How do I save map settings as the default when starting a new game?

Is it possible to save the Civ V game settings so when I start a new map they would be (for example):

• Napolean
• Large Map
• Epic
• No Barbarians
• Prince
• etc...,

So that every time I play I don't have to manually configure them all?

Solution 1:

Some of those settings can be changed by editing the settings in %userprofile%\My Documents\My Games\Sid Meier's Civilization 5\config.ini in the [Game] section.

• WorldSize
• SeaLevel
• QuickHandicap
• GameSpeed
• etc.

Solution 2:

In the base game

In addition to editing the obviously-named settings in %userprofile%\My Documents\My Games\Sid Meier's Civilization 5\config.ini, you can also edit the advanced settings via the GameOptions entry in that same file. This defaults to EMPTY but can be changed to a string of binary digits that represent the advanced settings checkboxes.

I believe the order is dependent on the order of the settings in steamapps\common\sid meier's civilization v\assets\Gameplay\XML\GameInfo\CIV5GameOptions.xml. There's a forum thread that gives some of the order/values to try as well.

As of the Gods and Kings expansion, things have changed a bit.

The "normal" game settings seem to persist, and I believe these are kept the config.ini file.

The advanced settings also persist, and these are stored in a sqlite database - %userprofile%\My Documents\My Games\Sid Meier's Civilization 5\cache\Civ5UserHistoryDatabase.db in the table AdvancedSettings_GameOptions. The table schema is "Name" and "Value."

Names are from the type field in two files, CIV5GameOptions.xml as above, and steamapps\common\sid meier's civilization v\assets\DLC\Expansion\Gameplay\XML\GameInfo\CIV5GameOptions_Expansion.xml for the new expansion options.

You can edit the Civ5UserHistoryDatabase.db file with a sqlite editor (such as this one), although starting a new game with different options will cause this file to be updated automatically. Deleting the Civ5UserHistoryDatabase.db file will cause your settings to reset, and it will be regenerated to the 'empty state' the next time you load the game. The value of GameOptions in config.ini appears to be ignored in the expansion case.

This sqlite database also contains other tables that seem to duplicate the config.ini settings, and I believe that the game considers the Civ5UserHistoryDatabase.db settings prior to considering the config.ini settings, although I haven't tested this extensively.

There's a couple of corner cases, though - specifically quick combat and quick movement. These two were moved into the Options menu on the "Game Options" tab. The values set on the "advanced setup" screen don't seem to persist, but you can check the boxes on the options screen to override the "default off" behavior.

There are several "hidden" options that can be set via the database method that aren't in the advanced option menu. I have not played with these extensively, and I don't know if they're intended for debug (and are therefore unsupported) or for modders (and are therefore fully implemented), so toggle them at your own risk.