Expansion... why does it work or not work?

[Winston Hughes]

The health and happiness bonuses (as well as any other bonuses the resource gives) apply to all cities connected to the trade network the resource is connected to. In some cases I find it better to get a resource from outside my cities workable areas, as I don't think eg. Winery is that good an improvement - I'll rather build a cottage, watermill, or something else on the tile if possible.

Note that the resources have two effects: added food / production / commerce on the tile and a globla effect of added health or happiness or strategic effect (most often ability to build some types of units, but may also speed wonder building, provide fuel for powerplants, and so on). The global effect is what you get in all cities, the F/P/C bonus only applies to the tile should it be worked.

Hehe, I got there first for once

(but only because Elandal took the time to add a load of other useful info).

 

[val13]

The bonus applies to every one of your cities that is connected (by roads, rivers and, once you've researched Sailing, coasts) to the resource. If the resource is connected to a city, but that city is not connected to others, then that city alone will get the bonus.

So, it really is only beneficial to build on sites that have food, hammer, and commerce?

 

[cabert]

So, it really is only beneficial to build on sites that have food, hammer, and commerce?

right
note that the tile where you settle can be a totally useless one (tundra, desert), but the rest of the tiles in the Fat Cross should be good ones.

 

[val13]

right
note that the tile where you settle can be a totally useless one (tundra, desert), but the rest of the tiles in the Fat Cross should be good ones.

Frak...

I normally try to get as many resources into my city I can...

 

[cabert]

Frak...

I normally try to get as many resources into my city I can...

resources are good, but be sure to have enough food to work all those good tiles.
I mean it's worthless to have 4 gold mines, and being stuck at pop 2, working coastal tiles.

 

[val13]

resources are good, but be sure to have enough food to work all those good tiles.
I mean it's worthless to have 4 gold mines, and being stuck at pop 2, working coastal tiles.

True... but I sometime get 3 resources of like, spice, into my city as well... and that is 3 tiles I could have built a cottage on.

 

[cabert]

True... but I sometime get 3 resources of like, spice, into my city as well... and that is 3 tiles I could have built a cottage on.

If you have too many of a given resource(= one for you + enough to trade away), you can cottage on it.
sugar is a good candidate for being cottaged. Ivory too.

 

[futurehermit]

Surplus food should be your focal point when selecting city sites. Early on I got in the habit of counting out the surplus food available at a potential city site. Each tile out of 20 tiles needs 2 food to be worked. The city itself gives you a bonus of 2 food. Therefore, to stagnate at size 20 working all city tiles you need a total of 38 food. Keep in mind that this can include windmills which give food to hills and biology which gives +1 food to each farm. However, the KEY is that early on you want SURPLUS food. This means that when you hit your happiness cap say 8 you want to have more than 2 food/tile. This will allow you to use slavery most effectively: whip, regrow, whip, regrow.

Thus, if a city does not have good surplus food (e.g., seafood, farmables, herdables, floodplains) then raze it or don't build it, even if there are other resources there (exception is resources if you are hurting for ).

Don't forget that with civil service you can chain irrigate in farms if a city is hurting for food. This will allow you to keep/build cities that would be mediocre prior to CS.

Someone said to me recently: Land is power. So, expand, expand, expand. Get your beakers from scientists = build libraries and run caste system if necessary. Expand until you have a nice chunk of land relative to the other civs and THEN build up a bit to stop the bleeding. Then go out and expand again. Breathe in, breathe out. Eventually your relative size will be such that you can dictate your victory condition.

 

[Winston Hughes]

Surplus food should be your focal point when selecting city sites. Early on I got in the habit of counting out the surplus food available at a potential city site. Each tile out of 20 tiles needs 2 food to be worked. The city itself gives you a bonus of 2 food. Therefore, to stagnate at size 20 working all city tiles you need a total of 38 food. Keep in mind that this can include windmills which give food to hills and biology which gives +1 food to each farm. However, the KEY is that early on you want SURPLUS food. This means that when you hit your happiness cap say 8 you want to have more than 2 food/tile. This will allow you to use slavery most effectively: whip, regrow, whip, regrow.

Thus, if a city does not have good surplus food (e.g., seafood, farmables, herdables, floodplains) then raze it or don't build it, even if there are other resources there (exception is resources if you are hurting for ).

Don't forget that with civil service you can chain irrigate in farms if a city is hurting for food. This will allow you to keep/build cities that would be mediocre prior to CS.

Someone said to me recently: Land is power. So, expand, expand, expand. Get your beakers from scientists = build libraries and run caste system if necessary. Expand until you have a nice chunk of land relative to the other civs and THEN build up a bit to stop the bleeding. Then go out and expand again. Breathe in, breathe out. Eventually your relative size will be such that you can dictate your victory condition.

So many good points that this was worth repeating!

 

[futurehermit]

^^^accumulated knowledge from all the fine folks on these very forums

 

[Winston Hughes]

Thus, if a city does not have good surplus food then raze it or don't build it, even if there are other resources there (exception is resources if you are hurting for ).

You'd make an exception for a vital strategic resource as well, wouldn't you?

 

[cabert]

You'd make an exception for a vital strategic resource as well, wouldn't you?

sure, but even for copper, you'd try to get it within a good city spot.

 

[manu-fan]

That's ok... I started over... got 2 cities built before I got sandwiched between Roosevelt and Mansa...

My first capital was pure money maker with a few mines for production (yep, got the food thing right and all that.

My second city I placed to cut off the continent on the coast with 2 Ivory.

I researched copper, iron... FINALLY had a copper pop up in my fat square... by that time, Roosevelt had swordsmen stacks, and Mansa declared war on me...



EDIT: I hate this game!!!!

What's your early build strategy?

I go Warrior, then maybe Barraks until size 3 and immediately switch to Worker followed by Settler, and then back to finish the Barraks.

If you've got plenty of Forests, you can use the Worker to chop for the Settler.

There are lots of great guides on this site. I think that if you study them, you'll do a lot better.

What level are you playing on?

Cheers.

 

[futurehermit]

You'd make an exception for a vital strategic resource as well, wouldn't you?

yes, of course

 

[val13]

What's your early build strategy?

I go Warrior, then maybe Barraks until size 3 and immediately switch to Worker followed by Settler, and then back to finish the Barraks.

If you've got plenty of Forests, you can use the Worker to chop for the Settler.

There are lots of great guides on this site. I think that if you study them, you'll do a lot better.

What level are you playing on?

Cheers.

I'm currently on Warlord difficulty

I've read many of the guides... which are good... but... well, building strategy:

At the start, I get a settler and warrior/scout (depending on civ). If I don't like the starting location, I regenerate the map... settle... and send the warrior/scout exploring.

Now... I usually have played Brennus recently, so, I research Meditation first (for Buddism). Then I research Mining, then BW. While I do this, I get a Warrior (if I don't have one), then a worker. I usually try to get a settler/warrior waiting for when BW hits so I can try to settle it. Depending on how close the other civ's are, I usually try to get 3 cities up. The first thing I build is worker's to connect and work food tiles/mine.

Then, I usually try to get whatever Tech's to work food (Agriculture, Animal Husbantry). Then I'll go Iron Working, then work straight to Construction for catapult's.