Terrain

Hexaverse is played on (or something beneath) the surface of planets.

The terrain is composed of 32 layers of mostly hexagonal cells. A high resolution grid of terrain cells defines the visible terrain. A second, lower resolution grid is constructed to define where units may be placed. Each unit cell completely contains one terrain cell, and shares a number of terrain cells with its neighbors equal to the number of edges (6 in most cases).

A unit requires its central and all edge terrain cells to be clear. Conversely, it can stand on central terrain blocks as well as mere ledges (shared terrain blocks) one layer beneath the unit.

Vehicles will fall (and be destroyed in some cases) if these conditions are not met. Structures hover after construction but remain stationary.

With the exception of lava, units will automatically remove any terrain moving into their unit cell (e.g. expanding water). Lava will mercilessly destroy any unit it touches. Structures can 'stand' atop lava; vehicles can not (if nothing else keeps them up).

EMP Zones

If the server is configured such, the planet may feature EMP zones, that force new factions closer to one another and quicken the game. Zones are unlocked as new factions are created.

Each newly created faction unlocks at least one previously locked zone until all 12 zones are unlocked. New factions are spawned within the unlocked areas of the planet.

Mobile units cannot enter these zones, and will be routed around them. Nexus units already located within EMP zones suffer high levels of EMP damage until the respective zone is removed when new factions are created.

Planet Types

The system distinguishes a number of terrain blocks such as sand, grass, rock, granite, snow, water or lava.

Different planet types may be constructed by configuring the server accordingly.

Terrain Clipping

Terrain clipping allows to view caves beneath the ground. It visually removes terrain within a certain radius around the current focus point down to the current clipping height. It can be configured via the respective view buttons, but may also be toggled using the end key. Page up/down can be used to quickly alter the clipping height.

Liquids (water/lava) are shown in their respective colors but all other types are shown as solid dark gray, or black to contrast this viewing mode against regular non-clipped terrain.

Terraforming

Terraformer vehicles can alter the terrain in various ways. Common operations include the removal of terrain to flatten areas or dig tunnels, and the addition of concrete or roads. Bridges can be built across cliffs or between floating islands to reach remote locations. Walls can obstruct hostile movement or sensory. And, depending on the terrain, roads can be a significant strategic asset as they dramatically accelerate the motion of land-based mobile units.