Not All Resources Are Created Equal

[titanvol]

Specifically, not all health / happiness resources are created equal.

This is meant to possibly help noobs get acquainted with the happiness / health resources. I have seen a few happiness articles, but nothing that really concentrates on the resources and emphasizes the groups, but at the same time I apologize if this is too repititive with other articles. Note: this article is still a work in progress.

Basically when I started civ IV I would have to tirelessly and repeatedly refer to the civilopedia to figure out when I could hook up resources and / or make buildings available to reap more benefits from the resources. After awhile I noticed the resources fit into nice little categories for the most part. Also, I still remember a game where I planted my 2nd city near 3 luxury resources (dyes, sugar, silk) and sent workers to hook them up, only to have the necessary improvement grayed out. When I discovered I had to research calender I was very disappointed and that fur / silver site suddenly seemed much more attractive at the time.

The game is constructed to prevent the player from having access to all the happiness / health resources from the beginning, just as the player cannot access the various strategic resources at the start of the game. Fortunately, unlike the strategic resources, all of the health / happiness resources are at least visible at the start and so can be claimed via settling cities.

 

[titanvol]

First I will list discuss happiness, or luxury, resources:

Dye, Fur, Gems, Gold, Incense, Ivory, Silk, Silver, Spices, Sugar, Whales, Wine

At the start of the game the player having access to just a few technologies there are only a few luxury resources which will benefit the player, these fall into 2 categories:

1) Camp resources: require the building of a camp to access the resource, which is available with the Hunting technology

Fur, Ivory (elephants)

2) Mined resources: require a mine to access the resource, which is avilable with the Mining technology

Gems, Gold, Silver

That’s it, only 5 luxury resources can really be used by the player at or near the start of the game. Furthermore, these two sets of resources have another aspect which can increase their value, possibly even before the player has access to any of the other luxuries, depending upon the chosen research path.

The Mined resources (gems, gold, silver) all give an extra happy face in any city which builds a forge. Since forges are a very important building and will be in almost any city anyway, these luxury resources should receive top priority, not too mention the commerce tile bonus associated with each one.

Both of the camp resources (Fur, Ivory) provide an extra happy face in any city which builds a Market, available with the Currency technology. Since Markets also provide an extra 25% multiplier to gold, they will be built in many commerce cities regardless. However, it should be noted that both of these resources do expire, Fur with Plastic and Ivory with Industrialism. Ivory, or elephants, also allows the production of War Elephants, a very powerful unit, making it both a luxuryand strategic resource. Therefore I prioritize elephants ahead of the mined resources and furs second only to the mined luxuries.

The next luxury resource the player will prolly access is Wines, which requires a Winery available with the Monarchy technology. Even though this is the only resource available with this tech, it also allows the important Heriditary Rule civic so that as a tech it can help happiness in two different ways. Wines also have another unique characteristic in that it is one of three luxuries which do not add another happy face with the production of a building, but instead it adds an extra health in any city which builds a Grocer, another gold multiplier building which can be found in most commerce cities and is available with Currency and Guilds.

Whales are another resource which requires its own technology for access, Optics, allowing the production of Whaling Boats. Whales, like Fur and Ivory provide an additional happy face with the production of a Market, but like Fur and Ivory they also expire. Whales expire with the Combustion technology.

Next is the largest group of luxury resources, the Plantation resources which require the Plantation improvement available with the Calender technology:

Dye, Incense, Silk, Spices, Sugar

-Spices and Sugar fit into the same category as Wines, providing an extra health in any city which builds a Grocer.

-Silk fits into the Market category along with Fur, Ivory, and Whales.

-Dyes are unique and add an extra happy face with the production of a Theatre which is available with the Drama technology.

-Incense is also unique adding an extra happy face in any city which builds a cathedral. Since there are 7 religions in the game this translates to 7 different cathedrals giving Incense the potential to provide the most happy faces of any resource, though this is only potential. Cathedrals cannot be built in every city since they require 3 Temples, their production cost is high and with the exception of culture needs, rarely will the player build more than 1 or 2 cathedrals in a city.

