i just really started playing this game, was a huge fan of civ 2 but never really got the chance to play civ 3.

in this game i have just started playing warlord games and the biggest problem i am having is getting resources. if i could get iron early enought in the game a conquest victory could be obtainable. it seems all the other civs just find it first and then wont trade it to me. are there any tricks to locating and securing resources?

Welcome to the boards Garlicki! :)

I too was a huge fan of Civ 2, and confess it took me some time to get into Civ 3. The hidden resources and zones of control used to drive me nuts, and it took quite a lot of time to come to terms with these and other new concepts.

One of the good things about Civ 4 is that Iron is not quite as crucial as it was in Civ 3 - Copper will do much of the job for you, unless you are playing Rome, in which case, you need to decide early on if you're going to live without your UU, going to have to build a Galley and go off-shore to find some, continue to scratch around to find a spot which you can settle next to (or if need, be settle on) an Iron resource, or possibly the best way ... build half a dozen+ Axes and go get ye some off of someone else!

On trading, the AI is usually reluctant to trade a strategic resource (Copper, Iron, Aluminium, Oil, etc.) unless you're very powerful or very friendly. Not impossible, but it usually comes at a price steeper than reasonable.

It's often wise to place a unit (or possibly two) that can withstand Barbarian attacks on strategic resources, such as an Archer or an Axeman in the early-game. A Gold mine if within the city's 'fat cross' might also count here.

I don't think that there are any great tricks to finding resources other than noting that mines may randomly discover a resource, so it's not unheard of to have a 'normal' mined hill pop an Iron strategic resource. If the tile isn't mined, this won't occur.

interesting, the last game i was playing i was mongolian mainly because i love thier UU horses. but i couldnt build axes. maybe i need to rethink my strat. or maybe i was missing something else that. thanks for the input though!

I'm glad that you mentioned the Keshik, as it is one of the mid-game units that don't require either Copper or Iron. Most eras have a few half-decent 'resourceless' units to at least keep you in with a chance (incl; Archers, Catapults, Longbows, Musketmen, Grenadiers, Rifles, the various Infantry units, Artillery).

It's pretty rare to have a reasonable sized empire with none of; Copper, Iron, or Horses, so while it's a pain not to have both Iron and Copper, with Horses you can still put together a reasonable offence as the Mongols.

Unlucky though to be unable to build Axemen - especially on Warlord where I thought that the computer would probably put you in a farly resource-rich starting location.

ive played 2 warlord games tonight both resulting in an early defeat. mainly because of the lack of resources i have been getting. just some really really crapp starts. most recent game i had 2 gold resouces and by the time i finally found some copper, the english already had axe men and suprisingly enough declared war on me and took my capital (of the 5 cities i had by 0a.d. it was the only one that was really running well). after that i just stoped lol.

one thing i have noticed on warlord is that automated function of workers really sucks. its awesome on settler and chieftan but really blows on warlord. i end up waiting way to long to get things done. is there somewhere i can get a good explination of Microing the workers?

ive played 2 warlord games tonight both resulting in an early defeat. mainly because of the lack of resources i have been getting. just some really really crapp starts. most recent game i had 2 gold resouces and by the time i finally found some copper, the english already had axe men and suprisingly enough declared war on me and took my capital (of the 5 cities i had by 0a.d. it was the only one that was really running well). after that i just stoped lol.
At your level you really should consider giving this months GOTM (http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=165492) a go. It is warlord. Make sure you read the rules before starting the game. As well as the game, you will get lots of writups where you can see how other people solved the problems you came across.
one thing i have noticed on warlord is that automated function of workers really sucks. its awesome on settler and chieftan but really blows on warlord. i end up waiting way to long to get things done. is there somewhere i can get a good explination of Microing the workers?
I am sure the algorithm is the same as on the lower levels, but as the bonuses are lower you need to be playing beter. I am not sure about a writeup of how to do it. I would say the things you need to consider are -

How many workers do I need? You decide this on how many unimproved tiles are you working and how fast are you growing. If you have lots of unimproved tiles you do not have enough workers.
What tiles do you need developed first? I usually prioritize food, then production then comerce. I would generaly prioritize smaller cities for food and larger cities for production/commerce.
Try to move your workers so they do not loose a turn moving between tiles. If you are on an unroaded tile, then you can only work on an ajasent tile this turn. If you are on a roaded one, you can move one tile along the road and still work a non-roaded tile.

interesting. i am normally a worker whore, i'd rather have to many then two few. but that being said im really bad at building roads. normally ill let the automated trade routes do that for me. then if i get a resource (gold iron copper ect) ill build that road right after the mine is done. in the other versions of this i played i normally only played the easy levels because i never really got into them like i have this one. learning to micromanage and obtain resources is tunring out to be more difficult then i had expected.

try playing a modern start and getting a world with no aluminium

sigh

In regards to key resources, it is fairly important to research the correct techs to reveal their location as early as possible. Bronze working is the clearest example. Besides giving you the ability to chop-rush production, it reveals the location of copper, so it should be researched very early (first few techs, if not first tech). Animal Husbandry reveals horses, and Iron Working, obviously reveals Iron.

