no oil

latka · October 2, 2003, 23:53

Has anyone played a computer generated game, where there was absolutely no oil resources?

I am currently playing a game on Diety level and I just can not find any oil at all. Which is probably a good thing, because I am behind in techs and my greatest opponent can not build any better units than I already have becuse there is no oil.

Vince278 · October 2, 2003, 23:57

I didn't think that could happen in an unedited game. Can you see the whole map?

latka · October 3, 2003, 00:09

Yes I can. I even keep trading Word & Territory Maps with my opponents, just to make sure that I don't miss anything.

Solomwi · October 3, 2003, 00:19

I've played a few games where I was shut out of a resource, and while searching the map didn't see any of it, but always found some on subsequent, more thorough searches. I've even found coal in my own territory several turns after I finished wiping out Carthage in a war I started because one of their border cities had coal. Oops

.

Gramphos · October 3, 2003, 00:28

It is possible for the map generator to produce sush gaems. Especially on smaller maps.

Jaybe · October 3, 2003, 00:45

Small, Smaller and Smallest (TINY) size maps ...
Not enough desert, tundra, etc. for oil.
Maybe not enough forest, jungle, etc. for other things (like rubber!).

Small maps very bad. I go for the BIG ONES!!!

I like the long, drawn-out EPIC games.

Gramphos · October 3, 2003, 00:52

The chance for a resource being missing increases by the longer down in the resource list it appears. And the lesser of the terrains for where it may appear that exists. So practically later resources will be missing more often, and luxuries will be missing more often than strategic resources.

Dr. A. Cula · October 3, 2003, 03:09

Yes, the RNG can play some nasty tricks on you. I once had a game where the closest oil source was in a tundra square surrounded by 6 to 12 squares of mountains and the damned Iroquois settler got there 2 turns before my worker, prompting me to deflect some Sipahis from the siege of their capitol. I later compensated by annexing Japan. They were still using samurais and they were sitting on 2 oil fields. In another game, my 30 Roman knights started to invade China. During their turn, 30 Chinese swordsmen retaliated. When it was turn again, there only 30 Chinese swordsmen on the map. As if that wasn't enough, my only source of iron disappeared and reappeared somewhere near Beijing. I happened to check the area around Beijing the turn before that and there was no iron there, but it appeared after mine vanished.
But the RNG can also work in our favour: in another game, there was this large remote island, that had a few squares of grassland/tundra/hills and the rest was mountains. I had already settled all the available land there and at the beginning of the industrial era, over a few turns, most of the world's iron, including what was elsewhere in my territory, respawned in the mountains of that island. After I took the Greek and Roman iron mines, America held the world monopoly on iron.

Nym · October 3, 2003, 08:19

Quote:

Originally posted by Jaybe
Small, Smaller and Smallest (TINY) size maps ...
Not enough desert, tundra, etc. for oil.
Maybe not enough forest, jungle, etc. for other things (like rubber!).

Small maps very bad. I go for the BIG ONES!!!

I like the long, drawn-out EPIC games.

We can have funny things on huge maps too. For example, in my current game oil resources are not very well dispatched: I occupy maybe 20% of the map and control all oil resources!

Verto · October 3, 2003, 08:46

Quote:

Originally posted by Nym

We can have funny things on huge maps too. For example, in my current game oil resources are not very well dispatched: I occupy maybe 20% of the map and control all oil resources!

I've had a similar situation where I had 95% of uranium.

Gramphos · October 3, 2003, 09:58

Yes, the map generator is not the best on making even maps, and maps with all resources on them...

Paddy · October 3, 2003, 11:31

How does that song go...\

...you got to dig a little deeper....

good luck in your search for that Texas Tea

TheArsenal · October 3, 2003, 11:39

Maybe an AI has one under a city. When trading maps next time, try clicking onto each AI’s resource list. If they’re hooked up to oil, it will be listed.

PeaSoup · October 3, 2003, 13:26

don't forget that you can press CTRL-M (or CTRL-SHIFT-M if you are not patched) to clear the map (and it gets brightens the map) which makes it easier to look for resources

TheArsenal · October 3, 2003, 13:46

Quote:

don't forget that you can press CTRL-M (or CTRL-SHIFT-M if you are not patched) to clear the map (and it gets brightens the map) which makes it easier to look for resources

Well I'll be ...

