Why do 'terraforming candidates' more easily terraform to hot, than temperate/cold?

[TehJumpingJawa]

Terraforming candidates are Barren worlds.
"Barren and rocky world with a thin or non-existent atmosphere....."

They cost 5k energy to terraform to Hot climates (Arid/Desert/Savannah)
10k to temperate climates (Continental/Ocean/Tropical)
and 15k to cold climates (Alpine/Arctic/Tundra).

As climates are, as far as I'm aware, equivalent in all other respects; doesn't this inequality make hot climates an objectively better pick?

This discussion is independent of whatever fluff behind terraforming one might invent.
Though if you were to do so, I'd imagine cold climates to be the easier to attain terraforming target, not hot!

 

[tobias.mb]

You are mistaken. There are 2 types of barren worlds, and they come in 2 color schemes: red-ish and blue-ish.
The red ones terraform (like you said) easier into hot worlds, but the blue ones are the other way round and terraform easier into cold worlds.

The only imbalanced part is the tactical terraforming anomaly, that always results in arid worlds.

 

[TehJumpingJawa]

You are mistaken. There are 2 types of barren worlds, and they come in 2 color schemes: red-ish and blue-ish.
The red ones terraform (like you said) easier into hot worlds, but the blue ones are the other way round and terraform easier into cold worlds.

The only imbalanced part is the tactical terraforming anomaly, that always results in arid worlds.

Ah, that's the event responsible for 99% of the habitable worlds I ever encounter =)

 

[tobias.mb]

Ah, that's the event responsible for 99% of the habitable worlds I ever encounter =)

That is... unlikely. I've never seen the tactical terraforming anomaly more than once per (1000 star) galaxy. In any case it should be really rare.
It also has nothing to do with terraforming, as it instantly turns the world into an arid world after you finish a project with the science ship.

You are almost certainly talking about the terraforming candidate anomaly, which only adds a modifier to barren worlds, that allows you to terraform said barren world into a habitable one.