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Author Topic:   How to automate planting forests?

dafunktmc posted 08-01-99 02:11 PM ET
I posted this in the other forum but didn't get any replies. Please forgive the duplication. I'd like to automate the planting of forests rather than having to keep manual control of the former. Does anyone out there know how to do this? I tried to change the menu file to use cntl+shift+w for this but it just seemed to change what I could see on the map- maybe fog of war? My combination doesn't duplicate any of the shortcuts in the menu file. Thanks for your help!
Natguy posted 08-01-99 04:39 PM ET
I, also, have been seeking a way to automate forests. It would reduce the pain when you have to rip up all your previous terraforming and replace it with forest.
::sniff:: I know it's a change for the better, but... but... I just get too attached to it! ::sob::
(by the way, forests are better than farms and such when you have a tree farm and hybrid forest, right?)
Plato90s posted 08-01-99 04:52 PM ET
Not necessarily.
If you are interested in a balanced output square, then forests are a good choice. But you can do a lot more with a square using terraforming.
With Soil Enrichers, a rainy square can generate 4 food, more than any forest. With echelon mirrors and elevation, solar collectors can generate far more energy. And if you add condensers, you can make a single square generate 5 food output.
Once it's time to grow the megacities, you'll find it easier to make soil enrichers and depend on the occasional borehole for minerals.
Sector7G posted 08-01-99 08:01 PM ET
Ive never tried it myself, but if you go into the automation preferaces where it lists what a auto-teraformer can do, de-select everything but plant forest and automate your former.
try it and let me know
Natguy posted 08-01-99 10:03 PM ET
Too late. Oh well, I left my mines and boreholes unforested so as to provide minerals, and I suppose if I wanted to grow huge cities I could use orbital facilities. (I already have a sprawling energy park, part of which just happens to be on the Sunny Mesa)
dafunktmc posted 08-02-99 02:20 AM ET
I've tried to turn off all the options except plant forests but the formers will still build farms and mines. I've found that if you just plant forests over fungus squares you get a forest with no fungus in the time it takes to plant the forest. That means that for all but rocky land squares it's a waste to remove fungus. That makes the option to automatically plant forests doubly attractive.
Series II posted 08-02-99 08:20 AM ET
Once you have all the terraforming options off except foresting automate your formers. DO NOT ato improve home base. That will just improve the former's home gase as best it can. Use the 'Fully Automate Former' option to set the former free to plant forest. Note it will also sometimes harvest forest.
This worked in V3.0. I have not tested it in V4.0.
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Author	Topic: How to automate planting forests?
dafunktmc	posted 08-01-99 02:11 PM ET I posted this in the other forum but didn't get any replies. Please forgive the duplication. I'd like to automate the planting of forests rather than having to keep manual control of the former. Does anyone out there know how to do this? I tried to change the menu file to use cntl+shift+w for this but it just seemed to change what I could see on the map- maybe fog of war? My combination doesn't duplicate any of the shortcuts in the menu file. Thanks for your help!
Natguy	posted 08-01-99 04:39 PM ET I, also, have been seeking a way to automate forests. It would reduce the pain when you have to rip up all your previous terraforming and replace it with forest. ::sniff:: I know it's a change for the better, but... but... I just get too attached to it! ::sob:: (by the way, forests are better than farms and such when you have a tree farm and hybrid forest, right?)
Plato90s	posted 08-01-99 04:52 PM ET Not necessarily. If you are interested in a balanced output square, then forests are a good choice. But you can do a lot more with a square using terraforming. With Soil Enrichers, a rainy square can generate 4 food, more than any forest. With echelon mirrors and elevation, solar collectors can generate far more energy. And if you add condensers, you can make a single square generate 5 food output. Once it's time to grow the megacities, you'll find it easier to make soil enrichers and depend on the occasional borehole for minerals.
Sector7G	posted 08-01-99 08:01 PM ET Ive never tried it myself, but if you go into the automation preferaces where it lists what a auto-teraformer can do, de-select everything but plant forest and automate your former. try it and let me know
Natguy	posted 08-01-99 10:03 PM ET Too late. Oh well, I left my mines and boreholes unforested so as to provide minerals, and I suppose if I wanted to grow huge cities I could use orbital facilities. (I already have a sprawling energy park, part of which just happens to be on the Sunny Mesa)
dafunktmc	posted 08-02-99 02:20 AM ET I've tried to turn off all the options except plant forests but the formers will still build farms and mines. I've found that if you just plant forests over fungus squares you get a forest with no fungus in the time it takes to plant the forest. That means that for all but rocky land squares it's a waste to remove fungus. That makes the option to automatically plant forests doubly attractive.
Series II	posted 08-02-99 08:20 AM ET Once you have all the terraforming options off except foresting automate your formers. DO NOT ato improve home base. That will just improve the former's home gase as best it can. Use the 'Fully Automate Former' option to set the former free to plant forest. Note it will also sometimes harvest forest. This worked in V3.0. I have not tested it in V4.0.