you have to work with what you have around
if you dont have gold mines focus on research adventure, etc
Yes but it's not always something people will associate with. We (beta testers) understand the ideas behind that (alternative methods of playing to win, Conquest, diplomacy, quests and so on). But the base mechanics, support building a community and going from there. If that initial community doesn't have enough to support what would be considered normal expectations (for other TBS games).. people will say this game is stupid and/or keep reloading till they get those base resources to allow them to play.
Why not standardize that initially. Gold and food nearby, with the rest still being a viable alternative.
Myself, I'm not to worried about it, as they'll find the sweet spot. But there are a lot of people who have a minimum level of expectation when playing a TBS and if that's not met, they'll stop playing it. So if someone isn't finding the normal mechanics fun, that's a concern.
Though I do agree with you in that as you play you have to work with what's around you. But why put out a lot of people or make them spend time doing a new game till their starting location is something with a minimum interest. When you can fix it, and let them get into the hard part of playing.
