When you start a game, certain resources are hidden (not visible). MOST of these are for obvious reasons - like copper, iron, uranium,, etc. These are only revealed when the tech that makes use of them is revealed.

Others become apparent after time. Mines are advertised as "a small chance of discovering ...." So, sometimes, you get gold, etc. after time. I'm sure there is some algorithm for this, but it's advertised as a SMALL chance!!!

My question is this. In a game I was playing (downloaded), I'd explored a certain area and decided to build a city there. It was on the ocean, there were a couple of forrests nearby and (for that map, anyway) it was a fairly decent spot to settle. So, I did.

The next turn, "all of a sudden", there were horses in an adjacent square. These were not visible initially. I guarantee that it was a plain "plains" square before I settled next to it. The game said something about "Horses have been discovered near..." It seems to me that I have seen this on "a couple" of occasions in other games - but it's REALLY RARE! If memory serves, I think I got a message about "Iron" being discovered near one of my old cities - VERY late in the game...

Did I miss something? Is there any way I could have seen it? The horses proved to be a CRITICAL asset in this game. I could have ended up settling somewhere else and missed them.

And what controls this?

If you have mined hills there is a small chance iron, copper, uranium, silver or gold wll appear there randomly. However in order to see iron, copper and uranium you need to have researched certain technologies - iron working, bronze working and fission (i think) respectively. You will not see these resources until you have their pre-req techs.

Horses are one resource which dont just appear randomly, this is because you don't mine them. What happened in your case is likely that you researched animal husbandary - the tech required in order for you to see and utilise horses. A tile that once appeared to hold nothing can end up containing the aforementioned standard (non lux) resources, this is why it is important to research certain techs quickly so you know where to build your cities. Hope that clarifies.

If you have any other quick questions try the quick answers thread at the top of this forum. You'll prob get a quicker response there.

Horses are one resource which dont just appear randomly, this is because you don't mine them. What happened in your case is likely that you researched animal husbandary - the tech required in order for you to see and utilise horses. A tile that once appeared to hold nothing can end up containing the aforementioned standard (non lux) resources, this is why it is important to research certain techs quickly so you know where to build your cities. Hope that clarifies.

I disagree. These horses appeared randomly. Normally, horses are visible from the beginning. I DID NOT research animal husbandry (until later)...

I've also had odd resources pop up unexpectedly. I always scoffed at the "small chance" of discovering minerals etc. by building a mine on a plain ol' hill, but it seems to be happening with more regularity now. It's also not always minerals, and not always on a tile with a mine if it is. Some are simply being discovered at a time other than when the resource would normally be revealed by tech.

Normally, horses are visible from the beginning.

That's not true.

That's not true.
QFT- Check the civilopedia entry for Animal Husbandry.

Horses only appear after you research animal husbandry. You obviously built the city before you researched it, which is why you got the notification when they appeared next to you.

As for the chances that you'll pop a resource from your mine, they are very small but it's per-turn, per-mine so the more mines you work the better the chances are, and since it's per-turn then you'll probably get a couple each game as long as you build a fair amount of mines (and work them). Of course you will never pop anything in mines that are already set to contain something (like coal, aluminum or uranium) but still, build enough cities and mines and you'll get lucky most of the time. The best thing is when you pop silver or gems, because those are rarer than gold and more valuable IMO than a metal like iron.

I checked the XML. There is a random chance for Horses to appear. It's not as high as Gold, Silver and the like, but there is a possibility.

I checked the XML. There is a random chance for Horses to appear. It's not as high as Gold, Silver and the like, but there is a possibility.

Even if that's true, it seems strange that they'd be visible before AH.

Even if that's true, it seems strange that they'd be visible before AH.

I can't attest to whether or not the code works, but it is in the XML. The XML also specifies that Animal Husbandry is a prerequisite. That basically leaves four possibilities for what Brantley is describing:

1. Brantley unknowingly obtained AH. (Highly unlikely, but is a possibility.)
2. It was there to begin with, but missed. (Also highly unlikely, but also a possibility.)
3. There is an bug in the randomly appearing resource routine that allowed Brantley to see what he shouldn't have. (Did you get a notice that the resource appeared? It should be in the log.)
4. Horses appear before AH is researched. (I personally haven't seen this.)

