I havent found the answer to this question in FAQs or this part of the forum, so I thought I would ask. Actually, it is two related questions. Firstly, how many workers do you start creating right at the beginning of a game? Secondly, is there an ideal number of workers versus city numbers? Just wondering what people have found works.
Number of workers
- Thread starter Shamus
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Espírito
Civ Addict
i feel as many workers as possible is always best cos they are useful and can always be traded to other civs if ya have no work for them...
I dont create workers at the beginning until I have produced several cities which keep producing settlers, the first worker shud keep ya OK until then I find and I like to expand as fast as possible.
Hope that helps ya.
I dont create workers at the beginning until I have produced several cities which keep producing settlers, the first worker shud keep ya OK until then I find and I like to expand as fast as possible.
Hope that helps ya.
The_Oakster
Warlord
They are especially useful in large numbers when pollution kicks in because they wait until some appears and then they clean it up en masse.
I do find that if there are lots of them though they tend to railroad over everything until you cant even see the terrain and everywhere just looks a mess.
I do find that if there are lots of them though they tend to railroad over everything until you cant even see the terrain and everywhere just looks a mess.
Zachriel
Kaiser
You want to have every worked tile improved. No more workers than that.
I usually follow a ratio of 1 worker per city. Many a time, the only city I've ever built that never built a worker was my capitol because of the freebie.
By the time that I get a railroad network linking all my cities, I start putting my workers back into my population slowly. Enslaved citizens from razed AI cities do work slower, but do so freely and with rail can get wherever they need immediately.
By the time that I get a railroad network linking all my cities, I start putting my workers back into my population slowly. Enslaved citizens from razed AI cities do work slower, but do so freely and with rail can get wherever they need immediately.
Darkness
Shadow creature
If I'm industrious, then it's about 1 worker for each city...
If I'm not industrious, then it's 3 workers per 2 cities...
It can be very useful to build a second early worker (before 3000 BC), because this allows you to road more, and you're units and settlers can reach their destination faster... IMHO, this is only a good idea when your capital has a cattle, wheat or game in it's city radius, so the lost population can be regaine quickly...
If I'm not industrious, then it's 3 workers per 2 cities...
It can be very useful to build a second early worker (before 3000 BC), because this allows you to road more, and you're units and settlers can reach their destination faster... IMHO, this is only a good idea when your capital has a cattle, wheat or game in it's city radius, so the lost population can be regaine quickly...
Great. Thanks for the ideas. Its amazing how a few good strategies can improve your game. After perusing this forum for the last few days, I started a new game last night and my civilization is flourishing like never before. Conversely, my opponents are suffering from my new economic knowledge. Its sweet.
LiquidTank
Chieftain
I agree 100% I wish I knew about this forum a few years ago, if it's been around that long. I've just cruised this forum just today and already my civ's takin off like a bat outta hell, before other civilizations used to rip me off like madmen now I'm the one trading ice cubes to eskimos. This site is amazing good job to everyone for toss'in in their two cents.
If you're a vicious bloodthirsty tyrant who likes to raze enemy cities for the free workers, you can let them replace your natural workers who you can dump back into your population. Like zebomba said, it can do wonders!
Singularity
Infinite Density
There are two critical times in the game where you will find that having plenty of workers will help you greatly.
- Going from Despotism to Monarchy or Republic.
and
- After getting Steam Engine.
I try to aim at having 2-3 workers pr city until I have railroaded every tile of my terrain. Typically I start off with 1-2 pr city through the middleages, and increase from there as I approach industial age. After that I soon get hospitals, and I just apply them to my core cities, until I end up with around 1 worker pr city for pollution cleanup.
- Going from Despotism to Monarchy or Republic.
and
- After getting Steam Engine.
I try to aim at having 2-3 workers pr city until I have railroaded every tile of my terrain. Typically I start off with 1-2 pr city through the middleages, and increase from there as I approach industial age. After that I soon get hospitals, and I just apply them to my core cities, until I end up with around 1 worker pr city for pollution cleanup.
I personally build only about 5 workers (plus my initial one), the rest, I end up capturing through a series of wars. By the time Steam Power comes and pollution starts popping up, I have nearly 2 per city. Since I play as an industrious city, I always have plenty, and some extras to make colonies.
Slave workers are too damn slow to be useful.
Once your cities can spit out a worker in one turn, send the slave to join a city just as you build a worker - hey presto! doubled worker productivity, no loss of population. Pretty good use for one turn's produciton.
I recently figured this, did it for the 20-odd slaves I had, boy did my railroad network get finished in a hurry!
Once your cities can spit out a worker in one turn, send the slave to join a city just as you build a worker - hey presto! doubled worker productivity, no loss of population. Pretty good use for one turn's produciton.
I recently figured this, did it for the 20-odd slaves I had, boy did my railroad network get finished in a hurry!
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I agree with Darkness.
If you consider one city growing (say) every ten turns, then it is nice to have an improved tile for the new citizen to work. So lets say you want to improve a bonus grassland tile. It takes 1 turn to get the worker there, 3 turns to road it and then 6 to mine it. So 10 turns. Other improvements take more or less turns, but 10 is probably average. But you also need to road and rail between cities. For this you need more workers. Also if you have granaries or Pyramids then growth rate is faster. Ifyou don't have enough workers then the additional citizens will work unimproved tiles which wastes the improvement you have spent all that effort building/capturing.
As far as slaves are concerned. They are lazy and work at half the rate of a native worker. But their upkeep is free. So two slaves is as good as 1 native but they need no maintenance. Then if you have lots of slaves it is probably because you are expanding quickly. So the slaves are best used IMHO in roading and railing up behind your military, and should be treated outside the Darkness rule of thumb of 1.5 workers per city.
