Terra-Forming?

[Conan]

Hi,

It does not appear that Terra-Forming is an option anymore in the CIV3 (versus CIV2). For me, Terra-Forming was a VERY
cool option in CIV2.

It appears that Sid wanted to make this a "realistic" as possible. Terra Forming IS realistic in a modern era, or even on a limited basis in the Middle Ages.

This is one of many omissions I do not like. Not to say I do not like the game, but Sid should have taken a poll or something on what is popular and what is not. I like Elite status addition and also the Bombardment is realistic. Pollution really stinks (no pun).

 

[Soufie77]

I agree. Terraforming needs to be implemented again if we're to enjoy any sense of permanence in building a great empire. This was a crucial idea to the staying power of the earlier civs because of the guarantee that established civs could be made even better in the future. Now, once the zenith of civilisation is reached, there is nothing but progressive decline due to global warming. Why?

 

[amadeus]

I agree. Terraforming was a very nice aspect of the game.

 

[Flavor Dave]

By itself, the lack of terraforming is a problem. But add in the crappy maps you keep getting, well, the terrain around where you start is just way, way too important in the game. Because in Civ 2, if you had lousy terrain, you could try to scrape by as a smaller civ, be more perfectionist, then reshape your terrain with engineers. But now, lousy terrain is REALLY lousy, and you can't reshape it later in the game.

 

[Conan]

Terra-Forming (or lack thereof):

I wonder if options like this can be added as a patch.
Maybe it cannot because it would affect the base game
engine, which is not changeable.

The other downfall to "No Terra-Forming" is that any part of
your Civ that doesn't have fresh water because of a single mountain interposes itself, is basically limited in growth until
a new tech is discovered (forgot which, but it is later tech).

I'd think that you could destroy a mountain and level it. Maybe
you would be left with a plain, maybe that is polluted or something. I liked the old option of Terra-Forming that you could actually uncover new bonus resources after Terra-Forming.
I think this ocurred didn't it? It might have actually been a discovery that allowed a new resource to be viewed.

 

[Akka]

Originally posted by Conan
Terra-Forming (or lack thereof):

I wonder if options like this can be added as a patch.
Maybe it cannot because it would affect the base game
engine, which is not changeable.

It would not affect the base game engine. Pollution already has the ability to change the base terrain, so terraforming would be extremely easy to integrate. But they thought that it was not even deserving a game editor option. Well, perhaps in the next patch...