Question: Has anyone ever built the iron works and how often?

[braclayrab]

why did a handful of people say 50% or greater? I've only gotten it like 2-3 times ever, perhaps 5% of my games...

 

[predesad]

i have built it twcie in a PBEM game, once it was in a somewhat corrupt city, and building it only managed to make the city production about equal to some of my core cities, but considering the length it took me to build it and the pollution factor i then wondered if it were worth the effort.

In another PBEM I built the iron works in a core city with a factory already there in the middle of my GA (India, GA received form building Smith's Trading and already having a religious Wonder) used that city to build ToE catapult to Electronics then build hoover's dam, man what a production ride that was.

I had another opportunity in a single player game, actually the one I am currently playing as my first emporer, but have declined since it is too corrupt.

 

[Abaddon]

I guess im lucky... i get around 1 every 2 games. Last game it was in Amsterdam

I smell bull.

 

[Woody]

Here is a screenshot from an older game that I think was played with PTW. I had conquered Rome early in the game and when coal showed up there were three ex-roman cities that were able to build ironworks.

If I recall correctly I had modded the game to allow all civilizations and upped the optimum number of cities a little but otherwise standard rules.

I ended up building it in neapolis since it was the city closest to home and had less corruption problems.


I usually end up being able to build ironworks someplace in my games since I usually play to take over the whole world, turning off domination and culture victories, but two out of three times its in a city that is so corrupt that it isnt worth building.

 

[Blackbird_SR-71]

i've only built it once. its nice but i don't come to build it anymore.

 

[JonathanValjean]

When I first started playing Civ 3 a couple years ago, I mainly built metropolises, and had a string of very good luck with the Iron Works. I estimate that I was able to build it 8 times during my first 40 games. I just completed game number 70, and I have probably only built one two times during the last 30 games.

 

[Wizardhawk]

If you have two cities that both overlap the same iron and coal resources would both cities be able to build the iron works? or juust one of the two?

 

[Corkmaster]

I have been playing for years and IIRC had about 4 opportunities to build the Iron Works. The first oddly was in my very first game (must have been CivII) and in Pennsylvania (same as Ijossberir) just a coincidence surely.
However I probably only play about 6-8 games a year; often spend 200 hours on one game. Played about five C3C games and got the chance once, in a remote hill top town with no chance.

 

[hIdDeN_eViL]

only twice in many, many games...
normally coal is just out of reach

 

[Erik Mesoy]

If you have two cities that both overlap the same iron and coal resources would both cities be able to build the iron works? or juust one of the two?

Iron Works is a Small Wonder, so you can only build it once at all. Either city could build it though.

 

[CrackedCrystal]

I have had the opertunity only twice. Once it was in a far flung area where the city's main purpose was to supply iron. It was totally corrupt. Obviously I did not build the wonder there.

The other I did end up building it, but the city was in a high food/low shield area. It was nice, but I had more productive cities elsewhere.

 

[The Last Conformist]

I've built it a number of times, but statistics tend to conspire to make sure it gets built in a city fairly far away from my capital, which means the city won't be much of a productive wonder anyway.

I can only recall one game in which I got it in a true core city. That, OTOH, rocked.

 

[Bluetooth]

I build it in almost every game. How? I start my games in the editor It’s funnier as you get the type of games you like.

 

[tR1cKy]

Well, every 2 turns you build 2 of them instead of 1... For pollution, you simply send some peasants to get rid of it.
BTW, i find the Iron Works thing a few unbalancing. I've modded it so it can be built even if coal and iron are not in a city radius, you simply need to have access to them. Also, i've halved the production bonus and the pollution generated.

 

[EquinoxOmega]

I always build them if I'm able to build them. But it depends on the map and there are very few places with iron and coal and sometimes I find such a place but I can't use it becaue I've build my cities there before I discover steam power. I think I had about 3 Iron Works in my one year CIV III career.

 

[Roso]

I was able to bild Iron Works 3 or 4 times but I did it once only because the other times my cities were very corrupted. I don't know why I have this bad luck, or maybe I should have thought harder where to put my FP?

 

[klopolov]

In the game I'm playing now, there are two cities which are both near iron and coal. Both of them belonged to the late egyptians and one of them was their capital. I never get that to happen to one of my original cities.

 

[BasketCase]

Has anyone here ever waited till the coal appeared on the map, and then built a whole new city in a location such that both iron and coal were within its radius? Never bothered to do that; in most of my games I focus simply on building a superior civilization in which all my citizens are smarter, richer, and happier than everybody else.

 

[Drakan]

Only twice in almost three or four years playing a lot.

 

[geonnyboy]

Maybe it's just luck of the draw, but I seem to get the Iron Works more often when I play as England than any other civ. I want to say maybe once every four or five games. One time I even had it in my second city (read: low corruption.) And even though it couldn't grow past size 10 (tundra city) I was pumping 150+ shields per turn out of that monster.

I'm not sure why I've been so lucky with England though. Could it be map settings (every England game I play is always 80% water, arid, cold, rocky terrain, continents or archipelago games) or are some Civs more prone to find certain resources than others? (I never have problems finding coal and iron with England.)