Can't figure this out - help!

[TETurkhan]

Been designing a world map, but I have one main problem. In Civ2, a ship could pass between two land squares as long as there was water on the other side. However in Civ3 this cannot be done, unless you have a city in which case the ship goes through the city to get through. The problem I am experiencing is that areas such as Straits of Gibraltar, Hormuz and the Bosporus, it is hard to make the land mass close without blocking it off to ships. I know in the course of the game a player could build a city in those locations and thereby eliminate this problem. But what if this doesn’t happen? Then you have huge areas of sea like the Mediterranean that are land locked.

The only solutions I can think of are:

1- Create more space between these places, it might not look right but it’s a solution.
2- Maybe the game could have some sort of Strait Complex, Canal system or something? Engineers are able to build canals, like the Suez and Panama Canals. This would be a great new feature.
3- Reverse the ability of the units. Currently a sea unit cannot cross between two land squares with ocean on the other side, where the land unit can cross even though there are two sea squares on either side. Reversing this ability of this would do away with the problem.

These were some ideas I came up with to solve it. Any input is appreciated.

Thanks

 

[Ozymandius]

In Alpha Centauri there were terrain modifiers ie engineers.
Canals have been with us for thousands of years. Firaxis should have included this option ie Erie Canal, Welland Canal, Panama etc.

 

[TETurkhan]

another annoying problem, when ever you change the terrain it changes the size and shape of the land square... somtimes this really messes up the map, especially in places where there are canals, islands etc...

wonder if the new editor will address this also?