Cattle mutilation maps

[Marrik]

Is it intentional for them to not always be farms anymore? It seems like a lot of the time they are either random wilderness maps or even towns.

[Solarius Scorch]

Is it intentional for them to not always be farms anymore? It seems like a lot of the time they are either random wilderness maps or even towns.

Yes, it's intentional. As opposed to crops, cattle tends to wander about. I felt that some more variety was needed, so why not?

[krautbernd]

Yes, it's intentional. As opposed to crops, cattle tends to wander about. I felt that some more variety was needed, so why not?

Isn't cattle usually confined to (at least some kind of) pasture? Why would the aliens go out of their way to take apart cattle that's wandered into a town? Lone cattle in woods/wilderness would probably fit, but isn't the whole cattle mutilation schtick something that's supposed to happen outside of (densely) settled areas and when nobody is around to actually witness it?

I mean aliens spooking (or otherwise influencing, what do I know) cattle to run of into the woods so they can have some "alone time" makes sense, but aliens doing this in broad daylight in the middle of a town is kind of stretching it. Or do the aliens just drop off the remains in the nearest human settlement after they are done? I am currently picturing a UFO dropping a dead cow onto some poor dudes lawn, and somehow it doesn't have the same impact.

I mean...

The aliens have many uses for earth's fauna. Animals are abducted secretly and returned with various organs removed[...]"

Granted, it doesn't say "returned secretly", but it kind of defeats the point a bit, doesn't it?

[Solarius Scorch]

Isn't cattle usually confined to (at least some kind of) pasture? Why would the aliens go out of their way to take apart cattle that's wandered into a town? Lone cattle in woods/wilderness would probably fit, but isn't the whole cattle mutilation schtick something that's supposed to happen outside of (densely) settled areas and when nobody is around to actually witness it?

I mean aliens spooking (or otherwise influencing, what do I know) cattle to run of into the woods so they can have some "alone time" makes sense, but aliens doing this in broad daylight in the middle of a town is kind of stretching it. Or do the aliens just drop off the remains in the nearest human settlement after they are done? I am currently picturing a UFO dropping a dead cow onto some poor dudes lawn, and somehow it doesn't have the same impact.

I mean...
Granted, it doesn't say "returned secretly", but it kind of defeats the point a bit, doesn't it?

These are actually fair points... If it weren't for the possible town terrain, I wouldn't mind, since free-ranged cattle is the norm in many parts of the world, but in a town it's indeed weird.

Should I change it back?

[krautbernd]

I think having them in the town is a bit weird, given the scenario and lore statements about them doing it secretly. If it was used as an intimidation tactic it would be another thing, but it doesn't fit the cattle mutilation scenario. Cattle in town usually attract some kind of attention, which as I understand it aliens are trying to avoid in this case.

[Solarius Scorch]

OK, reverted to the previous, fixed terrains.

[Xylon666Darkstar]

Have lived several years in rural land in state of Nevada where farms and livestock are a common and varied sight, I can confirm that cattle do and can wander. They're not securely and obediently compliant to where they're fenced in. If they can, they will wander outside the bounds into wilderness.

Map terrain changes imo didn't need to be fixed, the varied assortment was just fine.

[Solarius Scorch]

Map terrain changes imo didn't need to be fixed, the varied assortment was just fine.

The main issue was that sometimes your get an urban map (since there's a small chance for a randomly placed mission to actually happen in some random town), and Krautbernd pointed out that it didn't make much sense. Otherwise I would leave the global terrain.