World Generation

The world in Stonehearth is randomly generated by the game's engine upon starting a new world. The engine will generate many different parts that are included in the game; some of these parts include: continents, water, terrain types, trees and other plants, monsters, and wild animals.

The Temperate Forest
The Temperate forest is the home turf of The Ascendancy, the eager travelers. It is generally considered the "easy" game type, and is a lush land with wood and water plentiful. In a farmers terms, paradise. It has less mountains than the desert but each mountain is around 40% bigger. It's full of small animals for the trapper to "ahem" kill and can be a good place to start for beginners.

The Deserts of pal'mun
The desert is home to Raya's children, the desert traders. It is considerably harder than the temperate forest in the normal game mode because of the lack of a carpenter to make tools. It has a few scruffy trees and cacti but otherwise clay is key. It has many small mountains/large boulders that dot the land but if you dig in the desert the main direction will be down. Water pools are hard to come by and so are good trapping spots, but without proper farming structure in place farms don't change in production.

Terrain Types
The various areas of the world will be generated with many different terrain types. Different terrain types may have different appearances and different resources available.
 * Plains - A good source of non-tree flora such as wild herbs and silkweed. Also typically contains single-use stone deposits such as boulders.
 * Water - No current bonuses or usage
 * Foothills - Forested hills. Home to local wildlife
 * Mountain - Excellent source of rock and minerals. Scarce fauna and flora.
 * Mountain Peak - Excellent source of rock and minerals. Rare fauna and flora.

When you start a game, you can choose a location with a mixture of these terrain types closeby to suit your desired playstyle. e.g. access to a mountain's minerals but with the plentiful trees and wildlife that Foothills provide.

Tips
When starting a game, be mindful of these tips:
 * Native flora (e.g. berry bushes) can be moved closer to your settlement via your Workers
 * Mountains are made of stone and rich in minerals. Digging into a mountain will be more beneficial for your Mason / Blacksmith than digging into other Terrain
 * Location of your Settlement in comparison to the map can be important. Too close to a border can be dangerous (due to mob spawns).
 * Stonehearth revolves around creating buildings rather than tunnelling into a mountain. Wide-open space is important.