Please allow settlement anywhere (certain # spaces away)

Saying you can settle any tile would be like saying you can settle any planet at the start of the game in Gal Civ. Also, having defined tiles is the core of FE/LH. Being able to settle anywhere would kill the early excitement of the game.

Some of my most interesting games are where I had to scramble to get my second city. And yes, I've had a game or two where I started over because it was hopeless due to lack of city tiles, but that hasn't happened since FE.

You should play Civ... you can settle anywhere you want.  This game needs less places to settle not more.

I agree I salt the earth to take away some of the too many places to settle.

You can mod this feature into the game if you wish. If would require you to edit every single tiles fertility yield, but you can do it if you so desire. Not sure if any of the current modders will want to spend the time necessary to make that feature. I also doubt that Stardock will change this design decision.

I hope your request can be solved by a mod, as I do not think this game benefits from Civ-settling. (On the contrary as some already noted.)

I think it's fun as is. Does the original poster know about Ctl+N?

I posted this when I had my first 20 hours or so in the game - I no longer endorse my view

I must have had a run of bad starts b/c now on a huge world I'm getting so many sites it gives me too big a lead and breaks the whole "battle against the environment not just AI" feel....

So.... play and learn

I agree, I think the balance is fine as it is (although as others have noted, RNG is pretty streaky from game to game, maybe tone the distribution to be a little tighter while keeping the average result as it is now).

In my view, there are generally just enough sites so that you can be expansionist and only turtle from time to time to consolidate - but few enough so that you have to actually take care with your cities, and consider how each new one fits into your balance. I'm coming around to the idea that cities aren't a micro challenge, since you can build most improvements anywhere, but a more high-level challenge - sometimes that new site might be better as a fortress for unrest, others a conclave for research...

I like the current balance but a city density map setting for random map creation would be cool.

Right, forming opinions based on limited evidence and then broadcasting those opinions to the world.

You belong on a cable news channel!

Davrovana, have you always been a complete tool?  or just here?

I also agree. I often use Ctrl+N to have a better start and I don't know if AI has a good start also. It may be good to play maps made in the editor, though there is less to explore.

Perhaps there should be more chances to yelds to exist, or there swould be options for terraforming bad terrain into fertile land. For example, outposts should change the land and transform to cities.

Or you can just zero/greatly reduce the minimum distance between cities. You would still no be able to settle some areas but the number is cities you get on early game will surely increase. Also during game you can always cast rebirth on wasteland and found a lot of new cities on previously wasteland.

I thought it was hilarious....unless of course your day job is a cable news channel anchor.   Then it would be hysterical.

Glad you are enjoying the game now. I do agree that the starting conditions of the game leave something to be desired at times, but that cntl-N helps if you want something more than a 2/3/0 to start off with...

I also find that trying to play a game the way the odds give them to you to be quite interesting. Just to see and hope to beat the computer when a great disadvantage.

The spell birth of summer can make land settle-able and sometimes land under the influence of your outposts will randomly do this on its own.