Terrain Terms

Standard Definitions for Terrain Terms

Discussions of changes or improvements to the terrain engine are often hindered by the fact that people use the same terms to mean very different things. This list is provided to allow everyone to use the same words to mean the same thing.

• Alias: a terrain with MV/Def values that are derived from archetypes. A terrain may be Aliased to multiple archetypes. For instance Bridges use Best MV, Best Def, while other terrains use Worst MV, Best Def. Other combinations are possible but not recommended.
• Archetype: A fundamental kind of terrain with unique MV/Def values. Terrain Archetypes do not appear directly in the game, but are the concepts behind all visible terrains.
  • Impassable (cave wall)
  • Unwalkable (chasm, lava)
  • Mountains
  • Hills
  • Cave (underground)
  • Fungus (mushroom)
  • Forest
  • Flat (grassland, road, etc.)
  • Rails
  • Castle
  • Village
  • Frozen (snow, ice)
  • Sand (desert)
  • Swamp
  • Coastal Reef
  • Shallow Water
  • Deep Water
• Base Layer: The graphic that is rendered at the bottom of a Overlay Terrain. Water is the base layer for the bridge. Often does not effect MV/Def.
• Basic Terrain: See Standard or Archetype.
• Letter: A single or multi character combination that designates a unique terrain.
• Overlay: A terrain with graphics are built from multiple layers. Or more specifically the upper graphic of such a terrain. The upper layer doesn't fill the hex and/or is partially transparent. Usually the upper layer is meant to appear taller than the ground. Forests, Villages, and Bridges use overlays.
• Standard: a terrain that is the typical and original representative of an Archetype. Grassland is the standard terrain of flat.
• Variant: a terrain that is visually different from the Standard version of the Archetype, especially one that is meant to represent the same kind of thing. I.E. the basic castle has many variants.