Luxury resources in summary:

Improvement groups:

-Mining: Gems, Gold, Silver

-Camp: Fur, Ivory

-Plantation: Dye, Incense, Silk, Spices, Sugar

-Winery: Wines

-Whaling Boats: Whales

Building Groups:

-Forge: Gems, Gold, Silver

-Market: Fur, Ivory, Silk, Whales

-Theatre: Dye

-Cathedral: Incense

-Grocer (for additional health only): Spices, Sugar, Wine

Analysis:

When considering luxury resources the mining / forge group (Gems, Gold, Silver) and the camp / market group (Fur, Ivory) are the most efficient and provide the earliest access, with the mining / forge group having an edge.

There are only two groups of luxuries which will provide additional happiness from multiple resources with a building, the Forge group and the Market group.

Impact of Plantation and Market Groups:

-The plantation group is limited in that only 3 of the 5 will ever provide more than one happy face, each requiring a different building which is available with a different technology.

-When facing a decision to get access to one of the plantation resources, if the player already has Fur and / or Ivory and / or Whales, then Silk takes a higher priority since it is also in the market group.

-The priority of Whales may also increase because it is also in the market group. However, if the player does not have other luxuries in the Market group other luxury resources may have more priority.

-Dyes and Incense require the most investment for their potential and are not efficient unless they are combined with the need for additional culture.

From a luxury standpoint, Spices, Sugar, and Wines have the least priority because they will only provide one happy face.

 

[titanvol]

Next come the health resources:

Bananas, Clam, Corn, Cow, Crab, Deer, Fish, Pig, Rice, Sheep, Wheat

Unlike the luxury resources all of these are available near the start of the game, with the exception of bananas. Bananas requires a Planation available with the Calender technology, like several of the luxury resources. The other health resources primarily fall into 3 groups

-Grains: require a Farm, available with the Agriculture technology:

Corn, Rice, Wheat

-Livestock: require a Pasture available with the Animal Husbandry technology:

Cow, Pig, Sheep

-Seafood: require Fishing Boats available with the Fishing technology:

Clam, Crab, Fish

The one exception in addition to bananas is Deer, which requires a camp, available with the Hunting technology.

Having explored these groupings of health resources, it is very easy to group them according to improvements:

Granary: adds an additional health in a city which builds a Granary which is available with the Pottery technology

-the grain group: Corn, Rice, Wheat

Supermarket: adds an additional health in a city which builds a Supermarket which is available with the Refrigeration technology

-the Livestock group and Deer (the animals): Cow, Deer, Pig, Sheep

Harbor: adds an additonal additional health in a city which builds a Harbor which is available with the Compass technology

-the Seafood group: Clam, Crab, Fish

Bananas are unique among the health resources, but combine with some of the luxury resources to fit into another group:

Grocer: adds an additonal additional health in a city which builds a Grocer which is available with the Currency and Guilds technologies

-Bananas, Spices, Sugar, Wines; note these are all also plantation resources with the exception of wines

Health resources in Summary:

Farm / Granary group: Corn, Rice, Wheat

Seafood / Harbor group: Clam, Crab, Fish

Pasture group: Cow, Sheep, Pig

Supermarket group: Pasture group & Deer

Camp: Deer

Plantation: Bananas (Spices, Sugar)

Grocer: Bananas, Spices, Sugar, Wine

Analysis:

It is easy to see the grains are the best in attaining early health benefits as well as ease of getting those benefits in all cities, since Granaries are typically built everywhere and are available early.

The seafood resources could perhaps rank second to the grains, however they require a workboat which is consumed for each resource as opposed to workers which are used again after making the necessary land improvements. Also, the building of a Harbor to get the additional health is only available to coastal cities.

The animals are readily available with respect to the improvement required for the resource, but additional health from these resources comes very late in the game.

The grocer group, therefore, is actually more atttractive even though 3 of these resources provide initial happiness. Their usefulness as a health resource or a luxury resource is restricted, but when considering their total benefit these resources are strong, though both the improvement required and the building does not come very early in the game. This resource group should be acquired with the thought of future needs of cities. Having all 4 of these resources and a grocer in cities which need the health / happiness will provide a total of 3 happiness and 5 health. In comparison, having all 4 of the animals will only give 4 health until much later in the game and then additional luxury resources would have to be acquired for happiness.

 

[titanvol]

Total Summary of Health & Happiness Resources:

Due to the fact that there is an overlapping in the health & happiness resources it is best to look at them together rather than separate.

