Settling cities in a hexagon with resource.

[akalon]

Hi!

I have some question about settling cities:

If I build a city in a hexagon with horses for example: Can I obtain the horse resource or I lose it?

If I build a city in a hexagon of Desert ¿what resources I receive from the hexagon under the city?

Thanks a sorry for my english!

[Heksesang]

If you build a city upon a resource, you will lose it. At least I always build my cities next to the resources to be sure not to lose it.

[OniaPL]

My city was built on aluminium and i gained it instantly when i discovered it.

[kumo]

I can confirm you acquire whichever resource your city is on top of the moment you have the required technology. So the city acts as a free camp/mine/etc.

[akalon]

Thanks!
It's important to know it.

[Veshta]

I can confirm you acquire whichever resource your city is on top of the moment you have the required technology. So the city acts as a free camp/mine/etc.

I can confirm that your confirmation is not accurate. I settled capital on marble and immediately got marble .. two techs before quarries are available.

The only resource I would hesitate settling on is food, nothing else adds much when worked/improved, gold/silver+mint being only exception I think.

[jasta85]

wow, thanks for this info, I never tried putting my city on a resource (was worried it would be like a fort or citadel and lock out access). This will definitely help in my next game.

[starrywisdom]

If you build a city upon a resource, you will lose it. At least I always build my cities next to the resources to be sure not to lose it.

Incorrect. If your city is ontop of a resource, you gain that resource - but you do not get the benefit of any structures a worker would normally build on that tile.

[MadDjinn]

yeah, so don't worry about losing a strategic resource due to city placement. You get the access to the resource. But it won't be improved, which means don't drop the city on luxury or bonus resources.

[feeboo]

I find it hilarious that I come to this forum just to find this out and it's the top post here.

So what are the pros/cons to settling on a resource vs settling beside a resource?

[WildAce]

From what I remember from previous versions of Civiliation, if you settle on a resource you gain that resource BUT you don't gain all the extra food/production/trade from that resource. IE, settling on gold or gems would be a very bad idea because although you would gain the luxury item, you would lose the advantage of building a mine on it and getting the 6 or 7 trade from it (which especially at the start of the game is huge).

[Xmas]

Here's a table of the added yields you get from resources:

Resource    Bonus    Improvement

Bananas     F        FF-P*   (Plantation)
Deer        F        F       (Camp)
Sheep       F        F       (Pasture)
Cattle      F        P       (Pasture)
Wheat       F        F/FF    (Farm)
Fish        FF       GG      (Boats)

Horses      P        P       (Pasture)
Oil         P        P       (Well)
Iron        P        P       (Mine)
Aluminum    P        PP      (Mine)
Coal        P        PP      (Mine)
Uranium     P        PP      (Mine)

Whales      FG       G       (Boats)
Pearls      GG       G       (Boats)
Ivory       GG       G       (Camp)
Furs        GG       G       (Camp)
Cotton      GG       G       (Plantation)
Dyes        GG       G       (Plantation)
Incense     GG       G       (Plantation)
Silk        GG       G       (Plantation)
Spices      GG       G       (Plantation)
Wine        GG       G       (Plantation)
Sugar       GG       FG      (Plantation)
Marble      GG       PG      (Quarry)
Gold        GG       PG      (Mine)
Silver      GG       PG      (Mine)
Gems        GGG      PG      (Mine)

* Bananas are treated specially: you get Plains when you cut down the Jungle to build a Plantation, but once the Plantation exists it reverts back to being like Jungle, so Bananas + Plantation is 3 food, 0 production.


As a city always gets a minimum of 2 food, 2 production, 1 gold it doesn't make much sense to settle on a resource tile which gives you less than any of these, unless you need the resource really quickly.

However if you have an abundance of good tiles, and a tile with a resource is either in a great spot for a city, or otherwise so poor you wouldn't work it anyway, building a city there might be a good idea. An example for the latter would be Cotton on a desert tile. If you settle there you get an extra gold in your city tile, which may serve you better than a hex that gives you three gold with plantation but nothing else.