Megalopolis

Megalopolis is an average-sized desert land map whose identity comes from density, not raw dimensions. Normal 1v1 can contain five expansion settlements beyond the two starting Town Centers: one neutral site at the exact center, one close site per player, and one far site per player. Roads make the first expansion relationship visible.

The economy fills the lanes between those sites. Two to four player-side ponds can interrupt movement but contain no fish. Hunt swings from light gazelle and monkey packages to giraffes, rhinoceroses, hippopotamuses, and elephants, while most long-term gold begins at least 80 meters from every start.

Think in expansion chains rather than isolated resources. A close settlement and its road can anchor defense, but the far and central sites, outer hunt, relics, and most gold still force both players beyond that protected first layer.

In a normal non-King-of-the-Hill game, Megalopolis places one neutral settlement at the map center before building two player-associated tiers. The close tier attempts one symmetric site per player at 40–60 meters. The far tier attempts another at 80–100 meters. Both are biased toward the contested side of each base.

Close and far sites remain at least 35 meters from every start and 70 meters from existing settlements. They avoid the edge and starting-tower vision; far sites also avoid King of the Hill. These are placement attempts, so a cramped seed can finish with fewer than the five-site ideal.

The central site is valuable, but the two distance tiers define the real defensive advantage: taking the first expansion does not automatically secure the outer gold, relics, or far settlement.

Proven road relationships

After each close settlement position is accepted, Megalopolis builds a path from that site to its owner's starting Town Center and paints road terrain along it. Road terrain also marks the ground beneath accepted close, far, and central settlement sites, so the network helps players read the intended expansion chain.

A separate team-connection system keeps half-tile roads 4 meters from water and trees and 6 meters from berries and gold. In 1v1, each team contains only one player, so no additional ally-to-ally road count or topology is claimed here.

Fishless player-side ponds

One shared roll selects one or two ponds per player, for two to four across the map. Each 375–400-tile pond belongs to a player's side, stays at least 60 meters from every start, 40 meters from settlements and other ponds, and inside a 16-meter edge margin.

The ponds contain no scripted fish and support no water-food package. Their economic importance is indirect: they consume build space, bend access between forests and outer resources, and can narrow an otherwise open desert approach.

Settlement network and player-side ponds · Standard 1v1 example Click to enlarge

This overhead shows one accepted settlement-and-pond network. Exact road curves, pond count and shape, forest distribution, and every resource position vary by seed.

A complete normal Standard 1v1 layout contains 14,050–32,850 initial finite food, with about 21,734 expected. That unusually wide range comes from the opening branch, four later hunt decisions, and their animal counts. Goats enter at their current fattening level, predators remain dangerous bonus food, and the ponds add no fish.

Opening food

The opening totals 5,200–8,400 food across the map, about 6,600 expected. Both players receive the same branch and counts. The rhinoceros-and-zebra alternative can hold more than the hippopotamus alternative, so scouting the species matters before either player commits to a timing.

Hunt layers

Each row is a separate layer; the alternatives within a row are mutually exclusive. The close layer is at least 65 meters from every start, and all three outer layers are at least 80 meters away. Hunt locations remain 50 meters apart and outside water, tower vision, settlement space, edges, and other food.

Berries, herdables & predators

Including the opening animals, Megalopolis can contain 8–28 goats. They begin with 400–1,400 food across the map and can hold 2,400–8,400 when fully fattened. The close group count and animals per group vary independently, creating most of that range.

Megalopolis can generate fourteen 100–125-tile palm forest areas. Two symmetric forests per player form the starting layer, followed by five more per player in later player-side positions. Starting stragglers and twenty scattered palms add smaller sources.

Forests stay 40 meters apart, 10 meters from impassable ground, and outside Town Centers and farm-capable settlement space. They also avoid the close-settlement roads and later owner paths, helping keep expansion lanes open but splitting wood into separate camps around the settlement-and-pond network.

Forest area and tree density vary, so no exact tree count or wood total is defensible.

A complete successful layout contains 54,000–66,000 gold, with 60,000 expected. Most of it is outer gold: each player receives three or four large mines beginning at least 80 meters from every start.

Close mines are at least 60 meters from every start; outer mines are at least 80 meters away. Both layers remain 50 meters apart and avoid water, edges, 40-meter corner zones, tower vision, and settlement space. A close expansion can cover the first large mine, but controlling long-term gold requires the outer network.

Megalopolis attempts two relics per player, up to four. Every relic begins at least 80 meters from every start with no maximum distance, and relic locations remain 80 meters apart.

Relics avoid the edge, impassable ground, water, tower vision, and settlement space. They are associated with players but not explicitly mirrored, so the far settlement or central site that best supports relic control can change by seed.