Groups:

-Farm / Granary health group: Corn, Rice, Wheat

-Mining / Forge luxury group: Gems, Gold, Silver

-Seafood / Harbor health group: Clam, Crab, Fish

-Camp mixed group: Deer, Fur, Ivory

-Plantation mixed group: Bananas, Dye, Incense, Silk, Spices, Sugar

-Market luxury group: Fur, Ivory, Silk, Whales

-Pasture health group: Cow, Sheep, Pig

-Grocer mixed group: Bananas, Spices, Sugar, Wine

-Supermarket health group: Pasture group & deer

-Winery: Wines

-Whaling Boats: Whales

-Theatre: Dye

-Cathedral: Incense

Analysis:

It becomes easy then once the various groups are identified to determine which ones to prioritize early in the game as well as what worker techs to acquire. It is also easier for the player to determine when picking city sites which ones to priortize and which can be sacrificed to the AI if necessary. It is also relevant when the player examines trading options with the AI.

Overall the strongest early groups are the mining / forge for luxuries and farm / granary for health. There are only 2 groups of luxury resources which increase happiness of multiple luxuries with a building, the market group and the forge group. Despite the fact that with the exception of silk the market group resources eventually expire, this makes the resources in that group a higher priority than other luxuries. The player will have many alternatives to increase happiness when the expiration occurs. Of course, there is also an exploit which allows the player to trade for expired resources with AI who do not have the technology.

The player should always take into consideration the types of buildings which will be desired in the majority of cities when prioritizing and acquiring resources, especially the luxury resources. There are very limited options in getting multiple benefits from luxuries. I cannot stress enough the benefits of the Mining / Forge group, since forges will be present in most cities anyway. The player should also consider if it is desired to build Markets in every city for happiness, getting 3 or 4 of the Market group luxuries makes that building more efficient and attractive, while at the same time considering that 3 of these will expire. However, if the player plans on concentrating on culture then dyes and incense become more attractive because the player will be building theatres and cathedrals, though a cathedral cannot be built in all cities unless the player has at least 3 religions. Dyes are always beneficial if the player is going to use the luxury slider because Theatres will almost certainly be built in most cities to maximize the benefits of raising the cultural slider, and of course, if planning to build the Globe Theatre, then the player will build at least 6 Theatres anyway.

 

[titanvol]

Future Discussion on impact of UB's on health / luxury resources; will be adding yield information as well as terrain types individual resources appear on & corporation effects. Possibly discuss the hit resources and random events.

 

[obsolete]

You forgot the entire batch of happy resources that come from wonders...

 

[Phil725]

Are you going to mention the tile yield differences as well? That's another level of resources being different. Rice is nice as a health resource, but its bad as an improvement. If you can settle to have corn or rice in the BFC, it's a no brainer.

 

[oyzar]

Herditary rule is the most important source of happiness in most games. Not mentioning it here is just wrong(rep can sometimes do a good job as well). Charismatic and expansive can also affect how you value different resources. As obsolete says there are broadway/hollywood/hanging gardens that also give health and happiness.

 

[titanvol]

You forgot the entire batch of happy resources that come from wonders...

I left them out for a variety of reasons. I do not consider them to be true resources, mostly because they do not appear on the map and the method for acquiring them is building a wonder.

 

[titanvol]

Are you going to mention the tile yield differences as well? That's another level of resources being different. Rice is nice as a health resource, but its bad as an improvement. If you can settle to have corn or rice in the BFC, it's a no brainer.

I thought about the tile yields, but was afraid adding all that information would detract from what I was really trying to write the article about. I was really giving this some thought when writing about the farm animals group because I always go for pigs when I can because they provide so much food. I may add something in the future.

 

[titanvol]

Herditary rule is the most important source of happiness in most games. Not mentioning it here is just wrong(rep can sometimes do a good job as well). Charismatic and expansive can also affect how you value different resources. As obsolete says there are broadway/hollywood/hanging gardens that also give health and happiness.

I didn't discuss anything like civics or improvments or wonders because the article is about resources, not methods of gaining health and happiness. However, I do plan to add something that discusses the impact of traits and UB on valuing resources.

 

[Tephros]

I didn't discuss anything like civics or improvments or wonders because the article is about resources, not methods of gaining health and happiness. However, I do plan to add something that discusses the impact of traits and UB on valuing resources.

I think obsolete had been referring to hit musicals, hit movies, and hit singles. Those operate somewhat differently from the others, but it would be nice if there were a comprehensive resource guide.

The relevant factors for resources are: bonus and building that increases it (which you covered), if/when they go obsolete, yields, typical terrain they're found in, random events associated with them, etc.

