Why do cannons and arty have no iron requirement?

[bjbrains]

Don't frigates still require iron, though?

Frigates are in fact the last unit to require iron.

 

[cembandit]

Because good developers never make a big gameplay error that comes out with mass testing.
They are, by definition, perfect.

I'm not saying this is or isn't good for balance, but "because they made it that way" is not a great argument.

 

[Andvare]

But Iron ore was the reason why Hitler invaded Norway and Denmark, to safeguard his supply of Swedish iron ore.

I was being sarcastic.

Japan had severe iron shortages, iron, along with rubber and oil, was the reason the conflict with the US was inevitable in WWII.
Germany had some rather large problems in getting enough iron in WWI, and had to request iron (and other metals) from the population in form of pots and pans.
Even the UK (in WWII) had iron shortages, which is one of the reason the Mosquito was made from wood.


Edit:
I would prefer a solution were you could build more unit per iron resource as the game progressed (2X with steel, 3X with electricity, or some such), but that certain units still required the resources.
This way the iron resources would still be valuable, and a cause for conflict.
But I suppose that this, along with the near useless bonus resources, is something for a mod. To be honest, what I'm giddy about isn't CivV, but CivV with mods (CivV + Rise of Mankind, nomnomnom!).

 

[Lancor]

If an enemy masses artillery and shoots your infantry down before they reach him, try faster moving units like tanks or aircraft. It's just the modern day's shifting weight in combat to more viable long reach tactics.

 

[Agent Roo]

Even the UK (in WWII) had iron shortages, which is one of the reason the Mosquito was made from wood.

The Mossie was intended from the outset to be a fast, lightweight bomber hence the canvas on wood construction - that's partly why it wasn't accepted as a design until 1940.

Further, aircraft were built from mainly aluminium (not iron or steel - too heavy), and we Brits weren't as short as other nations.

In 1940 I could at least fly as far as Glasgow in most of my aircraft, but not now! It makes me furious when I see the Mosquito. I turn green and yellow with envy. The British, who can afford aluminium better than we can, knock together a beautiful wooden aircraft that every piano factory over there is building, and they give it a speed which they have now increased yet again. What do you make of that? There is nothing the British do not have. They have the geniuses and we have the nincompoops. After the war is over I'm going to buy a British radio set - then at least I'll own something that has always worked.

 

[Some guy]

I can see a mass spam of cannons being a very viable strategy. Its bombardment is stronger than any other units and its resourceless. Just build some rifles in front and blow everything up. Everything.

This is funny because you assume people are asses enough to exploit game mechanics (which they are) and over exaggerate the cheapness of the strategy. Also, I laughed a lot at underlined emphasis of how destructive it will be (even though it only smashes units)

 

[Zurai]

I remember someone argued in another thread that Cannons can be made of bronze

Not "could be". Were. Bronze is much better able to withstand heating and shock than cast iron is, and until relatively modern times it wasn't really possible to make things like cannons out of steel with any cost efficiency. Cast iron cannons were still made, but they were cheap and (by necessity) either disposable or positioned some place where they could be repaired at need. A cast iron cannon would likely break over the course of a single battle. A cast bronze cannon wouldn't. It wasn't until refinements in techniques allowed steel to be cast and machined cheaply that iron became the metal of choice for cannons.

So, it makes absolutely 100% perfect sense in both a gamist and a simulationist point of view for cannons in Civ 5 to not require iron.

 

[bhavv]

If every unit in the game required resources, what would happen if you were the one civ that didnt start near, or get any Iron or Oil?

It needs to be possible to play and defend youself without using any resources, otherwise the game would become horribly unbalanced in the favor of whoever has the most resources.

 

[Drago Askani]

If every unit in the game required resources, what would happen if you were the one civ that didnt start near, or get any Iron or Oil?

It needs to be possible to play and defend youself without using any resources, otherwise the game would become horribly unbalanced in the favor of whoever has the most resources.

Exactly. Its about balance.