CLAUDE.md

@@ -479,28 +479,6 @@ on the Live World clock). **Steps 1–7 of the roadmap are done (plus a derived
   differs from the capital's own name. Touches `src/sim` (`PlanetCulture.cpp`, `PlanetCiv.cpp`) as
   well as `src/render` — `Nation.name`/`cultureId` are derived/not saved (per the Territory & Culture
   entries above), so no save-format version bump.
-- **Multiple cultures per continent (was always exactly one)** *(done — see `Planet::seedCultures()`,
-  `src/sim/PlanetCulture.cpp`)* — a continent seeding only ever one culture at the dawn, combined with
-  the existing border-conversion/backfill dynamics, eroded into one super-dominant culture covering
-  the whole world over a long run. `seedCultures()` now splits each continent into
-  **1..`cultDawnMaxPerContinent`** initial peoples via deterministic farthest-point seeding (each
-  settlement joins its nearest seed point — geographically coherent, Voronoi-like regions, not a
-  checkerboard); the target count scales with the continent's settlement population via
-  `cultDawnSettlementsPerCulture` (both new `planet.cfg` knobs). Per-culture ethos/faith/name hashes
-  now fold in `Culture.id` so same-continent cultures (sharing `regionId`/`bank`) get distinct
-  identities instead of colliding. This surfaced a real, previously-latent **ordering bug**:
-  `computeTerritory()` (realm/vassalage grouping, which prefers matching by actual culture and only
-  falls back to same-continent when culture data doesn't exist yet) ran *before*
-  `computeCultures()` populated per-settlement culture — harmless when one culture ≡ one continent,
-  but would leave temporarily multi-cultural realms now. Fixed at the root: `computeCultures()` split
-  into `refreshSettlementCultures()` (the settlement-level seed/backfill/tally slice, no dependency on
-  `nations`) which `computeTerritory()` now calls on itself before grouping — every caller (the viewer
-  and the dozens of existing test call sites) gets correct behaviour automatically. `test_culture.cpp`/
-  `test_cultevo.cpp` updated to assert the new bounded invariant (a continent has 1..N cultures; a
-  single culture never itself spans two continents — still enforced) instead of exact equality.
-  Verified live: one continent now shows six distinct peoples instead of a single dominant culture,
-  with realms still correctly mono-cultural. `src/sim` + `src/render`; cultures are derived/not saved,
-  so no save-format version bump.
 
 ## Current state
 
@@ -1363,12 +1341,7 @@ triangles (plates are fixed in phase 1).
   lower = easier colonial breakaways), `cultSchismMinCluster` (2, distant settlements needed to break away
   together), `cultSchismRate` (0.08, per-year chance per qualifying culture). All rates 0 = the static
   pre-Step-8 world. Runs in the yearly `stepCulture` tick (pure hashes, no RNG); the culture list is
-  capped at 64 peoples. Dawn seeding (`Planet::seedCultures()`, before Step 8 evolution runs at all):
-  `cultDawnSettlementsPerCulture` (5, target dawn settlements per initial culture on a continent —
-  lower = more initial peoples) and `cultDawnMaxPerContinent` (6, hard cap on how many initial peoples
-  one continent can seed) — raise `cultDawnSettlementsPerCulture` or lower `cultDawnMaxPerContinent`
-  for a world that starts more culturally uniform (closer to the old always-one-per-continent
-  behaviour), lower/raise them the other way for more initial diversity.
+  capped at 64 peoples.
 - `upliftGain` (PlanetConfig) — m/tick per unit convergence stress; main
   knob for how fast/high relief builds.
 - `relax` (PlanetConfig) — isostatic relaxation toward base elevation. Peaks

src/render/Viewer.cpp

@@ -892,7 +892,7 @@ void Viewer::liveAdvance(double dtClock, double dtWeather) {
 // Recompute realms/territory + cultures from the (derived) settlement set and rebuild the border
 // segments (political + cultural). Cultures depend on territory, so compute them right after.
 void Viewer::rebuildTerritory() {
-    planet.computeTerritory();  // refreshes per-settlement culture itself before grouping into realms
+    planet.computeTerritory();
     planet.computeCultures();
     planet.computeTrade();                                     // civ Step 7: trade links + prosperity (derived)
     buildNationBorders(planet, borderR, nationBorders);

src/sim/Planet.hpp

@@ -212,22 +212,12 @@ public:
     const std::vector<int>&    settleNation()  const { return sSettleNation; } // nation index per settlement (-1 = dead)
 
