Apolyton CS: Civilization III: The List v1: Terrain & Terrain Improvements

TERRAIN & TERRAIN IMPROVEMENTS
-Summarized by Thread Master EnochF-
a-kevsn@microsoft.com

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1. THE SYSTEM    TOP

1.1) Public works system is less hassle than engineers. But "terraforming" is an anachronism in the present. Glaciers-to-grassland should require heavy future technology, maybe weather control. Terraforming must be appropriately scaled. Forest-to-plains and forest-to-grassland should come early, but swamp-to-mountain should come much later (Wheathin).

1.2) For TI's, having an older TI in a square should reduce the cost/build time of upgrade, but should not be a prerequisite. I.e., building a railroad from scratch would take longer and cost more, but would not require a road in the square.

1.3) Public works isn't as fun as using engineers (Kris Huysmans).

1.4) At the beginning of the game, yes. But with 30 engineers, the fun is gone (Wheathin).

1.5) All constructions costs should vary by government type. Transform terrain should bring up a menu listing possible terrain and transform times/costs (Theben).

2. THE MAP    TOP

2.1) No 3-D terrain; without 3-D units it's useless, and 3-D units rule out customization (Kris Huysmans).

2.2) Climate modeling issues: more attention to water modeling, climate changes over time, long-term effects of irrigation, effects of deforestation in late game.

2.3) Would like to see gradual climactic change, deserts expanding/receding, swamps forming/drying up (NotLikeTea).

2.4) Altitude should be an aspect of terrain, as in SMAC (JT).

2.5) Better resource seed, something more random than Civilization II without regular patterns (Rathenn).

2.6) There's potential for continental plates, but it would be hell to program (EnochF).

2.7) But some geological realism would be nice. Volcanoes and faults could be logically placed, and the Mid-Atlantic Ridge might make a nice geographical landmark (NotLikeTea).

2.8) Dynamic maps, global climactic change, rivers changing course, new resources uncovered, old resources peter out, areas get wetter or dryer, and all this reacts to the human interaction with the environment. Or the whole climate of the planet may change, temperatures rise or fall, humidity increase or decrease. All over the course of the game and very, very slow (DickK).

2.9) Also, random maps seem too random. Deserts don't occur in 1-2 square patches. Mountains should divide forests from plains. Terrain should be 3-D in the SMAC sense (DickK).

2.10) I want a round planet. Keep the square/diamond tiles. Less importantly, the computer could generate a tectonic plate map, with volcanic activity, etc. The player won't see the tectonic map until the proper technology is developed. Windward mountain or hill slopes are forested and receive +1 food and +1 shield (Theben).

2.11) Bigger maps, 1000 x 1000 (Harel).

3. THE GRAPHICS    TOP

3.1) Avoid terrain types that look alike. Make sure jungles don't look like forests. In SMAC, "rolling," "rocky" and "rainy" all tended to blend together (Eggman).

4. NEW IMPROVEMENTS    TOP

4.1) Build Canals. Upgrade Fortress (from Fort to Keep to Fortress to Castle/Base). Aqueduct as tile improvement: mountains with aqueducts generate +1 food. Naval Base, extends range of ships. Mountain Pass lowers movement cost, allows mounted units to cross a range (Theben).

4.2) Animal Farm, +1 food, +1 trade when you have discovered Fast Food and have a Free Market, as in SMAC social engineering (Kris Huysmans).

4.3) Agriculture improvements. Irrigation (+1 food, +2 for deserts), Fields (+1 food, +2 for plains), Farms (+1 food), Fertilized Crops (+1 food), Industrial Farm (+1 food). Transport improvements: Path (1/2 movement), Road (1/3 movement), Railroad (1/4 movement), Monorail (1/5 movement), no unlimited movement. Add deep-core mines to upgrade mines. Wall TI's, which can surround a city or a civilization (Harel).

4.4) National parks. Any tiles within your borders can be designated a national park (with an advance, say, Conservation). No roads may be built there or other improvements. There are benefits to the nearest city in gold and happiness. Moving units through national parks would cause unhappiness (Mzilikazi).

4.5) Those national park rules seem harsh (and unrealistic). Plus, you'd have to have roads there anyway (Theben).

5. NEW TERRAIN    TOP

5.1) Lush land, a rich form of plains, found around volcanoes or like in the Nile delta. Areas of nutrient-rich soil (Harel).

