computer growth question

[el toro loco]

i was building my civ pretty nicely when i noticed that the computer built right next to me on some unoccupied desert squares(the english to be exact and it was emporer game). i didn't give it too much thought since i can't grow on these type of squares at all. i figured my culture would flip them at some point because they were close to my capitol. all game they just kept growing and growing. i can understand putting workers in and growing them but wouldn't they starve. i fought w/ everyone on continent except english that game but it always kind of bothered me that those cities were there. and they weren't irrigate either, all mines on the desert. anyway, my question is how does computer grow their cities in this way.

 

[vmxa]

Not sure about English, but Ag civs can get an extra food form desert tiles. They know what resources are on tiles at the out set, so they drop a town to get the oil or saltpetter.

Flips are a function of culture and overlapped tiles and not using counter measures such as troops.

 

[SJ Frank]

Maybe some of those deserts were actually floodplains?

 

[FireStorm5]

I've never noticed anything like that.

 

[el toro loco]

Maybe some of those deserts were actually floodplains?

definitely no flood plains for computer. they had 2 citiesne whale, one dolphin, one saltlpepper, 9 desert squares all mined next to nexus of my civ. one city got to be 10 and one got to be an 8. but i won space race w/ some pretty big cities right next to them(capitol had 5 wonders or more). i don't know how to upload screenshots. i saw another thread on how to do it. in the next five days hopefully i will get the motivation to show it. probably my bad but i figure atleast i will learn what not to do again.

 

[bingen]

Try investigating the cities.

 

[el toro loco]

Try investigating the cities.

this is what worked. it's amazing how little i use the investigate city fuction except for building embassy and checking out capitol. turns out that the 1st thing that computer built in both cities was a harbor. harbor gives 2 food instead of 1. so growth occured from the two food ocean squares. thxs for the help.