The lamest resource

[blitzkrieg1980]

I was gonna say whales at first, but then I thought about wine. Though I get to monarchy relatively early (sometimes through Oracle), it still annoys me to have a resource in my BFC that I can't use for a while. And when I do use it, I only get 1 extra and 2 . Yeah, it's better than nothing, but I'd gladly take a 6 incense over wine, desert or no desert.

Next time, if possible (and optimal IE still on freshwater tile), settle ON TOP of the wine. You'll get the 1 extra (if it's riverside) inside your city tile and you'll have another tile to cottage (netting you 7-9 instead of 4 and still feeding the tile). And you still get the bonus.

 

[I-imp]

Of course, more is better than less. My new vote is wine as the lamest. Reasons already stated.

 

[Stoney the I]

wine as the lamest.

but...but... its yummy!

I vote for whale, I actually ignore it in my city placement decisions.
the resource is available late and then goes obsolete...?

whale sucks!

 

[Airefuego]

I have a different take on resource lameness. I ask myself "Is this resource really significant enough to have a game effect?" I know this has been mentioned elsewhere, but the potato isn't in this game, and that's a food resource with a major historical impact. And then I see crabs ... and I think, really? They thought crabs were a significant enough resource to put in the game but not the potato? I guess they needed something to put in the water. To some degree I've had the same thought about bananas, but I guess the banana has been pretty significant to some cultures.

The modern world's top five food crops by tonnage are sugar, corn, wheat, rice and potatoes. Bananas come in around tenth although they are massively important for many tropical countries - mostly cooked green bananas, not yellow export ones. "Fruit" generally is well ahead of potatoes of course... i guess bananas in Civ IV could represent a range of staple fruit crops.

 

[Airefuego]

First of all I should say that spices are AWESOME! i have no clue what you guys are on about, they are frequently in a jungle and near a river and maybe some dyes so the site screams commerce cottage city. Once improved they give 3 food, the equivalent of a farm, plus some bonus commerce.

Yes. What's more, pre-calendar spices are still useful tiles because you can temporarily farm or cottage them and thus get a bonus over regular grassland.

Same goes for silk, dyes etc, and of course WINE before monarchy - make sure you farm or mine it!

 

[blitzkrieg1980]

The modern world's top five food crops by tonnage are sugar, corn, wheat, rice and potatoes. Bananas come in around tenth although they are massively important for many tropical countries - mostly cooked green bananas, not yellow export ones. "Fruit" generally is well ahead of potatoes of course... i guess bananas in Civ IV could represent a range of staple fruit crops.

Is that per Wikipedia, or a real source?

 

[babybluepants]

Incense and whales. I hardly remember ever working them...

Btw, I really think a winery should contribute something like +25% GPP... Which makes me think there should be a barley resource in the game, too. Definitely ahead of potatoes.

 

[CLST]

Uranium. It shows up late, is mostly redundant with oil (which you absolutely need), and tends to show up under a town or in the middle of a desert. The only reason you even want Uranium is to build nukes, whose ban always seems to be one of the first UN resolutions passed.

 

[blitzkrieg1980]

Uranium. It shows up late, is mostly redundant with oil (which you absolutely need), and tends to show up under a town or in the middle of a desert. The only reason you even want Uranium is to build nukes, whose ban always seems to be one of the first UN resolutions passed.

Physics isn't really all that late if you're playing games that make it to having the UN and voting with it.

Uranium gives bonus to the tile (so that ain't so bad) i think it gives 1 too. And it is good trade fodder if not anything else as you can often have multiple uranium sources. Whales are more rare and obsoletes fairly quickly after it becomes usable (whereas uranium does not obsolete). Also, in many games I imagine the UN isn't built fast enough to stop at least the Manhattan Project and a few ICBMS

 

[bob_x]

ALL resources are good to have at least one of, because they give you a happiness or a health bonus to all of your cities, and you can never have too much happiness or health.

Incense is a good tile if you're lucky enough to get it on a plains square.

Whale, as people said, doesn't last too long. The time between optics and combustion seems pretty quick.

Someone said copper is useless, but even if you have iron, copper speeds the production of certain cathedrals and spaceship parts.

 

[Airefuego]

Is that per Wikipedia, or a real source?

UN FAO (United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization).

 

[Shackel]

Whales.

ALWAYS awkward.

 

[blitzkrieg1980]

UN FAO (United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization).

... ... ...

 

[bestbrian]

Whales.

ALWAYS awkward.

I completely agree, which pains me as I still remember that Whales were THE resource in Civ II.

Oil doesn't seem to do that much. It should give a bunch of commerce, at least.

 

[ParadigmShifter]

Oil doesn't do much? Apart from being used to build planes and tanks, and ships without uranium

Are you back from Scotland then bestbrian? If so, was it good?

 

[Matthew5117]

I completely agree, which pains me as I still remember that Whales were THE resource in Civ II.

Oil doesn't seem to do that much. It should give a bunch of commerce, at least.

I've only played Civ IV. Why was whale so good back in Civ II?

 

[Tephros]

Is that per Wikipedia, or a real source?

Wikipedia is awesome as long as people understand how to use it. Wikipedia is not a primary source. Make sure the article cites reputable sources, is unflagged, and hasn't been edited recently.

Oil doesn't do much? Apart from being used to build planes and tanks, and ships without uranium

Are you back from Scotland then bestbrian? If so, was it good?

The tile yields of oil are not that impressive considering how important oil is. Gold yields more commerce than oil and there's something wrong with that. +2 +1 upon improvement is not terrible but oil should yield something like +2+8.

 

[ParadigmShifter]

Gold is worth more per weight than oil though

 

[Turquoiside]

After today realizing that camps don't remove junle and Ivory actually yeilds: 2/2/2
Comapred to Wines: 1/2/3, both are equally bad. I'm almost positive i got the wines value wrong and was doing plains wine vs. grass ivory, byt the difference is marginal. Whales and wine have to get my vote.

 

[blitzkrieg1980]

Wikipedia is awesome as long as people understand how to use it. Wikipedia is not a primary source. Make sure the article cites reputable sources, is unflagged, and hasn't been edited recently.

Right on, man. And who decides what a "reputable source" is? Some things (like science/math/literature/film/music) are pretty valid. I'll never use Wikipedia as a history source, ever. AFAIC, there are very few actual "primary sources" for history.