Is it just me or is there something wrong with the special resources?

[joseph1944]

When you start your city, the city will only control the first eight tiles surrounding your city. As the city grows, it will expand to 21 tiles. Any resources found in this 21 tile area is yours as long it is conneted by a road. A wheat icon will add two additionional food items. A wheat icon both outside and inside of your city boundary needs to be connected to your cities by roads. All resources that are located inside of your empire do not need a colony. They only need road connection to your cities. I would guess even thought so one from Firaxis has said yes that a wheat icon outside your empire would be the same as other resources. Just build a colony connects the colony by road to your cities and the wheat will be your. Again provide military support to your colony and road network.

[Ralf]

Originally posted by joseph1944
When you start your city, the city will only control the first eight tiles surrounding your city. As the city grows, it will expand to 21 tiles.

Are you really sure about this? From where have you got this info? Officially from Firaxis? From a game-magazine preview? Im not saying that your wrong - Im just curious. As I understand it; you can choose to harvest any of the 20 surrounding city-area tiles, directly from start, with your newly fonded 1-pop city. Just as you could both in Civ-2 & SMAC. The 21-square food/ shield/ trade area does NOT expand. Only the culture-border expands.

Any resources found in this 21 tile area is yours as long it is conneted by a road.

Any special resource/luxury, yes.

Ordinary food/shield/trade-outputs dont need road-connection. Ordinary tile-outputs can benefit from a road (just as in Civ-2/SMAC), but roads are not strictly needed.

[Theben]

I believe that Dan M said that the city radius is fixed, at 21 squares. The cultural borders grow from zero to...well, whatever.

Keep in mind that if you do NOT expand the cultural border from the city, another civ can place a city near yours, grow it's border, and take your city's tiles, which you can only then regain thru conquest or diplomacy. Or so I've come to believe.