growth halted in cities

[ecc]

I'm having an issue where in the beginning of the game my first city and any new city built does not grow at all. It won't begin to grow until I build a worker unit in the city. The food stores in the new city that is built is enough for growth yet it doesn't even state that it is stagnant. It simply states nothing and there is no growth. Please help

-Ryan

[Boris Godunov]

Cities don't grow while building workers or settlers in Civ4.

[Enigma_Nova]

Which is good, in a way - it allows you to halt the growth of that overgrown city and turn it into an expansion centre.
(Of course, usually you'll just spam specialists and build a Health structure, but that's not always possible =)

[ecc]

Ok but why is it that the first city doesn't begin to grow at all from the start UNTIL you build a worker? It just stays at size 1 no matter what you're building...

[Joseph]

Originally posted by ecc
Ok but why is it that the first city doesn't begin to grow at all from the start UNTIL you build a worker? It just stays at size 1 no matter what you're building...

For me it depended on what type of tile your city is on. I have had some cities that were on Grassland with 1 or 2 more grassland, grow to size 2 or 3 while building a warrior. If you are on a plains tile, it may not reach 2 until after you build a worker. If you are on a hill whether it is a grassland or plains it may not grow either.

The ideal start would be on a Grassland tile next to a river with at lease 2 more Grassland tiles, then at lease 2 plains tiles and the last 4 either Grassland or plain with a forest. Then when your city expands to cove the next 12 tiles, it realy does not matter to mush what they are.