A Guide to Terrain and Improvements

[Stuporstar]

A Comprehensive Guide to The Cumulative Values of Terrain, Improvements and Resources.

Here is a complete breakdown of the types of terrain and their food, production and commerce values. There's a lot more to it than what was in the manual. Having a more in-depth understanding of these terrain values can really help your strategy when deciding where to build your cities. I've also made a list of worker improvements and their value modifications for each type of terrain. I've included the bonus value of resources as well, even though it's already in the manual, for completeness sake. There are five factors involved when using terrain effectively: terrain values, terrain feature values, improvement values, bonus resource values, and civics and tech bonuses, all of which accumulate.

Base Tile Values:
F = Food : P = Production : C = Commerce

Peak = 0 impassible
Ice = 0 impassible
Desert = 0
Snow = 0
Tundra = 1F
Ocean = 1F 1C
Coast = 1F 2C
Grassland = 2F
Plains = 1F 1P

The following types of terrain, or terrain features, modify the base terrain values:
Jungle = -1F (- health)
Hills = -1F 1P
Forest = 1P (+ health)
Floodplains = 3F (- heath)
Oasis = 3F 2C fresh water source (+ health)
River = 1C (+ health)
Rivers give no commerce bonus to Snow, Jungle or Forest tiles.

Cumulative Tile Values:
The base terrain types have a cumulative value when terrain features are added to them.

Grassland/Jungle = 1F
Snow/Forest = 1P
Tundra/Forest = 1F 1P
Plains/Forest = 1F 2P
Grassland/Forest = 2F 1P

Desert/Hill = 1P
Snow/Hill = 1P
Tundra/Hill = 1P
Plains/Hill = 2P
Grassland/Hill = 1F 1P

Grassland/Hill/Jungle = 1P
Snow/Hill/Forest = 2P
Tundra/Hill/Forest = 2P
Grassland/Hill/Forest = 1F 2P
Plains/Hill/Forest = 3P

A hill with a forest has just as much production as a hill with a mine, but with added health benefit, which leads me to...


Worker Improvements:

Terrain Specific Improvements

Desert: Nothing
Grassland, Plains, Floodplains: Farm (only by river until civil-service/biology), Cottage, Workshop, Watermill (by river)
Hills: Mine, Windmill (all), Cottage (except desert, tundra, snow)
Forest: Lumbermill, whatever you can build on the base tile (and remove forest)
Tundra (with river): Farm, Workshop, Cottage, Watermill
Snow (with river): Watermill

You cannot build improvements except roads/railroads on: Desert, and Snow or Tundra (without river, hills or forest)

A detailed breakdown of how improvements modify terrain values:

Farms: flatlands - can build on resources
Tech: Agriculture, Civil Service (can spread irrigation), Biology (can build farms without irrigation) +1F
Farm = 1F
Best income: 2F (Civil Service)
Best possible food: 5F 1C (Floodplains)
Best possible food with resource: 7F 2C (Wheat +2F 1C + Floodplains)

Agriculture:
Farms can only be built by rivers.
+ Plains = 2F 1P 1C
+ Grassland = 3F 1C
+ Floodplains = 4F 1C

Civil Service:
Farms can be irrigated and "chained" away from river tiles.
Farm (irrigated) on river = 2F
+ Plains= 3F 1P 1C
+ Grassland = 4F 1C
+ Floodplains = 5F 1C
Farm (irrigated) not on river = 2F
+ Plains = 3F 1P
+ Grassland = 4F

Biology:
Farms can be built anywhere without irrigation, but do not get the +1F irrigation bonus.
Farm (not irrigated) not on river = 1F
+ Plains = 2F 1P
+ Grassland = 3F
It's better to just chain your irrigated farms, however it may be useful if you are on a particular landmass that just has no way of reaching fresh water and desperately need to increase your food production.


