Lightning bolts without electricity

[traius]

Does anyone else find it strange that I can get a lightning bolt symbol for every city before my people have learned about electricity?

[Tlalynet]

Captured the Three Gorges Dam?

[traius]

I don't know what happens in that situation. Does one require the requisite techs to use captured wonders?
But the only requisite for coal plants is Assembly Line and a factory in the city in question. One can go down that tech path without electricity (steam power and corporation for assembly, neither of which even requires Sci Meth, let alone electricity).

[damerell]

Perhaps you can rationalise this as widespread use of steam to drive industrial processes mechanically.

[Tlalynet]

You should rationalize it the same way you handle airships without combustion. CivIV is steampunk.

[dylanmeditates]

how about, how can you can build a spaceship without researching flight?

[traius]

building it without flight is easy. Launching it is a bit harder. LANDING it might be a serious problem
Might explain Alpha Centauri though...

[Imp. Knoedel]

Originally Posted by traius

building it without flight is easy. Launching it is a bit harder. LANDING it might be a serious problem
Might explain Alpha Centauri though...

Anyway, IIRC you could build the Apollo Program without Electricity, so there.

[karadoc]

You don't need to capture the three gorge dam or anything like that.
Coal power comes with assembly line; and you don't need electricity to get it.

.. I agree that it's weird. Sometimes I'm tempted to change it so that coal power plants require electricity as well as assembly line...


As for space travel without flight; I don't think that's as strange. The kind of flight technology that aeroplanes use is quite different to the kind that space rockets use. Aeroplanes with wings and such simply cannot fly where there is no air. The technology for planes wouldn't be much use in space, or on the moon, or anything like that. So, for that kind of reason I think it makes some sense that you can get to rocketry with either flight or artillery.

[King Kalmah]

Originally Posted by karadoc

You don't need to capture the three gorge dam or anything like that.
Coal power comes with assembly line; and you don't need electricity to get it.

.. I agree that it's weird. Sometimes I'm tempted to change it so that coal power plants require electricity as well as assembly line...

The way I see it is only industries benefit from the coal power plant pre-Electricity?

Electricity could refer to power grids as we know them today.(ie you would only care if the industries have power to supply that production bonus.You don't care if the neighborhood has lighting for their homes since that doesn't really improve production,beside what goods do they need power for(no TVs,radios yet)...happiness absolutely,production nah) As far as steampunk and all that awesome stuff goes....The dev team said something about launching the rocket like a piece of ammo and then it would go into space...all without Flight...

[damerell]

Originally Posted by King Kalmah

The dev team said something about launching the rocket like a piece of ammo and then it would go into space...all without Flight...

Maybe the rocket is launched... like a rocket. Rockets predate heavier-than-air flight and don't work on the same principle. I really don't see the problem there.

(And I'm equally willing to suppose a coal power plant without Electricity just sits there and turns a great big shaft which the entire Factory takes drive belts off - this being, after all, exactly what was done historically).

[TheMeInTeam]

There are other forms of power besides electrical power.

[karadoc]

Yes, that's true that the coal power plants might be generating some kind of mechanical power to run the factory rather than electricity. That seems fair enough to me. And I think the game does call it "power" rather than "electricity". So I suppose the only odd thing about it is the lightning bolt symbol; and that's really not a big deal.

[fibonacci112358]

Haha, I noticed this too!

I believe one of the developers said Civ is a game about what could have been, not what is/was.

===

From a mechanics point of view, it is actually quite helpful if you have a lot of monastries built (or, indeed TGL), as they get obsoleted by SciMeth, a hard-prereq for electricity.

You can therefore get the full forge + factory + coal plant combo without obsoleting these vital tech buildings.

Also, Electricity, Physics, SciMeth form a very, very expensive tech line, compared to the line above it.

Fibonacci

[s.bernbaum]

The lightning bolt symbol on the cities means that they have a source of power, not electricity. As others have said, that can be steam power from coal plants. (or for that matter sterling engines powered by coal and then running machinery by belt drive)

[Kehgrehdid]

Originally Posted by Tlalynet

You should rationalize it the same way you handle airships without combustion. CivIV is steampunk.

Not necessarily - I remember the game I realized I had satellites without needing steam power! I guess there was some other way of getting information off of them. Periodic data capsules jetissoned back to earth? (Chemistry to dissolve the binding until it falls?)
Of course, on further inspection of the tech tree, a civ can have satellites without an alphabet. All symbolic/pictographs? Oh, the alternate society possibilities!

[damerell]

Originally Posted by Kehgrehdid

Not necessarily - I remember the game I realized I had satellites without needing steam power! I guess there was some other way of getting information off of them. Periodic data capsules jetissoned back to earth? (Chemistry to dissolve the binding until it falls?)

Satellites requires Radio (which requires Electricity) so I'm not sure there is much of a mystery here.

Of course, on further inspection of the tech tree, a civ can have satellites without an alphabet. All symbolic/pictographs? Oh, the alternate society possibilities!

Er, Alphabet -> Printing Press -> Scientific Method -> Physics -> Electricity -> Radio -> Satellites; no ORs in there that I can see.

[ruff_hi]

I am playing a pbem game, I have fighters, destroyers, etc but I don't know how to farm.

Originally Posted by TheMeInTeam

There are other forms of power besides electrical power.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2LTsvOHq3xc

[Kehgrehdid]

Sorry, Damerell, I should have specified that my electricity-free satellites existed in vanilla.

[Imp. Knoedel]

Originally Posted by TheMeInTeam

There are other forms of power besides electrical power.

This one for example.