Settler road building

[Morten Blaabjerg]

What determines the time for settlers/engineers to build roads/railroads?
-I think it is terrain dependant, but I can't see it anywhere in the rules.txt. I might be wrong about this.

 

[Tracid00]

It depends on the movement points that the settler needs to cross the terrain.
With grassland it´s done in one turn, while hills take two. That´s because hills require 2 movement points...
Rivers add 1 turn to the movement cost of the terrain they are on.
Engigeers need half the time because they have double movement of a settler...
With railroads it´s the same I think, but not 100% on this.
I hope this is helpful

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TRACID

"Attacking the enemy´s plans is best; next is to attack his alliances; next to attack his army; the worst is to attack their cities." Sun-Tzu (the Art of War)

[This message has been edited by Tracid00 (edited August 25, 2001).]

 

[Henrik]

Originally posted by Tracid00:
It depends on the movement points that the settler needs to cross the terrain.
With grassland it´s done in one turn, while hills take two. That´s because hills require 2 movement points...
Rivers add 1 turn to the movement cost of the terrain they are on.
Engigeers need half the time because they have double movement of a settler...
With railroads it´s the same I think, but not 100% on this.
I hope this is helpful

Railroads take twice as long, and although movement points is indeed the thing to alter the speed at which terrain improvements are built, just as described, only engineers do it at twice the speed.
The speed for all other settler units is calculated as if they had 1 move.

[This message has been edited by Henrik (edited August 25, 2001).]

 

[Morten Blaabjerg]

Ok, Thanx! That was very helpful!

 

[Boco]

Can anything be done to encourage the AI to use a settler/engineer to build a road in a specific square, rather than a fortress, irrigation or something else? This can be either inside or outside of a city radius. I've learned AI settlers will only build cities in grassland or plains slots, so city-building can be influenced. However, I haven't learned how to persuade the AI to repair pillaged roads/railroads.

 

[Tracid00]

Boco, the only way I now of to achieve that is to establish a trade route between two cities. It doesn´t make sense, but the AI always seems to keep the roads between these two cities (if from it´s own civ) repaired...
I also think that the AI will repair a road if it´s in a city sqare and leads to a neighboring city and if it gets a production boost aut of it, of course.

 

[Henrik]

Originally posted by Tracid00:

Boco, the only way I now of to achieve that is to establish a trade route between two cities. It doesn´t make sense, but the AI always seems to keep the roads between these two cities (if from it´s own civ) repaired...

That is becouse a trade route gives you 50% more trade if the cities are conected by roads, the AI wants that bonus (note though that the road connecting them has to follow a certain line)

 

[Boco]

Thanks, Tracid00 & Henrik. This logic sounds like it should apply to 'international' trade routes between cities of warring civs (AI and human controlled) as well. Any experience with that? Do you remember any tricks to determining the trade route 'line' along which the AI will try to rebuild roads? I can only think of testing with the 'Goto' command.

 

[Henrik]

I think it was determined by the guys at the Apolyton Strategy forum.
Search them for a thread whit "Trade" in it, it might even be listed in the Great Library over there (along whit combat odds, the value of different trade comodities, etc).