Corporation "consumes" resource - what does it mean?

[Blkbird]

My first BtS game hasn't yet progressed far enough for Corporations, but I want to be properly informed so I can form a better strategy in advance. My question is, what does "consume" mean when they say a Corporation "consumes" Resources?

Now I've looked at the Civilopedia, checked the Civfanatics' BtS Info Center, googled the forum and read quite some posts, but I'm still not sure on many points:

1a. To found a Corporation HQ in a city, it has to have a certain Resource. Does the Resource has to be in the actually perimeter of the city, or does it only need to have access to it?
1b. If the latter is the case, what happens if the HQ city loses the access to that resource after the HQ has been established?
1c. And does the act of establishing a HQ "consumes" the Resource in any way?

2a. Can a Corporate Office be established in a city that doesn't (yet) have any Resource it can consume?
2b. If yes, would it still have any instant effect or would it have no effect until the city gets the Resource?
2c. Also, what effect, if any, does an Office have if the city loses (perhaps just temporarily) all resources it needs?

3a. When a Office consumes a Resource in a city, does it only consume one instance of that resource, or the whole resource even if you have multiple instances of it?
3b. When a Resource (or an instace of it) is consumed by a Office, do all cities in the trade network lose that Resource (or instance), or is its original benefit only lost in the city where the Office is?

4a. If there are several Resources in a city an Office can consume, does it only cosume one or all of them?
4b. If only one Resource is consumed, who decides which one (because different ones may originally have different benefits)?

 

[futurehermit]

Here is my sense of it:

Let's say we're talking about aluminum co.

For every city that has a branch, coal no longer works (ie., you no longer get a production bonus from coal), but aluminum does work (ie., you get a production bonus from aluminum).

You still have coal in your empire, however, so any city without a branch will get a production bonus from coal (but not from aluminum, if you don't have aluminum).

So, yeah, that's my sense in a city with a corporation, the resources "consumed" by the corporation no longer function, but they still function in cities without the corporation.

When I first read it, I thought it meant: "to destroy or expend by use; use up" but now I think it means a slightly different definition: "to use or use up consumer goods"

 

[Blkbird]

Thanks for the answer, but what about the other questions of mine?

 

[civictor]

My first BtS game hasn't yet progressed far enough for Corporations, but I want to be properly informed so I can form a better strategy in advance. My question is, what does "consume" mean when they say a Corporation "consumes" Resources?

Now I've looked at the Civilopedia, checked the Civfanatics' BtS Info Center, googled the forum and read quite some posts, but I'm still not sure on many points:

1a. To found a Corporation HQ in a city, it has to have a certain Resource. Does the Resource has to be in the actually perimeter of the city, or does it only need to have access to it? The resource needs to be available to the city (could be in your empire or even from trade with another empire
1b. If the latter is the case, what happens if the HQ city loses the access to that resource after the HQ has been established? I assume that a corporate office would stop functioning (but would it still need maintenance?). The HQ might still collect gold for each functioning office even if it lacked the resource to provide its benefit.
1c. And does the act of establishing a HQ "consumes" the Resource in any way? The resource used by a corporate office will not provide its normal function to the city.

2a. Can a Corporate Office be established in a city that doesn't (yet) have any Resource it can consume? Nope
2b. If yes, would it still have any instant effect or would it have no effect until the city gets the Resource? N/A
2c. Also, what effect, if any, does an Office have if the city loses (perhaps just temporarily) all resources it needs? The office stops conferring its benefit. (But does it still require maintenance?)

3a. When a Office consumes a Resource in a city, does it only consume one instance of that resource, or the whole resource even if you have multiple instances of it? In general, each available resource gets consumed and provides its benefit cumulatively. If your civilization has multiple instances of a resource, it will get a multiplied effect as I understand it. You can check this by looking at the corporations summary screen accessible by clicking the briefcase icon in the upper right corner of the main screen.
3b. When a Resource (or an instace of it) is consumed by a Office, do all cities in the trade network lose that Resource (or instance), or is its original benefit only lost in the city where the Office is? Only the city loses the benefit.

4a. If there are several Resources in a city an Office can consume, does it only cosume one or all of them? I think it consumes as many as it can--the implication being that Cereal Mills will suck up all its food resources, and the mining company will suck up all the metal resources.
4b. If only one Resource is consumed, who decides which one (because different ones may originally have different benefits)? It consumes as many as it can. It is a double edged sword. This is one reason that corporations may be better to put in small cities rather than sprawling metropolises.

This is my opinion mixed with some ideas other people have posted. I probably have some things wrong, but my reply may motivate someone to check some of this stuff.

