Building Cities on Hills

[Gatekeeper]

Everyone:

I'm just curious how many people do this. Until recently, I wasn't one of them. I always built on grasslands, plains, desert oasises. I've started building on hills now because:

1. It's realistic. Quite a few RL towns and cities are built up against or on hills.

2. The AI has a helluva time sacking walled cities on hills. Even more so in the modern era when one has jet fighters based in the city and protected by SAM batteries and an SDI shield.

3. Terrain specials. This is why I really altered my strategy. I was simply passing up too many specials because of my avoidance of founding cities on hills.

I'm going to assume that I was a late-comer to what was already a common strategy among fellow Civ players, but I've included a poll just to see what the spread is.

Gatekeeper

[Scouse Gits]

Build on hills when it provides the spot for two or more specials. A favourite is to allow settler #1 to mine wine then settler#2 builds on top...that's nice...

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Sunday night and we are getting there

[TCO]

I just ICS in a checkerboard pattern.

[Six Thousand Year Old Man]

I'm another believer in the mined hill. I'll do that occasionally, usually in the mid- to late- game to take advantage of a 'sweet spot' with 3 or more specials. Rarely will I build on a hill without a second settler mining it concurrently.

Oh, and mining a hils with the second settler in Deity starts has led to impressive results...

STYOM

[Marquis de Sodaq]

Originally posted by GP
I just ICS in a checkerboard pattern.

rewind, -click-, repeat

I, too, have no qualms about settling on hills. The wine spot is excellent. I will also do it for coastal cities - same effect as a coastal fortress without wasting the time to build it. A fish/whale, the city, and a coal give you a size 3 city with 9+ shields - can't beat it in the early going.

In particular, in the early game, a hill city is virtually impregnable to the AI. With walls, your phalanx can withstand veteran cavalry. Good for strategic spots!

[Gatekeeper]

Hmm. I tried that mine a hill/build city at same time once and it didn't work. I was only using one settler/engineer, though. So the technique is to *begin* mining the hill, then use a second settler/engineer to actually build the city while the first settler/engineer continues to mine?

Gatekeeper

[Campo]

So the technique is to *begin* mining the hill, then use a second settler/engineer to actually build the city while the first settler/engineer continues to mine?

Right, you have to do it that way.

If you build a mine and then found a city on that location, the mine is lost. So be sure you start one settler mining the hill, then have a second one build the city (while letting the first one continue to mine uninterrupted).

mining a hils with the second settler in Deity starts has led to impressive results

STYOM, I occasionally use the mine/build city technique but I've never tried it that early. You're referring to the very beginning, right? I'd have thought that it was more important to have both settlers found cities ASAP to crank out more settlers. It really makes sense to spend the time mining that soon?

[DrFell]

I really prefer not to settle on hills if at all possible... the only times I do is when I'm placing a defensive border city, or when I need to build on a hill to reach a special.

[rah]

Same as Fell, Usually to reach a special and for some defensive border cities. With the exception of wine in 2x games. I'll build right on them and hope there's forests near by.

RAH

[Gatekeeper]

So if I build a city on a hill that's being mined at the same time, I'll still get the two food resources in addition to the benefits of mined wine or mined coal? IOW, I'll have a city square that produces two foods, lots of trade and production (wine), or lots of production (coal)?

Gatekeeper

[Scouse Gits]

If I understand you correctly Cyber - playing 1x 1x once the mine goes in you lose the second food ...

SG[1]

[rah]

That is correct.

RAH

[Gatekeeper]

SG[1], rah:

Dang! There is a trade-off then.

Come to think of it, though, why would one want to mine a wine-bearing hill? If you just plop a city on it, you get two food and tons of trade (albeit only one shield). I like having two foods on any terrain I build on ... so that means I'll never build on non-oasis desert or forests or glacier.

Gatekeeper

[Scouse Gits]

Ah - but it does last nearly long enough for the city to get to size 2!!!

SG[1]

[rah]

Yes, then after that, send one settler to get it to size three, a little celebrating, and voila, a real nice city. Especially with a harbor and ocean near by. It will be a very good, trade/science city.