So this is how I understand this works and what is tried to represent in the game:
- Rainforest is a term that comes from ecology and describes a type of ecosystem. Ecologically, there are different types of rainforests (moist, seasonal, cloud, temperate, tropical, etc), but the game doesn't make most of these distinctions.
- Jungle is a term that came to use in English from Indian languages, I'd presume from the time of British colonization of India. In these Indian languages it would simply be a synonym of rainforest, but in English the term was used to describe wild and inaccessible (forested) areas and to evoke a romanticist sense of mystery and adventure, but also of "primitiveness" (lands devoid of civilization).
In the past I remember we had some discussions in this forum about this. I think the jungle terrain and graphics are the ones originally in the game and rainforests were added later. As I understand, Leoreth decided to use the two terrain types to distinguish how some tropical rainforests were historically more populated than others. Ecologically, there is some correlation in that some old growth rainforests do have less soil fertility and some old world rainforests have disease vectors (malaria) that have made it difficult to have dense population (and agricultural production) in these areas. So jungle tiles represent rainforest regions that were less populated and the rainforest tiles represent rainforest regions that were more heavily populated (such as the Mayan, Congolese, and Indonesian cores). If you're looking for ideas on how to distinguish sounds between the two terrains... perhaps have more nature sounds in the jungle terrains and more people sounds in the rainforest terrains?
Secondly, I wanted to comment on the idea of differentiating conifer and deciduous forests. Generally, conifers have faster growth, so they are indeed better suited for the wood and paper industries. However, conifer trees also, generally, lead to less soil formation (soil is produced from decaying organic matter, such as leaves, that conifers don't shed many of). When conifer forests are cleared the soil can't sustain farming and the lands are used as pastures for grazing animals. In general terms and in comparison, deciduous trees generally grow slower, hence they are less used for the wood and paper industries, but they lead to more soil formation, so they are normally prime areas for clearance for farming (not for grazing). Perhaps that gives some ideas on how they could be used as different tile types?
. I assume that this all part of the new map, no one can download the new map right? Or you mean to say its also part of everyone else's file?
