Why does AI put fort on resources?

[carbonex]

my bigger beef on this one is that if you have automated workers (yeah, I know what you are going to say), they will put a fort on top of a developed resource, even if you have "workers leave improvements" checked.

Quite annoying... and I didn't see this before 3.17

This happens when an automated worker decides to build a fort at the same time another worker is starting to build the appropriate improvement. The pasture/mine/plantation is completed, however the automated worker building the fort continues on his task. Then you end up with that worker completing his fort and erasing the proper improvement that you might have manually selected. I don't know of a way around it other than refusing to automate workers and checking undeveloped resources for workers dumping forts on them.

 

[digitCruncher]

This only applies if you're going to have your own troops standing around twiddling thumbs in the fort... an empty fort does nothing for you other then what an improvement would do... give you access to the resource for building or trading purposes. Forts do nothing for counter-espionage... only spies and counter-intelligence agencies (or dumb luck) make it harder. If you're really worried about sabotage, stick a spy on the resource, not a fort.

Wrong (sorta). Yes, forts don't defend themselves, but they are harder to bomb and destroy with spies even without any military presence in the fort

If you don't have better things for your workers to do then build useless monuments to man's stupidity (fixed fortifications), then you've already wasted your time and resources building too many workers in the first place. The only purpose to building a fort (which takes a lot longer to build then an improvement which ALSO collects the resource just the same for a shorter investment) is so that you can assign some soldiers to the fort to stand around and twiddle their thumbs to protect something you shouldn't be letting the AI do in the first place, get inside your empire to your resources... if those soldiers were on the front line instead of inside your empire guarding some stone walls in a tower, then maybe the enemy wouldn't be marauding your resources.

Just because you have a fort doesn't exactly mean you have to ALWAYS have a troop there... you can have (with railroad), 1 or two anti-mounted units intersperced in your empire to prevent those annoying small raiding parties. In addition, SAM infantry in forts are very nice to defend a specific resource from bombers, the bonuses in strength from city defence are nice to kill (or seriously damage) enemy bombers and fighters

Forts in-and-of-themselves are re-active, as opposed to pro-active, and anyone who builds them on a resource outside a BFC that isn't actually part of a defensive line on the border of your empire has just wasted time, effort, resources and is preparing themselves for further mis-use of their troops... live with it!

If you are getting smashed with spies, bombers, and/or lots and lots of barb raiding parties, then forts are a VERY smart investment on a few critical resources (EG. iron, oil, aluminium, uranium etc. etc.)

The important thing to reaslise is just because there is a fort in your empire, you don't have to have a troop in it ALL THE TIME!

 

[dwhee]

Because the AI clearly knows the game better than you

 

[shulec]

Forts give you the resource (you gain the health/happy/strategic bonus) without needing the specific improvement.

I am not so sure this is correct. This is why I posted this question. In my current game, I had an automated worker build a fort on a spice resource. I have had calender for quite some time. Note that their is no improvement bonus.

 

[blitzkrieg1980]

He didn't say it gives you the improvement bonus

Forts give you the resource (you gain the health/happy/strategic bonus) without needing the specific improvement.

You just get the happiness/health bonus and a strategic bonus for units stationed there. That's one of the 2 negatives of forts. (1) you don't get the improvement bonus (2) costs more turns

 

[D_almighty]

Forts will also act as ports and canals in certain situations; you can use them to make your navy much more maneuverable.

Other than that, build forts over strategic resources; put four fighters and some defenders in; watch the AI throw countless lives away trying to destroy it.

 

[shulec]

Thanks for the clarification.

Thanks for the canal tip!