3.8 Polar

Region:

Characteristics:

(see Northern Lights)

Typical Polar type variations:

(none)

Packeting Parameters:

Elevation Meshes

• Primary (Lowlands).
• Secondary (Midlands).
• Quaternary (Ocean Floor).

Terrain Textures

• DIRT1
• GRASS8
• SNOW1
• SNOW2
• SNOW3
• FORFLOOR8
• WATER1
• WATER2
• WATER3
• RIVER2
• RIVER3
• RIVER4
• RIVER5
• ICE1
• ICE2

Flora Tree Objects

• TREE21
• TREE41

Flora Plant Objects

(none)

Fauna Objects

• ANIMAL6
• ANIMAL13
• ANIMAL14
• ANIMAL20
• ANIMAL22
• ANIMAL23
• ANIMAL24
• ANIMAL35
• ANIMAL42
• ANIMAL43

Geological Objects

• GEOLOGICAL1
• GEOLOGICAL3
• GEOLOGICAL4
• GEOLOGICAL5
• GEOLOGICAL6
• GEOLOGICAL7
• GEOLOGICAL12
• GEOLOGICAL20
• GEOLOGICAL24
• GEOLOGICAL25
• GEOLOGICAL26

Polar Land types:

(none)

Polar Water types:

3.8.1. Northern Lights

• Polar is a tough map to play, characterised by ubiquitous ice and snow, with some bits or passages of open water only during summer.
• If seasons enabled, snow 'melts' in patches on land during a relatively brief summer.
• If seasons are not enabled, it remains icebound all year.
• If seasons are enabled, when the ice freezes up any ships on the water are frozen in place until the following summer thaw.
• The weather is often bad, with blowing snow decreasing visibility except in summer; as the arctic is actually arid it never rains in summer.
• Topographically it can have both hills and cliffs on land and pressure ridges in the ice over water (that bar passage on the ice).
• Note that Polar biome maps are limited to elevation height of mid-level and below.
• There is virtually no forest on this map and that only very sparse conifer such as small fir or deciduous larch, usually snow covered--so Wood must soon be purchased at the Trade Centre.
• It is well enough populated by polar bear, seal and walrus on or near the beach during Summer or resting or moving about atop frozen sea surface and ice islands or floes during Winter, and caribou/reindeer on land in occasional herds at any time of the year.
• Polar Bears can definitely be a hazard to hominid units on this map.
• Stone and ore can be found in a normal quantity on the map except that ore can only be found in seams on exposed slope faces; mining or quarrying of any resource stops during winter as the weather is just 'too bad'.
• Spring, summer and autumn are short seasons on this map, it is winter half of the time.
• This is a watermap in its northern extremities, though it is only marginally navigable in places for part of the year after the ice breaks up and before it 'sets in' again.
• Civ Territories divided proportionately as appropriate to the map.