Suggestion on Strategic Resources

[Sabotage]

Anyway, this is just a small thought I've been having. Feel free to comment on it, it's a free forum

For SRs, I think that say in the case of Iron. At first iron should only appear on hills ect ect, but think about it, iron is one of the most abundant minerals on earth! You just have to know where to look, therefore, I think that there should be a technology you can learn "Mining". With that, all squares producing a shield will produce an extra one, and a fringe benifit is that iron icons will become more and more abundant, like every 1 in 4th hill or mountain will contain a source.

Aluminium is another case. It's the world's most common material, it just needs to be properly refined. But you discover refining BEFORE rocketry, right? That's right Timmy! That is why aluminium shouldn't be THAT rare. I mean, on a game I played on a standard sized map, my empire dominated about 75% of an entire continent, which was equal in size to the other one (only 2 in the world). After discovering rocketry, I nearly crapped myself when I saw I didn't have one source of aluminium Long story short, the Zulus and Japanese got wiped off the face of the earth, but I got my aluminium so it's all good in the end

Lastly, before everyone starts telling me to shut up. Oil should appear costal and ocean squares as well. Alot of the world's oil comes from offshore platforms. With minaturisation, you can expolit those offshore oil sources and for those sources in the middle of the ocean by building a special unit who's sole purpose is to lay down oil rigs. This would add an extra dimension in battles because naval superiority would be cruicial in order to maintain your supply of oil.

Anyway, those are just my suggestions.

 

[ChrisWade]

I agree with oil being available in the sea, but I disagree with your aluminium arguement, as you don't need it in the game until after discovering rocketry anyway.

 

[sealman]

I also agree with oil but if you make iron so abundant, it really loses its strategic value, in this game concept.

 

[chrome_gnome]

I'd feel that the resources becoming too common would make them no longer "strategic". A strategic resource means one you have to plan your entire strategy around acquiring, protecting and denying your enemy access to. Without them the game would quickly become a game of turtling and building your victory fleet like Starcraft or Age of Empires. These resources are not always fairly placed and that is why there is a "point" to the wars we fight.

 

[Grey Knight]

Originally posted by ChrisWade
I agree with oil being available in the sea, but I disagree with your aluminium arguement, as you don't need it in the game until after discovering rocketry anyway.

An inherent problem with the "late" resources is they show up during a time period that there is pretty much only one tech path. If you don't have the resource, you are out of luck. By the time you prepare for a war and get troops positioned, the current owner of the resource has time to exploit it, sheerly out of luck. Since in the later game there are no alternatives you are forced to use units that are way out of date. [SARCASM]Fortunately, Fixaxis has anticipated this issue, and insured that the modern units don't have a big advantage over older units.[/SARCASM]

Shawn

 

[chaucer]

Originally posted by Sabotage
Oil should appear costal and ocean squares as well. Alot of the world's oil comes from offshore platforms. With minaturisation, you can expolit those offshore oil sources and for those sources in the middle of the ocean by building a special unit who's sole purpose is to lay down oil rigs. This would add an extra dimension in battles because naval superiority would be cruicial in order to maintain your supply of oil.

I like that one! Also don't we get titanium from the ocean? I do not know too much about it, but think that I heard from somewhere that much of it is found there. Anyone know for sure?

Anyway I think the ocean tiles are under utilized in civ.