BTS: forts and resources

[guermantes]

I've read that forts can now in BTS "be used to connect resources."

Does this mean that they replace the need for a road when the resource is inside my borders, or does it mean that I can claim and hook up resources outside my borders by building a fort on top of them?

[Slade Wilson]

That would be good, eliminating the need to build cities merely for a resource

[eris]

That would be bad, eliminating the need to build cities merely for a resource.

Civ 3 had little outpost things for grabbing resources. It was too convienent. Having to pay for a city deep in the tundra just to get those 7 fur tiles is a decision, a tricky decision. That is what Civ 4 is all about, tricky decisions, not easy ones.

[ColdPhoenix]

I would think that fort still have to be built inside your cultural borders so you'll still have to build cities relatively close. The choice would be between the usual improvement giving additional commerce/food/hammers or a fort which increases the security of the resource. Mostly useful for important resources near a dangerous border.

I don't know that this is how it will work for sure but it seems to me to be the most reasonable way of working it. I would be sure that you'd need a road to link it.

[Blaupanzer]

Sounds good as suggested by ColdPheonix. Might make some forts semi-useful. As is, I seldom use forts.

[Thedrin]

Build a fort on a resource and it will provide as much access to the resource as building a city on the resource would. You'll still need a route to the resource. Its effectively a trade off between the resource improvement tile bonus and the benefits of the fort.

Apparently forts can now be built outside cultural borders (not entirely happy about this) but I don't know how this interacts with hooking up resources.

[Kuciwalker]

We need to know if forts act as sea connections too.

[Lord Avalon]

If the resource is on a river, will a fort still link to the river, like the usual improvement does?

[Kuciwalker]

Eh, that's not as important. A savings of 2 turns at best.

[Solver]

Things like that become more important when pillaging than when concerning your own resources.

[Kuciwalker]

Can you pillage forts?

(I've never actually seen the AI build one, so...)

Anyway, the fort would go first, no? So the resource would be disconnected in one pillage either way.

[Thedrin]

Can you pillage forts?

Have you killed its occupants yet?

[Kuciwalker]

While that initially sounds like a decent smart-aleck remark, after a moment's thought it actually sounds really dumb. Try again?

[Solver]

Anyway, the fort would go first, no? So the resource would be disconnected in one pillage either way.

Oh, yeah. Good point. And sure you can pillage them, they're a normal terrain improvement. It's just that indeed there wasn't much reason, pre-BtS, to have them, for humans and AIs alike...