     // Cultures, beliefs & governments (PlanetCulture.cpp). computeCultures() is the DERIVED refresh:
-    // it seeds the cultures once (a continent starts as 1..cultDawnMaxPerContinent peoples, split via
-    // deterministic farthest-point seeding) when none exist, then only recomputes tallies, governments
-    // (folded into nation.name) and the per-cell culture view. Runs AFTER computeTerritory() (reads
-    // nations/sCellNation/sCellSettleOwner). Culture identities + the per-settlement culture are
-    // STATEFUL since Step 8 (saved v23 + snapshotted); stepCulture() is the once-per-sim-year mutation
-    // pass (border conversion / assimilation / schism, pure hashes -- no RNG touched, so step-back
-    // replays it exactly).
-    // refreshSettlementCultures() is just the settlement-level slice of computeCultures() (seed once
-    // + sanitize/backfill sSettleCulture + tally) -- no dependency on `nations`. Call it BEFORE
-    // computeTerritory() so realm/vassalage grouping (which prefers matching by actual culture, only
-    // falling back to same-continent when culture data doesn't exist yet) sees up-to-date per-
-    // settlement culture on every call, not just from the second recompute onward -- otherwise a
-    // continent seeded with several peoples would form one realm per continent for one full pass
-    // before the next recompute split it correctly. computeCultures() calls this itself too (so it
-    // stays correct when called on its own), making a second call from here a harmless no-op.
-    void refreshSettlementCultures();
+    // it seeds the cultures once (one per inhabited continent) when none exist, then only recomputes
+    // tallies, governments (folded into nation.name) and the per-cell culture view. Runs AFTER
+    // computeTerritory() (reads nations/sCellNation/sCellSettleOwner). Culture identities + the
+    // per-settlement culture are STATEFUL since Step 8 (saved v23 + snapshotted); stepCulture() is
+    // the once-per-sim-year mutation pass (border conversion / assimilation / schism, pure hashes --
+    // no RNG touched, so step-back replays it exactly).
     void computeCultures();
     std::vector<WarEvent> stepCulture(long year);
     bool culturesBuilt() const { return !cultures.empty(); }

src/sim/PlanetCulture.cpp

@@ -145,73 +145,26 @@ void Planet::seedCultures() {
     const double sea = cfg.seaLevel, abP = cfg.civAbandonPop;
     const uint32_t seed = cfg.seed ? cfg.seed : 1u;
 
