Mining/Irrigation

[Sven]

Which is best, mining or irrigating grasslands and plains?

I've noticed that the AI mines grasslands and irrigates plains, but that doesn't necessarily mean that it's the best thing.

 

[WarlordMatt]

I'd have to say irrigating is best, because it helps your city grow, and as it gets more citizens the citizens may begin to work on squares that produce more production anyway.

 

[damunzy]

It also depends on what you want out of the city. I have had cities that I irrigated until it reached size 6 then I mined the areas inorder to build wonders faster.....

 

[philippe]

mining gives you +1 shield on normal ground +2 on hills and mountains
irregation gives you +1 food
floos plains+2 food

 

['Copter Pilot]

Early in the game, irrigating grasslands doesn't help at all because Despotism removes that extra food. Later, if you have an all-grassland city, with irrigated grasslands, it will grow quicker than you can build the hospital, so for a long time all that extra food will be wasted. Even later you'll only need population size 20 to work all squares in the city radius. Everything above contributes to population score (and money or science if you use taxmen/scientists) but not much more. I find it more fun to have 80+ shield output per turn (20 mined grasslands with railroads, factory, powerplant etc.) than to get a 21+ population and higher score.

If you have mixed terrain, in particular hills and mountains, you'll need to irrigate some of the grasslands to work these other sqares. But that's the most I ever irrigate -- although you may find a quick-growing city good for worker and settler output.

Other than that, I noticed that the AI doesn't seem to build productive cities, and automated workers look at each single square, which is useless. I don't need to mine mountain squares if I don't have any 3+ food squares in the city radius. Similarly mining all desert sqares around an all-desert city doesn't make sense, since I cannot support the population to work them. However a city completely in the desert, with all squares irrigated and railroaded, can grow big and fairly productive (20 squares with one shield and two food each).

So don't look at the isolated squares, look at everything that's in the city radius.

 

[Nero Would]

Don't forget that under Despotism, the 3rd food, shield or gold from any tile is lost. So irrigating grassland (which already has 2 food) gets you nothing under despotism, so in the early game you might as well mine it.

 

[akinkhoo]

i see irrigation as required but limited.
meaning I don't irrigate most tile in any given city.

poor government, lack of aqueduct and
hospital mean extra food is useless.

instead, concentrate on irrigation area
which product naturally higher (+3) or lower (1) food.

serious used of roads in the beginning,
and after connecting the cities to the capital,
continue expand the road network.
followed by mines on all tile which are possible.

during the government change and the building of aqueduct,
the food supply will increase enough but will not be overkill.
and the additional use of mines allows earlier modernisation.

the naturally high food productive cities are now
used to create continuous worker/settler
(about 3 turn per settler each, freeing the other cities)
to support the growing demand, additional tiles are irrigated.
road network must continue to expand!
slowing preparing for the railroad rush.

as the time of hospital comes closer,
workers start irrigating some of the tiles.
BUT railroad takes greater importances!
railroad will improve both food, production and transport!

you get an ugly looking overdeveloped "railed planet".
But the earlier production boost will serve you alot better.
I manage to build alot of wonder this way
and have little great culture and improvement advantage.

 

[Lt. 'Killer' M.]

if you use the 'show food and prod on map' - option, you can see which tiles of grassland produce a prod in addition to the two food. Mine these, up to size 6 this should do. then, irrigate the others once you´re out of despotism.

 

[Bamspeedy]

I irrigate plains and mine the bonus grassland squares. Plains only give you 1 food, so if you irrigate it, that tile would at least have enough food to feed the citizen working it and you get a shield out of it, so it's like working a bonus grassland square. While in despositism, irrigating grassland is worthless, so I mine the bonus grassland for 2 food/2 shields. When I change governments I might irrigate some grassland so I can work more of the mountain/hill areas.