Tundra and you - a discussion

[Nekojin 197]

I've built a Settlement in an area that is apparently a point of contention. My deed is on the edge of Tundra, and I had to destroy some Tundra in order to make a suitable area to live in. I'm very much aware that Tundra doesn't grow back; I wasn't aware when I started making my home, but I became aware before I finished. And it doesn't change my decision to live here. At this point, I've made friends in the area, and there's nowhere else to move within a reasonable distance that isn't already claimed. The only unclaimed area around here is - you guessed it! - Tundra.

After being told bluntly (and a bit rudely) that I shouldn't build here because it's Tundra, I looked online to see what's so special about Tundra. People say the same things about Steppe, after all, and that's valuable hunting territory. But as far as I can tell, there's nothing about Tundra that makes it worth preserving. It's rare(ish), and it doesn't grow back. Those are the only reasons to keep Tundra. But the negatives far outweigh those two factors (which aren't really even POSITIVE traits, just traits). Tundra doesn't grow trees, and only grows a very narrow selection of other plantlife. It can't be foraged or botanized. While Tundra does seem to generate monster spawners, it doesn't seem to generate the monsters themselves - I have a Unicorn spawner close to my house, and the only Unicorn I've seen so far was spawned down the hill, in the grass/trees area.

And even after all of that, there are still people who want to tell others what they can or can't do with land - land that isn't theirs, that they haven't claimed and Deeded. Why do they have this sense of entitlement, to tell others where they can and can't settle? As more people join Freedom, the land gets more and more crowded, people are forced to settle in less and less convenient locations. The tundra will be destroyed eventually - it's inevitable. By making such a big deal about it, you're guaranteeing that griefers will go out of their way to destroy it. Do you really think it's a good idea to harrass newer players who are just trying to find a place to call their own? I've been given veiled threats over the matter. Is that really a sensible thing to do?

For those who think that Tundra is, or should be, something special, I suggest you turn your efforts in a different direction. Rather than harrassing, and possibly driving away, new players, try to get Rolf to figure out some way to create Tundra. Maybe make Tundra unique and interesting in some way - some animals and plants that only spawn in Tundra, some other resources that come from Tundra. Snow Leopards and Snowshoe Rabbits, perhaps.

And if you really, really think that Tundra should be untouchable and inviolate... make an alt, and go Deed it. Because that's the only way to make sure that it never goes away.

[Traxx 14]

Theres too much tundra that people wont build on cause they may interfer with hunting.. Up by frontier theres so much you can walk and see no one in local for hours.

Tundra is just a tile type and nothing special. I say if you want it  deed it else let people develop it into pretty castles and farms..

[Wulfgar 1,132]

Tundra is pretty much useless as it can't regenerate or be spread by players. Either remove it from the game entirely or make it regional and replace grass in those regions.

[Alyeska 2,621]

Just allow people to botanize tundra scrubs like you can with steppe. So they can replant it.

[Nekojin 197]

Just allow people to botanize tundra scrubs like you can with steppe. So they can replant it.

I would be 100% behind this idea.

[bdew 2,462]

Getting worked up over tiles of some type (and a useless one at that) being used to live on, while the server is as overcrowded as freedom, is stupid.

Also wurm is about building and changing the world (and being eaten by wolfs), not about preserving the landscape.

[Becket 843]

The debate over if Tundra itself spawns anything has been around for awhile. All I can say is I never hunted on Tundra and my FS is fine. Enjoy your place.

[Elwood2 352]

Getting worked up over tiles of some type (and a useless one at that) being used to live on, while the server is as overcrowded as freedom, is stupid.

Also wurm is about building and changing the world (and being eaten by wolfs), not about preserving the landscape.

QFTW

[SavageSaint 1]

Tundra: The most useless tile type.

[Mystecore 0]

As nice as it would be to preserve some large expanses of Tundra, Moss, or Steppe for players, with the current drought of suitable land for deeding there's nothing wrong with digging it up.