6. TILE ISSUES    TOP

6.1) Devolution of tiles: Tile improvements might degrade and disappear if not used. Archaeology as a science could uncover "ancient farms (BR). TI's should not be available on all terrain at the same time or cost. Roads on grassland is easy, but roads in forests, mountains and glaciers are different (Wheathin). Mines on hills before mines on mountains (NotLikeTea).

6.2) Maybe maintenance costs for TI's, higher costs the further away they are from a city (Wheathin).

6.3) Sources (iron, coal, uranium, oil): maybe a source must exist within your borders before you can utilize it; if you don't have it, you'll have to trade. Lack of resources might inhibit research (Theben).

6.4) Grasslands, plains and hills can always be irrigated unless adjacent to the leeward side of a mountain range. Desert, tundra and glacier cannot be irrigated unless there's a river in the square or contains a suitable resource (oasis, hot spring) or a certain level of technology has been reached. Jungles and swamps should have at least 1 production for available wood (Theben).

6.5) Mines should only get a bonus if there's a road connecting it to the city. Nearby tiles should affect one another. E.g., mines harm nearby farms, but increase productivity of nearby mines. Roads cannot be built on mountains until explosives or rivers until bridge building (Harel).

6.6) Less tile improvements are better than more. Keep things simple. Five different farming upgrades may be more realistic, but it adds little to the game, and it would get confusing. The graphics would have to be pretty distinctive (Eggman).

6.7) Irrigation: grassland and plains should always be irrigable, but never desert. If a river is over-irrigated, it might dry up. Transforming desert to plains or grassland should require maintenance over time (Theben).

7. GEOGRAPHICAL FEATURES    TOP

7.1) The player (or computer) should name geographical locations (Widowmaker).

7.2) Take each civilization's starting positions into account, so that the Nile will be near Egypt or the Andes Mountains near the Incas (Octopus).

7.3) Whoever is the first to discover a region gets to name it (Kmj).

7.4) Natural Wonders like in SMAC. Sahara Desert, Grand Canyon, the Nile, the Amazon, Everest or the Himalaya, the Marianas Trench, etc., could provide small bonuses (Eggman).

7.5) Major named features with unique benefits or penalties (DickK).

8. MILITARY:    TOP

8.1) Terrain should limit military movement. Some units get terrain bonuses for certain terrain, others will find certain terrain impassable. Mounted units, siege weapons can't move on mountains (Wheathin).

8.2) Armies should be vulnerable while crossing rivers (Russellw).

8.3) Forts on coasts can incorporate sea defenses or anti-aircraft capability. Important: extreme climate can damage units. Some units (chariots, tank) may not enter swamp or mountain without roads or mountain passes. Other units take damage as they move through swamp or desert or glacier. Some special units would have certain climate immunities (alpine in mountains & tundra, marines in jungle & swamp). Special units would be immune to movement penalties, but would not have road-bonus movement. Some units (explorer, partisan) are immune to all climates (Theben).

8.4) City squares should not receive defense bonuses for terrain. Cities are built on plains, near rivers or the sea. Fortresses are built in the mountains, but not cities (Alexander's Horse).

8.5) Cities do receive defense bonuses. Quebec, built on high ground, was nearly impossible to take (Eggman).

8.6) Nukes should not only pollute the city radius, but also destroy all tile improvements on the surrounding 8 squares (Wheathin).

8.7) Artillery, etc., can "bombard" tile improvements (Harel).

8.8) Certain improvements should be attackable with barrage or bombard from the sea or air. Railroads, canals and roads can be bombed; offshore platforms destroyed from the air (or by natural disaster). However, bombing farmland from the air would be ineffective; it requires a ground unit to pillage (Diodorus Sicilus).

9. RIVERS    TOP

9.1) Increase trade depending on number of cities upstream. Increase aqueduct, hydro power, sewer system effects for cities on rivers. Armies should be vulnerable while crossing rivers. Borders should tend to conform to rivers (Russellw).

9.2) More rivers. Maybe begin random map generator with river systems (EnochF).

9.3) Include a "head of navigation" point on a river. Between that point and the sea, cities receive a trade bonus, but above that point only defense. Canal building could push the head of navigation upward later in the game (Diodorus Sicilus).

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