[Freeciv-Dev] Re: (PR#12806) idea: harsh climate generator

["Jason Short" <jdorje@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

<URL: http://bugs.freeciv.org/Ticket/Display.html?id=12806 >

Brian Dunstan wrote:
> <URL: http://bugs.freeciv.org/Ticket/Display.html?id=12806 >
> 
> I have noticed that even with extreme settings e.g.
> temperature=0, you do not get extreme results with the
> terrain generator.  I am sure this is by design, but
> some users may want to create an ice planet, or desert
> planet, perhaps for a scenario.

It's not really by design I think.  I comes from relatively little 
playtesting of the controls, as well as the fact that a few controls are 
being used to influence a large number of variables.  I would think that 
with a temperature of 0 the map should be a snowball.

> The attached patch adds a setting (under 'rare'),
> harshclimate, that will take the climate settings
> literally.  Literally meaning, no hills when steepness
> is zero, no deserts when wetness is 100, etc.

Interesting idea.  Is there a way to get this behavior without adding a 
new setting?  It's okay that a steepness of 0 gives no hills; we can 
change the scale of the current settings so long as their basic meanings 
remain intact.

> Also: I have noticed that sometimes the river
> generator will move a river from a non-hill square
> (e.g. jungle), to a hill sqare, and then off again. 
> This seems to defy common sense.  I think it is
> because the height map views the river as moving from
> a high-elevation jungle, to a lower elevation hill, to
> still lower elevation.  It still looks very odd
> however.  I am wondering if this behavior is unwelcome
> (i.e. should I bother making a patch for it)

Yes, I'm sure that's the problem.  But what would you do about it?  All 
you could really do is change the hill to be a non-hill.  Note that 
river+hill is one of the best terrains.

-jason