Why the prejudice against foreign workers

[sabo]

there is nothing wrong with slave labor ('cept in real life) they are free.

 

[satchel]

Originally posted by Mojotronica
satchel-

I like to have one worker per city until my railroad is completed, then one worker for every two cities to handle infrastructure maintenance. I understand that captured workers are free labor, and one can never have too many workers, but I don't like having a bunch of extraneous units running around or adding unnecessary complexity to my cities' unit display. The 1-1 then 1-2 ratio works well.

The captured worker scroll bar is slightly inconvenient to use, because I keep careful count of how many workers I have and it doesn't provide a summary. Because I'm anal-retentive, it's simply less busy work for me to Join the captured workers w/ my cities once the core infrastructure is built.

Plus I like the idea of ending slavery in my Civ, and integrating other Civ's cultures into my own.

Mojotronica - thanks for the thorough response. I understand why you like to keep track of the numbers of workers you have. I also understand that given that you want to keep track, the scroll bar for captured workers is a pain.

Although I take a less precise approach to worker numbers, I suspect if I counted up I'd end up with a ratio similar to yours. Rather than counting, though, I just go by "feel" - if I find that I want to improve an area but I'm short on workers, then I know I need more. If I find that I have tons of workers idling around with nothing to do, I join a few to my cities.

I liked your last comment about integrating foreign workers into your civ. One of the fun things about a game like Civ is that you get to choose whether you want to just win as fast as possible, or pursue some more highminded goal. I see the appeal of creating not just a powerful, gamewinning civ, but rather a model of a cosmopolitan world that you would like to see in real life.

 

[Psychlone]

I love my captured workers. To me they're the ultimate monument to your struggles. My friend teases me that if I see a worker across a border I'll go to war immediately. It's an exaggeration...somewhat....

 

[Stapel]

Bob,

Someone who is flagulent (flatulent?) looses too much gas...

Edit: I just discovered that I replied in a slightly silly way. Igot in this thread via a link and replied to reply 20. Didn't realize there was a page 2 and even 3

 

[greenie]

How about a wonder (Great or small), the Emancipation Proclamation (excuse spelling, I aint American), where it gives you back all your captured workers, and prevents them being captured by other civs, they get killed destroyed instead. Same would apply to settlers, so no civs could capture workers off of you.

I know not very good having a dead worker, but if at least it's dead its not costing you one gold per turn as a captured slave...

 

[Tassadar]

Slave worker are very good to help you get a great leader, how ???

when you are on attack, capture some ennemy worker and leave some unprotected on open tile like plain or grassland (preferably without road), a.i. will send troop to recapture those worker and then counter attack with elite units to kill this easy target ( usualy not fortified on open ground). It is much easier to kill a.i. unit on open ground then when they are fortify in city.

 

[Physicist]

Originally posted by Bamspeedy


I'm pretty sure I saw a comment from someone at Firaxis that captured workers does cause the AI (from where the worker came from) to have less of a good attitude towards you (the effect is minimal, and not even noticeable in most situations from what I've seen). The AI would prefer that you join the workers into your cities or sell them back (basically 'freeing' the slaves).

IMO, the effect of attitude is so small, that using the captured worker to improve the terrain is more worth it than getting rid of them.

I'll see if I can find that thread for you.

I remember reading that, too. Maybe even in the manual? (Just a guess, I am currently at work and can not look it up.)

- Physicist

PS: Love those foreign workers! Sometimes even end up with foreign workers only!...

 

[phizuol]

I don't use slaves. My native industrious workers would be very upset to see slaves take their jobs... they work so hard for me how could I do that to them? But seriously, I just don't like the idea of building my civ with slaves out of principle.. and pride.. my own Carthaginians don't need to enslave others to build our great empire. Its not really a big moral issue for me its just a choice of how I want to play the game.

Instead I capture enemy workers and make them permanent guests in my capital. They don't have to work, but they don't go home unless I get something good for them. Its really unfortunate though that the AI barely values its own native workers... I hate that. I especially like to keep captured workers of dead civs... like some sort of trophy; its better than trying to keep his last city alive. One technique I use is to sell captured workers to OTHER civs to try to sow discontent between that civ and the enemy I captured the worker from.

BTW, it says in the Manual that if you've captured Workers from a civ, that civ's likely to demand their return in any future negotiation. Have anyone ever faced such a demand, or is it just another Manual glitch?

Yep, I see this all the time. Even if you brutalize an opponent till he begs for peace he will always include ALL captured workers in your capital as part of "You give." The important thing is workers must be in your capital to be part of a trade. The interesting thing is the AI asks for all your captured workers... even those of other nations besides their own. Of course, then I have to explain: "No no no, YOU are going to give ME many extra things for this peace..." Other than peace treaties I don't see these demands. And again, the AI seems to place a VERY low value on returning its workers (maybe 10 gold or so.)

 

[BiatchGuy]

I take all the workers I can get!

 

[Capt Ajax]

Originally posted by phizuol
I don't use slaves. My native industrious workers would be very upset to see slaves take their jobs... they work so hard for me how could I do that to them? But seriously, I just don't like the idea of building my civ with slaves out of principle.. and pride.. my own Carthaginians don't need to enslave others to build our great empire. Its not really a big moral issue for me its just a choice of how I want to play the game.

I play the Carthegeniens most of the time as well. However, I love to see Roman slaves tending to my fields!! -They make a worthwhile spoil of war.

 

[philippe]

Foreign workers....Ideal hunting targets for barbarians....

 

[DiamondzAndGunz]

Originally posted by greenie
I know not very good having a dead worker, but if at least it's dead its not costing you one gold per turn as a captured slave...

Workers that other civs capture from you don't cost you anything. Besides, half the time that the AI captures workers from me, they disband them right away...