Terra Nil

Terra Nil

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Complete Achievement Guide
By LeeThePhoenix
Guide to earn all 27 Achievements for Terra Nil
   
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Introduction
Thank you for reading this guide! I hope this helps a lot, and please let me know if there’s anything I can improve within this guide! When creating this guide, there were less than five other guides for Terra Nil. So thus, I decided to compile an achievement guide since I personally go for 100% achievement completion in games.

The entire guide will be in order that you can easily complete, with most achievements being earned by completing a milestone within the game. Harder achievements that require some work or certain map design will be at the end of the list. Some achievements require finding all the animals and will be noted with an asterisk ( * ) at the start of the achievement name. If you need help with those, here’s my guide Every Region’s Animal Collection List .

Some achievements will be easier or harder depending on the map generation, so you may have to restart the region a few times to get a good map. Or, like myself, you might mess up something and can’t undo the action, so you may need to restart the phase. Frustrating, but easier than having to restart the entire region multiple times.

And onto the achievements! I hope this helps!
Restoration Achievements
Each of the achievements' descriptions state which region it is to complete (Unless noted otherwise). In game, when selecting a region to play, it will have the name listed at the top of the location information window.

Global RejuvenationCompletely restore the planet
- Complete all 8 maps from the four regions. This will fill the bar at the bottom of the world view to 100% and earn you this achievement.
- To Note: I do not know if this has changed after the Vita Nova update from June 24,2024

Temperate
Valley of the WindRestore the River Valley
– Complete the first map. This is the first map you’ll be able to do with a new profile.

Greenleaf ValeRestore the Hill and Dale
- Complete and restore the map.

Open-cast ReclamationRestore the Abandoned Quarry
- Complete and restore the map.

Riverside RestorationRestore the Polluted Bay
- Complete and restore the map.


Tropical
Flooded IslesRestore the Archipelago
- Complete and restore the map.

Coral RenewalRestore the Desolate Island
- Complete and restore the map.

Nature Finds a WayRestore the Scorched Caldera
- Complete and restore the map.


Polar
Northern GlaciationRestore the Polluted Fjord
- Complete and restore the map.

Feeling FrostyRestore the Volcanic Glacier
- Complete and restore the map.

Rock and StoneRestore the Subpolar River
- Complete and restore the map.


Continental
Urban RenewalRestore the Irradiated Sprawl
- Complete and restore the map.
- Note: The game has this area named "Flooded City" and not "Irradiated Spawl"

Reduce Reuse RecycleRestore the Continental Outskirts
- Complete and restore the map.
*Complete Biome Achievements
*Perfectly PleasantFully restore all animal species, biomes, and climate conditions in the temperate region
*Abundant LifeFully restore all animal species, biomes, and climate conditions in the tropical region
*Beneath the SnowFully restore all animal species, biomes, and climate conditions in the polar region
*Oryx and CrakeFully restore all animal species, biomes, and climate conditions in the Continental region

- These four achievement descriptions explain them pretty well. You might need to restart the region a few times to earn this, but it’s mostly trial and error to learn what every animal needs. The biomes are automatically met through completing the maps. The climate conditions are shown in the top right corner when you build the research station and explain which statuses need to be met to fill the climate condition.
Aerial View
Use screenshot mode to take a full map screenshot
This you can do at any point in the game. Open the “Options” (pause) menu either with the “options” button in the top left corner or hitting the escape button on your keyboard. Screenshot mode is the third option in the menu, and is like camera mode for most major games, letting you choose what on the screen you want a screenshot of, or if you want the entire map in the screenshot. Click on the camera icon, or “Screenshot Whole Map”, and you’ll unlock this achievement.

