Lack of Iron

I'd like more consistency with strategic resources, especially given the new system. I had a Gilgamesh game I scrapped because I was attempting a sub 200 science but needed iron to take out Shaka (horses vs. Impi is suicide). Great land, no complaints. Just no iron covering a large portion of the map. Ridiculous. Most of the games it's not an issue, but needing it and not having it is crippling.
 
Yea same thing here had to scrap a few games because of lack of iron or horses
 
I usually just play on to see if I got niter. If I also don't have that then it's time to reroll.
 
While the strategic resource distribution could probably stand to be improved, isn't scarcity the whole point of bothering with strategic resources at all?

If in 90% of games you were guaranteed to have all the strategic resources within your natural boundaries, there would be no incentive to make an effort to acquire them.
 
I just deal with it because I really don't want to keep restarting. I've had countless games without iron or horses. While certainly not ideal, you can still build ranged units and anti-cav units without resources. With enough of them, you can bring down anything.

When I get really annoyed is when I lack coal/oil/uranium and I'm building up power plants. Then it's a long wait for renewable energy tech.
 
I have the same problem with oil. In my last game neither myself nor any of the nearby civs had any oil. The only place I spotted any was on an iceberg on the other side of the map. In other games the oil is all in the tundra/ice areas, not in deserts (which I had in abundance).

I guess the problem is resource clustering (it almost resembles the distribution of barbarians). Would like to see a more even distribution across the map and by that I don't mean every civ should have easy access.
 
I agree, resources need to be better balanced on map, or conversely there needs to be secondary ways of achieving them. Almost all my games so far have been either zero iron or zero niter, and both are completely crippling (in fact, Niter is worse, because it blocks both melee AND mounted AND siege path, which basically means you can do zero and just hope to survive until modern era).
 
I get more frustrated in the late game when I have an entire continent to myself and have only 1 uranium. There is a 2nd but it is held by my city state and not improved. Early game going to war is easy. Killing a city state you have had for centuries just to get a uranium and lose all the benefits for your empire is an insanely high price to pay.
 
While the strategic resource distribution could probably stand to be improved, isn't scarcity the whole point of bothering with strategic resources at all?

If in 90% of games you were guaranteed to have all the strategic resources within your natural boundaries, there would be no incentive to make an effort to acquire them.

In my limited experience, the AI aren't keen on trading these resources away. I have admittedly only tried a handful of times, though.
 
I get more frustrated in the late game when I have an entire continent to myself and have only 1 uranium. There is a 2nd but it is held by my city state and not improved. Early game going to war is easy. Killing a city state you have had for centuries just to get a uranium and lose all the benefits for your empire is an insanely high price to pay.

Just send a builder to the city state and improve it for them. You'll accumulate it that way and can still stay as their suzerain.
 
I agree, resources need to be better balanced on map, or conversely there needs to be secondary ways of achieving them. Almost all my games so far have been either zero iron or zero niter, and both are completely crippling (in fact, Niter is worse, because it blocks both melee AND mounted AND siege path, which basically means you can do zero and just hope to survive until modern era).

Hattusa?

Suzerain of City State with the appropriate strategic resource?

Jebel Barkal?

John Rockefeller?

Nobel Prize in Physics?

Aerospace Contractors social policy?

Magnus' Black Marketeer promotion?

Professional Army social policy?



If you have at least 1 source you can also use:

Victor's Defense Logistics promotion

Appropriate Social Policy card (Equestrian Orders, Drill Manuals, Resource Management).
 
Niter is worse, because it blocks both melee AND mounted AND siege path,
What?! But you can use the vaunted Anti Cavalry units! Like the Pike&Shot: you gets slaughtered by field cannons, muskets, and struggle against Cuirassiers, sure, but - he nets out to +3 against Cavalry. I mean, talk about power!
/s
Oil deficits are even worse, because literally everything needs it, including your entire navy, and you can't just buy a lump sum to upgrade at least some soldiers - you need income otherwise they get hit with that nasty combat penalty.
or conversely there needs to be secondary ways of achieving them.
I'm kind of surprised they don't have some method to synthetically generate a little oil. Given how absurdly crucial it is, yet it is most common on the water as far as I've seen.
Civ5 had the recycling center which gave +3? Aluminum but you could only have a couple in your empire. Even a policy card would work.
 
The resource system needs some work.

To me, I think the main problems with the resource system are:

- Too many things need niter and oil; not enough need Iron.

- Infantry and Tanks etc needing oil maintenance is fine, but you shouldn’t actually need oil to build the units. Instead, no resource requirement to build infantry, and iron (steel) to build tanks.

- healing should consume resources.

On the whole no iron, horses, oil thingy. Honestly, just buy it from someone or get it from a City State. That’s the whole point of the system. You’re meant to not always have key resources, forcing you to go buy them.
 
On the whole no iron, horses, oil thingy. Honestly, just buy it from someone or get it from a City State.
While you do have to discount the player frustration of things like going into a game wanting to build swords and having no iron, there is a potentially legit discussion around the map distribution. If an entire continent is devoid of iron, for example, that might be a bit extreme. I wonder what the placement algorithm is and how variable it can be... especially if you turn on strategic balance. Has it changed at all since R&F? Questions, questions...
 
I think you guys are missing the point. It adds a bit of challenge and drama to different parts of the game. Maybe you have to set up an off shore colony in some crappy location to get that extra oil. Or maybe it's pushing you to war with a civ for that iron. Maybe you should be diplomatically going after a city state with plenty of Coal...etc. etc. etc. Complaining about a challenge that the game offers is counter productive. There's always a solution (and with the state of the AI that solution usually isn't very tough) so I would be disappointed if they caved in to people whining about resources being too tough to gather. Much like in history the prime resources were causes for WAR. Don't look at it as a bug (Because I'm pretty sure it's not)...look at it as a challenge to your eventual victory!!
 
While the strategic resource distribution could probably stand to be improved, isn't scarcity the whole point of bothering with strategic resources at all?

If in 90% of games you were guaranteed to have all the strategic resources within your natural boundaries, there would be no incentive to make an effort to acquire them.

This right here.... The moment you find out you don't have iron or niter etc.

You have to figure out .Rush and acquire it through conquest. Or set up your defenses and military to withstand an invasion of superior forces.

While you reach to the next level. It can be a heck of a challenge. I like it as much as it feels so bad
 
Literally just had a game as Mali where I scrapped my way past the early onslaught. beelined to the two unique units To upgrade the army I'd bought. No iron. My neighbour didn't have it either. So no trade for me. City states? No iron. Then I sailed around my shared tiny island and found like 6 sources clumped together. In tundra. On an island overrun by barbs. My neighbour is freleanor and the only tiles not -20 loyalty were snow

It was deflating for it to be there.

And yet I saddled up two settlers. Some archers. And went of to settle the new world.

I honestly think this is how the game should be.
 
Just send a builder to the city state and improve it for them. You'll accumulate it that way and can still stay as their suzerain.

I know you can improve tiles in city states but can you also remove improvements? Some resources can pop up under tiles that already have a farm for instance or some unique improvement.
 
I know you can improve tiles in city states but can you also remove improvements? Some resources can pop up under tiles that already have a farm for instance or some unique improvement.

You can indeed remove improvements.

If the strategic is revealed under a district (which of course you cannot remove), you receive the resource anyway.
 
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