Civ II - Shortcut for 'Auto' ?

Hi,

Is there a way to get engineers/settlers to build railroads and irrigation automatically?

is there some advance I need first?

thanks

Philip

 

'k' automates a settler, but no, there's no way to get them to specifically build railroads or irrigation automatically like there was in CivIII . . .

 

You can build roads on any land you want by selecting the set/eng and hitting the R key. You will see an "R" on his shield while he is working, which disappears when the road is done. For irrigation you need to be on or adjacent to a water source (ocean, lake, or river) OR full-bordering (not catty-cornered) another tile that has already been irrigated. Select the set/eng and hit the I key, and an "I" will appear on the shield till done. Some tiles cannot be irrigated (Mountains and Glaciers), or irrigation converts them to other things (like Swamp turns to Grass). For Railroads you need the Railroad advance, then you need to have a road on the tile already. Automating a set/eng with the K command is not a great idea, because the computer will take over control and decide on strange orders of doing things. Better to keep them under your own control.

 

Just for the record, I fully agree that automating a settler in CivII is a very, very bad idea. I was just trying to answer the question asked directly without editorial comment. Mostly because I was afraid my editorial comment would be poor . . .

 

Sometimes the K key will work to irrigate a hex that is not near water! This trick does not always work, but has, maybe, a 33% chance to irrigate a hex that has no water source nearby. If you try it, make sure you note what city your settler is from so you can track it down if it decides to move on.