Important resource on small 3 tile island

[Orion43]

So, the closest oil resource near my civ was on an island composed of 3 tiles of hills and a desert. The only way I could access that oil was to build a city on that small little isle, even though that isle was within my cultural border. Obviously, that city wasn't going to amount to much except as a mining outpost.
Am I wrong in assuming that one can't have a worker improve that resource that is on a coast and just have it automatically connected like a trade route?

Put another way, the only way to get access to a resource that is on another land mass is to build a city on that land mass?
Thanks for any replies.

 

[DaviddesJ]

Put another way, the only way to get access to a resource that is on another land mass is to build a city on that land mass?

If there is a river on the land mass, then you can connect to the ocean via the river. But if there's no river, then you need a city.

At least that's what I think.

 

[Orion43]

The resource in question would already be on the coast. I had sent a worker onto the new land mass and improved the resource but couldn't find a way to connect the resource.

 

[DaviddesJ]

The resource in question would already be on the coast.

Of course. So what? My previous response stands. If you have a river, you can connect to the ocean by the river. If you don't have a river, then you need to build a city. Your 4-tile island surely doesn't have a river, so you're out of luck.

 

[ZippyRiver]

I assume the oil is on the desert tile. I would certainly put a city there to provide access to a strategic resource that the AI can't deny me of short of capturing the city. The two hills I would mine or windmill (depending on the underlying terrain), and let the city focus on commerce. If you also have a food resource in the water within range, then the island is a sweetspot. If I have to build on the hill to get the food I would and take my chances of the AI trying to pilliage the oil.

Short of that, perhaps try placing a road with it and see if the game picks it up as a completed route (oil to road to coast to coastal city) Providing of course the oil is within your cultural boundries. Can't build a well there if it isn't anyway.

 

[DaviddesJ]

Short of that, perhaps try placing a road with it and see if the game picks it up as a completed route (oil to road to coast to coastal city) Providing of course the oil is within your cultural boundries.

If you don't believe me when I say it doesn't work that way, then you should certainly try it for yourself.

 

[ZippyRiver]

geez, I never said I didn't believe you. In your OP you stated you improved the resource. I took that as meaning you built a well on the oil. You didn't mention if you also roaded it and I was only commenting to that.

 

[Orion43]

Actually, I never tried to road it. I just put the well on it.

 

[King Jason]

So road it. Also, his comment was saying, if there is a river on the island, and you had your road connected to that river, it would transer the oil to your city, without you needing to build a city on the island. If there is no river there, and you build a road, it won't do this.

If that's true, I don't know. But I believe that's what he was trying to say.

 

[King Jason]

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[Bushface]

Has anybody ever, ever seen a river on an island no more than one tile wide ?
Evidence that just a road would not suffice, from a couple of games ago: there was oil on one tip of a Z-shaped island, but land access was blocked by a peak. The oil was within the city radius of an AI city within which there were a transport and a worker. The AI did not send the worker to develop the oil even after its only mainland well had been captured, so presumably it would have been pointless.

 

[Wodan]

Guys, just load worldbuilder and all this would be easy to verify.

 

[emills]

You need a road that connects to a city.

I had a city on a two-tile island with a single-tile desert island within the fat cross. Of course the single tile island had oil. With a well and railroad, it did not count as a resource for my empire. I did get a production bonus for working the tile, and luckily I had oil elsewhere.

Can someone verify that you can break the two-tile city placement rule on islands? I thought I saw it posted somwhere but not sure.

 

[MrCynical]

You can place cities closer than is normally permitted as long as they are on separate islands (i.e. only one tile between them).

 

[Wodan]

Okay I popped into WB.

-- Road didn't do anything.

-- River connected the resource if it was on the resource or if there was a road to the river.

-- You can ignore the 2-space limit if the cities are on separate islands

hope it helps

Wodan

 

[Wodan]

So, this means if there is a resource on an island without a river, then you have to build a city there.

 

[AngryPants]

Get yourself a lighthouse and a harbor, and you will soon have a pretty sweet city on that oily little island.