Resource Requirements for City Improvements

[rdomarat]

I'm currently playing a game as the French, and I've reached around the year 1700, and have absolutely no Iron in my territory. When I realized I couldn't build my railroads without Iron, a war with the Germans was needed to ensure my civilization's survival. The war didn't go very well at all. I easily took the first city (getting his only source of saltpeter), and set my sights on his only Iron producing city. My 10 cavalry eventually took the city, but it was close. I occupied the city with my wounded cavalry and had finally secured a source of Iron. The Germans then marched into my territory and took a few of my cities. Having exchanged cities and secured my source of Iron, I signed a peace treaty. I'd gotten his only source of Iron and Saltpeter, so I thought I'd just sit back, regroup and attack again in about 20 turns. There's no way the Germans could handle a long drawn out war without those two resources. Two turns later, the Iron producing German town reverted back to the Germans, despite me starving most of the German population and the addition of three French citizens to the city through workers. Oh well, such is life. I got one of my cities back because of culture too, so we were still even, although I'd lost my Iron.

Interesting story, but what's this got to do with the Subject title?

After signing the peace treaty with the Germans, I started building city improvements again, and having just gotten Industrialization, I starting building factories in almost every city. About two turns later, I lost my Iron city to culture. I then got confused (it's pretty easy these days since I haven't been getting much sleep) because when I went to another city that had just finished building a cathedral, Factory wasn't available as a choice. Thinking I may have already built it, I look through the list of current improvements, but it wasn't there. It wasn't until then that I realized you needed Iron to build factories. I had no Iron now, but the 15 cities that were currently building Factories weren't having any problems at all.

As long as you have the resource when you start to build an improvement, you can finish, even if you lose the resource while the improvement is being built.

I don't know if this is intended behaviour or not, but I thought it was worth mentioning. It's something to keep in the back of your mind if you're missing a resource and nobody will trade with you. Take it for a turn or two, start building what you need in your cities, and then offer a peace treaty, giving the city back (and getting something good in return), with the knowledge you'll probably lose it via culture shortly anyway.

Reg

[vmxa1]

Yes as long as you have the resource you can start building and if you lose the resource, it only prevents you from building additional items. This is proper as you could have mined enough to built the item. If you take a key city at any level above chief, you should rush in temple/cath/col to get culture going. Libs are also good. If the city is close to their capitol it needs help to stay in your camp. I did an experiment on warlord once with a size 8 city next to London. If I put in a temple and a cathedral it stayed. If I only put in the temple it reverted at size 10. I am not sure I like that as the city was captured by my culture, why should it revert? If their culture was so good, why could they not hold it in the first place? Small towns that are not close to the capitol are not a problem. Engalnd was at war the whole time with China, I was Japan and was at peace. I was in the middle of China and India/England all at war with China. I mention this as it means it was unlikely that England was building improvements during that time.