Cottages: any workable tiles except Snow or Tundra (Tundra with river being the only exception)
Tech: Pottery, Printing Press +1C for Villages and Towns
Cottage = 1C
Hamlet = 2C (10 turns)
Village = 3C (20 turns)
Town = 4C (40 turns)
Printing Press:
Village = 4C
Town = 5C

Civic: Universal Suffrage (Democracy) +1P for town, Free Speech (Liberalism) +2C for town, Emancipation (Democracy) +100% growth for cottage, hamlet, and village
Best income: 1P 7C (Printing Press, Universal Suffrage, Free Speech)


Mines: any Hill tile - can build on resources
Tech: Mining, Railroads +1P if a railroad is added
Mine = 2P
+ Snow, Desert, Tundra, Grassland = 2P
+ Plains = 3P
Best income: 3P (with rairoad)
Best possible production: 5P 1C (Plains + railroad + river)
Best possible production with resource: 8P 2C (Aluminum +3P 1C + Plains + railroad + river)


Windmills: any Hill tile
Tech: Machinery, Replaceable Parts +1P, Electricity +1C
Windmill = 1F 1C

Machinery:
+ Snow, Desert, Tundra = 1F 1P 1C
+ Plains = 1F 2P 1C
+ Grassland = 2F 1P 1C

Replaceable Parts and Electricity:
Windmill = 2F 1P 2C
+ Snow, Desert, Tundra = 1F 2P 2C
+ Plains = 1F 3P 2C
+ Grassland = 2F 2P 2C

Best income: 1F 1P 2C (Replaceable Parts, Electricity)
Best possible production: 1F 3P 3C (Plains + river)
Best possible food: 2F 2P 3C (Grassland + river)


Workshop: flatlands
Tech: Metal Casting, Guilds +1P, Chemistry +1P
Workshop = -1F 1P

Metal Casting:
+ Tundra (must have river) = 1P (1C)
+ Grassland = 1F 1P
+ Plains = 2P

Chemistry and Guilds:
Workshop = -1F 3P
+ Tundra (must have river) = 3P (1C)
+ Grassland = 1F 3P
+ Plains = 4P

Civic: State Property (Communism) +1F
Best income: 3P (Guilds, Chemistry, State Property)
Best possible production: 1F 4P 1C (Plains + river + State Property)


Lumbermill:any forest tile
Tech: Replaceable Parts, Railroads +1P if built
Lumbermill = 1P
+ Snow = 2P
+ Tundra = 1F 2P
+ Grassland = 2F 2P
+ Tundra = 3P
+ Snow = 3P
+ Plains = 1F 3P
+ Grassland/Hill = 1F 3P
+ Plains/Hill = 4P
Best income: 3P 1C (1C from being near river, 1P from railroad, 1P from forest)
Best possible production: 5P 1C (Plains/Hill + river and railroad)

As you can see, keeping the forest will give you better production in the long run than if you chop it down to replace it with farms or cottages. On a forest/hill tile it is not worth replacing it with a mine early in the game because you will only get that 1P back and lose the health benefit in return.


Watermill: flatlands near river
Tech: Machinery, Replaceable Parts +1P, Electricity + 2C
Watermill = 1P + 1C from river

Tech: Machinery
+ Snow = 1P 1C
+ Tundra = 1F 1P 1C
+ Grassland = 2F 1P 1C
+ Plains = 1F 2P 1C
+ Floodplains = 3F 1P 1C

Replaceable Parts and Electricity:
Watermill = 2P 2C + 1C from river
+ Snow = 2P 3C
+ Tundra = 1F 2P 3C
+ Grassland = 2F 2P 3C
+ Plains = 1F 3P 3C
+ Floodplains = 3F 2P 3C

Civic: State Property (Communism) +1F
Best income: 1F 2P 2C (Replaceable Parts, Electricity, State Property)
Best possible food: 4F 2P 3C (floodplains + State Property)

Summary: a breakdown of which terrain improvements maximize income/production/food best would be:

Best Food
Farm +2F (5F 1C best terrain) (+2F 1C with resource)

Best Commerce
Cottage +1P 7C

Best Production
Workshop +3P (1F 4P 1C best terrain)
Mine +3P (5P 1C best terrain) (+3P 1C with resource)
Lumbermill +3P (5P 1C best terrain) + health bonus from forest

Best General
Windmill +1F 1P 2C (2F 2P 3C best terrain) (1F 3P 3C best terrain)
Watermill +1F 2P 2C (4F 2P 3C best terrain)


Resource Improvements and Tile Bonuses:

These improvements can be built wherever the resource is found. The improvements are non-terrain specific, though on a random map the resources tend to generate only on certain types of terrain. All these terrain values and bonuses are cumulative. This means that the 3P bonus with the improved resource iron, copper, coal or aluminum + 1P for the mine + 1-2P on a hill can equal up to a maximum of 6P on a single tile.

