Flat or Hilly?

[Ironman]

What is your preference when setting a random map?   I know that hilly is good for coffee and is often where the minerals are but it makes urban planning much more difficult.

[caddet]

I like the challenge of not knowing.  So far, I've just used the default settings.  The only one I've changed is the size of the island, and only while I was experimenting.  Later, I'll start changing things to raise the difficulty rating.  The default settings result in something around 50%.  I'm pretty sure I've seen 42% as the lowest, and 59% as the highest.  I don't know why it would be different when the settings aren't changed.

[bradkay]

I choose depending upon what type of economy I am planning. Right now I am playing a map I call Bacardi & Swisher, concentrating upon Rum and Cigars as my principle exports (it was supposed to be rum only - I chose Booze Baron as my background - but the soil conditions demanded a second major crop choice). Therefore I chose this map to be pretty flat, giving a greater chance for sugar production. When I did a "Juan Valdez" map it was as hilly as possible. If you're going after yanqui tourist dollars, you can choose any terrain.  

[caddet]

Interesting ideas, bradkay.  I haven't tried "planned" random maps yet.  I'm going to start the scenarios this morning, and play through them.  Then I'll try some maps like your ideas.  That's a level of flexibility you don't get with most games.

[Comrade_President]

I find relatively flat maps much more easy, for the obvious reason: It is much less expensive -in time and money- to build on them.

[caddet]

Well, I tried the first of the scenarios.  I chose the "Isla de Foresta" because of the "Moderate" difficulty rating.  I've been booted off twice, already.  So now it's back to the random maps with gradually increasing difficulties.

[Slamin Sammy]

Ironman-
You are quite right in that it is harder to build on hills, but that it is also easier to mine and find coffee.  To tell you the truth, I always set the game on the flattest setting because I can always descent mining.  In reference to the coffee problem, even on flat land, there are still some spots, but not that good.  Make money off of other things!

[Coconut Kid]

UGG! The childish building cities on the flat playroom floor rears its head with the great U.S. myth that only rigidly grid based cities are beautiful cities following closely behind. Please forget the rigid grid of roads as a requirement of the "city beautiful" !!   The actual islands of the Caribbean are of two basic types, volcanic with high elevations and drown land crusts with moderate to low elevations. So picking one elevation for your "tournament settings" is rather arbitrary. For elevation, I suggest the fifth point from either the top or bottom since that is as close to the midpoint as you can come. That is the recognize that very flat and very high islands are also realistic Caribbean islands. Very flat islands have generous, wide beaches; the high islands have few, small beaches but very good fishing grounds.

Cross reference:
http://www.the-nextlevel.com/tropico/cafe/index.php?topic=5269.msg213213#msg213213