City placement

[faron]

Is it better to build a city next to a river, does it increase the cities yield or give additional items you can build, is it just as good to build a city 2 or 3 squares away from a river
Thanks
Faron

 

[Snoopaloop]

I don't know about tile yields but right away I can think of windmills (10% production towards other buildings) and hydroelectric damns (+1 production for every tile of river in the cities radius).

I try to build on the river for the damns mostly.

 

[faron]

I guess that there are going to be times where you have to chose between building on a river for additional buildings and building next to a mountain so you can build an observatory

 

[Smokeybear]

I guess that there are going to be times where you have to chose between building on a river for additional buildings and building next to a mountain so you can build an observatory

Where to start your first city- heh, volumes could be written (and probably have, on here and elsewhere) on that subject. The bottom line is always that it depends on your special geo situation for each game you start- specific locations and positioning of resources, luxuries, mountains, rivers, desert, tundra, oceans, potential seaports... the variable factors go on forever, and are always different. But in general, if you can plant your town next to a river without having to really mess up anything else, I'd always do it. There are a number of beneficial things that can only be built right next to a river- and if I have my druthers, it's better to be able to build them, than not to.

Others could point out many special situations where the luck of the draw makes it more sensible to *not* choose to plant next to a river, but those are rarer exceptions to the general rule, in my opinion.

 

[Ranos]

I don't know about tile yields but right away I can think of windmills (10% production towards other buildings) and hydroelectric damns (+1 production for every tile of river in the cities radius).

I try to build on the river for the damns mostly.

Windmills are just on flat terrain, not rivers. Dams yes and also Watermills. I think those are the only two but they are a couple of big ones.

 

[jtb1127]

River cities are definitely a must because of windmills and other improvement bonuses.

 

[blitzkrieg1980]

River cities are definitely a must because of windmills and other improvement bonuses.

I think you mean watermills.

I was about to mention the fresh water, but civ5 doesn't have a health system! If you have a based economy (heavy on the trading posts/lux resource tile working) it might be better to settle 1 tile away from rivers to make way for the 4 that comes much earlier with CivServ farms (earlier than fertilizer-based farms) and then the extra from a trading post. After all, it takes a bunch of hammers to build a watermill for the 2 1 boost. I'd rather get a quick boost from farm and then to purchase buildings/units.

 

[Snoopaloop]

Windmills are just on flat terrain, not rivers. Dams yes and also Watermills. I think those are the only two but they are a couple of big ones.

Not only did I confuse windmills for watermills, but I misspelled dams inappropriately.

 

[jtb1127]

I think you mean watermills.

I was about to mention the fresh water, but civ5 doesn't have a health system! If you have a based economy (heavy on the trading posts/lux resource tile working) it might be better to settle 1 tile away from rivers to make way for the 4 that comes much earlier with CivServ farms (earlier than fertilizer-based farms) and then the extra from a trading post. After all, it takes a bunch of hammers to build a watermill for the 2 1 boost. I'd rather get a quick boost from farm and then to purchase buildings/units.

Yes I do.

 

[wobuffet]

Here's what you want:
http://civilization.wikia.com/wiki/Water_mill_(Civ5)
http://civilization.wikia.com/wiki/Garden_(Civ5) [must be next to a river or lake]
http://civilization.wikia.com/wiki/Hydro_plant_(Civ5)

 

[Haig]

Here's what you want:
http://civilization.wikia.com/wiki/Water_mill_(Civ5)
http://civilization.wikia.com/wiki/Garden_(Civ5) [must be next to a river or lake]
http://civilization.wikia.com/wiki/Hydro_plant_(Civ5)

Garden is one of my fave buildings, just my last game I was bummed as I couldn't build it and I had all the techs for it, then I discovered I had no rivers or lakes next to my cities..

 

[qemist]

Avoid a plains tile if you have a lot of stone about. For some reason stoneworks cannot be built in a plains city.

 

[Smokeybear]

Avoid a plains tile if you have a lot of stone about. For some reason stoneworks cannot be built in a plains city.

Interesting. I had no idea about that one. Thanks.

Even if it's a plains-based city next to a river?

 

[peddroelm]

"Stone works is a building which increases happiness and productivity in Civilization 5. This building cannot be built on a city on a plains tile".

 

[Becomedeath]

"Stone works is a building which increases happiness and productivity in Civilization 5. This building cannot be built on a city on a plains tile".

I've never understood that. If cutting stone brings so much happiness then why is it generally the reserve of prisoners? And if sculpture in marble is so nice how come people who live in plains can't apprecaite it? Are they fundamentally flawed as people because they live in plains? Do they write books? What is wrong with these plains dwelling troglodytes?

Anyway, back on topic....river cities tend to grow much faster than those just on general grasslands. This makes them ideal for science cities or production cities as there are (as detailed in the above posts) plenty of opportunies to build city improvements that take advantage of their geography.

It shouldn't be forgotten though, that plenty of science buildings are directly linked to your population (as is base science) so the opportunity for a river city could be to grow it as quickly as possible and turn it into a science hub as access to fresh water (rivers\lakes) really does a wonder for food production.

 

[blitzkrieg1980]

What makes a river city grow faster? The watermill? Does settling a city on a river give it extra food in the center hex?

Since most of the game is played post Civil Service, I'd say the 2 extra food coming from a riverside farm (where the city would have settled) is more beneficial than settling there and having to build a watermill (which costs maintenance, and hammers).

I actually think that a production-based city would benefit more from being on the river than a science based city.

 

[peddroelm]

"Stone works is a building which increases happiness and productivity in Civilization 5. This building cannot be built on a city on a plains tile".

And by that they mean anything but plains

Example from my current game: both cities have stone with quarries in range:

city on plains,river cannot build stoneworks
city on grassland can build stoneworks

 

[gingerbill]

The +1 food bonus from civil service is such a big boost alone . At least for me theres always a fairly big gap between civil service and fertillizer , and you notice the cities near rivers booming in this peroid. Plus the early money you get for free when money is tight.

Personally i think rivers are a bit too good .

 

[Chong Warrior]

Building a city on a river also gives you gold for the the city tile. Also culture spreads easier on river tiles.

 

[Smokeybear]

"Stone works is a building which increases happiness and productivity in Civilization 5. This building cannot be built on a city on a plains tile".

Heh, guess I don't spend enough time studying the civilopedia

Like, none. Anyway, this makes no sense whatsoever, but ok... if the stone is nearby, and you have a city and people able to work the stone, what does it matter whether that city sits on plains, or something else? Talk about truly random, stupid, incomprehensible dev decisions. Perfect example thereof.