Help with some very basic questions

[Regnor]

Wow, this is one comprehensive site! I looked around for a long time but didn't see anything that addressed my two questions, but apologies if I've missed some resource (and I'd appreciate a link if so).

I'm confused about roads. I understand the reasons I'd want to have resources connected to capital cities, for example, and why I'd want to connect my cities via roads, but I'm not sure if there's any point to putting roads between all my improvements. Will it help my farms, for example, to have them all connected? If not (as I suspect), then why does the AI do that when you ask a Worker to build a trade network?

And do I correctly understand that it doesn't do any good to improve a square that isn't being worked by a population? In other words, if I'm population 6, building the 7th farm is pointless until my population reaches 7, yes?

My wife and I noticed what we thought was a bug, but I thought I'd check here first. We played the Single City challenge and were dismayed to learn that the AI isn't limited to a single city, just the team of my wife and I! Is that a bug or is that working as intended?

Finally, for all the talk of city specialization and its triumph over ICS, I still see the AI focusing on building MORE and MORE cities, and getting way ahead in points as a result, while I toil away on my elaborately constructed specialty cities.

Thanks guys, this is a great resource.

Reg

[Urban Ranger]

Re: Help with some very basic questions

Originally posted by Regnor
And do I correctly understand that it doesn't do any good to improve a square that isn't being worked by a population? In other words, if I'm population 6, building the 7th farm is pointless until my population reaches 7, yes?

It depends. If it is a special resource, you can reap some rewards by working the tile, then connect it with a city by road. Which, presumably, is already connected to the rest of the cities via the road network. Suppose this is a food resource, you gain the bonus in health even if nobody works the tile.

Originally posted by Regnor
My wife and I noticed what we thought was a bug, but I thought I'd check here first. We played the Single City challenge and were dismayed to learn that the AI isn't limited to a single city, just the team of my wife and I! Is that a bug or is that working as intended?

WAD (work as designed). The One City Challenge is for you. In other words, other players aren't restricted. That's why it is a challenge.

[Regnor]

Re: Re: Help with some very basic questions

Originally posted by Urban Ranger


It depends. If it is a special resource, you can reap some rewards by working the tile, then connect it with a city by road. Which, presumably, is already connected to the rest of the cities via the road network. Suppose this is a food resource, you gain the bonus in health even if nobody works the tile.

So does this confirm my belief that in the case of ordinary improvements like farms and cottages, there is no benefit obtained from the tile unless there is a population working it?

WAD (work as designed). The One City Challenge is for you. In other words, other players aren't restricted. That's why it is a challenge.

Ahh, ok, that explains that. Too bad, I would like to see a regular game mode where every player is limited to one city. That would be an interesting type of game. My wife and I are still trying to meet the challenge of playing a new game against a reasonably competent AI, let alone ready to start handicapping ourselves!

Thanks for the response,

Reg

[Cropper]

"So does this confirm my belief that in the case of ordinary improvements like farms and cottages, there is no benefit obtained from the tile unless there is a population working it?"

Correct. Only tiles that offer +1 health or +1 gold or such because they are "special" resources are worth hooking up. You get this bonus even if no one is working the tiles. No other tile (grasslands, hills etc) needs to be hooked up until your city starts working that tile. Of course if you have free workers doing nothing, you might as well pre-build all the tiles in anticipation of the city using them, ie building mines on hills etc.

[philosophile]

There are other advantages of building roads everywhere too. Namely future resources that are discovered by teching up will already be connected. If your workers have nothing better to do, let them build roads.

[DrrD]

Also, more roads let you react quicker to an invasion. The enemy can't use them but you can. if every square is roaded, you can move to any square and take the fight to the enemy. He may not move right down your single road you know!

Also, roading more squares makes it harder to cut your network. If a human player (and maybe even the AI)sees your 1 road to your capital, he's gonna cut it, then your capital loses all it's resources from other cities! Bummer.

finally, railroads (but not roads) do improve some improvements, you get +1 hammer from watermill, lumbermill, and mine (I could be wrong about the details, I don't have the manual in front of me.)

So I agree with the above, if workers have nothing more usefull to do, build roads.