btw, Doomdark...ever play Seven Kingdoms 2?
Oh yes. It is a nice little game, although I guess I played the first one so much that the sequel felt stale. Same thing happened with Heroes of Might and Magic. I played the first two until my eyes bled, but the third could not capture my interest.
Speaking of SMAC; if you want to play a really good turn based game I can recommend Age of Wonders or good old Master of Orion 2.
As for terrain effects, I must say that I am also very curious. I've not got a real answer to that although I am pretty sure that the terrain
does have an effect.
/Doomie