city radius? cultural borders? fat cross?

[guermantes]

I am reading on p.61 in the manual and I am perplexed as to what I ought to learn from this?

-Is the city radius always the same as the cultural borders? E.g. all my cities' radiuses combine into my cultural sphere?

-It says that the city's population can only work on the fat cross surrounding the city even if the city radius expands further. But the fat cross also expands as far as I can see. And I can't tell the fat cross area from the cultural area?

-If the fat cross is smaller than the cultural area but bigger than the adjacent tiles next to my city, how can I tell which tiles are inside the fat cross?

Can anyone share some light on this?

Thanks!

/p

[ixnay]

The fat cross refers to the 20 tiles surrounding your city:

 XXX
XXXXX
XXOXX
XXXXX
 XXX

The fat cross represents the largest area of land that a city can work, assuming all 20 squares are within your cultural borders.

When you first build a city the 8 tiles around the city will be workable and after 1 expansion the full fat cross will be workable. Any subsequent cultural expansions do not increase the city radius.

If a rival civ has cultural borders that extend into your city radius, those tiles will not be workable.

[padillah]

Re: city radius? cultural borders? fat cross?

Originally posted by guermantes
I am reading on p.61 in the manual and I am perplexed as to what I ought to learn from this?

-Is the city radius always the same as the cultural borders? E.g. all my cities' radiuses combine into my cultural sphere?

I don't believe so, no. From what I understand the "city radius" is the usable tiles that make up the "fat cross". The city radius may be smaller than the fat cross (in fact it will be when the city is first founded) but never bigger.

-It says that the city's population can only work on the fat cross surrounding the city even if the city radius expands further. But the fat cross also expands as far as I can see. And I can't tell the fat cross area from the cultural area?

This may be the case when you first found a city on a new map. Your city can only "see" the land it controls, the "fat cross". After a while you will notice other tiles are darker than the fat cross and you can't click on them to work them (in the city).

-If the fat cross is smaller than the cultural area but bigger than the adjacent tiles next to my city, how can I tell which tiles are inside the fat cross?

The "fat cross" is three tiles wide and two tiles away from your city. Like so:
    XXX
XXXXXXX
XXXCXXX
XXXXXXX
    XXX

The "C" in the center is your city and the X's are the city radius, the "fat cross".

Hope that helps.
Tom P.

[guermantes]

thanks for your replies.

your fat crosses are different, is the correct one this (20 tiles)?:
XXX
XXXXX
XXCXX
XXXXX
XXX
(sorry, can't get the formatting right...)


Also, if I build a road network to farms or resources or cottages, then in effect the fat cross limitations become unvalid as long as there is a road established, right?

[padillah]

Originally posted by guermantes
thanks for your replies.

your fat crosses are different, is the correct one this (20 tiles)?:
(sorry, can't get the formatting right...)

Neither can we apparently. They are both the same size, just a different font. But it looks like you get the idea.

Also, if I build a road network to farms or resources or cottages, then in effect the fat cross limitations become unvalid as long as there is a road established, right?

NO. Only resources. Farms and Cottages still need to be worked in the City Screen. Resources, like Iron or Coal, can be outside the City Radius (but inside the Cultural Radius) and attached with a road.

Try this: Farms and Cottages improve the city specifically, therefore they need to be worked by the city specifically.
Resources improve your civilisation so they only need to be available to your civ as a whole.

Does that help?

Tom P.

[guermantes]

I see.

I had some wheat-tile outside my fat cross on which an automated worker built a farm and a road and that's why I thought roads cancelled the fat cross. But I see now that wheat is a resource just like iron.

thanks!

[Byelotsar]

Originally posted by padillah

Neither can we apparently. They are both the same size, just a different font.

Actually, they aren't the same size.

The fat cross is two squares out from the city and the tile on either side of it in the four cardinal directions, or like a 5x5 grid missing the corners. Ixnay's is correct (there are extra squares in the "arms" of Tom's, but I'm guessing that was a mistake).

[padillah]

Originally posted by Byelotsar


Actually, they aren't the same size.

The fat cross is two squares out from the city and the tile on either side of it in the four cardinal directions, or like a 5x5 grid missing the corners. Ixnay's is correct (there are extra squares in the "arms" of Tom's, but I'm guessing that was a mistake).

Aw, crap. You're right. I do have an extra row on the west-east arms. They should only stick out one row, not two like mine.

Tom P.