? on resources

[izmircali]

Does anyone know how resources will work exactly? I saw some info that if you only have one resource square of say horses and you decide to trade it, then you won't have that resource. So is it that if you have one square you have unlimited amounts of that you do acquire like 1 horse per turn per horse squares you have and you can stockpile or trade set amounts or certain units require certain amounts?

[Shiva]

What I think has been said is that every city connected to a resource under your control can build units that need said resource. If you trade said resource then it is in effect the persons who you trade it to until you stop the trade.You will not be able to build units needing said resource unless you have another square of said resource. I dont think there are any amounts produced just the connection.

[Xmudder]

I think there are 24 resoucres (some sources say 30).
8 tile improvement resources (eg, wheat, +2 food)
8 luxury resources (elephants (ivory), dye, incense, silk)
8 strategic resources (iron, coal, horses, uranium)

1 strategic resource is enough to provide your civilization the ability to make as many units, improvements, and wonders in your civilization as you want - so long as there is an unbroken road/port/airport connection from that resource to your city. But you can exhaust resources, and the load on that resouce plays a part in the chance of exhaustion. But you can also find additional resources by working nearby squares - this is why some screenshots have 2 silk or 3 elephants near each other.
Further, these resources also have tile improvment abilities. 2 of the new screenshots at civ3.com (17, lower left of page 3, 20, upper right of page 4) have horses and silk being worked. Horses are +1 shield, +1 commerce, and silk seems to be +3 commerce.
Multiple sources of resources allows you to keep a strategic reserve. If you lose access to one source, you have another source. It also allows you to trade your surplus resources with other civilizations for their surplus resources, assuming the resouces are linked to the capitol. Horses for Iron? Dye for Incense?

Hmm... Paris, the capitol in these screenshots, has 6 commerce. +1 for road, +1 for river, +1 for republic... I'd hazard a guess that Commercial civs double commerce in their city squares, in addition to lower corruption.

[Dida]

so, that means if you only have 1 iron, and you trade that for silk, you won't be able to make units that requires iron? and to be able to trade it, that resource needs to be connected by road to the capital of your empire?

[Shiva]

Originally posted by Dida
so, that means if you only have 1 iron, and you trade that for silk, you won't be able to make units that requires iron? and to be able to trade it, that resource needs to be connected by road to the capital of your empire?

Yep.

[Dida]

Originally posted by Shiva


Yep.

that means no other city might serve as trading port except the capital? that's so inaccurate, because New York is not the US capital, but I'm sure there is more trading going on in NY than the DC.

[El hidalgo]

Originally posted by Dida


that means no other city might serve as trading port except the capital? that's so inaccurate, because New York is not the US capital, but I'm sure there is more trading going on in NY than the DC.

Yeah, it seems like the resource being produced in one city should be available to all cities the one city is connected to by road or port, not only those connected to the capital. That way colonies can trade but cannot contributed to the 'mainland' until a road or port is built connecting them with the rest of the empire.

[PGM]

Originally posted by Dida
that means no other city might serve as trading port except the capital? that's so inaccurate, because New York is not the US capital, but I'm sure there is more trading going on in NY than the DC.

I disagree.
This might be unrealistic at 2001 A.D., but remember that you'll start playing at 4000 B.C.. Makes sense to have it this way.
But more important, nobody's talking about "more trading" or less. This isn't about quantity, these are strategic resources. Due to their importance, the capital government gets involved. It's symbolically correct, strategically interesting and fun.
In modern times, I believe that improvements like airports and harbours will diminish the economic dependence towards the empire's capital.

[Skanky Burns]

Theres been meantion somewhere that your capital also needs to be connected to the other civs capital via road/harbour/airport before you can trade resources with that civ.

[Mongoloid Cow]

The way it works is your capital must be connected to their capital through as many cities as you want and by airports/harbours/roads to trade in a resource.

[Mongoloid Cow]

So if your capital is not connected to the resource, you cannot trade it. And if there is no possible route from your capital to another civilisations capital it can't be traded. It adds tactics and slows down ICS considerably considering that instead of settlers having to be built, you need workers to connect resources to your capital and other cities, and if the resource is outside of your cultural borders, you need the worker to build a colony on it. If the route is broken, you lose the resource.