-    // 1) Group living settlements by continent, then split each continent into 1..cultDawnMaxPerContinent
-    // initial peoples via deterministic farthest-point seeding (geographically coherent, like a
-    // Voronoi partition) instead of always one culture per continent -- without this, a populous
-    // continent starts as a single culture that years of border conversion + the settlement-culture
-    // backfill (both pre-existing mechanics) tend to erode into one super-dominant people covering
-    // the whole world, leaving little cultural diversity.
+    // 1) Group living settlements into cultures.
+    std::unordered_map<int, int> keyToCulture;
     auto living = [&](const Settlement& s) {
         return s.cell >= 0 && s.cell < n && s.population >= abP;
     };
-    std::unordered_map<int, std::vector<size_t>> continentMembers;
     for (size_t k = 0; k < settlements.size(); ++k) {
         const Settlement& s = settlements[k];
         if (!living(s)) continue;
         int key = (s.regionId >= 0) ? s.regionId : (-1 - s.bank);
-        continentMembers[key].push_back(k);
-    }
-    if (continentMembers.empty()) return;
-    // Process continents in a deterministic (sorted-key) order -- unordered_map iteration order is
-    // not guaranteed, and culture creation order feeds sCultureNextId/cultures indices, which must
-    // stay reproducible for a given world/seed.
-    std::vector<int> contKeys; contKeys.reserve(continentMembers.size());
-    for (const auto& kv : continentMembers) contKeys.push_back(kv.first);
-    std::sort(contKeys.begin(), contKeys.end());
-    auto angDist = [&](int ca, int cb) {
-        return std::acos(std::clamp(cells[ca].unit.dot(cells[cb].unit), -1.0, 1.0));
-    };
-    const int perCulture = std::max(1, cfg.cultDawnSettlementsPerCulture);
-    const int maxPerCont = std::max(1, cfg.cultDawnMaxPerContinent);
-    for (int key : contKeys) {
-        const std::vector<size_t>& members = continentMembers[key];
-        int target = std::clamp((int)std::llround((double)members.size() / perCulture), 1, maxPerCont);
-        // Farthest-point seeding: first seed is a deterministic hash pick, then each further seed is
-        // whichever remaining member maximises its distance to the nearest already-chosen seed --
-        // spreads the initial peoples out across the continent instead of clustering them together.
-        std::vector<size_t> seeds;
-        seeds.push_back(members[cultHash((uint32_t)key * 2654435761u ^ seed ^ 0x5EED0u) % members.size()]);
-        while ((int)seeds.size() < target && (int)seeds.size() < (int)members.size()) {
-            size_t best = members[0]; double bestD = -1.0;
-            for (size_t m : members) {
-                if (std::find(seeds.begin(), seeds.end(), m) != seeds.end()) continue;
-                double dMin = 1e18;
-                for (size_t sd : seeds) dMin = std::min(dMin, angDist(settlements[m].cell, settlements[sd].cell));
-                if (dMin > bestD) { bestD = dMin; best = m; }
-            }
-            seeds.push_back(best);
-        }
-        // Assign every member to its nearest seed -> one geographically coherent culture per seed.
-        std::unordered_map<size_t, int> seedToCulture;
-        for (size_t m : members) {
-            size_t bestSeed = seeds[0]; double bestD = 1e18;
-            for (size_t sd : seeds) {
-                double d = angDist(settlements[m].cell, settlements[sd].cell);
-                if (d < bestD) { bestD = d; bestSeed = sd; }
-            }
-            auto it = seedToCulture.find(bestSeed);
+        auto it = keyToCulture.find(key);
         int ci;
-            if (it == seedToCulture.end()) {
+        if (it == keyToCulture.end()) {
             ci = (int)cultures.size();
-                Culture cu; cu.id = sCultureNextId++; cu.regionId = (key >= 0) ? key : -1;
-                cu.bank = settlements[bestSeed].bank;
+            Culture cu; cu.id = sCultureNextId++; cu.regionId = s.regionId; cu.bank = s.bank;
             cultures.push_back(cu);
-                seedToCulture[bestSeed] = ci;
+            keyToCulture[key] = ci;
         } else ci = it->second;
-            sSettleCulture[m] = ci;
+        sSettleCulture[k] = ci;
         cultures[ci].members++;
-            cultures[ci].totalPop += settlements[m].population;
-        }
+        cultures[ci].totalPop += s.population;
     }
     if (cultures.empty()) return;
 
@@ -222,13 +175,10 @@ void Planet::seedCultures() {
         envAdd(acc[ci], cells, sMoist, sea, settlements[k].cell);
     }
 
-    // 3) Per-culture ethos, faith and names (all deterministic hashes of the region + seed). `cu.id`
-    // is folded into the region key so multiple cultures sharing the same continent (and therefore
-    // the same regionId/bank) still get distinct ethos/faith/name hashes instead of identical ones.
+    // 3) Per-culture ethos, faith and names (all deterministic hashes of the region + seed).
     for (size_t ci = 0; ci < cultures.size(); ++ci) {
         Culture& cu = cultures[ci];
-        uint32_t rk = cultHash(((uint32_t)(cu.regionId >= 0 ? cu.regionId : (1000 - cu.bank)) + 1u)
-                                ^ (cu.id * 2654435761u));
+        uint32_t rk = (uint32_t)(cu.regionId >= 0 ? cu.regionId : (1000 - cu.bank)) + 1u;
         envPick(acc[ci], seed, rk, cu.members, cu.ethos, cu.faith);
         uint32_t nameSeed  = seed ^ cultHash(rk * 2654435761u + 0x50C1A1u);
         uint32_t faithSeed = seed ^ cultHash(rk * 40503u + 0xFA17Fu);
@@ -237,19 +187,19 @@ void Planet::seedCultures() {
     }
 }
 