 

[AriochIV]

Futurehermit and civictor are incorrect about how corporations "consume" resources; resources "consumed" by a corporation are still available to the city for normal use. If a city has access to iron, and I found a branch of Mining Inc. in that city, then the city still has access to iron; it can still build units that require iron. The drawback of spreading corporations to cities is in the heavy maintenance costs, not the loss of access to resources.

Unfortunately, Firaxis' use of the word "consume" is somewhat misleading.

1a. To found a Corporation HQ in a city, it has to have a certain Resource. Does the Resource has to be in the actually perimeter of the city, or does it only need to have access to it?

The city only needs to have access to the resource.

1b. If the latter is the case, what happens if the HQ city loses the access to that resource after the HQ has been established?

The corporate office in that city temporarily loses the benefit of that resource.

1c. And does the act of establishing a HQ "consumes" the Resource in any way?

No.

2a. Can a Corporate Office be established in a city that doesn't (yet) have any Resource it can consume?

No. The required resource must be available at the time you establish the corporate office.

2c. Also, what effect, if any, does an Office have if the city loses (perhaps just temporarily) all resources it needs?

The city temporarily loses the benefit (and cost) that the corporation provides for that resource.

3a. When a Office consumes a Resource in a city, does it only consume one instance of that resource, or the whole resource even if you have multiple instances of it?

The corporation will use every available instance of a resource in a city, and provide you additional benefits (and require additional cost) for each one. So if you have 3 instances of iron, Mining Inc. will provide you +1 hammer for each one.

3b. When a Resource (or an instance of it) is consumed by a Office, do all cities in the trade network lose that Resource (or instance), or is its original benefit only lost in the city where the Office is?

Resources are still available in all cities that they would be normally available in. If I have 3 iron, and I found Mining Inc in 2 different cities, each of those cities will receive +3 hammers for the iron, and the iron is still available in all cities for construction of units that require it.

4a. If there are several Resources in a city an Office can consume, does it only cosume one or all of them?

The corporation will consume all instances of every type of the appropriate resources. In my cities with Mining Inc., I have access to 3 iron, 3 coal, 1 copper, and 2 gold; so this means a +9 hammer bonus in EACH city that has the corporation. However, this is offset by a -8 to -10 gold maintenance fee for each city, so the benefit comes at substantial cost.

4b. If only one Resource is consumed, who decides which one (because different ones may originally have different benefits)?

All types of resources that a corporation consumes have the same effect. Two corporations that consume the same resource are said to be "competitors", and cannot coexist in the same city.

 

[Blkbird]

Thanks a lot, guys!

 

[Virulent]

Yes this confused me the whole time until I founded my first corp. I was afraid that by founding Sid's Sushi I would lose the health benefits from my fish, clams, crabs and rice. Luckily I was wrong.

 

[Blkbird]

So, once again: Not only the cities where Offices are established, but even the city where the HQ is located would still have the benefit of the Resource in question?

In other words, absolutly no Resource is ever "consumed"?

 

[Infantry#14]

can you build all corporate headquaters in one city, just like all religions?

 

[AriochIV]

So, once again: Not only the cities where Offices are established, but even the city where the HQ is located would still have the benefit of the Resource in question?

In other words, absolutly no Resource is ever "consumed"?

That's correct. The city with the HQ counts as having a branch of the corporation (you get charged the maintenance fee), but you also get cash bonuses for each other city that has a branch. The bonuses don't match the maintenance fees, though, so only put a branch in your cities that can really benefit from it.... or spread it to foreign cities to get money from them. I don't know if it's a good idea though... the bonuses are pretty good, even if the fees are high.

And no resource is "consumed", made unavailable or otherwise. The only disadvantage is the very high maintenance fees. The fees are less if you run Free Market and have Courthouses, and higher if you run Environmentalism.

can you build all corporate headquaters in one city, just like all religions?

Yes.

 

[Slaughter]

Well, I'm BTS-less, so... what Corporations do, after all?

 

[magpie_robert]

can you build all corporate headquaters in one city, just like all religions?

I think this is a good idea - found them where you have built Wall Street as the HQs get 5 gold per city with the corporation in the same way as religious shrines give 1 gold per city with that religion. That way you can offset the increase in maintenance costs.

In my first game, I founded Mining Inc and Sid's Sushi Co in that city. For Mining Inc, I was gaining something like +12 hammers but the maintenance was about 10 - 12 gold per city. But I gained +15 gold in the HQ city (market, grocer, bank & Wall Steet gives +200%).

Sushi gave me 5 food per city with lower maintenance costs. I think that's because I had fewer seafood resources. I still got +15 gold at HQ and that allowed my cities to grow another 2 - 3 population.

