Work boat help Civ IV?

[Fredster]

Hi guys.

I am a little unsure how work boats actually work. I understand that if you deploy your boat over a resource ie fish or clams then you can claim that resource for your civ.

However, if you just place your work boat over a tile that has say 1 food and 2 gold, does the work boat reap that harvest every turn?

I have in my current game quite an extended coastline, a lot of tiles are showing 1 food and 3 gold. if I were to place 10 work boats along all these tiles would that give me 30 gold and 10 food per turn?

Sorry if this seems a dumb question, I am new to the Civ world and feel a little daunted by how much depth there seems to be in this game.

Thanks in advance

 

[FriendoftheDork]

Hi guys.

I am a little unsure how work boats actually work. I understand that if you deploy your boat over a resource ie fish or clams then you can claim that resource for your civ.

However, if you just place your work boat over a tile that has say 1 food and 2 gold, does the work boat reap that harvest every turn?

I have in my current game quite an extended coastline, a lot of tiles are showing 1 food and 3 gold. if I were to place 10 work boats along all these tiles would that give me 30 gold and 10 food per turn?

Sorry if this seems a dumb question, I am new to the Civ world and feel a little daunted by how much depth there seems to be in this game.

Thanks in advance

Work boats are like one-shot naval workers. You use them to building fishing boats etc, and then the unit is spent. Once you have done so you can get extra food and commerce from the tile, as well as getting the resource for your civilization (boosting health).

Remember you have to click on the "build fishing boats" unit command once you have moved the work boat to the tile in question. An unspent work boat is nothing but a cheap naval scout that dies if someone breathes on it...

 

[Ramesses]

First, forget what you think you know about Work Boats.

Work boats do not work tiles. They are expended to create improvements on water tiles with resources.

The unit itself generates no or .

To expend a Work Boat, you must move it onto a tile with a resource (Fish, Clams, or Crabs), and click the button "Improve Tile" (It might be called something else; can someone check?). The Work Boat will disappear, and in its place will appear an improvement which amplifies the and output of the tile.

Water tiles, like land tiles, can only have one improvement.

At the beginning, you can only use work boats to improve tiles with seafood resources. When you research Optics, you can move your work boats into the ocean to improve tiles with the Whale resource. When you research Plastics, you can use them to improve water tiles with Oil.

A secondary use for work boats: If you have no water resources to improve, and you have not yet researched Sailing, you can use a Work Boat to explore the coasts beyond your borders, as you would with a Galley. However, Work Boats have no points, so they will always die if they are attacked by an enemy unit.

That's it.

 

[eris]

Correction to the above. Iit is Optics that gives you the power to use Whale resources.

 

[Fredster]

Thanks for the reply folks.

Just to clarify then, even though a water tile shows 3 and 1 on it, unless a resource such as oil, whales etc is shown later on the tile then it has no value at all?

 

[catfish99]

Thanks for the reply folks.

Just to clarify then, even though a water tile shows 3 and 1 on it, unless a resource such as oil, whales etc is shown later on the tile then it has no value at all?

No.

A couple of things I think you need some help with here. First,keep in mind that any tile needs to be worked in order to gain the full benefit. It needs to be in the city limits, and have people assigned to it.

Second, all water tiles are capable of generating some resources - gold and food. You can increase the resources by building things in the controlling city - lighthouses (extra food), the Moai Statues Wonder (hammers), etc. Again, though, you need to work the tile to get the full resources.

Tiles with extras will provide super resources when the proper improvement is added - pasture for cow, or fishing boat for clam, or plantation for dye, etc. - if they are worked. If they are not worked, they still provide partial benefits (extra gold, extra health, extra happiness, or trade value).

So when you see all the resources on your coast, plan to build cities to work them, and make sure they will be within working reach of the city - or at least within your cultural borders so you can access them for trading. All of the water tiles will be available for you to work, so plan on adding some buildings to the cities to improve the output.

 

[FriendoftheDork]

Ok it seems you need to learn alot more about the game than I'd initially thought. I highly reccomend playing through the tutorial where you will learn how a city works, how to work tiles with the population of that city.

Basically, when you found your first city, double click on it to enter the city screen. If you look at the minimap you can see exactly what that city is working as the icons showing slices of bread, hammers and coins will be bigger and clearer than those not worked.