-// The settlement-level slice of the derived refresh: seeds once when no cultures exist, then only
-// sanitizes/backfills sSettleCulture and retallies member counts -- no dependency on `nations`, so
-// it's safe to call before computeTerritory() (see the Planet.hpp comment for why that ordering
-// matters now that a continent can seed several cultures instead of always exactly one). Never
-// reassigns a settlement's existing culture (only sanitizes out-of-range entries and backfills
-// unset living ones from the nearest cultured neighbour).
-void Planet::refreshSettlementCultures() {
+// The DERIVED refresh: seeds once when no cultures exist, then only recomputes tallies, governments
+// and the per-cell culture view from the (stateful) per-settlement culture. Safe to call on every
+// territory rebuild / load / step-back -- it never reassigns a settlement's culture (only sanitizes
+// out-of-range entries and backfills unset living ones from the nearest cultured neighbour).
+void Planet::computeCultures() {
     const int n = (int)cells.size();
+    sCellCulture.assign(n, -1);
     if (settlements.empty()) { sSettleCulture.clear(); return; }
     if (cultures.empty()) seedCultures();
     if (cultures.empty()) return;   // no living settlement yet -> seeded on a later refresh
 
     const double abP = cfg.civAbandonPop;
+    const uint32_t seed = cfg.seed ? cfg.seed : 1u;
     auto living = [&](size_t k) {
         const Settlement& s = settlements[k];
         return s.cell >= 0 && s.cell < n && s.population >= abP;
@@ -278,19 +228,6 @@ void Planet::refreshSettlementCultures() {
         cultures[ci].members++;
         cultures[ci].totalPop += settlements[k].population;
     }
-}
-
-// The DERIVED refresh: recomputes governments and the per-cell culture view from the (stateful)
-// per-settlement culture (refreshed via refreshSettlementCultures() -- called here too, so this
-// stays correct when called on its own, e.g. from tests). Safe to call on every territory rebuild /
-// load / step-back.
-void Planet::computeCultures() {
-    const int n = (int)cells.size();
-    sCellCulture.assign(n, -1);
-    refreshSettlementCultures();
-    if (settlements.empty() || cultures.empty()) return;
-
-    const uint32_t seed = cfg.seed ? cfg.seed : 1u;
 
     // Government per realm (from tier + a deterministic pick) + fold it into the realm's name, and
     // tag the realm with its capital's culture. The realm's "place name" is independently generated

src/sim/PlanetIO.cpp

@@ -77,7 +77,6 @@
     I(geoContinentMinCells) I(geoSeaMaxCells) I(geoRangeMinCells) I(geoMaxRivers) I(geoMaxPeaks) \
     I(geoOceanDeep) I(civMaxSettlements) I(civEmpireMinMembers) I(warMaxConcurrent) I(civMaxColonies) \
     I(cultSchismMinMembers) I(cultSchismMinCluster) \
-    I(cultDawnSettlementsPerCulture) I(cultDawnMaxPerContinent) \
     I(bioFloraSlots) I(bioFaunaSlots) I(bioFungaSlots) \
     I(bioFloraPoints) I(bioFaunaPoints) I(bioFungaPoints) I(bioMarineCoastRings) \
     U(seed)
@@ -356,8 +355,6 @@ std::string validateConfig(const PlanetConfig& cfg) {
     E(rng(cfg.cultSchismRange, 0.0, 3.14159, "cultSchismRange"));
     E(irng(cfg.cultSchismMinCluster, 1, 1000000, "cultSchismMinCluster"));
     E(rng(cfg.cultSchismRate, 0.0, 1.0, "cultSchismRate"));
-    E(irng(cfg.cultDawnSettlementsPerCulture, 1, 1000000, "cultDawnSettlementsPerCulture"));
-    E(irng(cfg.cultDawnMaxPerContinent, 1, 1000, "cultDawnMaxPerContinent"));
     E(irng(cfg.subdivisions, 0, 7, "subdivisions"));
     E(irng(cfg.plateCount, 1, 100, "plateCount"));
     E(irng(cfg.beltWidth, 1, 12, "beltWidth"));
@@ -388,13 +385,6 @@ std::string validateConfig(const PlanetConfig& cfg) {
     E(irng(cfg.bioFungaPoints, 1, 100000, "bioFungaPoints"));
     E(irng(cfg.bioMarineCoastRings, 1, 100, "bioMarineCoastRings"));
 