At least you get the choice with corps. You don't get to choose where your religions are founded.

Another point of interest is that even if you have iron, for instance, you can now import more iron from your rivals to get bigger benefits.

 

[AriochIV]

Well, I'm BTS-less, so... what Corporations do, after all?

There are 7 corporations that can be founded and spread similar to religions. Each corporation requires a certain technology (in addition to the "Corporations" tech) and type of Great Person to found, and when spread to a city offers certain bonuses for each of a certain type of resource, in return for a very substantial maintenance fee. Each corporation can be founded only once, and the founder receives a cash bonus for every city the corporation is spread to (although he still has to pay maintenance for corporate branches in his own cities). Corporations are spread via Executives that operate in the same way as Missionaries.

The corporations, their requirements and bonuses are:

Aluminum Co
Required Tech: Rocketry
Required Great Person: Scientist
Resources Consumed: Coal
Provides: +3 , Aluminum

Cereal Mills
Required Tech: Refrigeration
Required Great Person: Merchant
Resources Consumed: Wheat, Corn, Rice
Provides: +0.75 per resource

Civilized Jewelers
Required Tech: Mass Media
Required Great Person: Artist
Resources Consumed: Gold, Silver, Gems
Provides: +1 , +4 per resource

Creative Constructions
Required Tech: Combustion
Required Great Person: Engineer
Resources Consumed: Iron, Copper, Marble, Stone, Aluminum
Provides: +0.5 , +3 per resource

Mining Inc
Required Tech: Railroad
Required Great Person: Engineer
Resources Consumed: Coal, Iron, Copper, Gold, Silver
Provides: +1 per resource

Sid's Sushi Co
Required Tech: Medicine
Required Great Person: Merchnt
Resources Consumed: Crab, Clam, Fish, Rice
Provides: +0.5 , +2 per resource

Standard Ethanol
Required Tech: Plastics
Required Great Person: Scientist
Resources Consumed: Corn, Rice, Sugar
Provides: +2 , Oil

As mentioned above, the more instances of the resources you have, the bigger the benefit, but the higher the maintenance cost.

 

[kingkasai]

Standard Ethanol
Required Tech: Plastics
Required Great Person: Scientist
Resources Consumed: Corn, Rice, Wheat
Provides: Oil

Wait, doesn't it also give +2 per resorce avalable?

 

[MrTomothy]

Another point of interest is that even if you have iron, for instance, you can now import more iron from your rivals to get bigger benefits.

I've done this, but it seems that the AI quickly catches on, and cuts the deal off and won't let you try again, even if they're friendly to you but I'm not completely sure of how this works.

Also, Aluminum Co gives +3 research per resource.

 

[Underdawg]

I've done this, but it seems that the AI quickly catches on, and cuts the deal off and won't let you try again, even if they're friendly to you but I'm not completely sure of how this works.

I don't think they purposely cut off the deal as if they are trying to deny you the corporation benefits. I think whether or not they cancel the import/export deal merely depends on your relations. I'm importing about 11 fish resources and 6 Clam resources in order to fuel my Sid Sushi corporation around the world.

Let's say we're talking about aluminum co.

For every city that has a branch, coal no longer works (ie., you no longer get a production bonus from coal), but aluminum does work (ie., you get a production bonus from aluminum).

Coal still works, if you have spare Coal resources (Domestically or imported)

 

[AriochIV]

Wait, doesn't it also give +2 per resorce avalable?

Yes, thanks for the correction. It also consumes Sugar and not Wheat.

 

[MrTomothy]

I don't think they purposely cut off the deal as if they are trying to deny you the corporation benefits. I think whether or not they cancel the import/export deal merely depends on your relations. I'm importing about 11 fish resources and 6 Clam resources in order to fuel my Sid Sushi corporation around the world.

Then I'm guessing its the circumstances. When I first tried this, it was on 3 different civs of varying relations, but one of them a good ally, and all of them ended the deal as soon as they could. This was also Sushi Co, and there were people with an abundance of fish, and I initially asked for little, but soon it was all cut off from me.

 

[narmox]

can you build all corporate headquaters in one city, just like all religions?

Yes.

Has this been tested? Considering that some corps compete with each other, it doesn't make sense to me that all the headquarters can be in the same city...

Narmox.

 

[EviltheMonkey]

Just finished my first BtS game by Space Race (yay) and the Mining Inc branches in my big industrial cities plus the rediculous deals with others (Iron for Uranium that they couldn't even use) was the main reason for that.

The key is to accumulate as many raw materials as possible for the maximum benefit. And if some one could do a mod that includes a clothing corp that uses silk and dye, the system would be nigh on perfect.