Whales: Resource of the Gods

[Yfelsung]

So I've found that coastal cities in this game have a MASSIVE advantage if you have whales.

With just a lighthouse, a seaport and a workboat on each tile, your whales product 3 gold, 3 food and 2 production per tile. Add a Colossus and you have 3 food, 4 gold and 2 production.

I did an island map with a friend last night where my main city had 4 whale spots in range and my city outgrew every other city on the map by leaps and bounds.

Even resources-less ocean tiles product 2 gold and 2 food with a Colossus and Lighthouse.

Do any Civs have bonuses that would really push this to an even more ridiculous level?

 

[cembandit]

There is a social policy that gives 3 hammers to all costal cities.

 

[King Jason]

Do any Civs have bonuses that would really push this to an even more ridiculous level?

Off the top of my head, for a largely coastal empire I think Arabia's +2 for trade route income would help if it applies to routes connected by harbors only... because Harbors allow for the least amount of gold invested to establish a trade route, unless the city is already 3 spaces away, in which case it's the same.

But have two cities 8 tiles apart... the Harbor is easily the better choice... and again, as Arabia, you may be able to get +2 additional gold from the trade, thus benefiting from a coastal empire in a way.

 

[Mahatmajon]

Even resources-less ocean tiles product 2 gold and 2 food with a Colossus and Lighthouse.

But a grassland with a trading post (available VERY early) is 2 food and 4 hammers. I think that production is the most important thing for city placement. Whales are good, but coastal is only okay for the food/commerce. It is not as good as river locations and no matter what having hills for production is the most important.

 

[Rime]

But a grassland with a trading post (available VERY early) is 2 food and 4 hammers.

Hammers?

 

[Shillen]

I like silver and gold in my capital. With the mint building they're like 3 production and 6-7 gold each.

But a grassland with a trading post (available VERY early) is 2 food and 4 hammers.

Grassland with trading post is 2 food and 2 gold (3 gold if on a river). No hammers at all.

 

[Mahatmajon]

Bah, of course I was so busy bold-ing the 4 that I said hammers i/o coins. Shillen is right that it's only 3 on a river. I think I'm in golden ages too frequently and lose track of what tile yields normally are.

 

[alpaca]

Bah, of course I was so busy bold-ing the 4 that I said hammers i/o coins. Shillen is right that it's only 3 on a river. I think I'm in golden ages too frequently and lose track of what tile yields normally are.

Please don't post about tile yields then, it's just going to confuse someone

I don't think coastal cities are so great, really. In Civ4 BTS they at least got additional trade wealth and health from the harbor to make up for the loss of food/commerce compared to specialist or cottage economy respectively, and the food resources were a lot more powerful. Plus, they had some acceptable yield when you were financial and, especially, the Netherlands.

You said it yourself: If you have the colossus and a lighthouse (a building you must create or buy and maintain) they yield ffcc - which is the basic yield of a grassland with a trading post improvement, so nothing special at all.

Merchant Navy makes them a little less bad but it's only useful if you settle coastal cities massively. Which is probably a bad idea, not only because they are fairly bad in comparison to inland cities but also because they are more vulnerable to Barb ships and to coastal bombardment. Basically, you have to create a bunch of "solutions" for problems you wouldn't even have if you didn't settle the coastal cities.

 

[Shillen]

I don't think coastal cities are so great, really. In Civ4 BTS they at least got additional trade wealth and health from the harbor to make up for the loss of food/commerce compared to specialist or cottage economy respectively, and the food resources were a lot more powerful. Plus, they had some acceptable yield when you were financial and, especially, the Netherlands.

I would have agreed with you until I just played an archipelago game. The amount of gold per turn I was bringing in was ridiculous. I was allied with every city-state the whole game and still buying tiles, units and buildings.

 

[MadmanAtW]

Don't forget of course that if you have mostly coastal cities, the Commerce social tree is pretty badass.

 

[fugazi]

Isnt one major benefit of lots of coastal cities that roads ain't necessary, thus you skip on a major maintenance cost and in return gets major extra coinage from the commercial tree?

*has to try this out in an appropriate game*

 

[slowjames]

I would have agreed with you until I just played an archipelago game. The amount of gold per turn I was bringing in was ridiculous. I was allied with every city-state the whole game and still buying tiles, units and buildings.

The thing is in Civ V you won't be working every tile anyway, so it doesn't matter that much if you have some wasted water tiles as long as you also have some decent land tiles to work. Not sure if this totally defeats your objection but it's something to think about.

 

[briskojr]

Hammers?

Production is represented by a hammer icon.