Why can't I build railroads sometimes?

Dimension · February 3, 2002, 20:44

I've got steam power. I've got 100 captured workers. My cities are all connected with railroads.

Now I'm building up rails behind my army as it advances, and I'm wondering why it's not letting me build railroads in some areas. Is there a limit to how far outside your territory you can build railroads? It doesn't make sense, as there are a lot of places I can build railroads outside of my territory, but just a few I can't.

Anybody know what keeps you from being able to build railroads on top of squares with roads in certain areas?

Capt Dizle · February 3, 2002, 20:48

Poor soil conditions. Press ctrl-ss to reveal the Civ3 substrate map. The depth of this game is amazing, aint it.

Dimension · February 3, 2002, 20:52

Thanks. You're hilarious.

Capt Dizle · February 3, 2002, 20:56

Sorry. Check and see if the roads you are trying to lay track on are connected to the iron resource.

Dimension · February 4, 2002, 01:12

Sorry for being pissy...

Anyway, here's a screenshot. You can see that I have iron right next to Atzcapotzalco, and I have a another source of iron just off the screen next to St. Louis. I actually have five sources of iron in my empire. I didn't have any trouble connecting all my cities with railroads, but it just won't let me build them in this area.

zergling · February 4, 2002, 01:57

It's a bug. I had it too in my last game.. Fortunately I had saved game only few turns earlier. I just reload it and the problem is gone.. I suspect it because of those lil button menu in the bottom screen can't hold more than 10 buttons..

Dida · February 4, 2002, 02:27

The most ridiculous thing happened in my civ game where the Indians got 5 coals, and the rest of the world got none.

Dimension · February 4, 2002, 04:36

OK, it's just because the game can't have more than 10 buttons. That's a pretty annoying bug.

Apparently this is only something that occurs on resource squares on flat land where you can build a colony, irrigate, plant forest, or mine. The two squares I kept trying were grassland dye luxuries with irrigation. The only way to get around it is by building a fortress. After that, the fortress button goes away and it has room for the Railroad button.

The surprising part is that when it can't fit the button, Shift-R doesn't work, either.

Ironikinit · February 4, 2002, 05:27

What about ctrl shift r and click on next tile?

Dimension · February 4, 2002, 12:17

Actually, it's not that it can't have more than 10 buttons. I tried pillaging everything on the square, and it had 12 buttons. Now I'm having trouble duplicating the bug.

Akka · February 4, 2002, 14:48

Just in case...
You need iron AND coal to build railroad.
If you have both and both are linked to the square you want to build a railraod, then I can't help you :/

Ogie Oglethorpe · February 4, 2002, 16:25

Dim,

This doesn't appear to the case in your screen shot, but I found that my supply lines of iron and coal were cut off if the AI had cultural boundaries preventing the square from strategic supply. In one game I crossed an isthmus and started capturing Russian cities with my aim to capture a strategic coal supply (of which I had none at the time. Once I had secured my coal, I figured I would RR like a madman in order to rush in reinforcments.

To my surprise I couldn't build RR's. It seems the AI's culture border occupied the one and only square on the isthmus. What's more his culture cut off any naval routes as well, so the cities with Harbor had no viable route to get the much needed iron on the one half of my empire and coal on the other. A little bombarment and reductionof the one high culture city allowed a recession of the culture boundary and a viable supply route was then established. Voila!! Rails everywhere.

Again I don't know if this was the case for you

Og

Dimension · February 4, 2002, 16:37

Ogie:

What, are all the SMAX ppl coming to the Civ3 forum now?

I've got iron & coal, and I don't think my situation had anything to do with culture. The same type of thing happened again. One worker couldn't build a railroad right next to another one in open territory, but after I built a Fortress I could build a railroad. This time, though, I didn't have to complete the fortress before it let me build the RR.

Worthingtons · February 4, 2002, 17:26

Quote:

The most ridiculous thing happened in my civ game where the Indians got 5 coals, and the rest of the world got none.

I actually think the idea of that happening is quite good!, In the Real world countries can control the worlds supply of a given resource...

Ogie Oglethorpe · February 4, 2002, 17:39

Dim,

Sorry 'bout that. It didn't look like you were in enemy territory but you never know.

As for us died in the wool SMAC(x) er's welll.... you know how it is. You're here in the vain hope that you'll see a revitalized game patch from Firaxis as the shot of a SMAC2 is less than the shot of decent Civ3 patch (also a long shot I might add).

OTOH I'm an eternal optimist. No I'm a pessimist.

Schizophrenically yours

,

Og

Dimension · February 4, 2002, 17:45

Heh... I don't see what all the complaining is about. I love Civ3. It's really nice that they removed and simplified certain elements along with adding things, so Civ3 isn't just a more complex version of Civ2.

I do miss my spy foils, but that made things a little too easy I suppose...

Dimension · February 4, 2002, 18:24

I think it might actually have something to do with culture and territory. All of the times I've been unable to build railroads, it's been outside my own territory. I think it may be that you aren't allowed to build railroads too close to another civ's territory.

This doesn't explain why two different times I WAS able to build a railroad once I built a fortress (on the same turn, so there was no buildup of culture that would cause the territory to be closer to my empire while I built the fortress).

Currently, there is an area where I can't build railroads near the Romans. You can see that I have used groups of workers to backfill a railroad to get my Cavalry home to heal quickly (and the ubiquitous army of Knights that just won't die). I have extended the railroad several squares this turn, but it won't let me build any farther to the north or east.

Wernazuma III · February 4, 2002, 18:24

It's a bug, don't know, it sometimes occurs to me. I can build a railroad and on the very next tile it won't work. It generally does work after saving, quiting and loading though, at last after a few turns it's OK again...

Dimension · February 4, 2002, 18:29

Of course, this also doesn't explain why last turn I was able to extend a railroad all the way up to the edge of Iroquois territory. I razed an Iroquois city in the square just above the cow, and build a railroad all the way to the edge of their territory then made peace.