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Author Topic:   Military Use of terraforming

googlie posted 06-27-99 10:03 PM ET
reactivating from the crashed thread:
Name Post Jimmyposted 09-16-98 07:52 PM ET��
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How can we use terraforming for our benefit from a military point of
view? For example, creating a mountain range between me and my potential
enemy to make it harder for him to invade, and make it easier for me to
defend. Or, if my adversary has several cities in a valley, I could
lower land btween him and the ocean to submerge his cities. Let's try to
think up the best and most interesting ways to terraform for a military
advantage. Dead Head Ed posted 09-16-98 08:46 PM ET ��
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Do it so that it isn't obvious. Erect a small range far enough away so
that your opponent doesn't think that you are violating his space. This
could then deflect air flow from a neighboring ocean and leave him with
cities in a desert, and you have technically have not actively ruined
his cities. Or alter lava flows to increase seismic activity in the
vicinity of his base.elfiwolf posted 09-16-98 11:03 PM ET ��
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Put your cities in the sea and the highlands.
And use a couple of nukes/sigularities in the polar icecaps.
Wolfe (Sparta)
Thomas A Stobie posted 09-17-98 11:18 AM ET ��
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You can also terraform and let nature destroy the enemies cities via
volcanoes, floods, drought, etc.Mad Hatter posted 09-18-98 10:14 AM ET
��
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Other options would include making fresh wate r lakes, seas, rivers etc,
salt water based, diverting or removing water resources, changing ocean
currents, etc. Coastal areas could have their contours and depths
changed to permit or deny deepwater vessels. Depending on the level of
control, shifting mineral and other vital resource deposits from
existing locations to more favorable locations for your faction.
Watching gold "migrate" for example, would be somewhat amusing. Simply
pushing useful deposits down and increasing the difficulty of getting to
them would be good. Changes in soil composition could ruin crops.
Military tactics would depend on how swiftly a radical change can be
enacted and how fine of a control.
PanzerWatts posted 09-22-98 06:52 PM ET ��
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Another possibilty is building dirty industries upwind of an opponent or
(at the very least) down wind of your main settlement area. In effect
you can commit eviromental warfare. You might intentionally not upgrade
your pollution prevention devices in order to pollute the air your
opponents breathe.Thomas A Stobie posted 09-22-98 06:55 PM ET ��
��
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And if your neighbors are Gaians, they will be on you like flies on
rotting meat.Mad Hatter posted 09-23-98 11:32 AM ET ��
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Actually, I would expect the Gaians would just shift wind patterns and
switch upwind and downwind. If it's enough to bother them, then you'll
do your pollution upgrades just to avoid living with it! For non-Gaians
it may be a viable tactic though.

googlie posted 06-27-99 10:04 PM ET
And why can't Firaxis bring these up to this forum from the crashed one??
Zoetrope posted 06-28-99 07:05 AM ET
Good question, googlie. Perhaps because they don't want to? Maybe because SMAC doesn't have most of these features?
Resource Consumer posted 06-28-99 07:29 AM ET
My particular favourite, sort-of covered above.
Ingredients
4-5 Superfusion sea formers. 1 drop probe speeder.
Take out pressure dome of coastal city with the speeder first. The same turn move all the formers onto one square adjacent to the city and lower terrain. SOmetimes your unlucky that a naval or air unit gets you but it's a very efficient way to take out a city in one turn.
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Author	Topic: Military Use of terraforming
googlie	posted 06-27-99 10:03 PM ET reactivating from the crashed thread: Name Post Jimmyposted 09-16-98 07:52 PM ET�� ------------------------------------------------------------------------ How can we use terraforming for our benefit from a military point of view? For example, creating a mountain range between me and my potential enemy to make it harder for him to invade, and make it easier for me to defend. Or, if my adversary has several cities in a valley, I could lower land btween him and the ocean to submerge his cities. Let's try to think up the best and most interesting ways to terraform for a military advantage. Dead Head Ed posted 09-16-98 08:46 PM ET �� ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Do it so that it isn't obvious. Erect a small range far enough away so that your opponent doesn't think that you are violating his space. This could then deflect air flow from a neighboring ocean and leave him with cities in a desert, and you have technically have not actively ruined his cities. Or alter lava flows to increase seismic activity in the vicinity of his base.elfiwolf posted 09-16-98 11:03 PM ET �� ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Put your cities in the sea and the highlands. And use a couple of nukes/sigularities in the polar icecaps. Wolfe (Sparta) Thomas A Stobie posted 09-17-98 11:18 AM ET �� ------------------------------------------------------------------------ You can also terraform and let nature destroy the enemies cities via volcanoes, floods, drought, etc.Mad Hatter posted 09-18-98 10:14 AM ET �� ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Other options would include making fresh wate r lakes, seas, rivers etc, salt water based, diverting or removing water resources, changing ocean currents, etc. Coastal areas could have their contours and depths changed to permit or deny deepwater vessels. Depending on the level of control, shifting mineral and other vital resource deposits from existing locations to more favorable locations for your faction. Watching gold "migrate" for example, would be somewhat amusing. Simply pushing useful deposits down and increasing the difficulty of getting to them would be good. Changes in soil composition could ruin crops. Military tactics would depend on how swiftly a radical change can be enacted and how fine of a control. PanzerWatts posted 09-22-98 06:52 PM ET �� ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Another possibilty is building dirty industries upwind of an opponent or (at the very least) down wind of your main settlement area. In effect you can commit eviromental warfare. You might intentionally not upgrade your pollution prevention devices in order to pollute the air your opponents breathe.Thomas A Stobie posted 09-22-98 06:55 PM ET �� �� ------------------------------------------------------------------------ And if your neighbors are Gaians, they will be on you like flies on rotting meat.Mad Hatter posted 09-23-98 11:32 AM ET �� ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Actually, I would expect the Gaians would just shift wind patterns and switch upwind and downwind. If it's enough to bother them, then you'll do your pollution upgrades just to avoid living with it! For non-Gaians it may be a viable tactic though.
googlie	posted 06-27-99 10:04 PM ET And why can't Firaxis bring these up to this forum from the crashed one??
Zoetrope	posted 06-28-99 07:05 AM ET Good question, googlie. Perhaps because they don't want to? Maybe because SMAC doesn't have most of these features?
Resource Consumer	posted 06-28-99 07:29 AM ET My particular favourite, sort-of covered above. Ingredients 4-5 Superfusion sea formers. 1 drop probe speeder. Take out pressure dome of coastal city with the speeder first. The same turn move all the formers onto one square adjacent to the city and lower terrain. SOmetimes your unlucky that a naval or air unit gets you but it's a very efficient way to take out a city in one turn.