Game inbalance through limited resources?

[Mannamagnus]

From what I get from the info we got so far is that some resources are very scarce. So I guess it's not unimaginable that at some point you control all uranium deposits.
This means that if that happens you have a virtual carte blanche to nuke the s**t out of all the other civs as long as you don't trade uranium with anybody.

[Buck Birdseed]

Ah, but by the time you get nukes the guy with all the steel will have blown you into smithereens.

Actually, it's meant as an additional challenge.

[Gramphos]

I don't think this unbalances the game. It's one of the best features in the game, it makes it more realistic. And would you still not trade Uranium if someone offered you 20 gold/turn for it?

This feature brings this game to a hole new level of strategy.
Is it worth to sell Uranium to the Russians? (Probably not as they are an aggressive civ, but you could sell it to the Babylonians)

[TechWins]

This feature is great for the game. If you have uranium you might not have oil so you will need to trade your uranium for oil. If you do posses all the resources you need wouldn't trading a little uranium to a peaceful civ for some extra cash be worth it? What would really make this even more challenging is if certain units require more than one resource. Has that been confirmed, whether or not certain units will require more than one resource? I don't think it has but I'm not positive.

[Mannamagnus]

Not having to build SDI would easily be worth 20 gold/turn. Also if I'm the only one with nukes I can get several times that amount from taking over cities.
And napcase I would make sure to be a nice guy until I'm the only one with a sufficient amount of nukes. The only thing which is worrying is the pollution.

[Gramphos]

Originally posted by Mannamagnus
Not having to build SDI would easily be worth 20 gold/turn. Also if I'm the only one with nukes I can get several times that amount from taking over cities.
And Snapcase I would make sure to be a nice guy until I'm the only one with a sufficient amount of nukes. The only thing which is worrying is the pollution.

But if the only resource you have is Uranium I doubt you'll survive long enough to get nukes .
And how would you be sure that you were the only one with Uranium? And 20 gold were just taken from the air as I don't know how mush the AI would give for Uranium, in MPgames it may be mush higher.

[Mannamagnus]

Civs used to brag:"our words are backed with nuclear weapons!" so I guess they will let you know wether they have a nuclear arsenal/uranium.

[Gramphos]

Originally posted by Mannamagnus
Civs used to brag:"our words are backed with nuclear weapons!" so I guess they will let you know wether they have a nuclear arsenal/uranium.

They might not yet have discovered it.

[Mannamagnus]

True

[Todd Hawks]

I think the ressources will be so plentyful that if you controlled all uranium, you would control nearly the whole planet and then you'll win no matter if the AI has nuclear capacity.

Todd

[gremalkin]

I have certainly read that the resources would be randomly spread across the map.. Therefore to control all of an individual resource would be either a colassal piece of luck or that you control the vast majority of the map.. In the first case I'd say enjoy yuor position of power - it'll never happen again. In the second case I'd say Stop playing - you've won..

It's certainly not something to worry about..

[SerapisIV]

Well, more then likely iron is gonna be pretty well spread all over the planet, so early combat and units shouldn't be resource limited (though horses may be), but as Firaxis has said before modern units require several resources, (oil, iron, rubber, maybe others), so it's doubtful that any one civ will have all the resources for a tank, so trade becomes a requirement. I can see rapidly changing alliances as the modern era begins in Civ3, which should be very cool.

[Laszlo]

This limited resource thing looks like a good idea. Say, a three civ embargo could be a real threat to one civ. And realistic too. I once saw a table showing US imports of certain metals and things. Our iridium comes like 95% from one small African country, and there were about five other metals above the 80% range.

Also, I heard that during World War II there were only two known sources of uranium, one in Europe and one in Africa. This definately affected US plans when they were afraid that Germany was hot on the trail of nuclear weapons development.

[Mahdimael]

The game map is inherently imbalanced. Some people start on a small island with another civ and some start on a rolling plain in a vast continent. The resources are just an extension of this feature. If you start on an island, you develop ships earlier, etc. Circumstances partially dictate what you do, and that's part of what makes civ fun

[Inverse Icarus]

Originally posted by TechWins
This feature is great for the game. If you have uranium you might not have oil so you will need to trade your uranium for oil. If you do posses all the resources you need wouldn't trading a little uranium to a peaceful civ for some extra cash be worth it? What would really make this even more challenging is if certain units require more than one resource. Has that been confirmed, whether or not certain units will require more than one resource? I don't think it has but I'm not positive.

tanks need rubber steel and oil if i recall.

and personally, i love the resource system. it allows you to hurt civs without moving in an army, and enhanses war to the umpteenth power.

imagine the modern era, moving your tanks into the Chinese oil fields, and pillaging the roads, severing their oil link. the chinese lose the ability to build Tanks, Mech Infs., etc, and you're rolling over them.

also, resources could play a new role in internatioal affairs. again, the scenario with China. only they're getting oil from the Babylonians. you are going to want to PAY the Babylonians to stop selling oil to the Chinese.

but how do u know they wont trade it behind your back?

you're going to make them trade you all their excess oil (is that possible Dan or Jeff?).

or you just flatten Babylon