strategic resources

[eitri]

here's something that's been bugging me..

in every single game i've played, there's been an extreme lack of strategic resources.

for example, i played a game on a large map consisting of 3 main continents. There was a total of one iron, one saltpeter, two horses, one oil, and no rubber. It's been like that for every game i've played.

am i doing something wrong or is that just the way the game's designed?

[ralewis]

Didn't see your post before I posted myself. I have a similar situation. I can't find any saltpeter. Explored much of the map and none to be found. I'm not sure this if this is intentional or not. Maybe this is an attempt at forcing variability into strategies.

[de166]

There is a problem with distribution of resources it seems. In the current game I see 5 saltpeters next to one city and no were else to be seen in the whole world. Now this is a feature too I guess because that then requires trade to get it for yourself. Unfortunely, I am at war with the Romans right now. But, realisticy they need to be spread out more.

[Barnacle Bill]

I basically conceded my first game over this. I started the game as the Romans sharing an Island with the Egyptians on an Archipelago set-up, and took them out immediately. Come to find out I have no iron on the home island. The only Iron I can find not already taken is on an island clear on the other end of the map. I colonize there, and I swear within two turns of getting it on line the resource disappears. OK, nobody has any spare iron except the Americans. I make a deal and start cranking out Legions for 20 years. Then Abe cancels the deal and won't make another for anything I can afford. So, I beat him up and take the closest city with Iron in its area (he had several surplus - I think the game put most of the Iron in the world on the island he shared with the Japanese). He pulls in the Japanese with a military alliance against me but I manage to hold out until they will talk to me again & make peace. OK, fast forward many turns - now I've got Knights. The island where the disappeared iron was is big enough for maybe three cities tops but I've not gotten around to colonizing past the first one. Basically, in two turns like three or four civs land a settler & spearman on the island. I won't tolerate that, and have the local garison kill the interlopers. They start signing alliances against me with other civs, Bismarck declares war on me because I won't give him one of my most advanced techs (Chivalry?) and pulls in some more, and pretty soon I'm at war with almost everybody left in the game except the French (who were the target of a similar grand coalition earlier in the game, which I had stayed out of). The Americans & Japanese are throwing hordes at my iron city (Chicago), and the handwriting is on the wall - my perimeter is collapsing, it's too far from home for reinforcements to arrive in time, I'm too broke to hurry production in Chicago, and I figure if I lose Chicago I'm going to be fighting the entire world with spearmen. So, I started a new game after editing the Rules to make strategic resources a lot more common and 0 Disappearance Probability