Exhausted Resources

[aimeeandbeatles]

I'm playing on cheiftain. I don't know if this is normal, but...

Whenever there is one tile for a resource on a map, and I have control of it... when it is exhausted, a new one is discovered in my territory.

Is this normal, or am I just nuts?

 

[Synobun]

This happens a lot, but sometimes it gets discovered on the other side of the map

 

[Sweetchuck]

Yeah, when a resource gets exhausted - it appears on some other random tile on the map - either in your territory or someone elses.

Same thing can happen with the other civs - suddenly a new resource appears in your area and if you're roaded to that random tile, a message will appear that says "we discovered a new source of....."

If you deselect the random seed option at the start-up of the game, you can cheat by reloading your last save and the exhaustion of the resource will go away. Otherwise, the random seed is fixed and you're losing that resource no matter what you do.

 

[aimeeandbeatles]

ah, thanks

 

[garyg]

Once a resource is exhausted it will reappear only in a tile that is suitable.
This is only important to know because of rubber. Your mountains, hills, desert and tundra stay the same even if you improve them. But if you chop down all your jungle and then exhaust your rubber and it's not coming back. I keep one or two tiles of jungle around for just this purpose. Sort of fishing for rubber.

 

[Sashie VII]

I don't think rubber can be exhausted, the disappearance probability in the editor is zero (default).

Exhaustable ones are: Iron, Saltpeter, Coal, Oil, Aluminium, Uranium.

 

[ecuwins]

^^Correct. Rubber and Horses never disappear.

 

[hrhomer]

I'd estimate that about 80% of the time (at least in my experience), the depleted resource is rediscovered in my own territory. I can only recall one or two instances in which I lost the resource and didn't discover it back immediately...

Joe

 

[Sashie VII]

I'd estimate that about 80% of the time (at least in my experience), the depleted resource is rediscovered in my own territory. I can only recall one or two instances in which I lost the resource and didn't discover it back immediately...

Lucky you

 

[drakdan]

I'd estimate that about 80% of the time (at least in my experience), the depleted resource is rediscovered in my own territory. I can only recall one or two instances in which I lost the resource and didn't discover it back immediately...

Joe

I'd estimate that about 80% of the time it reappears in exactly the same spot. I can only recall one instance when I actually lost a resource.

 

[hrhomer]

I'd estimate that about 80% of the time it reappears in exactly the same spot. I can only recall one instance when I actually lost a resource.

I've had that happen more than once, also, but not quite at that rate - maybe 1/3 of the time...

Joe

 

[sercer88]

I remember in a recent game, A message popped up during the IBT saying "we have discovered a new source of iron." Then I noticed that I could now sell Iron to a certain civ (that I couldn't before.) That civ's last source of Iron was depleted

 

[Sashie VII]

I remember in a recent game, A message popped up during the IBT saying "we have discovered a new source of iron." Then I noticed that I could now sell Iron to a certain civ (that I couldn't before.) That civ's last source of Iron was depleted

Good times

OTOH I remember a game when I was ahead almost an age and a half, by keeping the other continent in AW state against each other. One of my uranium depletes and I scoured the map looking where it went. I found it on the other continent, near some forgotten corrupted town.

Guess what happened in 40-60 turns after my armada of bombers rebased to my lux colony? (hint: the moon?)

 

[sercer88]

Good times

OTOH I remember a game when I was ahead almost an age and a half, by keeping the other continent in AW state against each other...

Whenever I try to do something like that (MA the other continent) usually 1 or 2 civs turn out to become extremely dominant...they just destroy the other civs. Then they are more powerful than me

 

[Sashie VII]

Whenever I try to do something like that (MA the other continent) usually 1 or 2 civs turn out to become extremely dominant...they just destroy the other civs. Then they are more powerful than me

It was one of the games in which I tested this strategy

I ally the weak ones against the strongest, and when the alliance expires I don't take sides and watch while building up a bit. When one begins to emerge as a runaway AI, my demolitions crew sails there

That was a memorable game for me, as one exhausted resource caused the mother of all wars

 

[Sweetchuck]

I'm not sure that working suitable tiles from the base that the resource appears will nullify the resource from appearing - maybe on relocated from exaustion resources. I've had rubber and oil appear on tiles that were formerly forest and marsh after clearing them, and I think that was during the initial appearance of the resources.

Rubber and horses do not exhaust. Uranium, iron, aluminum, coal, saltpeter and oil do exhaust.

 

[sercer88]

Yes, if a tile used to be a forest, then at the beginning of the game, the rubber (or any other forest or jungle resource) will still be there after you clear the forest: just like spices stay on the tile even if you chop the forest. But, a re-appearing resource will not appear on a tile that doesn't support the resource type-even if it used to be a forest tile (or just plain tundra.) In the same way, you can increase your chances of finding uranium when a source depletes by planting forests in your land.