LeonardoDFinchy
Chieftain
- Joined
- Mar 3, 2010
- Messages
- 24
Have you ever thought that... ah, screw it. The intro I had planned was too verbose. To business.
The Mechanics
Firstly, terrain should 'bleed'. That is, the borders between the various biomes should not stay static. Deserts can grow like forests, forests can drive it back, the tundra can grow or recede, things like that. Improvements and features should affect this. Intense farming next to a desert should grow it faster, the Seven Pines should encourage forests to grow, Ice Mana should chill the lands around.
Second, more terrain. Rather than Wetland->Wasteland with ->Glacial sprouting off, have two full axes of Temperature and Humidity, and 'corner' terrains.
Third, more gradual hell. I propose three layers. The first layer represents your standard 'evil kingdom', with thorns, swamps, wild monsters etc. The extreme terrains are unaffected at this level. The second layer represents hell terrains as we've come to understand it. Then the third layer goes one step further, to the actual destruction of erebus itself. The familiar idea of terrain disappears to be replaced with the abyss, with only the most extreme concepts surviving; Erebus reduced to it's base components.
Fourth, to balance hell, heaven. Similar to hell, there are three layers, as 'corruption' is expelled from the land. Early on, heaven represents the 'good kingdom', clear streams, flowing grassy meadows, and sunshine. The second layer sees the land becoming idealised, halfway between dream and reality. Finally, the land is pure, and ordered, but monochrome, where all dissenting ideas cease to exist, giving way to the aether.
Fifth, all of the above are affected by concious action. Buildings, spells, the mere presence of certain units, all slowly but surely affect the world around them. Shrines to deities, elemental spells, and acts of good and evil all bend the fabric of reality by their effects.
The Reasons
Basically, in Erebus as I see it, there is a disjoint between the three methods of terraforming: passive, forced, and hell. Passive terraforming adheres strictly to cultural borders, allowing such strange things as a jungle in the middle of the ice cap, and vice versa. Forced terraforming (achieved through spells) is too instant and too powerful. Hell terrain then only spreads once the Infernal are summoned, and again sticks to cultural borders.
I sorta want to bring the three in line, and the above mechanics are how I want to do it. Spells, buildings, units, actions, and alignment all cause the land to change at their location (possibly the palace for alignment and events), but these effects spread out into the world, ignorant of whether the folk in a tile prefer one civilisation over another. Scorch, Vitalise, and Spring now slowly change not only the tile they are on, but also the land around them, to no certain distance, eventually shifting the whole of Erebus to their respective terrain. The only limit is how many magic users you can devote to the task (or how much mana, when the magic changes come around), and the strength of opposing or neutralising forces at work.
The terraforming civs will no longer be able to create their personal paradises without committing some resources to the job, but by focusing on this ability by deploying mages and buildings, the effects will extend beyond their borders and encroach on other lands. Other civs may then be given these powers to lesser extents, and in the form of side-effects. Want that power plant? Are you sure you can afford the environmental damage?
All of this can then be applied to the Heaven/Hell axis I plan on introducing. The Sheiam can begin the process of destruction long before the founding of the Veil, and the Elohim can start constructing holy wards to reinforce their sanctuary. Both will be limited by the AC; Heaven may be desirable, but it can only be achieved by expelling part of what makes Erebus what it is. Go too far, and destruction becomes ever more likely.
The expansion of terrain types also opens the door all sorts of new stuff. Different animals spawning on different terrain, new bonuses, etc. But all that will come later.
I don't expect this to come about with my say-so. I plan on doing this myself. I'm currently waiting on the 1.31 dll files, so in the mean time I want to gauge opinions and get some feedback on the idea. There's also a question I want to asking the modding community: Should I track climate effects, or mana levels? While it'd be simpler to assign hot/cold, wet/dry, heaven/hell effects to spells, buildings, and whatever, assigning them passive mana effects allows this idea to spread further. For example, when magic changes come in with 1.4 (IIRC), a strong 'mana field' in an area could reduce costs of aligned spells, and increase costs of opposing spells. A mage stood on top of a fire node, could, for example, cast cheaper fireballs. Affinity for certain types could power up or down some units, too. What do you think?