(Note: this will create a file on your desktop with the screenshots in it. This is not a shortcut folder; it lives on your desktop unless you move it or delete it.)
Screensaver
Appreciate the beauty of nature for at least 60 seconds
When you complete the map and your recycle ship picks up the little recycle boat, it will have “wasteland reclaimed” in the top left corner and give you the option to either “Continue” or “Appreciate”. Click “Appreciate” and let the game run for about a minute, and it will automatically give you the achievement. Once you have the achievement, you can click anywhere on the screen to bring the choices back and hit “Continue” to move on.
Antarctic Oasis
Restore the Volcanic Glacier while still having at least 15 lava tiles
While I could have earned this on my first run for the Volcanic Glacier map, I didn’t realize this until I had to go back for this achievement. The trick is to not let the map get below 0°C – anything below freezing will cause the lava tiles to turn to stone. Because of this, either you earn this achievement first then do the map a second time for Beneath the Snow, or vice versa since from what I’ve learned you cannot complete all the climate conditions and earn this achievement.
Minecraft Rocks!
Create rock by causing lava and river to meet
I earned this with the Volcanic Glacier map in the polar region, which is the third map in the progression. There are steaming fissures throughout the map. Use a Seismic Detonator on one near the coastline, and it should automatically earn you the achievement. If not, you can also earn it with the Abandoned Quarry map that unlocks after you complete the Continental map Flooded City. On the Abandoned Quarry map, you’ll create a river with the Water Pump, then use the Seismic Detonator on a nearby steaming fissure.
Wildfire
Burn down 25 buildings with a single fire
I was able to earn this on the first map unintentionally so I’ll be using the River Valley for this guide, but you can also do this on any map with the Solar Amplifier and fuel source to create a wild fire. You’ll want the region to have a nice medium to large area that is on the same level, all connected, and preferably with a Dead Forest tile already nearby. Progress through the region, using the Toxin Scrubbers to get fertile soil and then the Irrigators to create greenery.

This should get you to the point to unlock the second phase, and unlock the Solar Amplifier, the Beehive, and the Arboretum (if needed). If you have a Dead Forest tile that was revived into a Forest tile, use the Beehive to create Fynbos into the land space you want to burn. Count how many buildings you have already in the area, and build the remaining you need to get to 25. (Note: any building will burn unless it is on rocks.)

Use the Solar Amplifier to light a Fynbos tile on fire, and it will cause the entire area to burn, stopping only at the map edge, a cliff face, a River tile, or a Wetland tile. As long as there are enough buildings, they should all burn and earn you the achievement.
Marine Haven
Restore the tropical region with at least 40% of the map being underwater
I earned this one with by using the Archipelago map. When using the Undersea Dredger, you can control how much of the map is covered by land vs water. Once you think the map is about 50% covered with land, do not use the Undersea Dredger at all and finish the map through each phase.
Goldilocks
Have 3 bears living on 3 different hills at least 10 tiles apart in the River Valley
As the achievement description states, you need three bears, on their own hills, 10 tiles apart from each other. I found having a hill in each corner space and making sure the hills had the Forest tiles nearby was enough to appease the bears in this achievement. It didn’t matter if the Beehives created the Fynbos Field or not.
Perfect Location (Pre Vita Nova Update)
Construct an Animal Observatory at the intersection of 4 different tier 2 biomes
This achievement was the hardest of them all to earn. I ended up referencing this guide to figure out how this works. I’ve seen users say that either the Tropical Region maps are easier, but I earned mine with the Volcanic Glacier map. With the Volcanic Glacier map, there’s a small hill in the bottom corner of the map, that will have at least one Fissure on the top of the hill. If you have the hill and easy access to the ocean, it’s easier to earn this achievement. If done correctly, you should earn the achievement shortly after you place the Animal Observatory. If it doesn’t, hover your mouse over the tile for a moment to check which type of tiles are nearby, and make sure that the tiles state “Boreal Forest”, “Lichen”, “Tundra”, and “Kelp Forest”. I don’t know if the tiles in the corners next to the Animal Observatory count, as I counted the ones that were sharing a full side.

Complete phase 1 as normal for the map. For myself, I left this corner of the map alone after using the Seismic Detonator to create the lava ‘lake’ around the fissure on the hill, placed a Geothermal Plant on the hill, then left that corner well alone so I would have more room to work during phase 2 to earn the achievement.







Once in phase 2, it’s time to start the work to get the achievement. To start, I used the Radial Excavator to both create a lava lake and get dirt from elsewhere on the map. Once the Radial Excavator is used, it is full of dirt and you can move that dirt elsewhere with the Monorail Nodes. Click on the Monorail Node near the Radial Excavator, and then place the Radial Excavator near the ocean. The goal of this is to have the land move to be a sheer cliff into the Kelp forest tiles that you created on the ocean floor nearby. This is the first phase 2 biome requirement met.


Next, you’ll want to start by creating Greenery tiles on the top of the hill and in the dirt of the newly formed land. Depending on where you place the buildings on the hill, will change the Building Husk piles that are used for the Arboretum to create the Boreal Forest. It doesn’t matter too much, as long as there’s one close enough to spread the forest onto the level where the Animal Observatory will sit.






