The importance of Exploration

[To_Serve_Man]

On Exploration

I feel that with the new trade and resource system that is being planned for Civ3, will make exploration its own reward like Captian said. A player will need to explore to find new resources, like more coal, silk, wine(grapes), coffee beans, ect. Thus, the need for colonies. And if a player finds another civilization, exploration opens trade.

So by exploring, you gain more resources. By gaining more resources, you can produce more and in the case of 'Luxuary' resources, your culture/border will increase.

[Grumbold]

I certainly never need an incentive to explore my own continent but the occasional hut was nice. Venturing overseas (assuming I am not living on a tiny island) I leave until much later. Finding unique features would just be a nice bonus to add character to a map as long as you didn't get a Niagra or Amazon in every game.

[MrFun]

I enjoy exploring as it is in the previous Civ titles.

Let's see -- is this a peninsula or an island?

Is this shore on my continent an ocean, an inland sea, or a lake?

How large is this mountain chain -- is there a fertile valley nestled in it? Are there any important choke points?

Where does this desert end? Is there ANY place where there is viable resources?

I use my imagination when I explore.

[Urban Ranger]

I don't think exploration should yield extra bonuses as well, other than the usual huts. It's nice if a player can name a terrain feature, but that's just chrome with no actual effects on the game.

While we are on the subject, I think that a civ wouldn't be able to make a permanent record of its surroundings before finding Mapmaking. So in effect the features of explored areas slowly change over time until Mapmaking comes along. This would be a nice touch and an added incentive for getting the advance.

Of course a civ will know accurately what's within it's borders and inside the field of vision of its units.

[Pilfur]

I think having natural wonders on the map would be a great idea. Picture a niagra falls exploitable for its power generation or a mount everest or grand canyon just for the eye candy alone.

[Geoff the Medio]

In my opinion, one thing that needs to be changed from SMAC is the frequency at which other Civs/Factions offer to trade you maps of the other Civ's/Faction's territory. I don't remember if or how often this happened in Civ II, but it seems like something that might be included in Civ III with the goal of expanding the diplomacy sytem. I mention this because, especially in my most recent game, I explored my own continent, then contacted another faction when they landed near one of my bases, and from that one contact, I was able to fairly quickly trade for all the other factions' comm frequencies and territory maps. No actual exploration was required, and in retrospect, I missed it.

I realize I could simply not trade for the maps, but that seems somewhat artificial/silly while actually playing... and it doesn't really make sense strategically.

[Nemesis of the North]

Yes, finding the Niagara Falls would be great ... if they only were more than 15-20 pixels tall. That is the problem of implementing natural wonders in the game - the tiles aren't large enough (and I hope they will stay small to ease navigation)

*speaks to himself* Maybe a popup-window could do it, no...

All in all I feel landmarks could be a great feature, if only they don't affect normal gameplay

Nemesis