Farm
Tech: Agriculture
Resources:
Corn = Base 1F : Improved 2F +1 Health
Wheat = Base 1F : Improved 2F +1 Health
Rice = Base 1F : Improved 1F +1 Health

Pasture
Tech: Animal Husbandry
Resources:
Horse = Base 1P : Improved 2P 1C
Cow = Base 1F : Improved 1F 2P +1 Health
Pig = Base 1F : Improved 3F +1 Health
Sheep = Base 1F : Improved 2F 1C +1 Health

Camp
Tech: Hunting
Resources:
Deer = Base 1F : Improved 2F +1 Health
Fur (obsolete with Plastics) = Base 1C : Improved 3C +1 Happiness
Ivory (obsolete with Industrialism) = Base 1P : Improved 1P 1C +1 Happiness

Fishing Boats
Tech: Fishing
Resources:
Fish = Base 1F : Improved 3F +1 Health
Clam = Base 1F : Improved 2F +1 Health
Crab = Base 1F : Improved 2F +1 Health

Quarry
Tech: Masonry
Resources:
Stone = Base 1P : Improved 2P
Marble = Base 1P : Improved 1P 2C

Mine
Tech: Mining
Resources:
Silver = Base 1C : Improved 1P 4C +1 Happiness
Gems = Base 1C : Improved 1P 5C +1 Happiness
Gold = Base 1C : Improved 1P 6C +1 Happiness
Copper (Bronze Working) = Base 1P : Improved 3P
Iron (Iron Working) = Base 1P : Improved 3P
Coal (Steam Power) = Base 1P : Improved 3P
Aluminum (Industrialism) = Base 1P : Improved 3P 1C
Uranium (Physics) + Base 0 : Improved 3C

Well/Offshore Platform
Tech: Combustion/Plastics
Resources:
Oil (Scientific Method) = Base 1P : Improved 2P 1C

Winery
Tech: Monarchy
Resources:
Wine = Base 1C : Improved 1F 2C +1 Happiness

Whaling Boats
Tech: Optics
Resources:
Whales (obsolete with Combustion) = Base 1F : Improved 1P 2C +1 Happiness

Plantation
Tech: Calendar
Resources:
Banana = Base 1F : Improved 2F +2 Health
Dye = Base 1C : Improved 4C +1 Happiness
Incense = Base 1C : Improved 5C +1 Happiness
Silk = Base 1C : Improved 3C +1 Happiness
Spices = Base 1C : Improved 1F 2C +1 Happiness
Sugar = Base 1F : Improved 1F 1C +1 Happiness

That's all I have for now. I'm not going to do a full breakdown on the resources like I did with terrain and improvements. Too many permutations! I hope people will find this guide useful. Special thanks to Heroes for his best income breakdowns and added civics.

 

[Thrar]

I don't have the game, so can't comment on correctness of that data.
If it's correct, this deserves to be sticked on top of the forum imo. Thanks for all the effort!

