Irrigation vs Mining. Sounds like a simple equation, but as with pop rushing via the whip, it can be more complex than what shows on the surface. A lot depends on the rest of the land you have.
In this case, there are about five or six grassland with shields, plus the cattle, some grassland without shield, a hills, and several mountains. Presuming cattle first, then several grassland with shields in a row, for the worker, it goes something like this.
If you mine the cattle, you get one extra shield per turn. Period.
If you irrigate, you get one extra food. This reduces the time necessary to grow another size from seven turns to five (without granary, from four to three with granary). If, upon growing, you bring a grassland square with shield, mine, and road online, you would get another 2 shields and 1 commerce from that. If you get that two turns sooner, you've picked up four shields and 2 commerce, by the time the city would grow with the cattle mined.
So... after seven turns, with the cattle mined you are at +7 shields. With it irrigated, you are at +4 shields, +2 commerce. Ah, but the irrigated cattle will grow AGAIN in three more turns, vs seven more for the mined cattle. If you then bring another mined, shield and road grassland online, you get another +2 shields and +1 commerce per turn from the newly worked square. You then have four turns of this before the mined cattle version would catch up and grow. That's +8 shields and +4 commerce.
After 14 turns, the mined cattle are at +14 shields. The irrigated cattle are at +12 shields, +6 commerce, and will grow again in one more turn, after which, the extra shields from the extra population unit will SURPASS the mined cattle and pick up net gains from there on out, until a ceiling is hit where you need an aqueduct, hospital, or more happy faces, to continue to grow, at which point you could always go back and mine the irrigated cattle, if desired. Being on a river further adds to the commerce gains. Could make two turns difference on a discovery, that early.
Now I know it's not as neat as that, as workers may not have fully improved squares ready to come on line, or the land may be less ideal than this plot of ground -- and settlers and granaries change the balance -- but the principle still holds. It's not just a matter of mining=production. Also, once out of despotism, it stops mattering at all, as every irrigation or every mine, on a plains or grassland, is equal to any other.
I would have irrigated the cattle. I would also not have whipped the temple in Babylon. We bought eight to twelve rounds of culture at 2 per turn, and maybe as many as fifteen rounds of 1000-year bonus coming sooner, at 2 per turn. So for about 50 culture points (which will be ONE turn, in the final equation, assuming all other things being equal, which they won't be), we whipped, which bought us either 26 or 24 shields but cost us a population unit, which is 2 shields and 2 commerce per turn, uh, forever. Or thereabouts. Definitely worth considering whipping a temple at 60 shields, but just 30, you can build that pretty quickly in the capital. A lost population unit in some corrupt frontier city, no big deal, as the shields from them would be wasted anyway. It's a much more problematic action closer to home. The farther from home, the more worthwhile the whip. At least in a building game. If your whole empire is poprushing horsies and rolling across the land, that's a whole different situation, in which you never expect to get out of despotism and don't care about anything in your cities. If you want to build, the whip should be weighed in its true cost, which means looking ahead at the full scope of what is lost vs what is gained.
Then again, if the land were a little poorer, or a little richer, it would make the same difference as being more, or less, efficient. And the game can be won without perfect land, so it can also be won without heroic efficiency -- which is a good thing for me, because I overlook stuff all the time. In my turn on this game, I lost a turn at Ur for not paying attention to what squares were in use. Made a mistake or two in exploring, not paying attention to what was shore or not. No cities rioted, but I get that on a regular basis, every few turns one slips my attention.
So in the end, theorizing has its own limits. You got us off to a grand start, lkendter. Our position looks good and I like our chances.
- Sirian
! Colossus is ordered.
