forest & landscape

[sengfossil]

hallo everybody,

perhaps it was mentioned before, however I used the search and found nothing:
I'm totally disapointed from the fact, that the game concept forces everybody to clear the forest. For my feeling the landscape turns into a boring landscape. Even in real live I enjoy forest.
When I set workers to automate, they simply clean all up. That might be welcome with waste or dschungel, but a world only made with plain fields doesn't look good.
In modern times, I suggest a cultural value to forest with happier city people. Additional a bonus on nature ressources (f.e. wood). In fact, today a highly developed agriculture doesn't need lots of fields. (in Europe, farmers can get paid to do not cultivate their fields) Lots of efforts are done in modern times to save nature, even dschungel areas are protected.

I believe, the game could win with this. You have new tasks for landscape modifikation in modern times and the view to the map isn't that boring.
What do you think?

 

[Spatula]

I think things should be set so that there is no difference (in benefits) between having a forest and grassland. I also think there should be a link to forests and global warming and whatever pollution will be in Civ 4 (forests/jungles should account for the same 'value' in any such link because jungles are much more useless than forests).

 

[brinko]

i think there should be awards and or benifiets for replanting forrests, and jungles. there should be a way to deem large forrests, national parks. and maybe there should be a contest in the game for civopediea for largest national park.

 

[teccuk]

Couldnt agree more, i hate having to drain wetlands and clear all my forests! National parks would be cool.

 

[Aussie_Lurker]

Simple. First Jungles and Forest would have a NEGATIVE pollution rating. This means that every tile you have that is forested or under jungle will reduce the pollution produced by nearby cities AND by the nation as a whole. Secondly, at some point in the game, forests and jungles can generate culture and additional wealth for your nation based on how old they are, to reflect the national heritage value, and tourist value, associated with your old-growth forests and Rainforests/Jungles-wealth which can be increased more if you build a 'National Parks and Wildlife' small wonder. Thirdly, after jungle is removed from a tile, said tile should go from grasslands, to plains and then possibly even to 'light' desert.
Fourthly, it should be possible to 'mine' the forest, and possibly jungle as well-after a fashion-to represent the construction of sustainable logging coupes. These should not be as productive as REAL mines, but should be good enough to discourage players from taking the short-cut road of clearfelling (i.e. harvesting your forest for X shields). Lastly, after the discovery of Scientific method, jungles and-to a lesser extent-forests should give a bonus to your Medical and General science research stream.

Yours,
Aussie_Lurker.

 

[sengfossil]

Well that might work. Good ideas, Aussie

At the end it could help to make the new age looking not so stupid: no forests at all, each sqare is structured by railroads. Awfull!

It should be necessary for the new age time to keep for each city som forest/jungle, because it reduces pollution and gains culture value and perhaps it makes people happier (they have some recreation factor)

I believe that in modern times no city technology building can stop the pollution effect without forests. On the other hand, 2-3 sqares farm land schould produce enought food for growing, perhaps after some technology upgrades of the farmland (Civ1 had that)

 

[Darwin420]

Very good ideas. It would be nice if forests and jungles (and deserts, too!) expanded and contracted every couple centuries (by only a tile or two each time). It would realistically capture this dynamic thing we call "Earth"

 

[thescaryworker]

What if you planted forests next to deserts ... maybe it could eventually make the desert shrink due to the increased rainfall. Also, if rainfall increases, it has to decrease in another place or make tundra turn into plains or grassland.

What if there was a tech that increased the food you got from forests or jungles?

 

[sengfossil]

@thescaryworker, Darwin420,

nice ideas too.
dynamic terraforming could be a task for modern age to figtht the partly boring modern age gameplay.