Once railroads are down (and everything is irrigated when milking) then the native workers should be joined to cities that can support the extra population. They can be used for tax or science and will increase your in game score.
Because the slaves are free, they should be joined to cities last. If your gameplan includes building losts of pollution creating improvements, or the other civs are creating pollution then it is a good idea to keep a minimal cleanup crew that can clear a polluted tile in one turn. Since they are slaves it costs nothing to do this.
This is just my 2 cents. There are many better players than me who would no doubt disagree.
If you consider one city growing (say) every ten turns, then it is nice to have an improved tile for the new citizen to work. So lets say you want to improve a bonus grassland tile. It takes 1 turn to get the worker there, 3 turns to road it and then 6 to mine it. So 10 turns. Other improvements take more or less turns, but 10 is probably average. But you also need to road and rail between cities. For this you need more workers. Also if you have granaries or Pyramids then growth rate is faster. Ifyou don't have enough workers then the additional citizens will work unimproved tiles which wastes the improvement you have spent all that effort building/capturing.
As far as slaves are concerned. They are lazy and work at half the rate of a native worker. But their upkeep is free. So two slaves is as good as 1 native but they need no maintenance. Then if you have lots of slaves it is probably because you are expanding quickly. So the slaves are best used IMHO in roading and railing up behind your military, and should be treated outside the Darkness rule of thumb of 1.5 workers per city.
Once railroads are down (and everything is irrigated when milking) then the native workers should be joined to cities that can support the extra population. They can be used for tax or science and will increase your in game score.
Because the slaves are free, they should be joined to cities last. If your gameplan includes building losts of pollution creating improvements, or the other civs are creating pollution then it is a good idea to keep a minimal cleanup crew that can clear a polluted tile in one turn. Since they are slaves it costs nothing to do this.
This is just my 2 cents. There are many better players than me who would no doubt disagree.
about workers. If you had 10 workers and needed to build 5 roads would you have all 10 workers doing one job then doing anouther ect or would you split them if so how?I would probly split them but then i play on regent at best and i know lots of you play higher and i wonder if this may be one of my problems.
P.S I would have 1 worker per town two per ciity and three per meterpolisis(sp?) Also i would start joining them to citys when the majoraty of tiles had railroad and mine/irrigation.
Thanks
P.S I would have 1 worker per town two per ciity and three per meterpolisis(sp?) Also i would start joining them to citys when the majoraty of tiles had railroad and mine/irrigation.
Thanks
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handyandy:
My opinion is it erm... depends.
Say it takes 3 worker turns to road a tile, and you have 3 workers on an adjacent tile. You could road the tile in two turns by moving all the workers there and getting them to road the tile.
They could all move on to the next tile and 2 turns later you get another roaded tile. But... you could move one worker to each of the tiles you need roaded. This would save 3 worker (movement) turns, so you get 3 roaded tiles in 4 turns. In the first case you get the first road quicker, and in the second you get the first later but the last on quicker. It is also important when stacking workers that the number of workers divides into the the number of worker turns required by a whole number. If it doesn't then you waste turns again.
Finally, if you are building a long road, then you can use the inchworm method where you have 3 tiles being worked at once, and as the road is laid the team at the back can use the newly laid road ahead of it to move 3 tiles (say) in one turn. This saves worker turns aswell.
Again, I don't pretend that this is best practice. It's just what I do.
My opinion is it erm... depends.
Say it takes 3 worker turns to road a tile, and you have 3 workers on an adjacent tile. You could road the tile in two turns by moving all the workers there and getting them to road the tile.
They could all move on to the next tile and 2 turns later you get another roaded tile. But... you could move one worker to each of the tiles you need roaded. This would save 3 worker (movement) turns, so you get 3 roaded tiles in 4 turns. In the first case you get the first road quicker, and in the second you get the first later but the last on quicker. It is also important when stacking workers that the number of workers divides into the the number of worker turns required by a whole number. If it doesn't then you waste turns again.
Finally, if you are building a long road, then you can use the inchworm method where you have 3 tiles being worked at once, and as the road is laid the team at the back can use the newly laid road ahead of it to move 3 tiles (say) in one turn. This saves worker turns aswell.
Again, I don't pretend that this is best practice. It's just what I do.
Jamesds
Great Scientist
Great tip Dr.Jimbo!
I normally build as many as I like, normally 1 per city, or 3 per 2 cities. But my PC is only PII 400MHz, so too many takes ages to go through!
If you go on Democracy, and discover Replaceable Parts, then you have super workers. If you are also an industrious civ, then you have the fastest workers around!!
About handyandy's question, I normally use the inchworm technique that mad-bax described, it works great for a road to rail conversion. I use it for when I capture cities, I get my workers to build a rail to the front line.
I normally build as many as I like, normally 1 per city, or 3 per 2 cities. But my PC is only PII 400MHz, so too many takes ages to go through!
If you go on Democracy, and discover Replaceable Parts, then you have super workers. If you are also an industrious civ, then you have the fastest workers around!!
About handyandy's question, I normally use the inchworm technique that mad-bax described, it works great for a road to rail conversion. I use it for when I capture cities, I get my workers to build a rail to the front line.
Cartouche Bee
Appropriations Consultant
Ummm, not a good tip! Actually you will find that foreigners added to cities tend to decrease happiness in that city, they just have more reasons to be discontented (wars against the homeland and such stuff like that there). Then of course add to the fact that slaves don't cost 1 gold per turn pretty much makes up for the fact that they work slower. When you need things like rails, yes build workers and when the rails are done, add them back into your cities.
I. Larkin
Deity
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The more the better! I prefer use slaves, becase they do not need gpt. I have approx 4 per City. They are must for remote corrupted cities, because the only way to build there something withou loosing your money is forestry operation (read Crakers article for details).
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