Terrain type and topography should be changeable

[Arzack1112]

Considering the level of deforestation between the start date and the end date, the terrain type should be changeable

The US forest cover through time.

Also, the map topography should be changeable. During the game span, the earth topography changed quite a bit. An example would be that before 1480, Sri Lanka was connected to India

 

[NosgothKingdom]

I agree 100% on that, and it was a very big deal in terms of developing remote or sparsely habitated locations (clearing forests, marshes) such as the USA you mentioned. I honestly think it might be too much to expect for a 1.0. To be fair Johan already went over a lot of my expectations for a "Project Ceaser" game, so who knows, but it he does not add this at release I would totally understand.
The game is very complex with everything announced so far, I hope they do not "overextend" with features and then have a very hard time with balance, performance and UX at release. In Johan Al-Gaib we trust.

 

[Arzack1112]

You are right, I wouldn't be mad if it wasn't added.

 

[Ahnzel]

I saw a post of Johan saying that he will look for it depending if the source code allow for such change. Also It would be better if locations were divided into percentage like 70% forest /20% grassland/10% farmland rather than just "forest" "grassland" like it was 100% of or the other. It would allow for gradual and dynamic change. Making the game more "alive".

 

[ibvfteh]

Also, the map topography should be changeable. During the game span, the earth topography changed quite a bit. An example would be that before 1480, Sri Lanka was connected to India

Dutch conquering the sea must be the thing then!

 

[Álvaro Núñez de Lara]

Johan said if the development of technology allows it before release, "maybe".

 

[Eltener]

Terrain I could see. Topology maybe for bespoke parts of the map where they go out of their way to make a tiny seatile that suddenly switches to land and vice versa e.g. a tiny land province called Rama's Bridge that at some point converts into a seatile and pops/troops on it transfer to either of the nearby land provinces. But I can't see a more general mechanical way to model something like that within the confines of consumer hardware alongside the rest of the game.

That said I may be underestimating their ability to produce fast running models as Johan's previously mentioned that they built a surprisingly complex climate model with cloud formation and transfer modelling in HOI3.

 

[Lindaegan]

e.g. a tiny land province called Rama's Bridge that at some point converts into a seatile and pops/troops on it transfer to either of the nearby land provinces.

I mean as for this specifically it is not as though anyone was living on the bridge. It was hardly wide enough, nor stable enough to live on. And even to this day it is very difficult to cross from the Gulf of Mannar to the Palk Strait by ship; most (specifically, large shipping/trading vessels) would have to sail around Ceylon to get up to the Coromandel. Of course smaller fishing boats and dinghies would be fine to cross - this is how the lucrative pearl fisheries of the bay were plundered. But since these are not really representable in the game, I'd say that crossing should remain an impassable sea tile.

Unrelated, but I hope pearls are represented in some form in the game. The peoples living around the Mannar coast had been exporting fine pearls since even the days of the ancient Greeks (mentioned in, for example, Periplus of the Erythraean Sea).

 

[H.A.S.E.V.I.R.]

Climate is likely to change over time re little ice age & later recovery towards a more normal climate around 2200ish AD Also Sahara growing and other such responses to vegetation changes,

Topgraphy would be the one not really changeable until you have those gigantic meme machines of cutting off florida/åbo etc (ackshually a german coal digger). Or i guess Krakatoa, island goes poof! And a few other such.

Vegetation. Oh yes that one stands a good chance of being alterable. Iceland likely starting off forested but will become a arctic wet desert unless someone intervenes.

 

[Thorum]

Considering the level of deforestation between the start date and the end date, the terrain type should be changeable

The US forest cover through time.
View attachment 1123946

Also, the map topography should be changeable. During the game span, the earth topography changed quite a bit. An example would be that before 1480, Sri Lanka was connected to India

Isn't a big chunk of the difference because by 1650 the forest had had time to regrow after the European diseases killed most people there?

 

[William the Merry]

Isn't a big chunk of the difference because by 1650 the forest had had time to regrow after the European diseases killed most people there?

1850 will also have lots of mechanisation to lumber felling you wouldnt have in eu5's timeline

 

[Linbot#6018]

I saw a post of Johan saying that he will look for it depending if the source code allow for such change. Also It would be better if locations were divided into percentage like 70% forest /20% grassland/10% farmland rather than just "forest" "grassland" like it was 100% of or the other. It would allow for gradual and dynamic change. Making the game more "alive".

I think the size of the locations in the new game is small enough for this to not necessarily be so important, though it could definitely have uses.

 

[Ahnzel]

I think the size of the locations in the new game is small enough for this to not necessarily be so important, though it could definitely have uses.

Yes it's not a absolute necessity but it would add a bit of depth to the game

 

[Johan]

Vegetation is a maybe if the tech can be improved.

 

[PalmanusBraht]

honestly even if it was scripted and expected to happen it would add depth to the game and make playing around these changes an exciting challenge.

 

[Jia Xu]

Sri Lanka losing the land connection to India would be kinda neat

 

[honkajoki]

Wonder if the tectonic uplift, land rising after having been pushed down by the ice of ice age, is significant enough to be a thing. It's visible in the Northern Baltic region, eg in Finland the castles of Turku (Åbo) from 13th century and Raasepori (Raseborg) from 14th century were build on islands, and lost their meaning as coastal forts sometime between 15th and 17th century as the land rising had "moved" them too far inland. Sadly I can't name similar castles in Sweden, I assume there would be some.

 

[Nwaij]

honestly even if it was scripted and expected to happen it would add depth to the game and make playing around these changes an exciting challenge.

Reward for missions in specific mission trees!
/runs for cover

 

[Kovax]

Sri Lanka losing the land connection to India would be kinda neat

This could be represented by the removal of a strait (editing out the connection between two provinces), rather than the change of a province from land to sea. Nations in the local region and coastal nations in nearby regions could receive a notification that the land bridge has become impassable. Anyone else would have to view the sea tile to see that the connection was gone.

Having forest as a variable in a province allows it to be gradually or rapidly increased, decreased, or even eliminated over the course of the game, instead of flipping the province from 100% of one type to 100% of another. Keying the graphic to show the highest percentage type of terrain should be doable, so the deforestation of a province over the course of a century, or the regrowth of forests in a depopulated region, can be depicted.

 

[Lindaegan]

This could be represented by the removal of a strait (editing out the connection between two provinces), rather than the change of a province from land to sea. Nations in the local region and coastal nations in nearby regions could receive a notification that the land bridge has become impassable. Anyone else would have to view the sea tile to see that the connection was gone.

To be fair, the land bridge was never passable by armies. The Thiruvalangadu copper plates, describing the Chola invasion of Anuradhapura at the turning of the first millennium state:

Rama built with the aid of monkeys, a causeway across the sea, and then with great difficulties defeated the king of Lanka by means of sharp edged arrows. But Rama was excelled by this king whose powerful army crossed the ocean by ships and burnt up the king of Lanka.

The clear implication here is that they did not do so by traipsing over it. Individual people may have certainly crossed over, but to take tens of thousands of men, along with camp followers, horses, and a baggage train is an asinine idea.

Even after the land bridge collapses, the bridge should represent an impassable sea-tile. I explicated my reasoning for this here, on this very thread, apparently. Suffice it to say that even to this day it is but a meter deep.