I look forward to your ideas. Oh, and an outline for the terrain is below.
The Mechanics
Firstly, terrain should 'bleed'. That is, the borders between the various biomes should not stay static. Deserts can grow like forests, forests can drive it back, the tundra can grow or recede, things like that. Improvements and features should affect this. Intense farming next to a desert should grow it faster, the Seven Pines should encourage forests to grow, Ice Mana should chill the lands around.
Second, more terrain. Rather than Wetland->Wasteland with ->Glacial sprouting off, have two full axes of Temperature and Humidity, and 'corner' terrains.
Third, more gradual hell. I propose three layers. The first layer represents your standard 'evil kingdom', with thorns, swamps, wild monsters etc. The extreme terrains are unaffected at this level. The second layer represents hell terrains as we've come to understand it. Then the third layer goes one step further, to the actual destruction of erebus itself. The familiar idea of terrain disappears to be replaced with the abyss, with only the most extreme concepts surviving; Erebus reduced to it's base components.
Fourth, to balance hell, heaven. Similar to hell, there are three layers, as 'corruption' is expelled from the land. Early on, heaven represents the 'good kingdom', clear streams, flowing grassy meadows, and sunshine. The second layer sees the land becoming idealised, halfway between dream and reality. Finally, the land is pure, and ordered, but monochrome, where all dissenting ideas cease to exist, giving way to the aether.
Fifth, all of the above are affected by concious action. Buildings, spells, the mere presence of certain units, all slowly but surely affect the world around them. Shrines to deities, elemental spells, and acts of good and evil all bend the fabric of reality by their effects.
The Reasons
Basically, in Erebus as I see it, there is a disjoint between the three methods of terraforming: passive, forced, and hell. Passive terraforming adheres strictly to cultural borders, allowing such strange things as a jungle in the middle of the ice cap, and vice versa. Forced terraforming (achieved through spells) is too instant and too powerful. Hell terrain then only spreads once the Infernal are summoned, and again sticks to cultural borders.
I sorta want to bring the three in line, and the above mechanics are how I want to do it. Spells, buildings, units, actions, and alignment all cause the land to change at their location (possibly the palace for alignment and events), but these effects spread out into the world, ignorant of whether the folk in a tile prefer one civilisation over another. Scorch, Vitalise, and Spring now slowly change not only the tile they are on, but also the land around them, to no certain distance, eventually shifting the whole of Erebus to their respective terrain. The only limit is how many magic users you can devote to the task (or how much mana, when the magic changes come around), and the strength of opposing or neutralising forces at work.
The terraforming civs will no longer be able to create their personal paradises without committing some resources to the job, but by focusing on this ability by deploying mages and buildings, the effects will extend beyond their borders and encroach on other lands. Other civs may then be given these powers to lesser extents, and in the form of side-effects. Want that power plant? Are you sure you can afford the environmental damage?
All of this can then be applied to the Heaven/Hell axis I plan on introducing. The Sheiam can begin the process of destruction long before the founding of the Veil, and the Elohim can start constructing holy wards to reinforce their sanctuary. Both will be limited by the AC; Heaven may be desirable, but it can only be achieved by expelling part of what makes Erebus what it is. Go too far, and destruction becomes ever more likely.
The expansion of terrain types also opens the door all sorts of new stuff. Different animals spawning on different terrain, new bonuses, etc. But all that will come later.
I don't expect this to come about with my say-so. I plan on doing this myself. I'm currently waiting on the 1.31 dll files, so in the mean time I want to gauge opinions and get some feedback on the idea. There's also a question I want to asking the modding community: Should I track climate effects, or mana levels? While it'd be simpler to assign hot/cold, wet/dry, heaven/hell effects to spells, buildings, and whatever, assigning them passive mana effects allows this idea to spread further. For example, when magic changes come in with 1.4 (IIRC), a strong 'mana field' in an area could reduce costs of aligned spells, and increase costs of opposing spells. A mage stood on top of a fire node, could, for example, cast cheaper fireballs. Affinity for certain types could power up or down some units, too. What do you think?
I look forward to your ideas. Oh, and an outline for the terrain is below.
