# Ground Zero Landform Pass

This pass classifies the selected Ground Zero 1 km tile from the extracted
1-meter DEM so terrain decisions are data-driven before gameplay polish begins.

## Source

- Tile: `gz_us_ca_pacifica_utm10n_e544_n4160`
- DEM:
  `Data/Terrain/Extracted/gz_us_ca_pacifica_utm10n_e544_n4160/gz_us_ca_pacifica_utm10n_e544_n4160_1m_dem_subset.tif`
- Analysis:
  `Data/Terrain/Analysis/gz_us_ca_pacifica_utm10n_e544_n4160/gz_us_ca_pacifica_utm10n_e544_n4160_landform_analysis.json`

## First-Pass Classification

- Hills: present.
- Mountains: not present inside this MVP tile.
- River: not confirmed from the DEM-only pass.
- Stream: not confirmed, but low drainage/search zones exist.
- Lake: not present.
- Coastline: absent inside this tile, as confirmed by the water/shoreline pass.

## Handling Decisions

- Use hills and slope classes for movement modifiers, resource placement, and
  foliage density.
- Do not invent river, stream, lake, or coastline geometry from elevation alone.
- Use the possible drainage/freshwater search zone as a candidate area for
  later NHD or equivalent hydrography validation.
- Keep ocean, bathymetry, and coastline handling attached to west/southwest
  neighboring coastal tiles.

## Gameplay Implications

- Favor flatter and gentler terrain for the spawn area, primitive shelter, and
  first resource cluster.
- Treat steep and very steep areas as future slow-travel or stamina-cost terrain.
- Use low coastal/valley areas as the search area for a later MVP freshwater
  source.
- Avoid placing a fake lake or river until a hydrography source confirms it.

## Follow-Up

The next map pass should verify neighboring tile edge coordinates against the
registry before multi-tile stitching, then continue into foliage and
biome-appropriate natural resources for the Ground Zero tile.
