I really like a random start in simulation type games with procedural generation, since it keeps me from getting stuck in a rut.
Not quite sure what the “random” button does when you start a new game in FF though. Does it pick randomly from the set biomes, or does it mix and match features so you actually get maps you wouldn’t get any other way? I hope it’s the latter, I like surprises 
It chooses from one of the 5 types of map: Idyllic Valley, Apline, Arid Highlands, Lakelands or Plains then mix/matches based on that map type.
Mix-matching from the possibilities for the selected biome only, or from ALL the biomes?
In other words, can this mix/matching produce a map you couldn’t get by choosing one of the other types? Or is it essentially the same thing as rolling a die and choosing a map type that way?
Wondering whether, for instance, you could get an Arid Highland that has more water than the default Arid Highland can roll.
The tooltip say ‘various mixes of biomes’ so it sounds like you can generate maps with different sorts on environments present. I’ve personally had an arid plateau that wound down to a swampy lake area before but that was on a previous patch number.
See, that basically contradicts what Medea said above… still looking for an answer based on what’s in the game files We have devs here who know (and also modders who probably do too 
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"ragunragun: are there different biomes with different foliage/resources???
Zantai: Yes, as I think I mentioned, there are 5 different biomes you can start with. If you want a very specific environment or you click random and the game will generate something completely unique for you. Arid, as I mentioned, can be very high on some resources and very low on others so that can drastically change your experience.
ragunragun: alright but can you discover different biomes in one map??
Zantai: Well, I guess it depends on what you consider a different biome. For example this is a lush forest here and we have mountains so they would be 2 different biomes. There’s map type like areas as I mentioned, but there’s also there are also biomes which are sub details within a map. So yep, within each map there’s going to be a variety of biomes."
OK, I understand now… map type is not the same thing as biome AND I guess from what Zantai said there, it IS possible to get a map via random that you couldn’t otherwise get. Thanks!