They eat horses don't they?

[Rowick Hepan]

Some thoughts:

1) War horses / draft horse eat a LOT of food and they don't just graze on whatever is handy - They probably eat more food than they produce.

2) As the horse resource allows you to build mounted military units I reckon this resource represents premium horses such as War horses, not just your average pony.

Your cr*ppy horses are probably in every tile and make up part of the base food.

3) Historical humans didn't graze large herds of horses for food - they were to valuable for draft / war purposes.


So yes your citizens might eat a few horses now and then but probably not enough to equal +1 food. Their main benefit to society should be military and draft (ie. +1 production.)

[Willem]

Originally posted by petermarkab
i prefer ostrich meat, although they are far harder to ride.

I saw a TV clip once of ostrich races, in Australia I believe. It was hilarious! They have a mind of their own when it comes to racing.

[Willem]

Originally posted by kseecs16


ummm...horse meat my father tells me is as tough as nails and tastes like crap. But to each their own.

Probably because he was eating old horses that had been put down for not being good for riding anymore.

[Willem]

Originally posted by Rowick Hepan
Some thoughts:

1) War horses / draft horse eat a LOT of food and they don't just graze on whatever is handy - They probably eat more food than they produce.

But they eat alot of food that's indigestible to humans. Grass or Hay isn't exactly a food staple in any society.

2) As the horse resource allows you to build mounted military units I reckon this resource represents premium horses such as War horses, not just your average pony.

Horses that are deformed or just not suitable for that function would be put down at an early age, making them a possible food source.

[Urban Ranger]

Adjust your XML accordingly

[Willem]

Originally posted by Urban Ranger
Adjust your XML accordingly

Yes I intend to, but I'm trying to suggest that it should be that way in the default game as well.

[Urban Ranger]

Is there any game balancing reason why that isn't the default case? I can't think of one myself, though.

[Willem]

Nor can I. IIRC, all those resources gave at least 1 food in Civ 3. As someone pointed out, having Fur give 1 food would be really useful since they're usually found in Tundra or Ice, where there's very little food, or none, to begin with.

[Alex]

The game balancing reason for horses not giving +1 food in the default rules is the new system of health, I guess. Being as it is, there are already lots of food resources to improve healthiness in a city, so I think the developers thought more in terms of creating interesting strategical decisions: do I build my next city near these horses (for production bonus) or near this rice source (for the healthy benefits)?

[Willem]

Originally posted by Alex
The game balancing reason for horses not giving +1 food in the default rules is the new system of health, I guess.

Yes, I see. But if you added the food to the resource itself and not the improvement, wouldn't that prevent those resources from being used for health?