I play this game for months straight, yet still learn something simple and useful on this site every day.

Jaybe · October 3, 2003, 14:10

Quote:

I play this game for months straight, yet still learn something simple and useful on this site every day.

After two years of play, yesterday I learned that you can click on city specialists in the F1 to switch their specialty. (You have to offset the click to where the label shows up).

Wittlich · October 3, 2003, 15:02

Quote:

Originally posted by Jaybe

Quote:

I play this game for months straight, yet still learn something simple and useful on this site every day.

After two years of play, yesterday I learned that you can click on city specialists in the F1 to switch their specialty. (You have to offset the click to where the label shows up).

And here I was constantly opening the individual city screens to change around the specialists!

Thanks for the shortcut Jaybe, it will definately make my empire management easier.

vmxa1 · October 3, 2003, 17:39

Wittlich just note the warning he gave about the offset. It can be a bit annoying to do it at first.

Jaybe · October 3, 2003, 17:51

Quote:

Originally posted by vmxa1
Wittlich just note the warning he gave about the offset. It can be a bit annoying to do it at first.

No bleepin' bleep!!
I think I had read of it months ago, but when I tried it, it didn't work and I forgot it. If you don't see the label (Entertainer, etc.) pop up, it ain't gonna work!

Hint to everyone: the offset is to the left of the figure, between an eighth and a quarter inch (3 to 5 mm).

Ecthy · October 4, 2003, 05:33

I've played games with no uranium as well as no iron before. Those were on early versions though...

Vince278 · October 5, 2003, 02:52

Quote:

Originally posted by Nym
We can have funny things on huge maps too. For example, in my current game oil resources are not very well dispatched: I occupy maybe 20% of the map and control all oil resources!

I also prefer the huge epic games. I've noticed on huge maps that the AI loves to group like resources together more often than not.

Solomwi · October 5, 2003, 21:12

Quote:

We can have funny things on huge maps too. For example, in my current game oil resources are not very well dispatched: I occupy maybe 20% of the map and control all oil resources!

This is one of my favorite aspects of huge maps: the amount and distribution of resources, and potential for OPEC-esque control of them.

asleepathewheel · October 5, 2003, 22:25

Quote:

Originally posted by Solomwi

This is one of my favorite aspects of huge maps: the amount and distribution of resources, and potential for OPEC-esque control of them.

Yes, in my current game I control 10 oils, which leaves several remaining civs (one that I am currently killing) without

Kuciwalker · October 5, 2003, 23:31

I've had many small map games missing oil.

Nym · October 6, 2003, 01:40

Quote:

Originally posted by Solomwi

This is one of my favorite aspects of huge maps: the amount and distribution of resources, and potential for OPEC-esque control of them.

Yes! In the same way I control wine, silk, furs (except one) and gems (only two for the whole map).

Danarchy · October 6, 2003, 01:47

I think it could depend on environment as well. Say for instance, you were playing on a warm, wet world, then there is a good chance there would be less deserts because of the wetness, and less tundra because of the warmness. And with less deserts and tundra, then there would be a lower chance for oil.

Nym · October 6, 2003, 03:43

Quote:

Originally posted by Danarchy
I think it could depend on environment as well. Say for instance, you were playing on a warm, wet world, then there is a good chance there would be less deserts because of the wetness, and less tundra because of the warmness. And with less deserts and tundra, then there would be a lower chance for oil.

Yes, that is the case in my game. I have conquered all the desert lands (where I started) and there is no petrol in toundra for now.

latka · October 7, 2003, 06:06

Danarchy quessed it. I am playing on a warm wet world. No one else has oil, but the good news is, a resource recently was discovered. Quess what it was?

The best part is that it popped up in one of the nine only tundra squares in the game, which I own (standard size map) and have alredy put roads on.

I should win this game soon. I now have developed a large number of bombers and battleships, so with my artillery I am pounding my opponents into the ground. I have just started building tanks. My goal is destroy all of their infrastucture first, so that their city sizes shrink and they can no longer afford a military. then take their cities.

It is just a little unfair though, because one of my opponents is much more technologically advanced than I am. If they had oil by the time they learned combustion, I would be playing for a space victory. Good for me.

Thanks for all the replys, especially the Cntl-M reminder. I remember reading that a long time ago, but forgot about it.