Resource Variety

[GauntZero]

Hello guys,

I was just thinking about the resources in general and about the changes in CIV5 in relation to CIV6.

So far I think the following changes were mentioned:
> there is one new strategic resource: Niter
> there will be resources that have their effectiveness modified by era (e.g. Mercury)

Are there any other changes ?
Do we know more about the mechanism that ties certain resources to eras ?

I think it could also be interesting to give each civilization a favourit luxury resource, that has an increased effect.
Like Jade or Mercury for China, Wine for the French or Blood Oranges for the Aztechs
Could also be a good moment to introduce Met for the Vikings and Beer for the Germans

 

[Thunderfist]

I think it could also be interesting to give each civilization a favourit luxury resource, that has an increased effect.
Like Jade or Mercury for China, Wine for the French or Blood Oranges for the Aztechs
Could also be a good moment to introduce Met for the Vikings and Beer for the Germans

At first glance, this seems like a good enough idea, but, I think it would end up putting too much power into the hands of the initial dice roll - that is; your start location and where resources spawn. Someone is going to get a great deal out of that while someone else is going to get shafted... and all through no decision making or fault of their own. I understand that's already a concept with starting spawns, but adding favored resources to that would only compound the issues it carries.

 

[Ebrim]

I actually already suspect that favored resources are being added to spawn bias. Wine and the French seem to have a pretty good correlation in the game videos I've seen.

 

[Thunderfist]

I actually already suspect that favored resources are being added to spawn bias. Wine and the French seem to have a pretty good correlation in the game videos I've seen.

Just to clarify what I was thinking:
Civs having a tendancy to start near particular resources doesn't seem like a bad thing.
I got the impression OP was suggesting, for instance, the French get additional happiness from wine that other Civs wouldn't get, or Arabia gets additional production from oil resources that other Civs wouldn't get, etc...
I would actually like for Civs to have a resource bias that influences their starting position, rather than just a bias for certain terrains.

 

[kampori]

Starting biases are definitely in the game and have been mentioned... somewhere. Brazil being near jungle etc.
As for extra happiness for themes luxuries- not so fond of this. Too RNG based- one Civ can end up with a plethora of favoured luxuries while no one else gets any. RNG is already bad enough as it is- the amount of games in Civ 5 where I have bugger all resources is staggering.

I'm mostly worried that there seems to be a lack of luxuries. A few have been added, but a lot seems to have been demoted to 'bonus' resources. Can anyone confirm what these actually do?
Crabs, for example, apparently no longer a luxury, just a bonus.

 

[MarcosQuadros]

Just to clarify what I was thinking:
Civs having a tendancy to start near particular resources doesn't seem like a bad thing.
I got the impression OP was suggesting, for instance, the French get additional happiness from wine that other Civs wouldn't get, or Arabia gets additional production from oil resources that other Civs wouldn't get, etc...
I would actually like for Civs to have a resource bias that influences their starting position, rather than just a bias for certain terrains.

I would also really like this feature, very gamey and fun to have sources of wine, cattle(for cheese) and perfume as France
Also It's seem that Firaxis had some inspiration from the more resources mod and for the CMP itself.
And what bias resources would each civ have? I guess maybe i should star to do a list

 

[dturtle1]

Bonus Resources just increase the yield of the tile. Crab, i am pretty sure adds Gold, wheat add Food, Copper add production etc

 

[GauntZero]

Thinking about it, you may be right - a starting bias could be fairer and still have a certain flavour to it.

I am very curious though how they want to make this connection of Luxuries to certain eras.
I mean...do have certain Luxuries an expiry date then ? ANd wouldnt that also be a luck-factor if you start to a Luxury that expires after Medieval (Mercury ?) compared to one that doesnt expire at all (Gold ?) ?
Or do expiring Luxuries have a greater bonus at their time of validity ?

 

[skyclad]

Bonus Resources just increase the yield of the tile. Crab, i am pretty sure adds Gold, wheat add Food, Copper add production etc

This is my assumption as well, but do we know why bonus resources are listed at the top among the luxes and strategics?

 

[Siptah]

Bonus Resources just increase the yield of the tile. Crab, i am pretty sure adds Gold, wheat add Food, Copper add production etc

+ they can be harvested

 

[Deggial]

'Themed luxury ressources' wouldn't add anything but fluff, if the related civs would have a starting bias towards them. If every civ would start with its prefered luxury in reach, all we would gain is a +1 starting amenity across the board.

No, favorite luxuries as a game mechanism with impact will only make sense, if located in another civ's territory and hence an initiative for trade or war.
For the sake of fluff and storytelling, however, characteristic luxuries (with no increased impact over others) might be a interesting thing to have.

 

[Siptah]

There was a thing like favourite luxuries in civ 5. Cities 'needed' certain luxuries and got a growth bonus if you connected these to the city. Might be in again.

 

[kaspergm]

Not a fan of the idea of having civs start biassed towards certain lux resources. Lux resources are not just resources, they also play in on various other parts of the game, most notably things like religion and pantheon beliefs. If each civ has a tendency to start with the same lux resource, not only can it course balance problems, it will also reduce variation between games in a bad way.

 

[Deggial]

... they also play in on various other parts of the game, most notably things like religion and pantheon beliefs. If each civ has a tendency to start with the same lux resource, not only can it course balance problems, it will also reduce variation between games in a bad way.

You are rigth! So, they won't be a good idea even for fluff.

 

[BrokenBokken]

Not a fan of the idea of having civs start biassed towards certain lux resources. Lux resources are not just resources, they also play in on various other parts of the game, most notably things like religion and pantheon beliefs. If each civ has a tendency to start with the same lux resource, not only can it course balance problems, it will also reduce variation between games in a bad way.

My thoughts exactly. It might make a certain civ always have the 'best' pantheon available for example.

 

[Verified_Confection_Being]

+ they can be harvested

Can they be harvested from outside of your lands?

 

[Lucius_]

My thoughts exactly. It might make a certain civ always have the 'best' pantheon available for example.

Eh, I don't disagree, but at the same time civs in CiV had desert start preferences, which isn't always ideal, but desert folklore is a similar comparison.

 

[BrokenBokken]

Eh, I don't disagree, but at the same time civs in CiV had desert start preferences, which isn't always ideal, but desert folklore is a similar comparison.

While it wasn't AWFUL, I don't think it was a positive that those desert civs got an additional advantage and tundra civs had an extra negative. I suppose if you balance civilization abilities to factor those things in it would be ok, but I doubt that would happen.

 

[Siptah]

Can they be harvested from outside of your lands?

I haven't seen someone trying it. But IIRC, Ed chopped some forest outside his territory in on of the videos he played. He still got a production boost, but less hammers than when it would have been inside his territory. I would assume the same is true for bonus resources.

 

[Thunderfist]

Can they be harvested from outside of your lands?

That's an important one and the answer is yes. Just like chopping down forests or jungle outside of your borders, it will still lend a boost to the nearest city when harvested. This lets you strip nearby resources which you may already have a copy of, deny them to a nearby rival Civ, and I suppose in a long term strategy you could use it to degrade the appeal of the surrounding land to discourage others from settling near your city.