Is the mine length for iron random ?

[JFL_Dragon]

I discovered iron and located an iron resource icon is a mountain. I built a road to it, but I ran out of iron in 2 turns ? So I got one swordsman from it ?

This tells me that the resource will run out in a random number of turns ?

Can anyone else confirm this ? Because other times it can last for quite a long time.


Cheers

JFL_Dragon

 

[Rooker]

It has nothing to do with usage, it's completely random. Though it only moves when discovered.

If you go into the editor, you can both see and edit the probability.

I believe horses and rubber are the only two, that never moves.

 

[slothman]

It dissipears randomly but only when a road or city is connected to it. If you have 2 irons, for example, connect only 1 with a road to keep the other from going away.

 

[Rooker]

Originally posted by slothman
It dissipears randomly but only when a road or city is connected to it. If you have 2 irons, for example, connect only 1 with a road to keep the other from going away.

Wow, are you sure about that? I wish i'd known about that before.

Great tip!

 

[Daaraa]

I'm pretty sure horses move around. I'm not sure as I am playing a modded game, but I can;t see why it wouldn';t. Rubber is a renewable resource. Horses move as population gets closer.
But hey, who ever said Civ was reality based.

 

[Jason Fox]

I've never seen horses move or run out. I assumed it was because after you find them you can breed them. Iron, rubber, saltpeter, etc can have the supplies exhausted.

One game I built roads forever to get to the one source of iron I could reach. Took many turns but had to have iron. Built a colony and the source was exhausted two turns later. I had three or four swordsmen started but it's frustrating.

 

[Zouave]

On a medium continent I had no iron, so I desperately built the Lighthouse, and some galleys and settlers. Exploration is difficult in Civ 3, but I gave it my best shot, and luckily I found an uninhabited island on the other side of a sea - with IRON!

I started building a harbor and got some workers there who began building roads.

Five turns before the harbor was completed a worker finished a road on the iron tile. Three turns later it vanished!! It had never even been connected to my trade network as the harbor had never been completed.

All this happened in December. After that idiocy I Edited up the absurdly low values for resources to more rational rates. Iron is now at 177. I suggest you do the same.