Letting folk replant some would be a sensible addition (and create/destroy peat).

[Lancelot 765]

;)Tundra is, for the most part utterly useless as it cannot be regenerated. The tundra on the east coast has recently been transformed into part desert and part steppe as a way of making the area inhabittable and a useful, viable resource. That is what societies do, they change an area to suit their needs.

I agree with the OP as regards to perhaps making it spawn certain specail creatures and regional, a very good idea indeed.

[SavageSaint 1]

I had discussed with friends how awesome it would be if Fo priests could create tiles like Moss, Tundra, Peat and Tar. Don't know if that would make Fo priests too cool, or if it makes gameplay too easy as everyone could have tiles of each type on their deed. Giving the spell a high favor requirement, needing several priests to cast might help reduce the spamming of resource tiles.

[Urman 1]

I had discussed with friends how awesome it would be if Fo priests could create tiles like Moss, Tundra, Peat and Tar.

One method sketched out (omits peat and tar):  http://wurmonline.com/forum/index.php?topic=53970.0

I'll chime in with others that tell the OP not to worry about changing the tundra.

[Mallaboro 42]

Lost in the blinding whiteness of the tundra. Dirty dirty tile. Must be destroyed with utmost haste.

In physical geography, tundra is a biome where the tree growth is hindered by low temperatures and short growing seasons. The term tundra comes through Russian ?????? from the Kildin Sami word t?ndâr "uplands," "treeless mountain tract."[1] There are three types of tundra: Arctic tundra,[2] alpine tundra,[2] and Antarctic tundra.[3] In tundra, the vegetation is composed of dwarf shrubs, sedges and grasses, mosses, and lichens. Scattered trees grow in some tundra. The ecotone (or ecological boundary region) between the tundra and the forest is known as the tree line or timberline.

I dislike the idea of using botanizing to replant the tundra, but I do like the idea of botanizing herbs from the Tundra.

[Othob Rithol 700]

Just allow people to botanize tundra scrubs like you can with steppe. So they can replant it.

[KaiH 1,126]

I wouldn't mind if every Tundra tile would be changed into steppe right away.

As it is most Tundra isn't even in places where it 'should' be...

Tundra does nothing and is used for nothing. Either that should be changed or get rid of it.

[Othob Rithol 700]

That I can agree with.

I'd like tundra to be the default "grass" above certain elevations. Re-texture it to look like rocky snow, give it a howling wind sound effect, maybe some different overlay weather (rain=snow flurry) and maybe the occasional mild cold-burn on your face, hands or feet. Bonus points for spawning yeti (white trolls), tundra wolves (white wolves), and snow leopards (white mountain lions).

[Allurapre 10]

I'd like tundra to be the default "grass" above certain elevations. Re-texture it to look like rocky snow, give it a howling wind sound effect, maybe some different overlay weather (rain=snow flurry) and maybe the occasional mild cold-burn on your face, hands or feet. Bonus points for spawning yeti (white trolls), tundra wolves (white wolves), and snow leopards (white mountain lions).

[dlinacre 19]

The problem with destroying tundra is that everywhere will be one step closer to looking identical, and if left as it stands Wurm will have lost a nice little geographical feature.

The idea of tundra being only at certain heights, howling winds etc is truly awesome - but current speed of development / other projects being worked on would see this implemented by about 2015.

A short term fix of dropping tundra dirt to make more tundra seems more acceptable to me. People can pretty much do as they want with it then. It might not seem "right", but then neither does dropping sand on grass to make desert. That's just Wurm.

In my short month or so spell at a village near tundra, I saw no less than three settlements / homesteads go up on it, so something really does need to be done I think. It's not your fault, and who's to say you don't want to build a nordic themed winter home? You pay just as much as the rest. I do think it'd be sad to see it all eaten up, though.

Good luck on your new home.