Cities on coast

[Agent_TBC]

Is there any benefit to founding a city directly on the coast as opposed to a hex or two inland such that its border includes some water tiles? There are buildings and improvements that can only be built adjacent to the city center, and founding directly on the coast reduces the number of buildable adjacent hexes.

But I'm not sure if there are any buildings or improvements or projects that require your city center to be next to the water? Obviously there is the very rare edge case where you can make a canal city but that's barely worth thinking about. Other than that should you always build the city center at least one hex inland?

 

[Dale]

Is there any benefit to founding a city directly on the coast as opposed to a hex or two inland such that its border includes some water tiles? There are buildings and improvements that can only be built adjacent to the city center, and founding directly on the coast reduces the number of buildable adjacent hexes.

But I'm not sure if there are any buildings or improvements or projects that require your city center to be next to the water? Obviously there is the very rare edge case where you can make a canal city but that's barely worth thinking about. Other than that should you always build the city center at least one hex inland?

The only benefit would be for ocean connections. Cities should be connected to the capital for discontent and economic benefits. Hold V key to see connections. Connections go over rivers, roads and ocean (if city centre is next to a coast tile OR on a river that flow into the ocean). Harbors with road connections allow connections inland from the harbor up the road.

See image below where connections flow up rivers, ocean and roads.

 

[nolegskitten]

Is there any benefit to founding a city directly on the coast as opposed to a hex or two inland such that its border includes some water tiles? There are buildings and improvements that can only be built adjacent to the city centre, and founding directly on the coast reduces the number of buildable adjacent hexes.

But I'm not sure if there are any buildings or improvements or projects that require your city centre to be next to the water? Obviously there is the very rare edge case where you can make a canal city but that's barely worth thinking about. Other than that should you always build the city centre at least one hex inland?

Carhtage gets additional money for cities that are coastal, and the Lighthouse (great wonder) adds a +50% money multiplier to coastal cities. So in these cases it matter. Other than these cases, it's all about trade network connection as Dale explained.

Please note that there are no such things as "canal cities" in OW. Ships can't go on top of cities, so making a city will never allow your ship to cross land.

 

[nolegskitten]

I'll add that I do tend to maximise the number of available tiles in my capital specially, but the only building that require adjacency to the city centre are wonders, so you rarely "need" all 6.

 

[rlw33]

The AI's coastal cities are taken more easily since you can pummel them with Naval units as well as land units.

 

[steveg700]

Sort of a broader question at hand. Is there any benefit to having any unusable terrain, which would include desert or mountains.

Mountains benefit quarries, so they're good to have. For coast, there's the harbor, and the east of making city connections. For desert, nothing I know of. Lakes would be another one, and they provide fresh water.

Much less of a concern here than in Civ, with its finite concentric ring of workable tiles.

 

[nolegskitten]

no concrete benefit from deserts or tundra. Movement on water is exceptionally good (that' not only city/trade connectivity) but I think you pretty much summed it up.
Cleric families can build urban improvement on sand tiles. Quite situational but it does make em better at using arid terrain.

 

[steveg700]

Clerics gets ta improve deserts. Gotta file that one away.