re-Terraforming strategies

[Sarxis]

As I become a more experienced CIVer, I am becoming more aware of the potential that changing worked squares from one improvement type to another can offer. Starting with farms and later upgrading to other types of improvements once an intended population boom has ended, or turning a high production city into a specialist oriented one by increasing food improvments are just two of the possibilities.

Share your ideas and strats so we may all learn!

[snoopy369]

Definitely lots of changing irrigation(farm) to cottages, and watermills and/or workshops especially when the latter is +3 hammers. Not ever going to take a high prod city and make it a specialist, that never will compete with a good specialist city that's all floodplains and grassland (and you should only have one superspecialist city unless you're going the GA route).

Mostly watermill/workshop, really. That's my main conversion... by the time cottages are worth putting on irrigated squares, I often have gone too late into the game for the cottage to pay off...

[Blaupanzer]

Often farm some cottages to work more mines once the city starts pushing its population limits. Earlier, limit farms to get the income, income not such a big deal later. GP spies, engineers, scientists, or merchants have more value in late game to help focus strategies. (Not all of them at once, but selecting the same ones in all cities that help the victory path chosen.)

[couerdelion]

Early game - farms and mines – after improving specials. The early game is the most important time when you want to hurry settlers and workers.

After expansion comes to an end, you’re probably looking to select square on which to put cottages. Most of the time I will tend to only put them on tiles which I will not want to change later.

With Civil Service, the irrigation chains are built.

With machinery, the hilltop mines are systematically changed to windmills

With Rep Parts, the riverside tiles are converted to watermills. Tundra forest tiles can use a lumbermill. Generally I will have chopped down trees already but only in places that I need to build something else or if I needed some fast hammers. Although not a fundamental strategy, leaving forest tiles around will allow them to grow into other spaces left blank. Also, I try to avoid chopping forest on flat non-river tundra tiles.

With Chemistry, free tiles (often former jungle or forest) are used for a workshop.

With state property certain specials may be converted into a generic tile. Riverside wine, ivory, sugar etc are likely to be good candidates for watermills. Particularly as Electricity approaches, specials like fur might be removed in favour of the standard improvement. I will only keep those resources that I need or can trade.

Biology – maybe a few adjustments to the farming arrangements for some select cities.

[Chicagophil]

I wish there was a unit or tech that would allow us to be able to change the the tiles like in Alpha Cent.

Time to create a land bridge!