surplus resources or not?

[rah]

With copper, colosus is quite cheap. Yes, if you don't have coastal cities, what's the point.
But if you're playing on a pangea map, you can delay the tech that obsoletes it.
If you're financial and along the coast, it's one of the best wonders around.

[wodan11]

You said pangaea, rah, surely you meant archipelago?

Anyway, Colossus is quite nice on archipelago especially when running a Slavery SE with FIN.

[Theben]

I was also able to trade a copper for elephants once. Even though I only had a single copper, I had iron... and I thought the elephants were more important

Even better, I traded my copper to a civ that had iron for 1 happy and 1 health + some gold/turn. It seems the AI still thinks copper is a "must have" resource even after it acquires iron.

[joncnunn]

Copper is also useful for speeding up three types of Cathedrals, the Statue of Liberty, and the Internet.
I guess it was too difficult to program the AI it's only needed when their able to build the above so they coded it as an always want.

[Ming]

You said pangaea, rah, surely you meant archipelago?

Nahhhhh.... I think his point was that on a pangaea map, it's easy to delay the techs that obsolete the wonder since sea techs aren't all that important.
In MP games, we pretty much play pangaea all the time, and if you on the coast, it's a great wonder. Just last night in an MP game, I started on the coast, built GL and later Col, and my first 7 cities were all on the coast. Being financial, I had a kick ass economy with plenty of research.

[rah]

Correct, not as much need for a navy when all your opponents share the same land mass.

[#07]

Just last night in an MP game, I started on the coast, built GL and later Col, and my first 7 cities were all on the coast. Being financial, I had a kick ass economy with plenty of research.

So did you win?

[wodan11]

The problem I have with Colossus is that if you're working coast tiles, you aren't working cottages. So, if you're doing a CE, then Colossus is self-defeating at worst, and somewhat counter-productive at best. So I generally only contemplate it if I'm not doing cottages.

[Ming]

Yeah, I can see your point if you have the right land for a CE. On the pangaea maps we use for MP, there are many times where if you start on the coast, you don't have many squares you can cottage. The food squares have to be improved, and the grasslands have to be irrigated if you want to use mines to have some production. Unless I have a some decent food specials, I don't do the CE. Plus, sea squares can't be pilliged like cottages can

[Theben]

If playing a PHIL civ I'll build it (with copper) for the Great Merchant.

[Willem]

With copper, colosus is quite cheap. Yes, if you don't have coastal cities, what's the point.
But if you're playing on a pangea map, you can delay the tech that obsoletes it.
If you're financial and along the coast, it's one of the best wonders around.

It can also give you an early start on getting a Great Merchant once it's built. Provided you go for Metal Casting before Currency.

[wodan11]

You know, you can also use the GL to get a Great Merchant....

[rah]

It can also give you an early start on getting a Great Merchant once it's built. Provided you go for Metal Casting before Currency.

Slightly confused. If you go for Currency first you could be using merchant specialists to get a good start on a Great merchant. Probably faster than if you build the wonder.