Hamlets, Camps and Farms...oh my

[Addled Platypus]

I was able to grow quite a bit in the early years using these three tile improvements, till at least size 6 before building a grainary or aquaduct.

Its the same ole tactic from civ3 with irragating the farms, you can go diagonally across, no big deal.

I build at least 1 each in my first big city and use waht I call a rolling delay trough my other cities.

Build your camps on animals, road it before or after

Build your Hamlets/farms on grass

[alva]

you can go diagonally across, no big deal.

What do you mean by this, not quite following you.

[AzNtoccata]

I think he means irrigation can be connected diagonally?

Oh yeah a bit on the side note, but what the hell are windmills and watermills good for? they seem pretty useless cause u would want farms next to rivers and mines on hills

[alva]

They are usefull in certain occasions and offer you more flexibility.

[Cabbagemeister]

The automated workers seem to prefer windmills over mines. I'm not convinced that the automation is all it's cracked up to be.

While I'm on the topic of the automation, I thought that the game mechanics were supposed to get rid of "road spam". Roads don't give you trade, and workers have two moves to get to almost any tile quickly. So why do my automated workers build roads everywhere they go? As long as the trade network between cities is in place, I'd rather have them building improvements on blank tiles than building unnecessary roads everywhere.

[proviisori]

Originally posted by Cabbagemeister

While I'm on the topic of the automation, I thought that the game mechanics were supposed to get rid of "road spam". Roads don't give you trade, and workers have two moves to get to almost any tile quickly. So why do my automated workers build roads everywhere they go? As long as the trade network between cities is in place, I'd rather have them building improvements on blank tiles than building unnecessary roads everywhere.

I'm also dissapointed about that. In every screenshot from the late eras you can see road on all of the tiles.


(still waiting to get my copy)

[Galumphus]

Well, roads on all the tiles does make some sense. It allows you to get troops to would-be pillagers a lot quicker. In fact, in some situations it might make more sense to build roads to existing improvements instead of building new ones. Like if you have a Town near an enemy or something.

[Addled Platypus]

Originally posted by AzNtoccata
I think he means irrigation can be connected diagonally?

Oh yeah a bit on the side note, but what the hell are windmills and watermills good for? they seem pretty useless cause u would want farms next to rivers and mines on hills

there are future researches/techs that add to theses later on


depending on terrain or improvements, you might not want to connect diagnally

[cal_01]

Originally posted by AzNtoccata
I think he means irrigation can be connected diagonally?

Oh yeah a bit on the side note, but what the hell are windmills and watermills good for? they seem pretty useless cause u would want farms next to rivers and mines on hills

I believe one tech actually improve wind/watermills (Electricity) and even then, it's still awful.

I find that the 'mills are intended to be Civ4's version of SMAC's "Plant forest" (ie. it makes the tile more "balanced"). However, I also found that Civ4 tends to emphasize maximizing rather than balancing in some cases.

However, those single minerals may add up eventually, since the game has a lot of things that give bonuses (which easily add up too!).

And, is it just me, or does the game tend to prefer building hamlets/villages over farms?

[Addled Platypus]

Originally posted by cal_01


And, is it just me, or does the game tend to prefer building hamlets/villages over farms?

Not you, just the AI

I have seen large pop cities surrounded by C/H/V

If we were to do that, we would not grow like them

AI expolit?

[cal_01]

Originally posted by Platypus Rex


Not you, just the AI

I have seen large pop cities surrounded by C/H/V

If we were to do that, we would not grow like them

AI expolit?

Oops, yeah. I meant the AI/highlighted blue recommendations.

But yes, I do see that they have huge cities somehow. Perhaps just lots of resources and trading? Or they never pop-rush with slavery?

[Addled Platypus]

I failed to save the later version of the game, this screenie doesnt show the effect latter on

all the towns were huge, some farms converted to cottages

[Addled Platypus]

the AI will have you going back and reworking the same tile,time after time with different improvements?

have not figured that one out, yet

Maybe to do with you civic choices?
(getting the biggest bang for your choice?)

[cal_01]

Originally posted by Platypus Rex
the AI will have you going back and reworking the same tile,time after time with different improvements?

have not figured that one out, yet

Maybe to do with you civic choices?
(getting the biggest bang for your choice?)

Not really, though I've had instances where it kept on recommending another choice even if I do its recommendation. Though, I did turn on "leave exiting improvements alone" for automated workers.

IIRC, none of the civics explicitly change the output of the tiles (except for universal suffrage), so I don't see how that can change the AI's behavior.

[duke o' york]

Wow.
Since Civ 2 the message has been quite clear - automated workers are fundamentally dumb, and never do what you want them to all the time (or even half the time), so if you really want to put them onto automation, then be prepared for disappointment at what they actually produce. You save time by not having to worry about moving them, but then just have to worry about the brainless choices of improvements they actually make. In fact, the only good thing about automated workers was that in Civ 2, they could sometimes put irrigation down even when they were nowhere near water. Stop using automated workers altogether! It's your empire, and are you really prepared to let the computer take control of such an important part of it in it's early life?