Growing Resources

[tniem]

Originally posted by Sabre2th
Whether depletion is 100% accurate or not, I don't care. It would add an extra little challenge to the game.

Bigger challenge = Bigger fun.

Agreed.

It will force you in late game to trade or build out to get certain resources that you have over used over the years like some type of luxury. That way you can never simply stay isolationist in the game - you will have to interact with other nations throughout the entire game.

[Kevin Ar18]

I don't like the idea of resouces depleting -- except for those ones that are growable - like my suggestion, but for oil, uranium, I don't think they should deplete. It is both realistic and more fun that way - you can isolate yourself if you so choose, but also remember, as you discover new techs you may find you'll have to contact others to get newer types of resources so you won't be able to be isolated forever.

[Nikolai]

Originally posted by Grumbold
Depleting resources are interesting, but lets face it, we didn't run out of iron, tin and copper in the early days and we haven't run out of coal, oil or uranium in the modern age. Resources would have to be unnaturally scarce for this to be a significant problem.

That's right, but if a civ in Civ3 started to use oil in, let's say 1400, then the oil problaby would be away in our times!
This is about rewriting history you know...

[Grumbold]

Oh yes, sure. If it is balanced carefully then it will work just fine. I just don't want to see situations where the whole world regularly runs out of enough oil or coal to build modern units, only for more to suddenly pop up later as if by magic. Having a race to develop the space ship before WW III breaks out over ownership of the last remaining oil fields would certaily be a challenge.

[Solver]

That running out of resources could happen in sloe future. Predictions are, some resources will be depleted during 21st century, which actually means NOW. However, I believe that the technological process will enable us to re-create the resources, without having to build bases on, say, Moon, to get iron.

[Dauphin]

Originally posted by Solver
However, I believe that the technological process will enable us to re-create the resources, without having to build bases on, say, Moon, to get iron.

We won't run out of resources of things like iron, aluminium (etc..) we just won't have them in an easily accessible fashion. Basically we will have to recycle. This will happen when recycling all the old junk like cans, cars, (etc) becomes cheaper than (or less expensive) than mining scarce ores.

And as you say, technology will allow us to synthesise fuels, materials (etc...)

In conclusion, tile resources may deplete, but the ability to produce resources through things like recycling should not.

Lots of etcs there.

[Solver]

Yes, this is why the resource depleting isn't a critical issue to include in Civ III, to me.

[Jon Miller]

how about the fact that increased science allow snew sources of the resources

such as when Iron was first used, only a few people had it because you had to get it from meteorites and the like (where it was easily getable out of the soil)

this made the Hitites king i n th middle east

when their pile started going out and others began getting iron their power fell

Jon Miller

[Dauphin]

Not sure about the Hittite thing, I thought it was based on the possession of the "chariot rush", and they lost power when other civs stole the wheel.

However I fully agree with the sentiment.

Originally posted by Jon Miller
how about the fact that increased science allows new sources of the resources

Or that science finds new uses for a previously unused resource. Oil or coal wasn't that useful until the industrial era when it found its prominent role to play. You shouldn't really find a resource until your civ knows that it is going to need it and so actively looks for it.

[Sabre2th]

Originally posted by Big Crunch
You shouldn't really find a resource until your civ knows that it is going to need it and so actively looks for it.

I'm pretty sure this is the case already.

i.e. You can't see uranium until you discover fission.