[Freeciv-Dev] Re: (PR#9709)

["Jason Short" <jshort@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

<URL: http://rt.freeciv.org/Ticket/Display.html?id=9709 >

> 

> <URL: http://rt.freeciv.org/Ticket/Display.html?id=9709 >
> 
> Hi, I am working in mapgen and continent structures and i think this: 1) 
> terraforming ocean <-> land as to be allowed only it not join 2 separate 
> continent or not split 2 ones. and if this not make a small isle a big one
> or viseversa (see 2). The some for oceans.
> 
> This is not a big limit and is safe to avoid big changes in continental 
> structure of map

I don't like it.  It is an arbitrary restriction (from players' point of view) 
and really reduces most of the point of sea=>land conversion.

> 2) Second all small island in a some ocean as to be count as in the some 
> continents for wonders as has a continental effect.
> 
> and the some for all small oceans in a some continent (if exist) (now 
> there are not oceans cities and small ocean are cleaned by my last 
> improvement of generator1 and 5, then this only hypotetical).
> 
> I will made patches in these sence but i ask for your aproval.

But here I think we are moving toward something worthwhile.  I think we should 
drop the restriction that all adjacent tiles must be of the same continent.  
Tiles should never have their continent changed after the game is started.  And 
tiles in ocean may be considered to be part of the same continent as tiles in 
land.  Meantime we will need a new concept of "landmass" that the AI can use 
(since it relies on the continent number to determine the connectivity of 
tiles).

I think this will improve both realism and gameplay.

Realism: Consider an Earth scenario.  North and South America should be 
separate continents even though they border each other.  Same with 
Europe/Asia/Africa.  Meanwhile all small islands are part of a larger 
continent, not their own continent.  The Gulf of Mexico would probably be 
considered to be part of North America.  But if someone were to build a land 
bridge from North America to Europe one would draw the line somewhere and call 
it the border of the two continents.  (Having an Earth scenario behave like 
people would expect it to is a worthwhile type of realism IMO.)

Gameplay: building land bridges to enhance the effect of continent-only wonders 
will no longer work.  Good, I say.  And small islands adjacent to large 
continents with continent-only wonders may be affected by those wonders.

Thoughts?

jason