-    if (cfg.subdivisions >= 0 && cfg.subdivisions <= 7) {
-        size_t cellCount = 10;
-        for (int i = 0; i < cfg.subdivisions; ++i) cellCount *= 4;
-        cellCount += 2;
-        if (cfg.plateCount > (int)cellCount)
-            bad.push_back("plateCount exceeds the number of cells at this subdivision level");
-    }
     if (cfg.oceanBase >= cfg.continentBase)
         bad.push_back("oceanBase >= continentBase (ocean floor must be below continents)");
     if (cfg.peakSoftCapStart >= cfg.peakSoftCapEnd)

src/sim/PlanetNation.cpp

@@ -19,15 +19,6 @@ const char* nationTierName(NationTier t) {
 }
 
 void Planet::computeTerritory() {
-    // Refresh per-settlement culture BEFORE grouping into realms below -- vassalage grouping prefers
-    // matching by actual culture (only falling back to same-continent when culture data doesn't
-    // exist yet), and since a continent can seed several distinct cultures (PlanetCulture.cpp), this
-    // needs up-to-date sSettleCulture on every call, not just from the second recompute onward, or a
-    // freshly-seeded multi-culture continent would form one realm per continent for a full pass
-    // before the next recompute split it correctly. No dependency the other way: this only touches
-    // settlements/cultures, never `nations`, so it's safe to run before the rest of this function
-    // rebuilds `nations` from scratch.
-    refreshSettlementCultures();
     const int n = (int)cells.size();
     nations.clear();
     sCellNation.assign(n, -1);

src/sim/PlanetTypes.hpp

@@ -402,9 +402,9 @@ struct PlanetConfig {
     double weatherHurricaneStr= 0.6;    // strength above which a tropical system is a hurricane/typhoon
 
     // --- Volcanoes (Live World) -- see PlanetVolcano.cpp ------------------------
-    // Placed once on entering Live World by tectonic context, then evolve statefully on the live
-    // clock (step-back snapshots preserve/reverse that state). Submarine volcanoes build up to
-    // breach sea level into new volcanic islands.
+    // Placed once on entering Live World by tectonic context, then erupt on the live clock
+    // (build height + eruption intensity are pure functions of liveTime, so step-back reverses
+    // them). Submarine volcanoes build up to breach sea level into new volcanic islands.
     double volcanoProbRidge    = 0.55;  // per-cell placement prob on a young spreading-ridge cell
     double volcanoProbBorder   = 0.06;  // per-cell placement prob on a normal plate-border cell
     double volcanoProbInterior = 0.003; // per-cell placement prob elsewhere (intraplate hotspots)
@@ -557,9 +557,4 @@ struct PlanetConfig {
     double cultSchismRange      = 0.55;   // rad from the culture's population centroid past which members are "distant"
     int    cultSchismMinCluster = 2;      // distant settlements needed to break away together
     double cultSchismRate       = 0.08;   // per-year chance a qualifying distant cluster becomes a new people
-    // Dawn seeding (seedCultures()): a populous continent starts as SEVERAL distinct peoples instead
-    // of one continent-spanning culture -- without this, decades of border conversion/backfill tend
-    // to erode a single per-continent culture into one super-dominant people across the whole world.
-    int    cultDawnSettlementsPerCulture = 5;  // roughly this many dawn settlements per initial culture on a continent
-    int    cultDawnMaxPerContinent       = 6;  // hard cap on how many initial peoples one continent can seed
 };

test_cultevo.cpp

@@ -20,7 +20,6 @@
 #include <cmath>
 #include <algorithm>
 #include <set>
-#include <map>
 #include <sstream>
 
 static int failures = 0;
@@ -65,25 +64,20 @@ int main() {
     const int n = (int)p.cells.size();
     const double yearH = p.cfg.dayLengthHours * p.cfg.yearLengthDays;
 
