Cities in the desert

[Timtopia]

Is there anyway to fix the stupid ai from building it's cities in the desert. I mean how realistic (OK maybe Los Anglese and Las Vegas) is it to build a city without a source of water. Hey Firaxis fix this in your patch too. THANKS

[Pembleton]

Re: Cities in the desert

Originally posted by Timtopia
Is there anyway to fix the stupid ai from building it's cities in the desert. I mean how realistic (OK maybe Los Anglese and Las Vegas) is it to build a city without a source of water. Hey Firaxis fix this in your patch too. THANKS

The AI may get the last laugh later when it has oil in that region and you don't have any. Oil is *the* most important late game resource.

The real problem is building cities in the middle of other civs so that it gets swallowed up culturally later.

[Jaundice]

I build cities in the desert too, for the reason stated above. That waste of a city can become a gold mine later on in the game. And it will give you MAJOR bargaining power.

-JD

[VetteroX]

Desert cities can rule after a time. They have a good chance of getting oil/saltpeter, and if you get irrigation all around em ( either wait till electricity or make an irrigation trail from nearest water source) One you get rail roads you put rail on the desert and its 2 food 2 production 2 trade on every tile. make some workers join city to help it grow. When it hits 20, you have a city with 42 production without a factory. ( 2 prod a square X 21) + possible oil and saltpeter with a factory thats in the 60's, powerfplant its even more..... so a desert city is pretty great u ask me. In ancient times it will be an ugly duckling, but it will grow into a swan

[Simpleton]

Originally posted by VetteroX
One you get rail roads you put rail on the desert and its 2 food 2 production 2 trade on every tile.

Hey! I thought that you could only get 1 food out of a desert square! Is it rail that increases the food? Because I put roads through my irrigated desert square and it still just gave 1 food so I didn't bother trying rails.

[Skanky Burns]

Rails increase food if there is irrigation underneath.
Rails increase shields if there is a mine underneath.

Just like in Civ 1

[Yoleus]

Just some stupid pun

Many things are like in Civ1...
Maybe this game is more of "Another Civ II" instead of "CivIII"

[GenTomGun]

Desert City Importance

I agree w/the statement made by someone here....that desert cities can be very important....case in point.....the game im playing now......finally developed gunpowder...of coarse now i need some saltpeter...only source avaiable in my part of the world in smack dab in the middle of a huge desert next to my cities....guess what....egyptians beat me to the race to that spot and build a city there. Now i have WWI going on now for that little piece of land....since it is the only saltpeter around to my cive and at least 3 other ai civs........