If you wait too long to research these techs you will find the AI has settled around the resources. In most games (especially lower difficulties) either Copper or Iron is fairly close to everyone's capital. The problem is, that if you let the AI research the right techs before you, they will beeline their settlers to the resources and claim them.

My suggestion is to research BW extra early, look for the Copper and send a settler towards it (it should be within a few "potential city placements" of your capital). It may stretch your territory a bit (i.e. not be where you would otherwise choose to place next settler), but it is worth it. Just fill in the space between this city and your capital with other cities, as time and money permits.

Also, it is crucial to "scout" as much area as possible in the first 20-30 turns, so that you can "see" where the key resources appear when you research their corresponding techs. If you leave the map "black" (unscouted), you won't know where the resources pop up.

Lastly, if you are really, really frustrated, and want to gain experience with some good starts, you can always enter the World Builder on the first turn. This will reveal whether (and where) the key resources are close to you or not. If you don't like what you see, you can regenerate the map. As this is clearly a cheat, I don't advise it, unless you truly just want to get in a couple of games with good starts to learn the rest of "the ropes."

Unless you're Rome, Iron really isn't that important of a resource, bronze will do fine. Swordsmen are nicer for taking cities than axes, but axes do a good job and I usually get most of my early war done before I even have swordsmen. In the medieval era, macemen form the backbone of my armies even when I have iron, many times I've gone on to great victories with a stack of macemen, spearmen, and catapaults. Iron is nice in the later medieval period for knights and pikemen, but you don't really need them and should be able to take an iron city before that.

Garlicki, you do not trade for Iron. You found a city near it, and if you can't do that - you build Axemen and take it ffrom the hapless AI. And if you don't have copper, well, you're screwed, I'd tried a new game. (You could beeline for Horse Archers, then you might have a chance if you have horses, but it could be tough)

Odd, apparently most of you assume copper to be readily available even when iron isn't, while in my experience the opposite is usually true.

Only in about one out of three games do I have copper within a reasonable range of my starting location (i.e. with a fair chance of settling near it before an AI does) while games without iron nearby are rather exceptional. Same with horses: there are usually some not too far away. Copper though, hmm...

Note that I play Prince or higher (depending on my mood), perhaps copper is more of a rare resource on higher difficulty? Or am I just a tad unlucky? When looking at starting positions posted on these forums I do certainly get the feeling the RNG must hate me :sad:

Odd, apparently most of you assume copper to be readily available even when iron isn't, while in my experience the opposite is usually true.

Only in about one out of three games do I have copper within a reasonable range of my starting location (i.e. with a fair chance of settling near it before an AI does) while games without iron nearby are rather exceptional. Same with horses: there are usually some not too far away. Copper though, hmm...

Note that I play Prince or higher (depending on my mood), perhaps copper is more of a rare resource on higher difficulty? Or am I just a tad unlucky? When looking at starting positions posted on these forums I do certainly get the feeling the RNG must hate me :sad:

It's a matter of luck, nothing more.
I almost never have horses, which is a shame when you play hatchepetsuh, but find copper often, and even more iron.
Of course, it's also a matter of tech priority. If you go for BW soon, you'll get the horses later, and it's very likely an AI already has settled on it. Too late.
Same thing for copper or iron. If you go for a religion, or animal husbandry or pottery, you won't find copper or iron in time, and some AI will have it first.

just make wat to them

I concur with everything dalessi12 said.

I will only add a corallary to settling near copper/exploring the map early on. I often play as Rome, whose UU needs Iron. Since Iron Working takes several turns to research, I'll not only settle near copper so I can build Axemen as a backup. I'll explore and look for some sort of "choke point" between my starting location and that of other civs. Not every map lends itself to this, but many do.

If such a location exists, I plunk down a city there early on, even if it's far from my capitol. This seals off a good-sized chunk of a continent for me. I'm then VERY stingy with Open Borders agreements until I backfill that area and most of its resources are revealed. The more territory you control, the more likely it is a crucial resource will appear within it.

awesome, all great ideas, i got 2 warlord victories today but mainly because i had both copper and iron by my cities. copper = awesome