 

[tolbox]

Lumbermills:
Tech: Replaceable Parts
Lumbermill = 1F 1P
Lumbermills can be built on any Forest tile.
+ Snow = 2P
+ Tundra = 1F 2P
+ Grassland = 2F 2P
+ Tundra = 3P
+ Snow = 3P
+ Plains = 1F 3P
+ Grassland/Hill = 1F 3P
+ Plains/Hill = 4P

hum... maybe it should have stated:
Lumbermill = -1F 1P
no? (I can't confirm, since I hadn't go that far in the game).
otherwise, it's a great guide

 

[Heroes]

Farms:
Tech: Agriculture, Civil Service (can spread irrigation), Biology (can build farms without irrigation) +1F
Farm = 1F
+ Plains = 2F 1P 1C
+ Grassland = 3F 1C
+ Floodplains = 4F 1C

After Biology Tech:
Farm (irrigated) on river = 2F
+ Plains= 3F 1P 1C
+ Grassland = 4F 1C
+ Floodplains = 5F 1C
Farm (irrigated) not on river = 2F
+ Plains = 3F 1P
+ Grassland = 4F
Farm (not irrigated) not on river = 1F
+ Plains = 2F 1P
+ Grassland = 3F

Thank you very much, that's exactly the thing I want to compile!

But just a question here: after knowing biology a farm not irrigated and not on river = 1F? That's less than what one can get from spreading irrigation by knowing civil service?! I think this is not correct. The usage of biology should be to allow farm to built anywhere, just like the function of electricity in civ3; and any farm gains +2F. What do you think?

 

[Heroes]

This is already very detailed. However, to gain a comprehensive understanding, we need to include some influence of civic. For example, a town under universal suffrage receives 1P.

Furthermore, railroad adds 1P to a mine. Does railroad have bonus on any other improvement?

 

[Heroes]

Windmill = 2F 1C?

This is not correct. It should be 1F 1C.

 

[Heroes]

After consulting civlopedia, I give my list. The most important index for an improvement is the "best income", which means the biggest benefit you can gain (note that for lumbermill I compare with the base terrain after chopping forest).

Farms: flatlands
Tech: Agriculture, Civil Service (can spread irrigation), Biology (can build farms without irrigation) +1F
Farm = 1F
Best income: 2F (Biology)

Cottages: any workable tiles except Snow or Tundra (Tundra with river being the only exception)
Tech: Pottery, Printing Press +1C for Villages and Towns
Cottage = 1C
Hamlet = 2C (10 turns)
Village = 3C (20 turns)
Town = 4C (40 turns)
Civic: Universal Suffrage (Democracy) +1P for town, Free Speech (Liberalism) +2C for town, Emancipation (Democracy) +100% growth for cottage, hamlet, and village
Best income: 1P 7C (Printing Press, Universal Suffrage, Free Speech)

Mines: any Hill tile
Tech: Mining, +1P if a railroad is added
Mine = 2P
Best income: 3P (with rairoad)

Windmills: any Hill tile
Tech: Machinery, Replaceable Parts +1P, Electricity +1C
Windmill = 1F 1C
Best income: 1F 1P 2C (Replaceable Parts, Electricity)

Watermills: flatlands near river
Tech: Machinery, Replaceable Parts +1P, Electricity + 2C
Watermill = 1P
Civic: State Property (Communism) +1F
Best income: 1F 2P 2C (Replaceable Parts, Electricity, State Property)

Workshops: flatlands
Tech: Metal Casting, Guilds +1P, Chemistry +1P
Workshop = -1F 1P
Civic: State Property (Communism) +1F
Best income: 3P (Guilds, Chemistry, State Property)

Lumbermills: any Forest tile
Tech: Replaceable Parts
Lumbermill = 1P, and 1C if near river
Best income: 2P 1C (1C from being near river, 1P from forest)

 

[Heroes]

Farms: flatlands
Best income: 2F (Biology)

Cottages: any workable tiles
Best income: 1P 7C (Printing Press, Universal Suffrage, Free Speech)

Mines: any Hill tile
Best income: 3P (with rairoad)

Windmills: any Hill tile
Best income: 1F 1P 2C (Replaceable Parts, Electricity)

Watermills: flatlands near river
Best income: 1F 2P 2C (Replaceable Parts, Electricity, State Property)

Workshops: flatlands
Best income: 3P (Guilds, Chemistry, State Property)

Lumbermills: any Forest tile
Best income: 2P 1C (1C from being near river, 1P from forest)

The basic conclusions I can draw from these analyses are:

1. Build mines, camps, pastures, wineries, etc. only when they capture a resource.

2. At the beginning, we should keep enough foods to make a city's population reach health limit quickly. So no workshop, no mine after unlocking windmill. Flatlands near river: farm or watermill; not near river: cottage (pyramids becomes very useful for universal suffrage, otherwise you need to know democracy for +1P). Hills: windmill. Forests: don't chop for sake of health, lumbermill.

