Salt

[Lafferty]

If you read up on http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edible_salt (history section) you will spot several interesting statements. It surprises me that Civ IV doesn't currently include Salt as an important resource. Thus i would find it quite nice if it is possible to include it through a mod.

In the past, salt was difficult to obtain, but had a great importance in food preservation and as a vital food additive. Therefore, it was a highly valued trade item throughout history. Wars were fought over it, states were formed and destroyed because of it.

Game-mechanics wise i am not sure where to place it but it surely should have an effect on health of citizens. Maybe one of the early techs could allow usge and discovery of salt. Salt can be gained from salt mines, salt fields in deserts, and from sea water (higher tech needed?)...

I might give that a shot as well and i'd like to produce a mod for that but first i thought i'd led some feedback from the community flow in. (First time poster on apolyton as well )

edit: some other finds

- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Briquetage

- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_salt_in_America

- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sea_salt

- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salt_evaporation_pond

[Mylon]

Simple: Salt adds +1 health and is obsoleted by some later technology, preferably one that adds +1 health to make up for it. Maybe Chemistry?

[rezaf]

If you use the tool that was meant for the people with ATI cards having problems to extract the artwork from the packed file, you'll notice that there is a map object for a salt resource you could use.
There's another one not used in the actual game: Saltpeter.
_____
rezaf

[Lafferty]

thanks for the tip

[JDexter]

IMO salt should add both +1 health and +1 food, since it allows for food to be stored longer (and you can have more in the winter for example).

Salt out of sea water should only be allowed with a building or an improvement in the dessert (you have to have dry climate after all, or the water won't evaporate). The later has been around for a long time though, the first could be allowed with steam engines I'd suppose, or even earlier.

Nice idea for a mod!

[Mylon]

None of the food resources provide any bonus food except to the city next to the food resource. I personally find this just a bit silly, and I hope to address that in my mod by making excess health translate into extra food. As an odd note... Salt should be obsoleted by refidgeration. It only makes sense...

By the way, if you do add salt, I hope you don't mind if I incorporate it into my own mod.

[Lafferty]

Good points. Another thing from the links i posted i want to highlight is

In the American Civil War, the Union capture of Saltville, Virginia ruined the Confederates by destroying their long marches and not allowing them to march for more than a day. The Confederates needed salt to preserve food. After the fall of Saltville, they had to hunt for fresh food daily.

I am unsure if it is wise to produce unit-effects from the availability of a resource but according to the historical facts it may be well worth considering.

I agree that there could be several sources of salt.

The salt-mine is obvious. It can be built wherever salt as a resource is dicovered. (comes with mining)

Then there is the salt evaporation pond. It has to be built on a flat tile next to a salt water tile. Climate wise i first also thought that it should only be possible in hotter climates but if you look at http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/earthobserva...NCISCO_BAY.HTM you see that it is possible outside hot climates as well. (should be possible together with the availability of irrigation)

Then there are salt briquetages. Those are possible on tiles next to a salt water tile (flat i think). The tile improvement would be a workshop like structure. Tech required is pottery.

Since 3 sources / structures are maybe too many we should cut out at least one.. I think the concept of salt briquetage and salt evaportation ponds basically do the same thing: Getting salt from salt water through natural or forced (fire) evaporation.

The +1 food and +1 health sounds reasonable. The only concern certainly is balancing. This effect should be obsoleted by something, maybe chemistry again.

Units wise (i dont know if that is possible) i'd like somehting like: "to cross a desert at full speed your units need access to salt. That means if your civilization has access to salt anywhere in your empire. This effect is obsolete with chemistry (?)"

[Lafferty]

Originally posted by Mylon
As an odd note... Salt should be obsoleted by refidgeration. It only makes sense...

Good point. Preservation of food... of course.

Originally posted by Mylon
By the way, if you do add salt, I hope you don't mind if I incorporate it into my own mod.

not at all...