is equatorial, you can eventually cross the nearest sea or get around it to find another nation 15 steps away as the crow flies. For northern or southern locations, crossing the nearest sea takes you only to the Arctic or Antarctic edge of the world, but that sea has the advantage of letting you sail close to three other capitals. No matter where you are, you should send at least three militia out as soon as possible to find friends.
==First city to build==
To find the very best site for a new city, send an explorer onto your nearest prairie then turn half left onto a hill then half left again onto plain or grassland then on one more step to a hill; you can now see a tile that has fish, iron, two hills, two mountains, and four other lake tiles, with a selection of mostly green tiles for additional growth. Build on that tile as soon as convenient and ensure that you have a defender in it. Letting a wandering enemy militia or horseman capture it would be disastrous.
==Next cities==
The best other sites (until you want to start building spaceship parts) involve fish in a two-tile lake. There are several of those. Best positions for most are at the far end of each lake so that you get a balance of terrain including mountain and three forests/jungles and ideally (for maximum use of harbors and offshore platforms) two other lake tiles. However, the first you choose could be the fish five steps beyond the "iron and fish" site, where you can site a city with sea access and several forests and prairies. 
If you are pushy or lucky, you may be able to build so as to use the corresponding fish closer to a rival's capital. Even if a friend's border stops you from using the best accompanying tiles, you should manage to have a hill and/or a mountain and some larger-lake tiles to work on with one or two good food producers. 
Close to your capital, on each side except the seaward side, is a one-tile lake with fish. One has been mentioned above as probably helping with your best site. Cities exploiting the others can be on plains or grassland and have a good mix of terrain but no bonus tiles except eventual diamonds on the mountain tiles that are five steps out from the capital. The other mountains that might get diamonds don't.
==External links==
*Official files page - see map icon with "Total Fairness Maps" about 60% of the way down the page
Category:Maps (C-evo)