3. After the city reaches health limit, if it's not a specialist farm, then it's better to keep every citizen work tile and food supply and consumption being equal. So change some farms to watermills or cottages, windmills to mines.

 

[chris8b]

The basic conclusions I can draw from these analyses are:

1. Build mines, camps, pastures, wineries, etc. only when they capture a resource.

Keep in mind that hills are a modifier on a base terrain value so Heroes' post is misleading. Mines are quite useful given you can not build anythign else on the hill in the early game. Building a mine has the added benefit of potentially discovering a resource.

EDIT: By the way, you do not have the option to build pastures, camps, wineries, quarries, fishing nets, or oil wells unless the relevant resource is present.

-C

 

[Heroes]

Keep in mind that hills are a modifier on a base terrain value so Heroes' post is misleading. Mines are quite useful given you can not build anythign else on the hill in the early game. Building a mine has the added benefit of potentially discovering a resource.

EDIT: By the way, you do not have the option to build pastures, camps, wineries, quarries, fishing nets, or oil wells unless the relevant resource is present.

-C

Ah, I think I should say "keep a mine FOREVER only when it captures a resource". Sure, at the beginning you have nothing other than mining to do, so why not do it. My point is that if you want fast growth, then windmill is better than mine.

 

[Stuporstar]

Thanks for the input guys!

I did that list at 2am so there's bound to be a few mistakes. I'll have to confirm the lumbermill and I'll fix the windmill and farm info later tonight. I can't access my CivIV able computer 'till then. I'll also add that extra info with the civics modifiers. Thanks Heroes! I'd like to make this guide as comprehensive as I can so people have an all-in-one reference for terrain.

 

[agoodfella]

Can someone post an updated list in its entirety?

(for newbies who want to print it out)

thanks

 

[Saarud]

Railroad adds 1P to Lumbermills.

 

[Stuporstar]

I've edited the list at the top. It's all correct now. The non irrigated farms with the Biology tech is correct. They don't get the +1F irrigation bonus. The lumbermills don't add or take away any food either and yes, railroads do add 1P just like mines. I've just been playing around in the Worldbuilder with one of my finished games to check all that stuff. The windmills were completely wrong so I've fixed those. I've also added the stuff from Heroes list about civics and best income. It's all complete in the first post.

 

[Heroes]

Railroad adds 1P to Lumbermills.

Thanks, therefore the best income of lumbermill should be 3P instead of 2P: 1P from saving the forest, 1P from lumbermill, 1P from railroad.

The point to emphasize "best income" is that we need to determine which improvement will be added to a given tile. We can't change the base terrain, so what we compare is just which improvement can give the best long term output.

 

[Stuporstar]

I've just added that emphasis to the lumbermills section. I've also added a small section afterwards summarizing which improvements are best for what, and a "best with resource" for farms and mines.

 

[Heroes]

I've just added that emphasis to the lumbermills section. I've also added a small section afterwards summarizing which improvements are best for what, and a "best with resource" for farms and mines.

Cheers!
Still there are some problems. Lumbermill adds another 1C if near river, i.e., a tile with lumbermill near river generates 2C instead of 1C without lumbermill, -- if I read civlopedia correctly. And, watermaill's best income is 1F 2P 2C instead of 1F 1P 2C.

 

[Stuporstar]

Thanks Heroes! That watermill one was just a typo. It's fixed now. I've found you only get 1C with a lumbermill on a river because rivers don't give any commerce bonuses to forest or jungle tiles. I'll have to check to see if I mentioned that in my terrain info. If not, I'll add it in asap.

 

[OGGleep]

Do Railroads take away food? I am having a major problem keeping my larger cities fed that seems to have happened after I got railroads (Whcih I replaced all my roads.

 

[Dorkus]

Can we sticky this thread please?