At size 1 only the city tile itself and 1 other tile will be worked, and you can choose which tile to work. Usually the computer will automatically work tiles to make the city grow and give you commerce so you can get more technologies and money.

Once your borders expand there will be a point where the city can no longer work the tile, this maximum is called the city's Big Fat Cross. To work these tiles you need to build more cities. Thus when you have a city at the coast you should be able to see which tiles that city can work.

Most coastal tiles give only 1 food and 2 commerce when worked by a city, but if the tile has a resource it will give more food, hammers or commerce. However to unlock the potential of such a resource you should build a work boat and move it to the tile in question. Once it has arrived and can move again, you should execute the "build" command on the work boat. Once you have do so and reentered the city screen you should see that the tile has more food etc. on it.

Although you can use work boats on resources that are outside your BFC but within your cultural borders, it won't do anything except give the resource to the city (and those connected to it) to help fight unhealthiness. Also, you will never need more than one work boat per sea/coast resource unless the improvement (called fishing boats, crab nets, etc.) is destroyed by pillaging enemy ships.

 

[Fredster]

Usually the computer will automatically work tiles to make the city grow and give you commerce so you can get more technologies and money.

This is what I wasn't aware of.

The penny has finally dropped now thanks guys. I didn't realise that I could change which tile/s could be worked in the city screen, I thought it was an automated process.

Thanks all for having the patience to respond. I am determined to learn how to try and play this game, but at the moment it seems like I am at the foot of Everest. I will be happy just to reach base camp

 

[Artful]

First, forget what you think you know about Work Boats.

When you research Combustion, you can use them to improve water tiles with Oil.
That's it.

sorry to pick a nit with such a helpful post, but I think you need plastics to do this - combustion allows you only to access oil on land.

 

[FriendoftheDork]

This is what I wasn't aware of.

The penny has finally dropped now thanks guys. I didn't realise that I could change which tile/s could be worked in the city screen, I thought it was an automated process.

Thanks all for having the patience to respond. I am determined to learn how to try and play this game, but at the moment it seems like I am at the foot of Everest. I will be happy just to reach base camp

No problem I hope you will have many more a-ha experiences while playing the game. Also, reading on this forum should help although I'd wait with the big guides until you have familiarized yourself with the basics. Although civ 4 is a very complex game so much is automated that all you really need to do is move units, build cities (the computer even gives advice), and use your militairy units to conquer and defend.

At the low difficulties, this is really all you need to do. Once you have become accustomed to the game you can go more in detail and learn how stuff works, and thus be able to take decisions that are much smarter than what the computer would chose for you. At difficulties of Noble and higher this is essential.

 

[FriendoftheDork]

sorry to pick a nit with such a helpful post, but I think you need plastics to do this - combustion allows you only to access oil on land.

Yup you need Plastics in BTS.

 

[Willem]

I didn't realise that I could change which tile/s could be worked in the city screen, I thought it was an automated process.

Yes, in fact you'll get better results if you manage the city tiles yourself. While sometimes the city governor does what's best for your city, quite often it will do things that are quite stupid. You need to watch it like a hawk and make sure it's doing what you want it to. This is especially true when dealing with Specialists. Once you have a Courthouse etc., provided you have BtS, then it will almost always create a Spy specialist whenever it can, or a Priest if you have a Temple. Once you start getting into making Specialists, you really need to take control as the city governor doesn't have a clue how to work them effectively.

 

[Admiral8Q]

Damn! I need to get the BTS upgrade. Just for the attack subs and zeppelins at least...

About workboats... either keep a few on call or build battleships to defend the work areas when the AI come in with destroyers. I learned that the hard way.

 

[greenbelt]

What is the "BTS Upgrade"? I bought Civ4 from Steam yesterday.

This was a very helpful thread. I forgot that we can manage harvesting tiles for the CityView Window. I used to play CivII eons ago! Back then there were only Settlers who would irrigate, mine, build roads or build a city.

 

[Lennier]

After a 5-1/2 year necro, the answer is:

BtS is the second expansion pack for Civ IV. (Warlords is the first.) Get it-- it makes a really good game into an awesome one.

 

[reddishrecue]

Yeah, lots of cool stuff is added to civilization 4 with bts.