start on the highground?

[thomson_2001]

the last game i played was hotseat - marathon and my flatmate settled on a hill whilst i settled on flatland both by the coast. it quickly became apparent that his early game production kicked ass over mine as the hill provided an extra hammer per turn for settling on compared to my position. i think he had a few buildings and units done in no time compared to me. although its not as efficient later in game as that hill could have been mined/windmilled, and i came through later with my capitol much better then his, id still like to know what people think about hill as starting positions.

 

[Diamondeye]

I usually don't count it as a large benefit. that one free hammer from a plains hill is a nice boost to start with, but the hill can be a 5 mine laters, so if the area is very production poor, I might go down to settle next to the hill. Ofcourse, I weight riverside location much higher, aswell as workable tiles in general. And you waste a turn by walking up a hill, but not necessarily by moving down.

 

[thomson_2001]

yeah its a close one as hte extra hammers can allow for a better start which can lead to more wonders etc in turn driving an advantage into the game. but id defo prefer a coastal start near river. which raises the question...would you walk to the coast for the later trade routes?

 

[thelibra]

At Prince level and earlier, I used to disregard the use of putting a city on a hill unless it just happened to be in the sweet spot between a bunch of resources. At Monarch, now I give presidence to hills for cities, and will even go so far as to leave a non-strategic resource outside of the fat cross if it means I can get a city on a hill (by a fresh water source, of course).

The 25% defensive bonus may not seem like much--it certainly didn't before Monarch--but with the increased AI player and barbarian aggression, their archer-advantage over my measly warrior (or scout), I'll take any advantage I can. If you think about it, it's basically a "vs" promotion against almost every unit type. The extra hammer is a nice bonus, but the defensive bonus is the real consideration. When stacked with walls and a balanced, promoted defensive stack, this makes for one very hard to crack nut.

I don't know if coastal squares still provide a defensive bonus or not, but I know riverside property provides a 50% defensive bonus if an attacking non-amphibious unit has to cross the river to attack. So ultimately, a city on a riverside hill is my ideal choice. If such a position exists on a coastline, all the better, defensive bonus or not.

As for the "waste of a minable hill", I don't typically settle a city unless there are (city aside) at least 2 usable hills, but optimally 3+, or there are resources that provide hammers, like horses, cattle. Granted the hill I settle on is one more production bonus, but I take the longterm view that I'll save more by not losing the city if it's attacked.

 

[thomson_2001]

yeah your right about the not settling if non enough hills. i dont tend to worry too much about the +25% defense bonus for my capitol as i generally have it well defended. playing on emperor hot seat at mo. think maybe the extra hammer early on just seemed more effective as we were playing on marathon.

still not sure how to start my next game off...to hill or not to hill....hmmmm

 

[Supr49er]

I usually don't count it as a large benefit. that one free hammer from a plains hill is a nice boost to start with, but the hill can be a 5 mine laters, so if the area is very production poor, I might go down to settle next to the hill. Ofcourse, I weight riverside location much higher, aswell as workable tiles in general. And you waste a turn by walking up a hill, but not necessarily by moving down.

I thought your city square was upgraded - mined etc. as you discovered techs.

For example, if you settle on a hill that later reveals iron, don't you get that resource mined for you automatically?

I don't have that situation in my current game or saves.

 

[Steiner-Davion]

If my memory serves me correctly, you get access to the recource "under" your cit,y but you do not get any tile bonuses from it (ie you do not get the extra 5 hammers or whatever number it is if it if a mined hill with iron).

 

[thomson_2001]

its more the fact that ill be getting +1 hammer for while but if i dont settle on the hill i could mine it later and get the extra hammers. kinda the short term boost vs the long term gain