-    std::printf("Cultural evolution: seeding parity (frozen dawn identities)\n");
+    std::printf("Cultural evolution: seeding parity (frozen one-per-continent identities)\n");
     p.placeSettlements();
     double lt = 0.0; for (int yr = 0; yr < 600; ++yr) { lt += 2.0 * yearH; p.stepCivilization(2.0 * yearH, lt); }
     p.computeTerritory(); p.computeCultures();
     {
         check(!p.cultureList().empty(), "cultures seeded at the dawn");
-        // Each continent (regionId / -1-bank fallback) seeds 1..cultDawnMaxPerContinent cultures now,
-        // not always exactly one -- check the count stays within that bound instead.
-        std::map<int, std::set<int>> keyToCults;
+        // One culture per distinct key (continent regionId / -1-bank fallback) among living settlements.
+        std::set<int> keys;
         for (size_t k = 0; k < p.settlements.size(); ++k) {
             const Settlement& s = p.settlements[k];
             if (s.population < p.cfg.civAbandonPop) continue;
-            int ci = p.settleCulture()[k]; if (ci < 0) continue;
-            keyToCults[s.regionId >= 0 ? s.regionId : (-1 - s.bank)].insert(ci);
+            keys.insert(s.regionId >= 0 ? s.regionId : (-1 - s.bank));
         }
-        bool boundedDiversity = true;
-        for (auto& kv : keyToCults)
-            if ((int)kv.second.size() < 1 || (int)kv.second.size() > p.cfg.cultDawnMaxPerContinent) boundedDiversity = false;
-        check(boundedDiversity, "each continent seeds 1..cultDawnMaxPerContinent cultures");
+        check(p.cultureList().size() == keys.size(), "one culture per inhabited continent");
         bool rootsOk = true, idsOk = true;
         for (size_t i = 0; i < p.cultureList().size(); ++i) {
             const Culture& cu = p.cultureList()[i];
@@ -168,21 +162,6 @@ int main() {
         check(capsStable, "realm capitals never convert via border pressure");
     }
 
-    std::printf("Cultural evolution: locked clusters cannot create empty schisms\n");
-    {
-        Planet locked = p; quietCulture(locked);
-        locked.cfg.cultSchismRate = 1.0; locked.cfg.cultSchismRange = 0.10;
-        locked.cfg.cultSchismMinMembers = 3; locked.cfg.cultSchismMinCluster = 1;
-        for (int s = 0; s < (int)locked.settlements.size(); ++s) locked.setCultureLock(s, true);
-        size_t before = locked.cultureList().size();
-        int breakEvents = 0;
-        for (long yr = 0; yr < 20; ++yr)
-            for (const WarEvent& e : civYear(locked, yr))
-                if (e.kind == 7 && e.title.find("break away from") != std::string::npos) ++breakEvents;
-        check(locked.cultureList().size() == before && breakEvents == 0,
-              "an entirely locked cluster creates neither a child culture nor a false event");
-    }
-
     std::printf("Cultural evolution: schism (a distant cluster becomes a new people)\n");
     long schismYear = -1;
     {
@@ -328,7 +307,7 @@ int main() {
         bool allRoots = true;
         for (const Culture& cu : r.cultureList())
             if (cu.parentId != -1 || cu.foundedYear != -1) allRoots = false;
-        check(allRoots, "re-seeded cultures are roots (dawn peoples, no parent)");
+        check(allRoots, "re-seeded cultures are one-per-continent roots");
     }
 