More than likely, there is a bug. I seriously doubt Brantley is blind. When you get a tech, unless you disabled the pop-up that occurs, getting a new tech is hard to miss. Also, it's unlikely that he missed a resource right next to where he built his city. As mentioned, I don't recall seeing horses before getting AH, but I haven't paid that much attention. Has anyone else seen that? Since Horses are an early resource and random appearance is slim (random appearance of gold occurs 2.5 times more likely and I don't see that much), there just isn't much time in the game for it to appear before the player gets AH. Sounds like Brantley encountered that rare instance where horses did randomly appear, the occurred next to what was likely to be a small civ at that point and the bug allowed him to see it.

I disagree. These horses appeared randomly. Normally, horses are visible from the beginning. I DID NOT research animal husbandry (until later)...

def. wrong. horse is only visible when animal hus. is learned.

def. wrong. horse is only visible when animal hus. is learned.

That is how it should be, but a bug is possible.

That is how it should be, but a bug is possible.

It's possible but I doubt that a bug like that would surface now. But perhaps I only never heard of it before.

@OP. Should be easy to check out. Just post a save. :)

It's possible but I doubt that a bug like that would surface now. But perhaps I only never heard of it before.

@OP. Should be easy to check out. Just post a save. :)

I haven't heard of it either. Just tossing it out as a possibility. The alternative is to believe someone didn't know what techs they had researched (hard to lose track that early in the game) and/or didn't happen to notice horses next to site they built their city. Again, not impossible, but I think a bug is more likely, especially involving a resource that randomly appears as infrequently as horses. Civs are so small before someone gets AH, most hiccups like this might not even be seen.

Normally, horses are visible from the beginning.

Wrong. Horses become visible when you research AH. If you only play custom games and NEVER play with an Ancient start, then yes horses are visible from the beginning. In any custom game with an Ancient start, or ANY standard game, horses are hidden at the stsrt. Look at AH in the tech tree/science advisor and you'll see that AH "Reveals Horse."

As for appearing randomly, this is the only time I've seen or heard of it, so my guess is you haven't played an ancient start in a very long time if ever,
and didn't research AH, but one of your cities' cultural borders expanded, popping a goody hut which gave you AH, revealing horses.

I have apparently been blind to a message about horses for many months... Maybe I have researched animal husbandry EARLY or just explored around, researching AH for the COWS (or pigs or sheep) and found the horses out there somewhere afterward.

I honestly had not seen that in the CIVLOPEDIA. I went back to an old save put a unit near where the horses were should be. They were not visible. Researched AH and viola - they appear!!

Sorry... Mea culpa!!

Well, I tried to give you the benefit of the doubt there Brantley. Strange things have happened in the game. Had one last night. The Malinese asked me to declare war on the Romans, which I did. The next thing I know Caesar is asking me to stop trading with someone else. He shouldn't have even been talking to me. THAT was definitely a bug! It all occurred during the same AI turn. All I can figure is it had queued up Caesar's request and didn't cancel it when I declared war. It makes me wonder what would have happened if I had tried to negociate something else with him.

I'm curious about finding resources such as metals If you build a mine destroy it and keep rebuilding on that spot can you find resources you did not before or does each tile only have one chance for the first mine built.

As mentioned above, it's per turn the mine is worked - the check is NOT made when the mine is produced.

As mentioned above, it's per turn the mine is worked - the check is NOT made when the mine is produced.

Do Mines need to be worked??

Is it not true that certain mines (like gold, silver, jems, coal, aluminum, copper, etc.) give you that resource MERELY by the mines existance??

It would make sense that the "small chance" mines need to be worked for that small chance.

Do Mines need to be worked??



Yes. You need to work those tiles

Yes, it is only worked mines that are not already on a resource that get the small chance of popping a resource. But build and work enough mines and resources do definitely pop up - I once popped Aluminium and Iron in consecutive turns in the same city.

Are you positive the mine must be worked?
I seem to recall that a mine built outside the fat cross of any of my cities randomly produced something (gems, I think). Since then, I've been building mines on any hills within my borders, when my workers don't have anything else to do.
I could be wrong about this... I surely would like to know.

The mine definitely has to be worked for a resource to appear. It's something like a 1/10000 chance each turn for each mine being worked that a resource will appear.