Resource "density"

[Urban Ranger]

I use "density" here loosely, to refer to the number of special resources you can get in the fat cross per city on average.

It seems that on maps with bigger land masses, Inland Sea, Great Plains, and the like, the density of special resources is lower than the typical continents map.

On a continents map, I could get six different special resources (and that's not counting flood plains) in the fat cross if I am lucky, though four or five isn't unusal.

I have started a game on Inland Sea (large) yesterday evening, and I noticed that the special resources - one that I could see - were more spread out.

So while I can eventually build more cities there, each one isn't as good on average as the ones on a continents (large) map.

What do you think?

[LordShiva]

Well, what I don't like about resource density is that on every map I've played, any reasonably-sized civ has access to all the strategic resources. I'd prefer that they, and I, would have to go to war to secure some resource or another.

[Urban Ranger]

Originally posted by LordShiva
Well, what I don't like about resource density is that on every map I've played, any reasonably-sized civ has access to all the strategic resources. I'd prefer that they, and I, would have to go to war to secure some resource or another.

Nah. One of the very early games I played I didn't have aluminum, dispite being the biggest on my continent. Ghengis, OTOH, got 3.

[Martin the Dane]

Well in my first game I had to war to get coal, and lost the game, as a stronger AI took the oportunity to place a large army in the now neutral land arround my newly concured cities, and then declare war on me. And several AI's had no horses and/or iron, never got far enough to check on the later SR's.
And there was one or two stone on the entire continent among 4 civs.

[Urban Ranger]

I wonder which bright spark's idea was that to include stone as a special resource.

Com'on, is your local mountain not good enough?

[Adagio]

4-6 special resources within the fat cross?

In all games I've played on Prince so far, I could praise myself lucky if I could get 1-2 of those inside my borders when I have 3 cities. Sure I could get more, but then I'd have to send my settler too far away for it to be usefull

[Urban Ranger]

Originally posted by Adagio
4-6 special resources within the fat cross?

I tend to concentrate the special resources. IOW, if I can build two cities, I will let one have as many special resources as possible instead of having the two split the resources between them evenly.

[johnmcd]

I sometimes wonder if the map generator thinks about sea resources and land resources separately or something. Or if the script recognises that someone has a lame start that it makes it up to them with sea resources. I've seen starting locations with five or six sea resources and two land resources.

Sometimes though I am much encouraged by an apparently useless start as it tends to be an indicator that there will be several hidden resources in the locale.

Regards stone, it is daft it's a special, it should, at most, be a place you get the resource benefit wihtout needing to build a quarry, but you should be able to quarry stone from any peak or hill or something. Might be useless in terms of hammers or whatever but it should give the various production bonuses. Maybe it should be something that consumes your worker?

[MikeH]

Do elephants always come in groups of 3 or 4 together?

Played two Hotseat games with my gf, both times she's had ridiculous elephant cities. One with 3 elephants in the fat x, one with 4.

I have only had elephants once! (well only once early enough for them to be useful, many more times when I've captured them).

[JimG]

Originally posted by Urban Ranger
I wonder which bright spark's idea was that to include stone as a special resource.

Com'on, is your local mountain not good enough?

Actually, no. To build the pyramids the Egyptians needed stone that would cleave into nice big blocks -thats not available everywhere.
Those nice Georgian buildings in London needed quality stone from Portland, about 100 miles away - quite a trek in the 1700s.
In fact now in the UK there is a shortage of suitably strong stone to lay on the roads - we are having to quarry areas of natural beauty like on the Scottish coast to get enough.

[Swiss Pauli]

Basic resources are generally 'getable', but I've missed out on oil (popped up under the Taoist holy city) and other Civs haven't had aluminum. In my no-oil game, I had plenty Uranium, so it wasn't a problem.

If I'm dug in, I'll beeline industrialism just to find out where the aluminum is in case I need to fight for it.

[johnmcd]

Originally posted by MikeH
Do elephants always come in groups of 3 or 4 together?

Played two Hotseat games with my gf, both times she's had ridiculous elephant cities. One with 3 elephants in the fat x, one with 4.

I have only had elephants once! (well only once early enough for them to be useful, many more times when I've captured them).

Yeah, a lot of the luxuries are very clumped I find. elephants and gems being the major culprits.

[proviisori]

...and fur also... I have seen 6 beavers right next to each other!

[MikeH]

And wine come to think of it... yes.

[JimG]

Its nice to get lots of incense - what else are deserts good for?