12-05-2001 03:23									#1
	The Landscape - A Final Plea Tired of ads?

Apparently since Firaxis has given us screen shots of the map on their website the graphics are near finished. They look nice. Certainly crisp and a lot brighter than that of SMAC. No complaints there.

But I would still just like to make a final plea that the landscape should not be flat but have the rolling hills of SMAC. I found this a fantastic addition to the game and hoped to see it in Civ III. I still look forward to charging down a hill with a horseman into Rome. Unfortunately it appears that such a wish will not be fulfilled. I know others feel the same way, please Firaxis, do not give us a flat map!

	12-05-2001 04:51									#2
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noo that was a cheasy effect keep flat.. the mountains look good dont change it

	12-05-2001 05:02									#3
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I didn't like the big rolling hills of SMAC but I think they should use some degree of it in civ3. A 3D map with just slightly oversized hills and mountains. I cant see why they haven't done this or at least a version of it. It's only a "board" game it cvertasinly wouldn't be as hard as making a 3D map on a globe (I know)

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	12-05-2001 07:11									#5
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Deep ocean should be a tad darker than aqua blue. The continental shelf (nice touch ) looks ankle-deep, while deep water looks like the deep end of an olympic pool.

The colour seems right, but the shade is just too light! You're supposed to look upon the ancient seas as sinister and foreboding. You know, full of deadly giant sea creatures and the very real possibility of the end of the earth just over the horizon!! This doesn't look dangerous in the remotest sense. I've swum in backyard pools murkier than the entire oceans in Civ3!!

	12-05-2001 17:38									#7
	Lose 30 kilos (of popups)

One thing I DON'T like about the landscape, is the sort of green color of the sea; The sea should be dark blue, no question about it.
And also, the forests look a bit blurry.

Otherwise it looks pretty good.

	12-05-2001 17:56									#8
	Support Apolyton, buy GURPS/ Alpha Centauri

i think it would be cool if the seas were different colors in different seas like lets have the mediteranean sea be light blue green and atlantic ocean be dark blue. being able to sea waves that are animate and have your city be hit by huricanes as well as other storms would be nice..

	12-05-2001 23:10									#11
	Suffering from ads?

Overall the game looks great, but I'm not very impressed with the landscape tiles. The forests look terrible, like a smudge of green. The units and cities look very nice, but the coast is too much 'beach'. Like someone else suggested, hills, forests and mountains should descend right into the sea to make the continents look more realistic.

Make the landscape look like Age of Empires (not a game I like, but the graphics look great).

This may be impossible to do in practise, but it might be nice if the landscape was in between the 3D rolling hills of SMAC but the current screenshots. The may 11 screenshots look a little too flat, with mountains and hills just popping out of nowhere.

And how about a varying the landscape with plateaus?

Looks good nonetheless.

	12-05-2001 23:27									#12
	Get a bigger avatar today!

I'm confused accordig to the civ team interview in the official civIII site the terrain wasnt going to be flat at all and this is not what we have seen from the screenshots.

	13-05-2001 00:07									#13
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No, the map should stay flat. I didn't even like it in SMAC, except for landmarks. However Ralf's idea about having very slight increases/decreases to note elevation might help- those mountains do seem to be coming up out of nowhere.

BTW does this mean that they're still using the "patchwork" map generator? The screenshots seem to say so. I was kinda hoping that the maps would flow together a bit better, and not have desert here, jungle & swamp next to it, then some grassland and 1 or 2 tundra...

Firaxis, x2 check the climate model from the List!!

	13-05-2001 00:08									#14
	Tired of ads?

Can someone tell me what the green, blue, grey dots on the map are? It seems like there is one grey dot for each desert square, two green dots for the grassland squares, ... Does it mean something? If it doesn't, I think the map would look better without those dots. What do you think?

Just one last thing ... the sceenshots are maybe too yellowish? The ocean should definitely be dark blue, or at least blue.

Otherwise, I like what I've seen!

	13-05-2001 00:46									#15
	Support Apolyton, buy Call to Power 2

Is it me or is that small city with a warrior in it a MINOR TRIBE??
its in the bottomish left of the map with Rome in it.. or maybe its a
colony to collect remote resources.. it dosen't have any bourders i think so maybe its a minor.

AdmiralPete

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	13-05-2001 14:46									#17
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I dunno how much this matches with you all guys but:
-There should be 3 levels(3 maps)


Deep sea: supports deep ocean where subs can swim unnoticed.

Midland: supports ALL land terrain, shallow sea and top of deep sea.
Subs can swim surfaced and small Planes can land(if out of fuel)so
that a special refuelling unit can reach them(flat terrain only)

High Air: Supports sky terrain, which can be acsessed by planes/heli's
that have taken off. Planes should have 1 turn of fuel (unless
turns will be divided into days and hours )

You should be able to see through high air and through the surface of deep ocean when 1 of the modes is on.

Note: I think this is the ONLY way to ACTUALLY solve the SUB problem where you cant swim over them(and walk under aircraft.

	14-05-2001 00:51									#19
	Full PM-box? Change here!

I undertand your disgust with the SMAC maps, but I don't think it was due to elevation but instead to color choices. Despite this I can live without major elevation shifs. Just give us something.

I would agree with Ralf's slight shifts. All I know is that looking at the current maps I see a flat surface that is not much of an improvement over Civ I or II. I really want more to see on the screen in terms of how the world comes alive.