workers making strange decisions

[lulu135]

I noticed an automated worker building a farm 2 diagonal spaces away from one of my cities. It was not in the workable area of that or any other city, and there was no resource there either. Also, there were places it could have built that would have actually been useful. This seems like a bug in prioritization because there was no reason whatsoever for it to build there.

(and on a related subject, why do they build so many bleepin forts? There should be a "automated workers don't build forts" in the options menu)

 

[H&K]

A fort on a resource is the same as a Mine or pasture etc if its outside your borders. They count infact as though they are "City" squares. In that you get that resource and city defence bonus. Also they connect distint bodies of water (In a suez cannal sort of way)

I agree that they build too many, because I tend not to defend them and the AI just moves into my land and has an imediate defence bonus, but I can see how as I get used to the BTS workers I probably will start to defend them.

It would be nicer thou if we could have the amount of control over workers and Governers that SMAC used to give us

 

[Thalassicus]

What's stranger is how the AI commits suicide when you go to war with them. Why waste the time pillaging Suryavarman's Towns when I declare war and he plows half of them under anyways, making them farms? This has happened with two AI's in my last game, and it killed their economy without me having to lift a finger. I just sat back, defended against their SoD's until the war weariness and self-annihilating their own cottages did the work for me. I'd rather risk my cottages being pillaged than spend time destroying them myself. It's the reason I always have "leave existing improvements" checked.

I did notice they'll build forts outside of city ZoC's though if you put them on "auto trade network". I have 5 adjacent tiles of forts along one border in my current game. Does it really give access to resources now? I haven't actually tested it.

[Edit:] Nice! I never considered how, since they count as a "port city", that also makes them a universal trade connection to any type of resource in the game within your borders. Perfect for resources outside of a city's zone of control.