OMG - playing for 25 years and just realized this...

[ptt196]

That you can mine grasslands into forest then irrigate into plains - to get a shield.

How have I played this for 25 years and not realized this. Good lord!!! Changes everything!!!

 

[Posidonius]

That you can mine grasslands into forest then irrigate into plains - to get a shield. How have I played this for 25 years and not realized this. Good lord!!! Changes everything!!!

A useful thing i learned here a couple years ago: there is not only a stair-step pattern to shield-grass, but a pattern to "special" resources as well. If you have a gem-jungle or an oil-swamp, when you develop that square it keeps its "specialness", so if you make it a plains, it will be a horse-plains. In every game where there's time, i turn horse-plains into deer-forests. More food than horses, and respectable shields.

Even better, when you follow the special resource pattern, you can identify which regular non-shield grasslands will turn into a horse-plain or deer-forest, both of which are far more juicy than a shield-grassland. Just wish we could turn flatlands into swamps or jungles!

 

[Toddles]

I am off to try this now

 

[Lord.L.]

What's that pattern?

 

[ptt196]

Its like one over and 3 down or something - however it is not always the case so I don't think its a lock.

 

[Posidonius]

What's that pattern?

The gameboard is populated with "bubbles" or "cells" of special resources, each cell has 8. Special resources in each cell are arrayed in two possible patterns, 1-3-3-1 or 2-4-2. This means that, from West to East, there will be either three or four columns in a cell, and the special squares in a column are in a tilted line from SW to NE, 3 squares N and 1 square E of the last special square (or 3S1W). The next column to the East will be 3 squares E and 1S of the previous special square. Unless there is no special square there, then you know that's the edge of the cell.

It's sorta like a sudoku puzzle. All terrain types have a special version, except grasslands. Find an oilswamp or goldmountain, or whatever, look 3 squares in each cardinal direction then 1 square perpendicular clockwise. Is there a special resource there? If not, is it a grassland? If so, check 3+1, the "long knight's jump" in the cardinal directions. If you find a column of them from SW to NE, and there are 4 in the column, then you know that it is a 2-4-2 cell. From the middle two specials in a line of four, there will always be two specials 3W1N of them, and 2 more at 3E1S of the middle two.

If you spot a line of 3 in a column, and can verify that it is not actually a line of 4, then you know there will be another column of 3 either to the West or the East, each special square either 3W1N or 3E1S of the three you found. It must be a 1-3-3-1 cell. When you find the middle 6 squares, you know there will be 2 more in the cell: column #1 is a single square 3W1N of the middle square of column #2, and column #4 is also a single, 3E1S of the middle square in column #3.

Cells continue across the coasts, so the pattern in the fish can be followed onto land. The cells break at the dateline, the Seam In The World, but you are never allowed to place a city which can see across the dateline in cityview anyway, so no matter. The cells break at the Poles, so just be aware that if you spot a pattern near the North Pole, you might only be seeing the southern half of that cell.

Knowing the pattern, you can tell which empty grasslands will turn special with development work. Tip: if you're going to make a bland grassland into a deerforest, lay down your road and RailRoad first, much faster while it's still grass.

 

[llywelynii]

It's sorta like a sudoku puzzle.

Thank you for all of that, but even working this out on graph paper this is definitely a case where some pictures are going to be much clearer than text. I think I understand but am still not quite sure I have it.

 

[Posidonius]

Thank you for all of that, but even working this out on graph paper this is definitely a case where some pictures are going to be much clearer than text. I think I understand but am still not quite sure I have it.

Just start a new random game, customize the parameters for "small " land and 1 rival civ. Found up to 6 cities as quickly as you can, aim for Science and get Navigation. Build Sail units, and go out and look at the fishies. With little land, your planet will have large oceans. When you see how the fishies are arranged on the open sea, then you will know how special resources are arrayed on the land.

 

[Noire Leblanc]

Thank you for all of that, but even working this out on graph paper this is definitely a case where some pictures are going to be much clearer than text. I think I understand but am still not quite sure I have it.