     std::printf(failures ? "\nFAILURES: %d\n" : "\nALL CULTURAL-EVOLUTION CHECKS PASSED\n", failures);

test_culture.cpp

@@ -9,8 +9,7 @@
 //       src/sim/PlanetGeography.cpp src/sim/PlanetEcoregions.cpp src/sim/PlanetCiv.cpp
 //       src/sim/PlanetNation.cpp src/sim/PlanetCulture.cpp src/sim/PlanetIO.cpp -o /tmp/tc && /tmp/tc
 //
-// Verifies: each continent seeds 1..cultDawnMaxPerContinent distinct cultures (never spanning two
-// continents); every living settlement has a culture; valid
+// Verifies: one culture per inhabited continent; every living settlement has a culture; valid
 // ethos/faith; governments plausible per tier + reflected in the realm name; realms are mono-cultural;
 // determinism + RNG isolation; save->load->recompute parity.
 
@@ -56,33 +55,33 @@ int main() {
     check(!p.cultureList().empty(), "computeCultures produces cultures");
     check((int)p.cellCulture().size() == n && (int)p.settleCulture().size() == (int)p.settlements.size(), "index arrays sized");
 
-    std::printf("Culture: continents seed 1..cultDawnMaxPerContinent cultures, never crossing continents\n");
+    std::printf("Culture: one culture per inhabited continent\n");
     {
-        // A continent (grouping key) may now seed several distinct cultures (farthest-point seeding,
-        // bounded by cultDawnMaxPerContinent) instead of always exactly one -- but a single culture
-        // must never itself span two continents.
-        std::map<int, std::set<int>> keyToCults;   // continent key -> set of culture indices seen there
-        std::map<int, int> cultToKey;               // culture index -> the one continent key it belongs to
-        bool singleContinent = true, allLiving = true;
+        // The set of distinct grouping keys among living settlements == the number of cultures, and
+        // every living settlement's key maps to exactly one culture (and vice versa).
+        std::set<int> keys;
+        std::map<int,int> keyToCult;      // grouping key -> culture index (must be consistent)
+        bool consistent = true, allLiving = true;
         for (size_t k = 0; k < p.settlements.size(); ++k) {
             const Settlement& s = p.settlements[k];
             if (s.population < abP) continue;
             int ci = p.settleCulture()[k];
             if (ci < 0 || ci >= (int)p.cultureList().size()) { allLiving = false; continue; }
             int key = cultKey(s);
-            keyToCults[key].insert(ci);
-            auto it = cultToKey.find(ci);
-            if (it == cultToKey.end()) cultToKey[ci] = key;
-            else if (it->second != key) singleContinent = false;   // a culture must stay on one continent
+            keys.insert(key);
+            auto it = keyToCult.find(key);
+            if (it == keyToCult.end()) keyToCult[key] = ci;
+            else if (it->second != ci) consistent = false;   // same continent -> must be same culture
         }
-        bool boundedDiversity = true;
-        for (auto& kv : keyToCults)
-            if ((int)kv.second.size() < 1 || (int)kv.second.size() > p.cfg.cultDawnMaxPerContinent) boundedDiversity = false;
-        std::printf("    %d cultures across %d inhabited continents/keys\n",
-                     (int)p.cultureList().size(), (int)keyToCults.size());
+        // No two distinct keys share a culture.
+        std::set<int> usedCults;
+        bool distinct = true;
+        for (auto& kv : keyToCult) { if (usedCults.count(kv.second)) distinct = false; usedCults.insert(kv.second); }
+        std::printf("    %d cultures, %d inhabited continents/keys\n", (int)p.cultureList().size(), (int)keys.size());
         check(allLiving, "every living settlement has a valid culture");
-        check(singleContinent, "every culture's members all belong to one continent");
-        check(boundedDiversity, "each continent seeds 1..cultDawnMaxPerContinent cultures");
+        check(consistent, "settlements on the same continent share one culture");
+        check(distinct, "no two continents share a culture");
+        check((int)p.cultureList().size() == (int)keys.size(), "exactly one culture per inhabited continent");
     }
 
     std::printf("Culture: valid ethos / faith / members\n");