![]() The more we worked at it, the more we had to simplify concepts and make numbers more easy to handle, such as having "atmosphere levels" rather than many different parameters to describe the atmosphere. I think that for a game to be fun the player needs to digest the information provided, then make a plan based on those information, act on that plan, see the results and repeat. As a nerd I loved it, but it wasn't a fun "game". The first prototype of Terraformers had an in-depth atmospheric planetary model with tons of parameters which could be interacted with down to the molecular heat capacity of gas, the albedo of a wide variety of surfaces, ocean circulation to transfer heat and so on. The first challenge comes from the overload of information. The challenge is mostly with making terraforming as the core gameplay AND to make it fun. It might be possible to make a fun game about this, but it is very very hard. Though after a couple years of prototyping and design itterations the game moved away from that original hardcore simulation idea. I'm with you, the very first idea for Terraformers was to try and do what you describe. The books are some of my favorites ever and Terraformers started as a massive spreadsheet because I was wondering if some of the ideas in the book were actually reallistic.
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