Here we have the "wide" patterns, just north of Nanking extending eastward and another one from De Lemmer to Harrenfean, with the highlighted square in JCivEd being a grassland that will probably turn into a deer-forest if mined. Edit: The pattern between Ljouwert and Harrenfean is actually a long one with its points under Harns and at the grassland shield southeast of Frjentsjer.

And here's the "long" pattern, in an unsettled area of the world again, the highlighted square will probably be a deer-forest when mined, along with another missing one a bit southeast sandwiched between the swamps and forests.

 

[Mize]

The highlighted square in your first pic will actually not turn into forest with game if mined. See, there's a plains with horses square two tiles above, and special resources can't be that close together. There are places where the pattern breaks and this is one of them. You can also see the pattern breaking in your second pic. There is a notable lack of fish near the shore Northeast of the highlighted square. The two grassland squares here will turn to game-forest though, they are within the pattern.
When in doubt, save before you mine.

 

[Noire Leblanc]

You're right, it's interrupted by a long pattern coming south from Snits there. The pattern northeast of Nanking is at least clearly visible, so I don't have to go hunt down a new illustration.

Testing confirms that in fact the pattern around Ljouwert and Hearrenfean is in fact a long one, as the two rows of three resources hinted, and that unimproved grassland-shield near Frjentsjer is a resource tile instead. It also means Harns is probably a resource tile and if I get the spare settler turns I should make it a deer forest too.

 

[Posidonius]

Here we have the "wide" patterns, ... And here's the "long" pattern ...

Right, a 2-4-2 cell and a 1-3-3-1 cell are the same thing, just turned 90º. It's a block of six with two outliers. Easiest to see on big oceans, the worldwide pattern reveals itself as a patchwork of cells laid over the whole world. When you find the east-most outlier of a 1-3-3-1 cell, which Noire Leblanc calls a "wide" pattern, then you will find the west-most outlier of the next one at 1W5S. When you find the south-most outlier in a 2-4-2 cell, Noire Leblanc calls it a "long" pattern, then you will find the north-most tip of the next one at 11E1N. When you spot the southernmost special in a "wide" pattern, the northernmost square in a 2-4-2 "long" will be at 1W6S.

 

[darkpanda]

For the sake of knowledge, extensive analysis available here about special resource and huts patterns, and ways to modify them: https://forums.civfanatics.com/thre...king-special-resource-and-hut-patterns.512002

 

[Noddy]

I played it for 25 years to realize today that you can set the city's production to automatic by left clicking on the 'change' button.

 

[tuga2112]

I played it for 25 years to realize today that you can set the city's production to automatic by left clicking on the 'change' button.

its a nice trick for when you get that bug where it wont allow you to select any production because when you click "More" the only thing avaialble on the second page is "more"
although the automatic production is usually things that i would not priorityse

 

[Valen]

although the automatic production is usually things that i would not prioritize

When you are forced to go "Auto", you do have some influence over what building is selected.
Place workers on trade-rich squares (ocean) and it will lean toward marketplace, library, bank, university.
Maximize food and it will lean toward granary, aqueduct.
Load up forests and mined hills and you tend to get a factory.
Turn everybody into entertainers and you tend toward barracks, walls.
If you happen to be rioting, you will get temple, cathedral, colosseum.

You only need to move your people long enough to (hopefully) get the building you want. After that, you can put the city back to "normal" placement of workers.

 

[tuga2112]

When you are forced to go "Auto", you do have some influence over what building is selected.
Place workers on trade-rich squares (ocean) and it will lean toward marketplace, library, bank, university.
Maximize food and it will lean toward granary, aqueduct.
Load up forests and mined hills and you tend to get a factory.
Turn everybody into entertainers and you tend toward barracks, walls.
If you happen to be rioting, you will get temple, cathedral, colosseum.

You only need to move your people long enough to (hopefully) get the building you want. After that, you can put the city back to "normal" placement of workers.

Valen.

thanks for the tip, i will put it to the test when i get the chanse,

Im currently succeeding at playing king for the very first time. altouhgh im abusign the fast setler trick which im not sure if its something to feel as a cheat or not.
when i think about it... the settler unit represents 10k people... does it really take that amount of people more than 20 years to build a road or irrigate a section of territory ?.. i guess that discussion is not for this topic.