User Guide

TERRAIN CHARACTERISTICS
Each square has a number of characteristics:
Movement Point (mp) Cost: This determines how quickly
units can move in that square. A square’s mp cost will be 1, 2,
or Imp (impassable).
Defensive Bonus: These are combat bonuses many units
receive when they are attacked while in a space.Terrain defen-
sive bonuses run from 0 to 75%.
Productivity: Productivity determines how useful a space is
to a city built on or near to that space. A space’s productivity is
measured in three separate categories, each of which will have
a value of 0 to 3.
• Commerce: How much wealth the space provides.
• Productivity: How much raw materials (used to create
buildings and units) the space provides.
• Food: How much food the space provides.
Commerce Food Productivity
Health: How much “health” a city will receive if it is built on
that space. A space may have a health rating of 0 (normal) or
+2 (adjacent to fresh water).
Resources: A space may provide a special “resource” such as
rice, spices, or iron. Note that you may need knowledge of spe-
cial technologies to utilize (or even see!) certain resources.
(See “Resources” below for more details on resources.)
PEAKS
Peaks are tall mountains. Peaks are impassable: units cannot
move into peaks, and cities cannot draw production from them.
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RIVERS
Rivers run alongside land squares, not in them. Crossing a river
negates the movement benefit of roads until the discovery of
“Construction” (see “Roads,” page 71). Rivers also reduce an
attacker’s combat strength when the target is on the other side
of the river. Rivers improve adjacent squares’ health and com-
merce as well. Finally, rivers can be used as part of your “trade
network” (see page 72).
SEA SQUARES
There are two different kinds of sea squares: ocean and coast.
Some naval units must stay in coastal squares and cannot enter
ocean squares, while other units can move freely through both.
Land units cannot enter sea squares – ocean or coast.
RESOURCES
The land and sea are filled with various “resources” that can aid
in a civilization’s growth and development. During a game, you
will want to build your cities near to resources so that they can
take advantage of the resources’ bonuses. In order for a civi-
lization to utilize a resource, a “worker” must build an
improvement on it – for instance, the gold resource requires
construction of a mine. A city will get the benefits of an
improved resource if that resource is within the city’s “city
radius.” If not, the improved resource must be connected to the
city by a “transport network” of roads, rivers and coastlines for
that city to gain its benefits.
Some resources are visible at the start of a game, while others
won’t become visible until your civilization has mastered the
appropriate technology. The iron resource, for instance, isn’t
visible until your civilization has learned the “Ironworking”
technology.
See “Advanced Resources” for a full list of resources.
TERRAIN EFFECTS
Terrain effects are more fully described in the “Advanced
Terrain” portion of this manual. However, the easiest way to
learn about terrain is to [Rollover] your cursor on various
spaces on the Main Map.
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