Blue Circle Settler Algorithm, how does it work?

Blue Circle Settler Algorithm, how does it work?

Does the Blue Circle mean that settling a city on the tile will yield the most food output OR does it mean that settling in that location will allow you to be connected to the most resources?

 

Ignore the blue circle. OH WAIT you're playing multiplayer so you don't have time for such things! Well, sorry to intrude.

 

I think it's a combination of the two, as well as other things. It looks to me like the algorithm assigns a value to various characteristics of each tile and recommends the places that would give the highest value within the city cross. So resources, food, production, commerce, etc are all factored into the equation.

 

Resources does appear to get the highest priority, however. There have even been occasions when the AI has recommended locations without resources, that have later "popped up" when the appropriate tech was learned. That said, the AI isn't infalible, and doesn't have problems with recommending tiles within the development range of other cities. I do.

 

I ingnore phantom resources, but i go crazy thinking there maybe horses over there I can't see ...

 

It is probably practicle to ignore the phantom resources. However, it was a known bug that the AI was factoring in these unkown resources bonuses in deciding where to place cities (and probably in giving you suggestions).

To make this clear it is NOT the resource that is influencing the placement (ie Oil or Horses) whether discoverd or not, but the individual tile bonuses such as +1 hammer etc. This means that the majority of the time the blue circle "place your city here" suggestion is simply the best sum of Food/Production/Commerce available to a city in that area.

EDIT: I'm not sure if this was fixed in the latest patch (1.52) but Firaxis is aware of this. Soren posted on a thread on this site acknowledging this issue.

 

The most irritating part to me is when I move to a suggested spot (ie, on a hill), only to have it then recommend a different spot next turn and no longer recommend the spot I just moved upon. Then to find out the new spot was in a space I could have reached last time...

I'd be building a new city by now if it weren't for you pesky kids and that darn algorithm, too!

 

I have found the blue circle point out good city spots I had not considered before. I always check out the suggestion. If I don't like it, I choose my own. Simple, simple.

 

I finaly cracked this one a few days ago. Seems there is a bug in which the engine KNOWS where iron or another resource is. It will then suggest you put your city beside it, nevermind the terrain in it's own beeing absolutely horrible! Knowing this, I still don't listent to the blue circle anymore. Sometimes you have to wait for a thousand years just for that magic resource to pop up beside you.

 

I find the blue circle appears where resources will be range the most often. Fresh water access being another. They don't look into the fact the area might be full of desert tiles though.

My way of placing a city...

1) I look for a spot where I can suck up the resources around the general area. I try to get 2 resources into the city's cross radius, without hindering the city with bad tiles. If I can get much better tiles and only grab 1 resource within the cross, that's fine.

2) I look for fresh water access too, but mostly just for the starting cities. Later on with more health available to me, I would much rather have good tiles/resources.

3) I try to avoid tiles that offer nothing like desert, ice, and mountains. Sometimes 1 square difference in settling a city means 3 more tiles worked, and way better resources/tiles.