Mekewops

[Craig_Sutter]

As Poundmaker, I am spamming these... but should I. I tend to put farms and mines only on relevant resources and the spaces between mekewps. Is this suboptimal (as for example, giving adjacency bonuses for certain districts like industrial or improvements like farms after feudalism)? Or is a mekewop always the best choice...
Any number crunchers do the math?

 

[Morningcalm]

I normally build them here and there next to resources, but I didn't find it easy to locate at what points the UIs develop to gain additional bonuses, so I don't spam them. Often it seems other improvements (like farms) can be better given that farms get better adjacency bonuses with later tech.

 

[Magil]

Well, the Mekewap adds +1 production with Civil Service, which puts them about at the same amount of production from a mine (with Apprenticeship), except it also adds +1 housing. If you can get it next to two bonus resources or a luxury, all the better. I would rate it as a very strong improvement but always keep in mind you can't put two next to each other so you should try to make the most out of the placements.

 

[Morningcalm]

Well, the Mekewap adds +1 production with Civil Service, which puts them about at the same amount of production from a mine (with Apprenticeship), except it also adds +1 housing. If you can get it next to two bonus resources or a luxury, all the better. I would rate it as a very strong improvement but always keep in mind you can't put two next to each other so you should try to make the most out of the placements.

Good to know--any other bonuses that they pick up from later techs or civics?

 

[Craig_Sutter]

Well, the Mekewap adds +1 production with Civil Service, which puts them about at the same amount of production from a mine (with Apprenticeship), except it also adds +1 housing. If you can get it next to two bonus resources or a luxury, all the better. I would rate it as a very strong improvement but always keep in mind you can't put two next to each other so you should try to make the most out of the placements.

So maybe I should leave space by wheat resources to do a farming triangle if I can, but otherwise as many as I can? As good as a mine without tile appeal loss may have benefits...

 

[Trengilly]

Mekewap are crazy good. As many as you can fit -- I pretty much planned my cities around where I could place them.

They always add +1 production and +1 housing
This upgrades to +2 production and +2 housing with Civil Service
For food they add +1 food for every TWO bonus resources later this upgrades to +1 for for EACH bonus resource
And then there is the gold. At the start if they are adjacent to ANY number of luxuries they get a flat +1 gold (doesn't matter how many lux).
But Cartography an additional +2 gold is added for EACH luxury. So you end up with +3 if one lux, +5 if two, +7 with three adjacent lux.

Both the Civil Service and Cartography upgrades come relatively early. Possible the best UI.

And as the Cree you get bonus food (and gold) from trade routes so you don't need to bother with farming triangles.

 

[MonkeyPaw]

I've been having fun spotting nice two bonus/one luxury spots. They're rare but so satisfying.

 

[Trengilly]

The hard part for me was resisting my usual temptation to chop/harvest all the stone around!

 

[Sostratus]

Both the Civil Service and Cartography upgrades come relatively early. Possible the best UI.

The housing is not to be underestimated.
And given that you can only place them next to bonus/lux resources, they are guaranteed to end up giving an extra food or 3 gold minimum.
Almost always place them everywhere unless it's breaking a really good farm (like a +6 farm with a wheat next to it) or something like a mine adjacent to an IZ.

They aren't really comparable to mines- it's more of a civ4 workshop. Production! on flat land! Sid be praised!

 

[UWHabs]

Yeah, they get so many boosts that you really do want to spam them where you can.
+2 production with civil service, so basically as good as a mine early, except with housing.
The only case I would suggest it's not worth would be next to just one bonus resource, since then its max bonus will be 1f/2p/1h, and the food comes very late. However, if you need the production from it, then it's certainly worth it. Like, if you have a non-river flat forest, if you need production you can chop the forest and put the mekewap down to get both the production boost early and the decent production.