embryodead
Caliph
Most have already noticed that there are less strategic resources in C3C epic game than in Civ3/PTW. Well it's much more than that. The distribution pattern is totally different. BTW if you just want to know how to get PTW resource occurence in C3C, jump to the end of the post...
If you're a modder, you might want to read the whole, since you will most likely have to change appearance ratios in your mod when converting it from PTW to C3C.
For PTW:
1). strategic resources: RATIO * #PLAYERS / 100, rounded down
2). luxuries: random, from 50 to 100% of #PLAYERS (est.)
unless there is ratio given, then the formula is the same as for 1).
3). generator checks how much space is left (out of the approx. 4% of them map), divides that by the number of bonus resources, rounds that down and distibutes them, so there is the same amount of all.
Note: map sizes and terrain features are irrelevant, unless you mess with extreme values (ie. 16x16 tiles maps etc.)
BTW it is completly different from what help file says, but you can test for yourself that the help is wrong both for PTW and C3C stating that a ratio of 160 should give 16 resources in 8 player game
(it gives 12 in PTW and 9 in C3C).
For C3C:
The test shown was made on the unmodded PTW & C3C, standard map, 8 players, default world settings (age, land etc.), but the general idea is valid for any game, modded or not (I started testing in my mod, which has 39 resources). 10 maps were generated, C3MT was used to count resources. Other combinations were just checked to see if anything changes.
Further experiments
Keep in mind that none of the values are valid for a particular resources, since these can be modded at will. The values are rather valid for a given resource type. Why so much more Whales and Fish then? It seems that the more terrain of a given type (ie. sea), the more resources C3C will create. When I allowed Whales in plains, deserts etc., C3C generated less of them (no more than 18). Then, when I removed them from the sea, C3C generated less Whales than Game, Wheat etc.
Unique resources
Yes, it is now possible. The minimal number of strategic resources in PTW was 2, regardless of any settings. In C3C it has changed to 1, so you can finally make a truly unique resource.
Summary
1). C3C generates about 1/3 less strategic and luxury resources than PTW with the same settings. The minimal amount is 1.
2). C3C generates much more bonus resources, evenly distributing on a given terrain type and with respect to the amount of that terrain on the map (which directly translates to much more resources in water than on the land). This is actually quite an improvement. PTW generated the same amount of all bonus resources, which was the cause of common "fish shortage" feeling in many mods
3). In C3C world shape/features affect the distribution of resources, unlike in PTW.
I state that the new formula for resources with ratio set is:
RATIO * #PLAYERS / 133, rounded down
it seems valid for all tests I made for unmodded game as well as my mod, though it will vary slighly depending on the world shape/climate etc.
If you want your PTW resources back...
Just multiply all ratios by 1.33
These are correct values for you: Iron & Horses: 212, Coal, Saltpeter, Oil, Rubber: 160, Uranium: 140
This gives the PTW results in most cases. C3C tended to give 7 Uranium, instead of 8, so I raised it to 140.
Not much can be done about luxuries - you will get 3 to 6 instead to 4 to 8. You can set ratio for them, but then, you lose randomness.
You will get less bonus resource of course, like in PTW, though they will be still distributed in C3C "better" ie. more fishes/whales, less oasis etc.
If you're a modder, you might want to read the whole, since you will most likely have to change appearance ratios in your mod when converting it from PTW to C3C.
For PTW:
1). strategic resources: RATIO * #PLAYERS / 100, rounded down
2). luxuries: random, from 50 to 100% of #PLAYERS (est.)
unless there is ratio given, then the formula is the same as for 1).
3). generator checks how much space is left (out of the approx. 4% of them map), divides that by the number of bonus resources, rounds that down and distibutes them, so there is the same amount of all.
Note: map sizes and terrain features are irrelevant, unless you mess with extreme values (ie. 16x16 tiles maps etc.)
BTW it is completly different from what help file says, but you can test for yourself that the help is wrong both for PTW and C3C stating that a ratio of 160 should give 16 resources in 8 player game
(it gives 12 in PTW and 9 in C3C).For C3C:
The test shown was made on the unmodded PTW & C3C, standard map, 8 players, default world settings (age, land etc.), but the general idea is valid for any game, modded or not (I started testing in my mod, which has 39 resources). 10 maps were generated, C3MT was used to count resources. Other combinations were just checked to see if anything changes.
Further experiments
Keep in mind that none of the values are valid for a particular resources, since these can be modded at will. The values are rather valid for a given resource type. Why so much more Whales and Fish then? It seems that the more terrain of a given type (ie. sea), the more resources C3C will create. When I allowed Whales in plains, deserts etc., C3C generated less of them (no more than 18). Then, when I removed them from the sea, C3C generated less Whales than Game, Wheat etc.
Unique resources
Yes, it is now possible. The minimal number of strategic resources in PTW was 2, regardless of any settings. In C3C it has changed to 1, so you can finally make a truly unique resource.
Summary
1). C3C generates about 1/3 less strategic and luxury resources than PTW with the same settings. The minimal amount is 1.
2). C3C generates much more bonus resources, evenly distributing on a given terrain type and with respect to the amount of that terrain on the map (which directly translates to much more resources in water than on the land). This is actually quite an improvement. PTW generated the same amount of all bonus resources, which was the cause of common "fish shortage" feeling in many mods
3). In C3C world shape/features affect the distribution of resources, unlike in PTW.
I state that the new formula for resources with ratio set is:
RATIO * #PLAYERS / 133, rounded down
it seems valid for all tests I made for unmodded game as well as my mod, though it will vary slighly depending on the world shape/climate etc.
If you want your PTW resources back...
Just multiply all ratios by 1.33
These are correct values for you: Iron & Horses: 212, Coal, Saltpeter, Oil, Rubber: 160, Uranium: 140
This gives the PTW results in most cases. C3C tended to give 7 Uranium, instead of 8, so I raised it to 140.
Not much can be done about luxuries - you will get 3 to 6 instead to 4 to 8. You can set ratio for them, but then, you lose randomness.
You will get less bonus resource of course, like in PTW, though they will be still distributed in C3C "better" ie. more fishes/whales, less oasis etc.
I haven't gone through the whole post and haven't attempted to internalize all the work you've done, but 
It seemed clear that the resource distribution had changed (particularly apparent with luxuries) but I hadn't seen anyone try and decipher how, precisely, it had changed.
. C3C doesn't put much resources on hills now.
