Getting coal from the germans

[Hermanthegerman]

Hi, a short one .

If i have the advance to "see" e.g. coal fields and the others do not have this advance ... is the ai able to see coal fields, too ?

in my current game:
the germans have coal, in my territory is no coal.
also i am to weak to "take" it from them ...

thx,
htg

p.s. sorry for my bad english

[Bad Ax]

Sorry Herman, you're SOL. The Germans can't see the coal until they have steam power, so they can't trade it with you. Your best bet is to build up your military for a quick strike and take the resources by force.

[ElBone]

for sure coal is a necessary ingredient for a grand empire, but for me it's the least likely resource to war over, especially with the bozo bizmark.

I'd just wait for the germans to discover steam. In the meantime, make plenty of workers so you can railroad your entire empire in 1 or 2 deals, and save some tech or money to trade with them.

Coal is a minor problem to be without, IMO.

bone

[AkwaticDudeCity]

No one can see tech related resources if they don't have the required tech. I had the same problem too with Saltpeter. The Aztecs and Iroquis had a lot, but they couldn't see it. I wasn't really strong at the time either, but you don't have to conquer their whole civ. Just make a 'surgical insertion' in the weakest civ's territory that has coal and is within two squares of the coast.
See if there is a neutral square, preferrably a coastal square, within two squares of the coal, but further than two from the nearest enemy city. If so, you're lucky. Build a city on the neutral square and buy a temple and a harbor quick and also connect a road obviously. Make sure to include defensive units in your expedition along with the settler and workers.
If you're not so lucky... if you want, you can post your save game here, and i'll have a look to determine the best location. Or you can give me a few more details about where the coal is located. Oh, and don't even bother with colonies, if you haven't already noticed, they disappear when it falls into the cultural radius of any city. That's including enemy cities or friendly cities.