Controlling the tropics

[SuperSmash5]

It just occurred to me that on most maps, there is a tropical area near the equator that seems to have an absurd amount of great cottaging land that includes many calendar resources to the point where anyone controlling that area is almost certain to be a tech leader.

However, I almost never access this area. I either get holed up in the northern mountainous regions or I play on maps where these tropics don't exist. I also usually play on smaller maps (my computer has trouble handling larger ones). In any case, I never get this land or I get it at a very late point in the game where I can't use it efficiently.

So I'm wondering if a large part of the generally accepted CIV strategies revolve around controlling the tropics. I notice that many people suggest having many commerce cities and think the Financial trait is the best in the game. However, I've always found that having one super commerce capital supported by smaller production cities yields the best result. For that reason, I've always liked the Industrious, Expansive, and Organized traits because they work with a heavy production empire.

And the real question is: do you think that I could be a stronger player if I learned how to control the tropics?

[kossin]

No. Control resources, wherever and whatever they are.

Cottages are definitely not the only way to play... food is much more important.

It doesn't matter if you control a part of the world or no... all you need is more cities that can grow. A war will do that for you

[Gwynnja]

Jungles are a pain in the @ss to clear, and the strongest food source is usually a banana, so you usually need Iron Working, Calendar, and excess workers. The AI love the techs so I rarely self research them and I often try to REX out with settlers and neglect building workers. I like to let the AI develop the jungle and then (hopefully) take it from them.

[oranje willem]

Like said above, it sucks to get it worked, but once rolling its very strong land. Ideally you settle other places first and conquer the tropics after the AI made them good cities.

[r_rolo1]

Originally Posted by oranje willem

Like said above, it sucks to get it worked, but once rolling its very strong land. Ideally you settle other places first and conquer the tropics after the AI made them good cities.

That makes them prime places to take from the AI ... and very bad ones to settle yourself

[SuperSmash5]

If that's the case, I'd imagine you'd have to conquer the tropics fairly early after they are developed. Otherwise, the economic benefit would come too late in the game to be significant aside from the fact that you'd cripple the tech leader.

[oranje willem]

Originally Posted by SuperSmash5

If that's the case, I'd imagine you'd have to conquer the tropics fairly early after they are developed. Otherwise, the economic benefit would come too late in the game to be significant aside from the fact that you'd cripple the tech leader.

There are so many ways to win, but if you have only room for 4-5 cities it isn't a bad idea to build an army and conquer those juicy cities as soon as the computer cleared a lot of jungle for you. If you have 6+ decent cities you don't really need to rush to get them and you may as well wait for cannons to make it a lot easier for yourself.

[SuperSmash5]

Also, if the tropics aren't critical to CIV strategy, how do people find so many good commerce sites? For me, it's usually a choice between 25 beakers in a city or 25 hammers in a city, for which the choice is obvious. I can never find enough flat grassland/floodplains.

[Tyrael]

It's pretty pointless to even define "tropics" or let the term influence you in any way. Good land is good land, and resources are resources. Let that guide you, instead of any notion like "MUST HAVE TROPICS TO WIN".

[SuperSmash5]

Originally Posted by Tyrael

It's pretty pointless to even define "tropics" or let the term influence you in any way. Good land is good land, and resources are resources. Let that guide you, instead of any notion like "MUST HAVE TROPICS TO WIN".

I don't think it's a pointless notion at all. Knowing the geography of what kind of map you're playing on is useful. If you scout out tundra north of your starting location, you should probably spend more effort exploring southward if you're looking for floodplains or calendar resources. There are certain patters that the maps follow.

[Artichoker]

Originally Posted by SuperSmash5

I don't think it's a pointless notion at all. Knowing the geography of what kind of map you're playing on is useful. If you scout out tundra north of your starting location, you should probably spend more effort exploring southward if you're looking for floodplains or calendar resources. There are certain patters that the maps follow.

You have a good point.

There are many kinds of resources (especially those unlocked by Calendar) that tend to appear in the jungle. Some of them have very high yields (take Dye, for example), and the grasslands that you get from chopping the jungle can be used for many purposes--production, commerce, GP Farming, etc.

However, it's quite possible to build an economy without the help of this land. Furthermore, making them top priority can often cost you more in the long run. In fact, it is often better to let the AI profit a little from the enhanced commerce that these lands typically offer, and use the AI's tech as a "backboard" to gain more tech for yourself from tech trades. If you time your tech trades properly, that AI can go from a close ally to a military target in the blink of an eye. Since the AI tends to focus on commerce, the high-quality land will not necessarily help the AI defend the territory. On the contrary, when the AI controls land with high percentage of plains and hills, that is when you need to be wary about attacking the AI, for it usually means they have more production to build military units.

[DMOC]

The only kind of tropics that I intend to target in every game is floodplains. Jungles are junk anyway, let others improve it for you.