Objectively the best health resource would be corn or fish, depending upon the map. Pigs do have the same food yields as corn assuming the corn is irrigated, but they only give you 1 health until you can build supermarkets. Granaries will be built in every city and can be built early to enhance grain resources. Corn is a bit better than wheat IMO because it is found on grassland while wheat is found on plains, normally. Plains tiles are prone to twisters via random events, and trading the one food for one hammer is a minor negative for wheat. All farm resources are subject to bandits. In contrast, coastal fish give better yields once you have a lighthouse, but the extra health is only applicable in coastal cities. While galleys can be a harder to counter than land pillagers, there are no random events associated with fish and ocean-based fish tiles are immune to pillaging until astronomy.

Edit: Might be worth mentioning the interplay between resources and corporations as well.

 

[vanatteveldt]

Hey titanvol.

Nice article, but it could really use a bit more formatting / visual clues to guide the reader to the different sections.

As mentioned above, it would also be good to at least show the difference yield bonuses. Maybe each section could get a little table, or start off with a table showing the resources, tech required, multiplier building, yield bonus (unimproved/improved)?

 

[titanvol]

@ Tephors - yeah, I know what obsolete was talking about, the reply you quoted was meant for oyzar. Thanks for your feedback, considering the tiles resources are available on & the yields is a significant factor and while at first I was more concerned about the groupings, I think I will add this information at a later time. & the corporation thing could be useful as well, looks like my article is far from finished & needs more work than I had originally thought. I am also thinking I might add the hits also. As far as the random events, I will take that into consideration also. But I have mentioned the luxuries which obsolete and which tech obsoletes them already.

@ vanatteveldt - thanks for the feedback, a table would be a good idea. after i find time to update some of the information I will work on the organization.

 

[obsolete]

I do not consider them to be true resources, mostly because they do not appear on the map...

These are indeed true resources. Only resources (and gold) can be traded for other resources (and gold). The game engine handles them for exactly what they are... resources. There is no distinguishing between the icing-on-the-cake when it comes to how they are handled in the code.

They also do appear on the map, and have therefore a map-location. The location is where-ever the wonder is built that (pops/discovers) them. If you want to pillage/capture the resource, you will have to raze/capture the city, similar as if someone settled a city ontop of an iron resource.

 

[titanvol]

These are indeed true resources. Only resources (and gold) can be traded for other resources (and gold). The game engine handles them for exactly what they are... resources. There is no distinguishing between the icing-on-the-cake when it comes to how they are handled in the code.

They also do appear on the map, and have therefore a map-location. The location is where-ever the wonder is built that (pops/discovers) them. If you want to pillage/capture the resource, you will have to raze/capture the city, similar as if someone settled a city ontop of an iron resource.

those are very good points and I will prolly decide to add them; however, I could also argue they have no terrain value, do they do not increase the value of the terrain in any way, and if they are pillaged via razing they are gone forever since wonders cannnot be rebuilt. thank you for your continued feedback

 

[obsolete]

those are very good points and I will prolly decide to add them; however, I could also argue they have no terrain value, do they do not increase the value of the terrain in any way...,

They increase the value of the terrain by a LOT! Each separate resource tile gains 50% culture boost. This is of course stackable if you decide to combine them in/on the same city/tile.

They add many more benefits than this of course....

 

[dankok8]

I think you are focusing on happiness and health resources, but including strategic resources in the analysis (Copper, Iron, Horses, Coal, Oil, Uranium) could be useful as well.

 

[titanvol]

They increase the value of the terrain by a LOT! Each separate resource tile gains 50% culture boost. This is of course stackable if you decide to combine them in/on the same city/tile.

They add many more benefits than this of course....

okay, okay, you have won me over, lol, i will add them. it will prolly take awhile for me to update this though, school and work are really taxing my time right now

 

[titanvol]

I think you are focusing on happiness and health resources, but including strategic resources in the analysis (Copper, Iron, Horses, Coal, Oil, Uranium) could be useful as well.

In the distant future, I would like to add these, but a good strategic resource evaluation is far more demanding than health / happiness so I wanted to hold off for now. I thought specifically about horses, copper, and iron crossing over with the health / luxury because they require the same improvement as some of the health / happiness ones: horses - pasture, iron & copper - mine; plus horses appear on the map with animal husbandry, the same tech which allows the building of a pasture.