Special Terrain Features

0.255 11/2/2009

Special terrain features on the game map include 'goodie huts', shards, creature dwellings, and resource tiles. Each special feature takes up an entire tile (four squares, in a two-by-two configuration).

Keep for testing purposes

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Natural Terrain Features

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The most basic special terrain features are natural terrain features which affect the movement of units passing through tiles containing that terrain type.

Mountains Mountains are impassable. Cities cannot construct buildings on tiles containing mountains.

Forests At this point, units seem to move the same rate through forests as through plains. Cities can also be constructed in forests, if you wish. It is not clear what bonuses or penalties this confers. Forests are used to harvest lumber by constructing a lumber mill.

Rivers Rivers seem to have been removed from the game, for the moment.

Goodie Huts

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Goodie huts grant bonuses to the first player to enter the tile. These bonuses include resources, items, and stat increases. After granting its bonus, the goodie hut disappears. Goodie huts come in a variety of forms and their names are randomized.

Trivia: The name 'goodie hut' comes from the Civilization series, in which players could enter tiles containing barbarian settlements — which took the appearance of huts — to accrue bonuses.

Goodie Hut Events

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These are the possible things that can happen when a unit lands on the same tile as a goodie hut. They are randomized, but some types of hut produce some events more often than others:

Found Gold

Your empire can recieve a random amount of gold.

Healing Nectar

The unit that "lands" on the tile is given one Healing Nectar item.

Band Of Fortitude

The unit that "lands" on this tile is given one Band Of Fortitude item.

City Revealed

A random undiscovered "enemy" city will be revealed on the map, but only for the faction who's owner finds the hut.

Shards

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Channelers acquire mana by building temples on tiles containing shards. Each temple produces mana according to the type of shard upon which it is built. (eg. An earth shard produces earth mana; an air shard, air mana.) In order to build a temple, a player must own a city adjacent to that shard and that city must be able to build four additional buildings in a two-by-two configuration. Note that the current build does not allow players to spend mana acquired by building temples.

Earth Shard

Air Shard

Fire Shard

Water Shard

Creature Dwellings

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Creature dwellings spawn neutral creatures ('creeps') up to a set maximum. If creeps belonging to the dwelling are killed, the dwelling will replace them the next turn. Entering the tile containing the dwelling removes the dwelling, preventing the spawn of further creeps and gives a bonus to the player who owns the unit entering the tile. Creeps remain within a set distance of their dwelling. If the dwelling is destroyed, their movement is no longer constrained.

Ominous Spiderweb Ominous spiderwebs spawn black widows and black widow leaders, weak combat creatures. They spawn a maximum of two black widows.

Troll Pass Troll passes spawn trolls and troll leaders, medium combat creatures. They spawn a maximum of one troll and one troll leader: the troll roams in the general area (less than approximately 7 tiles), while the troll leader remains directly on top of the pass. Note that entering the tile containing a troll pass does not remove the pass graphically (although it does render it incapable of producing new trolls). The first unit to enter the tile also recieves a Band of Might.

Swamp Bandit's Lair These objects always appear in the center of 10-tile-wide squares of yellow terrain, and there is usually a Swamp Bandit's Army nearby. When a unit lands on this tile, a random undiscovered city is revealed to the faction. Although the graphic and yellow terrain persist after using the object, it can only be used once.

Resource Tiles

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Resource tiles are tiles, which — like shards — can be improved by the player to provide resources of a certain type. In order to build these resources you must control the land around them, making them valuable strategic points in the map also making your zone of influence much more important.

Fertile Land Fertile land can be improved with a farm. Once built, the farm provides food. You must research Civilization up to the point of Farming to be able to construct a farm to exploit this resource. Fertile Land provides 20 food with a farm constructed on it.

Wild Wheat Wild Wheat provides more food than fertile land, but is more rare.

Twilight Bees Twilight Bees also provide more food than fertile land, but are more rare. Farming must be researched up to Apiary to be able to build the necessary improvement to exploit this resource. Twilight Bees provide 40 food with an Apiary constructed on them.

Iron Ore Iron ore is used to create metal weapons of various types. It requires you to research Civilization up to Mining to be able to construct a mine to exploit it. Iron ore provides 5 iron with a mine constructed on it.

Stone Pit Presumably provides stones for some use. However at this point you cannot research the necessary building to exploit the resource, so it is not useful.

Old Growth Forest These Forests survived the Cataclysm and provide 2 lumber with a mill constructed on them.

Lost Library

This kind of library provides research points per turn (Techs).

Arcane Library

This library provides arcane knowledge per turn (Spells).

Other

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Other special locations include shrines which grant one-time bonuses to the first unit which enters the tile in which that shrine is located.

Fountain of the Great Dragon Dragon fountains reveal the location of a random soverign to the faction who's unit enters the tile first. After being used, the fountain will remain on the map, but will no longer be usable. The tiles immediately surrounding the fountain are also considered "replenished" land. Cities built on replenished land do not require essence from the sovereign when founded.