Before you create the Boreal Forest tiles, use the Irrigator to create Greenery tiles. This is to plan where you will have the floral-colored Tundra tiles sit adjacent to the Animal Observatory. If not, the Boreal Forest Tiles will take up the majority of the tiles and make it harder to complete the achievement. Now you can create both the floral-colored Tundra and the Boreal Forest tiles next to the Animal Observatory. This covers the 2nd and 3rd phase 2 biomes. Finish with phase 2 to get the phase 3 tools.





For the final biome, phase 3 will make it easy to complete. Make sure you can see the divide between the Tundra and the Boreal Forest tiles to keep track where the rocks need to be for the Lichen. With my favorite tool, the Rock Hopper (aka Rock Yeet-er), you can throw a rock over next to where you want the Animal Observatory to be. Place another Irrigator nearby, so you can use the Algae Greenhouse on the Irrigator to create the Lichen. At this point, all four biomes should be ready for you to place the Animal Observatory down.
Fauna Utopia
Complete a mission with at least 20 fully satisfied animal groups
With the Vita Nova update, the animal system got an overhaul. This made animal needs a bit easier to understand from before. Using my Scan Collection List, I was able to make each of the animals happy before finishing the map. Using the little paw print icon in the top left corner, you can see which animal groups are unhappy and with the red or yellow icons next to the group names. Clicking on the group name, it will show what is needed to satisfy the group.

This will take some fiddling around to make each group happy, and the sonic pulse was very useful to have groups move to better suited areas.
Perfectly Pleasant
Fully restore all animal species, biomes, and climate conditions in the temperate region
15 Comments
Doc 12 Sep @ 9:54am 
I also got the perfect location achievement with the first level. Therefore is less to worry about the rest. you have more options there to focus on animals.
Fytayn 27 Aug @ 6:49pm 
@helzilla I put up a guide. A bit long-winded but I think it explains it all.
helzilla 20 Aug @ 11:07am 
@Fytayn, any way you'd be willing to put up a short guide with some drawings? i'm having a hard time picturing how to go about this! would be greatly appreciated
Fytayn 19 Aug @ 8:30am 
A bit late but get Perfect Location on the first map. Leave about 25 by 50 tiles of Wasteland with a river through it and a way to set fires on opposite corners. DO NOT UNLOCK RAIN YET! Unlock everything else. Picture the area divided into quarters with the river down the middle. Make the river wide enough at one/both ends so Beavers have enough space but only one tile wide where the quarters meet at the center. Animal Bridge on that tile and avoid making rocks nearby. Have Forest on two opposite (burnable) quarters with Fynbos and Wetlands on the other two. Clean the land but selectively add grass then biome to a quarter at a time -- Wetlands then Forests then Fynbos. Beehives in one quarter of the Forest. Beavers and Birds live on the river while Frogs cross from Wetlands to Fynbos so all should overlap. If Deer, Bears or Wolves don't reach the center you can nudge them to it using beacons or make the Wildlife building and drop them on either side of the Bridge.
Toni 10 Jul @ 1:44am 
any tip for getting the new perfect location achievement with the new update?
LeeThePhoenix  [author] 9 Jul @ 9:41am 
I believe you can earn any achievement while in Zen mode, as that tends to be my preferred setting and I've been earning all the new achievements - I cant recall for the original 17 though when I first got the game.
technicallyTheatrical 9 Jul @ 9:16am 
For Fauna Utopia - Zen mode CAN be enabled, I did it on Hill and Dale. Took a smidge of terraforming/changing things but got it eventually. Happy Chievo Hunting!
NemoXX7 26 Dec, 2023 @ 8:49am 
Aerial View is giving me issues, whenever I select ‘Screenshot Whole Map’ it shows a screen that says ‘Processing’, but if I load Windows Task Manager I can see Terra Nil process is unresponsive and there is a Unity crash handler process running. I think it is failing silently and there is a bug, I get the folder created on my desktop and there is a blank image, but can’t get the achievement to pop. I then need to end the process using Task Manager as it does not recover.
tim.danforth 2 Sep, 2023 @ 11:00am 
any advice on how to get through level 2 on the mining reclaim river valley? cant find a way to create forests.
ChadYoshi 9 Apr, 2023 @ 10:25pm 
ScreenSaver has been bugged for me, wont activate animation on click. :(