A Map Guide to California – By James246 – TAD^1.01a






California was one of the very first games that I can remember that I played Age of Empires 3 on. I’ve always liked this map.

Map Description:

California is a beautiful area along the Pacific Ocean. Towering redwoods line the shore, giving way to first mountains, then to the Mojave Desert to the east. Two native settlements of Klamath and/or Nootka are on opposite map sides, and there are always four Trading Post sites along the Trade Route.

Map Information:

California is a great looking map. It looks really good due to all of the big trees and the water to the side. It is sure to make you love this map. Enough with the looks!

California has a big strip of water on it's left hand side. This water always has a lot of fish and whales - but sometimes, no whales will be present.

The land is also a nice place, with a fair few herds and mines. Sometimes these herds are a far way away from your TC, so Outposts are strongly recommended.

In 1v1's, usually one player will be starting near the water, and another player will be starting to the desert in the east, with a long way to the water. Starting in the east makes it a bit harder if you want to fish-boom, but, you can still pull it off.

The Natives on California are also somewhat useful. With the Klamtath, they have a technology which you can gather all resources 5% faster which can pay itself off quickly. The Nootka on the other hand have a technology which boosts all your villagers HP by a whopping 50%, which can help to defend from raids. Check out the natives section down a bit further for more information.

Starting Crates:

On California, you will start with your usual starting crates. You receive no bonus/extra crates.

Map Layouts:

1v1:



Team:



FFA:




Trading Posts:

Trading Route:

There will always be a Trading Route going through the middle of the map. It will always have four Trading Post sites.

Natives:

There will always be two Native Trading Post sites.

These will be a pick from:



Image from Minor Natives Guide - Nootka

Basic overview

The Nootka can train Nootka Clubman. Their technology is mostly put towards these units; one of these technologies allows you to train Nootka faster and more cheaply, another allows you to build a Nootka War Chief, and the last gives a significant boost to the HPs of your villagers. You can have 15 Nootka Clubman for each Nootka trading post that you hold, and they appear on two standard maps; Yukon and California.

Basic overview from Minor Natives Guide - Nootka | Click for more information, including all the units you can train and the technologies you can research.



Image from Minor Natives Guide - Klamath

Basic overview

The Klamath allow you to produce train Klamath Rifleman. They also give access to a variety of technologies; one improves the gather rates for all resources, another improves the damage that Klamath Rifleman do, and the last gives a progressively increasing amount of food crates - depending on how long you delay researching this technology. You can have 13 Rifleman for every Klamath trading post that you hold, and out of the standard maps, California is the only one where they make an appearance.

Basic overview from Minor Natives Guide - Klamath | Click for more information, including all the units you can train and the technologies you can research.

Most of the information above in the Natives section came from the Minor Natives Guide - By Peachrocks, StR_VipeR, DAMNIT

I would like to give a huge thank you to all the effort they put into that guide.

Resources:

Food:

Deer: (400 Food) These huntables will be scattered around the land part of the map.

Elk: (400 Food) These huntables will be scattered around the land part of the map.

Sheep: (50/300 Food at start of game. Fattening food source) You will always have some of these herdables at your TC at the start of the game. The amount you get depends on the amount of players in the game. The amounts can vary, with sometimes even getting 8 Sheep!

Fish – Salmon: (500 Food) There will be lots of these fish to the water to the west.

Coin:

Gold Mine: (5000 Coin) These will be scattered around the land part of the map.

Humpback Whale: (Unlimited Coin) These Whales will be scattered around the water to the west. Sometimes, no whales are present on the map.

Wood:

Trees: (300 Wood) These will be scattered around the whole map in big forests.

Common Treasures:

To learn more about Treasure Hunting, check out A Guide to Treasure Hunting - By Mokon

A den of muskrats worth 10-50 Coin (Always varies. There are always a few of these on the map.)
Guardian/s: No guardians.

A stand of cottonwood trees worth 80 Wood.
Guardian/s: 2x Grizzly Bear

A stand of redwood trees worth 150 Wood.
Guardian/s: 3x Grizzly Bear

A Medicine Man, who will join your cause if rescued.
Guardian/s: 4x Cougar

A stand of spruce trees worth 60 Wood
Guardian/s: 2x Cougar

A hummingbird nest worth 40 XP.
Guardian/s: 1x Cougar

Cacti covered with cochineal worth 30 Coin.
Guardian/s: 1x Cougar

Strategy/Game play Options:

Due to the water, a fish boom is always a good idea. But, sometimes no whales are present on the water, which causes a problem for once you have gathered all the fish. But, due to the amount of fish, it might take a while to finish them all! It's a good idea for the Ottomans with all their starting wood, or the British who always seem to have a lot of wood to go for this fish boom. Make sure you ship in 2 Caravels to control the water! The land section of the map is also very useful - if you control it. You have to make sure to take map control early, due to the lack of resources near your town. California is a very nice map, ensuring competitive game play!

Note: This map is included in the Standard Maps Rotation.

[This message has been edited by James246 (edited 02-01-2009 @ 01:01 AM).]