Ocean Cities

Once, I founded a little city on a 1 square grassland/river island in the middle of the sea. I bought it a harbor, and then an offshore platform. (I built it because the default name it gave me was Venice ) Anyway, then I left it alone for a while, and when I came back, it was producing 50 sheilds, (with factory, hydro plant from hoover dam, and manufacturing plant) and its trade was incalculable. I wonder how good you could get an SSC that way. Then again, you don't have offshore platforms when youre building colossus. But anyway, now I build cities on tiny islands, and rushbuy harbor and offshore platform. Do any of you do that?

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Long live the Communists!
-- SilverDragon

[geofelt]

One of the benefits of such a city is that you can ignore pollution solutions because the center and ocean squares will never get pollution skulls. That said, I only build them if it is convenient.

Oh, I was gonna say that, except I forgot. Once on one of those cities I just built a power plant instead of nuclear or hydro or solar, (I missed the Hoover Dam ) and it didnt pollute even though it had the worst polluting power plant

[Sortub]

In a game I recently finished, I founded one of those island-type cities whose radius touched like two whales and two fish squares. After I built all the trade boosters and double-irrigated the land, it was producing a staggering 110 trade arrows.

The key is whales. Find them. Harvest them. There are no international treaties in the game against this.

I'm starting to think the ideal location for a city is on a sort of promontory or island that includes bountiful both land and ocean squares.

Stragetically, a city on an isthmus is good for the bi-coastal capability, in addition to harvesting the ocean squares.

[Miner]

KRC works on sea squares, so this usually worthless wonder would be quite useful on making a SSC from an island.

[Sieve Too]

Another benefit of island cities is that the AI doesn't know how to capture them. They'll attack with ships but they never follow up with a transport to take the empty city.

[Ming]

I've had AI marines try to take my one square island cities. Too bad for them it was a forest square with many vet Mech Infantry in it. A costal fortress, a SAM, and a SDI made the city untakeable. Needless to say, their strategy didn't work

But you bring up a good point. If early in the game, you can't find trade specials, just build along the coast. It beats having to place workers on plains or swamp squares

[Sieve Too]

I've never seen an AI amphibious assault but I guess they do exist afterall.

[geofelt]

If any prospective city location has three or more ocean squares, I try to found the center where I get the capability to build a harbor. It seems that whenever I don't I regret it.
If a city could be built to act as a bridge between two bodies of water, I try to build there, even if it is not an optimal location. Many times I have been glad that I can get a naval unit from one ocean to another.

[cavebear]

geofelt - I heartily agree on the "city as passage between 2 bodies of water" idea. It drives me crazy when I discover a city I've built would have permitted such passage if only it had been one square different!

I've longed for a Panama Canal Wonder that would allow a ship to move through the entire city radius...

And, if I may, why can't a city not on the ocean, but having squares incorporating water, not build a harbor?

[finbar]

Presumably because, if it's not on the water, it can't, literally, have a harbour.

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finbar
Mono Rules!
#33984591

[Carolus Rex]

I like one square islands too.

A question and a warning.

Can they be amphibiously attacked before marines, i.e. even if they are empty (no defenders) which pre-marine unit can enter them? It's been a while since I built such a city (or launched amphibious assaults!), but isn't bribing the only way to get them?

Pretty good deal in that case, just keep a diplo on a ship in reach to buy it back the next turn a heck of a lot cheaper.

As someone posted in a thread far, far away... Don't let triremes stay in those cities' ports, the AI will sink them 50% of the time. And I thought I was safe, ouch!

Carolus

[This message has been edited by Carolus Rex (edited April 28, 2000).]

[Paul]

All land units can walk into your undefended cities from a ship. Marines are just the only ones that can attack from a ship.

[Tom DeMille]

The trireme is safe in an island port if you put it on sentry duty (before using up all its movement points).

[inca911]

Island SSC is a concept that should be attempted in an OCC format. Anybody want to create a scenario for this?

[Dino the Dinosore]

You want the Fifth Fortnight OCC Comparison Game, Captain Ahab of the Whalers, discussed in this forum at
http://apolyton.net/forums/Forum3/HTML/001005.html

Available for download from Paul's site
http://home.planet.nl/~belt0018/occ.htm#downloads

It's a fun one - I enjoyed it and got my personal best OCC finish.
[This message has been edited by Dino the Dinosore (edited April 28, 2000).]

Island SSCs are really good, but you usually don't have enough production to actually make the wonders for it. But once you can build offshore platforms, island SSCs are hands down the best cities you can build.

(edited for spelling)
[This message has been edited by SilverDragon (edited April 30, 2000).]

[Jim W]

The other night, I started a new game (SP, with HiRes Graphics). It has several islands, including a couple of single square islands. Having just read this thread, you can guess what I did.

On the other hand, I would dearly love to have had a trireme _before_ I established my capital, because shortly after sea-travel became a possibility, I discovered that by moving one square over, I could have had two whales.

("Oh whale," he said resignedly.)

Jim W

[Scouse Gits]

Just a quick three ha'p'orth - Jim W have you noticed the 'special pattern' - you may not be able to see the whales yet, but by following the pattern you can guess that they might just be there and build your city accordingly....
Good civin'

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Scouse Git[1]

"CARTAGO DELENDA EST" - Cato the Censor