Do you chop the forest before settling.

[rah]

Ok, you've selected a site to settle your next settler and it's a forest square. What determines whether you'll chop the forest first? If it's in an existing fat cross, it seems a no brainer. If not in the bfc how many hammers that you will get before you decide it's not worth it. (in delay or worker turns)

 

[AcaMetis]

I only do it when I've got a worker basically there already and he's got time to burn before the settler arrives. Chopping a third+ ring forest outside your culture is only worth like single-digit hammers, IIRC, and I honestly don't think that's worth it over something like building a road to get the Settler there a turn earlier. If it's inside culture...eh, I usually don't have to worker turns to spare for it. Still not too many hammers, but maybe I just build too few workers.

 

[ArchGhost]

Chopping a third+ ring forest outside your culture is only worth like single-digit hammers, IIRC, and I honestly don't think that's worth it over something like building a road to get the Settler there a turn earlier.

Post-math can get you up to 24h in the closest spots or 16h a little further, which isn't trivial. If no culture reduces that further, I never paid enough attention I guess, I don't do it very often either way.

I totally agree with you otherwise; usually I just can't be bothered to spare the worker turns to chop it away first if it's outside a BFC.

If not in the bfc how many hammers that you will get before you decide it's not worth it. (in delay or worker turns)

If it was already roaded and the worker was 1.) not needed elsewhere 2.) close enough to move there immediately I would probably always do it. However at the point I'm still expanding in a meaningful way I rarely have workers that can spare the turns, and I don't make a habit of pre-roading forests except for early wonder chop-fests and don't road to future city centers (I stop 1 tile away, still linked) to save 2 worker turns, 3 if the future center is forested.

Lets say 3 worker turns if he's in range(or a Fast Worker) maximum. I'd probably never do it if I had to walk into the forest first, would just eat the loss of the hammers. In either case spending those worker turns on cottaging, roading or even scouting would suit me better.

I recall that Lain does these outside chops A LOT, so maybe I'm missing out instead?

 

[lymond]

I thought 3rd ring outside borders is worth 16h, and 24h inside borders, but may be wrong.

For me, I do it sometimes, but it is really dependent on timings. I’m not going to divert a worker feom somewhere else to do so. Additionally if the settler is ready it is better to get the city settled than wait for a marginal chop.

If I’ve been worker stealing then I may have more bandwidth for chopping those forests.

 

[AcaMetis]

Tested it with WB:

provided by a chop outside your borders pre-Math / outside your borders with Math | within your borders pre-Math / within your borders with Math. All numbers are for Normal speed.

1st ring: 13 / 20 | 20 / 30
2nd ring: 13 / 20 | 20 / 30
3rd ring: 10 / 16 | 16 / 24
4th ring: 08 / 13 | 13 / 20
5th ring: 06 / 09 | 10 / 14
6th ring: 04 / 06 | 06 / 10
7th ring: 02 / 02 | 03 / 04
8th ring and beyond is worth nothing with or without Math.

So I was quite wrong about how much forests are worth. Still don't have the worker turns to spare, but I may have to go out of my way a bit more to chop third ring forests, especially after I've got math. A third ring culture math chop is actually worth more than a first/second ring pre-math chop.

 

[6K Man]

I like to do that but seldom have the time/worker turns to spare. Until it's 200AD and by then, it's style over substance.

 

[rah]

Does keeping them in the outer rings to encourage spread to inner rings play into the decision at all?

 

[AcaMetis]

Not for me. Forest spreads are too few and far between to count on, just chop everything you can for the early boost.