Should they introduce timber as the fourt basic resource?

Up to this point the Civ games had 3 type of base resource. Food, Coin (money), Products. The games don't distinguish timber from other kind of minerals. But I actually know a few people like to see this. There are already mods for this and other games uses timber as a resourse.

What do you think? I'm not sure about the idea because it would add a new layer of strategic play and it would be a huge improvement (all of the CIV games used 3 base resources). But in the meanthime it could turn into micromanaging and lack of timber could be a problem for a few civs.

Maybe as a bonus resource like Sheep, Cows or Wheat. The simple Gold/Food/Production is fine as it is though and doesn't need changing.

I like the idea of quality timber as a bonus resource. (+1 production on forest tile. Lost if chopped obviously )

There would be the problem of depletion, but it could be great. Colonization had timber as a resource. Colonization had a dozen resources, and Civ could be inspired by that.

I think it should be a strategic resource - necessary for building some naval units, etc.

Timber as a strategic resource for the ships wouldn't be a bad idea but there is a problem with it. When you start the game the forrest are everywhere literally. It doesn't like a special rare resource.

But there should be a difference between forest and quality timber - like the difference between hills and actual iron resources.

JeszKar said:

Timber as a strategic resource for the ships wouldn't be a bad idea but there is a problem with it. When you start the game the forrest are everywhere literally. It doesn't like a special rare resource.

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Yes, but the trees that are suitable for building ships - tall, straight, relatively dense - are not everywhere. Important patches of 'strategic' timber like the famous Cedars of Lebanon (used for roof beams in monumental construction in the ancient world as well as ship-building) or the 'mast timber' that the British navy went looking for in New England could be designated, as are the special resources like gems, dyes, 'wine' etc.

Timber as a Resource would also force Civ to deal with Depletion and Renewal, which it has not up to now. It is ridiculous that horses, for instance, cannot be raised except on certain patches found in 3500 BC! I should be able to establish animal resources in any terrain that matches, given the technology. Equally, gold, silver and other minerals 'play out' and new veins have to be discovered. A Dynamic Resource model would be much more realistic and would keep resources active in the game - right now, once you've got a certain tech, you know where all the Iron or Coal in the world is, and all you have to do is settle near it - and after a certain point, the resources are no longer required and can be ignored. Given that iron and coal are still actively sought and mined, this makes no sense in the game, and continuous requirement and depletion and renewal should be part of the resource model.

Timber's a necessary resource for erecting early buildings, bridges, ships, even in arming armies(with axes, catapults, siege towers, etc). Cedar, Oak, Teak and Redwood forests could be very profitable if owned.
I absolutely agree with the previous post about horses and iron. Iron is constantly needed for production of many units and buildings, horses you can raise in other tiles, after acquiring them from their original spot, that's what animal domestication is used for, coal is needed(though to a lesser extent) past the industrial era.
All these aspects should be reflected in the game.

Here's the Resource Model that I'd use for Timber:

Visible on the map at the Start (It's pretty hard to hide a 150 foot tall tree!)

Timber Resource can appear in any Forest tile, including those on Tundra base tiles.

(SIDE NOTE: We could even include a Luxury Resource of Exotic Woods, a timber resource found only in Jungle Tiles, representing hardwoods like mahogany or teak, which provide material for luxury furniture and interiors. I happen to think we have enough Luxury resources already, but it's certainly a reasonable addition to the game)

Timber is Required for construction of all ships until Ironclads. Including Cargo Ships.

Construction of a Lumber Mill is required to access the Timber Resource. Consequently, Lumber Mill is one of the Improvements available at the start of the game, BUT the Lumber Mill does not provide +1 Production to the tile it is on until after the discovery of Bronze or Iron Working (without metal tools, felling timber is 'way too labor intensive to provide any benefit to ordinary construction projects.)

The Timber Resource, being a Strategic Resource, is Depleted after all the Timber is harvested (typically, a single Timber Resource would have 2 - 6 Timber Resource Points in it). Once depleted, the Timber will regrow ONLY if the Lumber Mill is removed by Razing or Selling it off. Renewal of the resource takes 200 years, which will be a variable number of Game Turns.

What this means is, a Naval Power or major Sea Trade Civilization (Venice, Portugal, England, probably Polynesia to name a few) will need to actively search out and access Timber Resources early on. In fact, any civilization with an early Naval Unique Unit or Trade-oriented Unique Attribute - like Venice, Carthage, Byzantium, would have to have Timber Resource programmed as a starting or near-starting position Resource.

The alternative to this, and I find that the Starting Position Bias is one of the worst-programmed aspects of the game, would be to always provide an alternative to any Resource Requirement that is a Game Breaker for the civilization, as Timber would be for the civilizations mentioned above.
For Timber, for instance, the alternative could be to chop down the entire tile of forest, representing using smaller timbers spliced together to build up larger pieces, or chopping down everything to get at the few large trees isolated in the midst of the forest. Either way, replenishing the forest tile would require leaving it unused for 100 years or so for it to regrow. It would also be a distinctly Lesser Alternative, since a large fleet would require you to chop an awful lot of forest tiles, taking time and Worker Resources in game turns to do.