Reconnecting with Civ IV and needing help

[Kallikrates]

Thanks for the irrigation chain info!
I dislike that one cannot build anything on tundra without fresh water, hill or forest. Sure, a tundra workshop would not be great but better than nothing (and decent with SP+caste) And as SP can transform even ice and desert into food yielding tiles if they are on a river with a watermill why not tundra that even has 1 F w/o improvements. And how is it logical that I can build a workshop or cottage on a riverside tundra but not on another tundra tile? Other than farms/watermills they have nothing to do with the river. I just do not see the point to make bad terrain even worse by such restrictions.

 

[enKage]

You can also improve LAKESIDE tundra (any freshwater tundra, also next to oasis in fantasy map)

 

[Kallikrates]

I know about lakeside. Still not what the rationale is for lakeside allowing workshops whereas they are impossible in tundra elsewhere. I get that it is part of a challenge to have bad terrain in some places. But why make it even worse in such an illogical fashion?

 

[enKage]

Because tundra is not inhabited and has no economical use even today if not by the river or lake.

If at least economically used in real life high mountains (mines) are not allowed, it is more logical not to allow tundra improvements

 

[Kallikrates]

Realistic would be no farms on tundra, regardless of fresh water. Once you allow some improvements on tiles with a river that are not logically related to there being a river I do not see why they cannot be built on normal tundra tiles. Especially workshops; towns do nor really make sense in the tundra, but as there often are minerals/metals in tundra, workshops would make sense.

It's not a big deal the game is just as it is. But I still wonder why there is less "terraforming" in Civ IV than in earlier games when so much else was expanded.