1. There are a few inconsistencies between these two that were originally brought up by CyRob in this thread over a year ago.


Shouldn't Fireforming be able to terraform Barren, Ice, and Arctic, instead of Barren, Arctic and Snow? This seems odd especially since Heart's Embrace does the same function but with Lava, Ash, and Desert (not Lava, Desert, and Arid).


2. While playing with the Unfallen isn't something I do very often (though my "not often" might be comparable to another person's "very often" relative to hours played), I find both of these abilities to be underwhelming.


Why? Because there are plenty of advantages to keeping planets hot or cold, especially when going into hero skills such as Efficiency Aficianado, or improvements such as Punctuated Evolution Foundation, AI Labor, or even something as simple as Sustainable Farms (if you are going the BioFuel route).


3. For this reason I propose something for the devs to ponder. What if Fireforming could also change those Cold/Sterile to Boreal? And Heart's Embrace could change those Hot/Sterile to Jungle? Lorewise, this doesn't seem far-fetched at all. A Boreal and Jungle are both heavily forested planet-types. I could see issue with immediately changing to Terran or Ocean or Atoll because they don't fit the lore, but Boreal and Jungle seem perfectly reasonable. That said, here is what I believe Fireforming and Heart's Embrace should look like:


Fireforming:

  • Barren to Boreal or Forest
  • Ice to Boreal or Forest
  • Arctic to Boreal or Forest


Heart's Embrace:

  • Lava to Jungle or Forest
  • Ash to Jungle or Forest
  • Desert to Jungle or Forest


In its current form, both of these faction unique abilities seem less useful than standard terraforming for the reasons I provided above.