Coal/Neuclear/Hydro Power

[j_mie6]

I know you can make Coal Plants, Hydro Plants and Nuclear Plants to make energy from Coal/Rivers/Uranium but, what does the "power" made actualy do? What do they power? Because I don't want to be building random plants gaining for my cities, and I know that I can use a Recycling Center to remove building , but I want to know what I'm mean't to build with them for them to do something.

thanks, Jamie

 

[emopants]

I think power just increases a factories output from 25% to 50%. Not sure if it does anything else.

 

[j_mie6]

Ok, also do you need the Coal/Uranium in the city radius for the plants to effect the factories or is it just the Coal/Uranium being hooked up? I guess you would need 1 source of power for each Factory other wise the Three Gorges Dam wouldn't do anything....

And what does a Nuclear Meltdown do, just fallout?

 

[Ghpstage]

Power gives an extra 50% production boost on top of the factories +25% making Assembly Line a very powerful tech, giving you a powerful unit in Infantry and a major porduction boost (+75% from one tech if you have Coal.)

3 Gorges just gives power to all cities on the continent, its good but often I find myself having Coal Plants everywhere beforehand making it kinda pointless.
Only 1 plant in a given city will have an effect, if you have a Coal and build a Nuclear however it will remove the the coal plant provides (but power itself gives 2 ) but I would strongly advise you to never build a nuke plant!

Hydro, like Nuclear doesn't cause (except the unhealth from power), but it needs a river and comes very late compared to Coal

And what does a Nuclear Meltdown do, just fallout?

For some inexplicable reason its equal to a nuke being dropped on your city, which is exactly why you should never build one . It also comes later and is more expensive than Coal.

Ok, also do you need the Coal/Uranium in the city radius for the plants to effect the factories

Just needs to be hooked up.

 

[PPQ_Purple]

What exacly causes a meltdown? I have newer seen, let alone had one in all my time gaming (Civ 3 and Civ 4).

 

[jhflif]

It's just a random chance, like other events. I usually spam nuke plants because it hardly ever happens and the coal plants are too unhealthy. I got my first meltdown last night, and it messed up my city pretty good.

 

[Ghpstage]

It's just a random chance, like other events. I usually spam nuke plants because it hardly ever happens and the coal plants are too unhealthy. I got my first meltdown last night, and it messed up my city pretty good.

The chance of it happening is pretty significant, I see AIs blowing themselves to pieces regularly . Its something like 1/1000, per turn, per plant but when you have many of them the chances become very high. Worse still it doesn't scale with speed so if you use them on Marathon its a miracle if they don't happen Also you can't clean up any fallout they cause till ecology....
And of course you can't turn them off like you can normal random events (unless you mod the game)

Even if you ignore the chance of it happening, Coal Plants are still significantly better. They are a lot cheaper and come much earlier with the tech needed for factories anyway, and the penalty is only 2 extra .

 

[j_mie6]

Ok, thanks everybody so I should build hydroplants where ever posible and coal plants unless I don't have access to coal... in which I will either use Three Gorges Dam or the Nuclear Plant and I should try and build National Park near a river for hydropower or on the TGD continent (National Park removes access to coal )

 

[j_mie6]

And then when I get Ecology I should make recycling centers and public transport everywhere to remove ?

 

[GravityWave]

And then when I get Ecology I should make recycling centers and public transport everywhere to remove ?

I would.

I generally wouldn't build Nuke Plants at all, though I play marathon... if I didn't have coal I'd start building 3 Gorges asap and then beeline Fusion to get the free GE to help rush it. Meltdowns are just too great a risk and annoyance imho - the worst thing is when an AI's goes bang and they won't/can't clean the fallout and you start to getting GW .

 

[karadoc]

I disabled meltdowns by editing one of the xml files - for balance reasons. Otherwise nuclear plants are just a liability. They already cost more hammers and more technology to build - I think that's fair without costing a city every so often as well...

 

[Otaku-sama]

I got a meltdown before, but I didn't think it was that bad considering I had finished expanding, I was at war with no one and I had a sizeable worker force twiddling their thumbs. I just rush bought everything for the city again. The only problem is that it killed by towns, but with emacipation they grew back in a couple turns.

I really don't like coal plants. Drowning in unhealthiness isn't my idea of a good time, so I try to build anything other plant or even better, Three Gorges Dam.

 

[WuphonsReach]

Since I play Marathon, I never use nuke plants (they come too late).

Hydro where possible, Coal where not. Three Gorges is nice because it eliminates the pollution from all of those coal plants.

As for dealing with the health effects... you have to start planning early for that. Leaving forests intact, chasing +health wonders (Hanging Gardens), settling cities on the coast so you can build a harbor, etc. The recycling plant tends to come very late in the game for me, but it's a good tech.

 

[j_mie6]

Yer, but can't you clean up the AI's fallout if they are open borders, 'coz can't you build roads in their territory?

 

[j_mie6]

Also about the Ironworks, does it increase the productivity of the city it's built in providing the Iron & Coal are in the City Radius or just having the access to Coal & Iron? Also if you have BOTH Coal & Iron does it boost productivity by 100% or just 50% and does it pile on top of the Factory/Plant to gain a 150%? That would be fun as in your city with your highest production you could get a 150% increase!!! (easy spaceship spamming )

 

[mfie]

Power + factory + forge = +125% hammer production
Having both Coal and Iron doesnt change anything

 

[j_mie6]

not Forge the IRONWORKS the Iron Works is a national wonder... so it could be a boost of 175%!!!???

 

[Infantry#14]

also if you play w/ random events each coal plant gives additional hammers (i forget the #, either +2 or +4)

 

[Dearmad]

In the game I play (my personal mod) I fixed the lack of temptation to build nuke plants by adding a +5% resource bonus to the city that builds one. So it's a tradeoff. Want more resources? Ok. Hydro plant provides only power no bonus resources.

I now tend to build at least one nuke plant if I don't get the hoover- I mean ganges or whatever dam.