LouLong
In love with Rei Ayanami
One very useful (and new) land improvement is the cottage.
It can be built after the pottery tech is discovered which means pretty early and that's the interest of it.
Its main benefit is extra gold and gold IS important in Civ4.
But the amount of gold it produces can vary. Indeed a cottage tile worked by a city can evolve after a certain number of turns into a hamlet then into a town. And these are even more productive. Of course special civics and later techs can also add extra bonus. With all that you must understand building some cottages early (especially on flood plains if you are lucky enough to have some near your starting place) can be extremely productive on the long term.
So especially if you are used to previous Civ games, don't focus on usual mines/irrigation/roads and keep your mind open for these cottages !
It can be built after the pottery tech is discovered which means pretty early and that's the interest of it.
Its main benefit is extra gold and gold IS important in Civ4.
But the amount of gold it produces can vary. Indeed a cottage tile worked by a city can evolve after a certain number of turns into a hamlet then into a town. And these are even more productive. Of course special civics and later techs can also add extra bonus. With all that you must understand building some cottages early (especially on flood plains if you are lucky enough to have some near your starting place) can be extremely productive on the long term.
So especially if you are used to previous Civ games, don't focus on usual mines/irrigation/roads and keep your mind open for these cottages !