# "Civilization" ideas that work and don't **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [January 23, 2010, 11:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/civilization-ideas-that-work-and-dont/526101 "2010-01-23T11:34:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2010, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/civilization-ideas-that-work-and-dont/526101/21 "2010-01-24T15:20:28Z")
You can do that ANYWAY. All that means is that your city is having “starvation” and its food supply shrinks. So what difference does it make? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![sohvan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/96bed5/32.png) [@sohvan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sohvan)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2010, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/civilization-ideas-that-work-and-dont/526101/22 "2010-01-24T15:59:38Z")
> [@DSYoungEsq](#): > > You can do that ANYWAY. All that means is that your city is having “starvation” and its food supply shrinks. So what difference does it make? 😉 It means that you wasted food that could have been going to commerce or production while the city was growing to size 7. It also means that you’ll be a 0 surplus food population 5 city after having starved your city out, instead of being just one food short of another population point. This probably leads to you needing many turns to grow to size 6 when you get that additional luxury instead of just one turn. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_C](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Captain\_C](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_C)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2010, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/civilization-ideas-that-work-and-dont/526101/23 "2010-01-26T22:03:17Z")
I assume this is the thread for this: Can someone explain how trade routes work? For example, my current capital city has 2 trade routes. Why do I have 2? Why not 3, or 1, or 5? What determines this? What determines how much money they make? What determines what those 2 trade routes will be? ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2010, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/civilization-ideas-that-work-and-dont/526101/24 "2010-01-26T23:11:45Z")
> [@Captain\_C](#): > > I assume this is the thread for this: > > Can someone explain how trade routes work? For example, my current capital city has 2 trade routes. Why do I have 2? Why not 3, or 1, or 5? What determines this? What determines how much money they make? What determines what those 2 trade routes will be? Originally posted by rjmatsleepers (on Apolyton) > [@](#): > > Trade routes are established between cities automatically and provide you with additional commerce. You can only have one trade route to each foreign city, but you may have more than one route from one of your own cities. Trade routes are lost if there is no city available to trade with. Trade routes between your own cities need connection to the trade network. Trade routes to foreign cities require an open borders agreement in addition to connection to the trade network. > > [**NdKobal** : trade network = road+rail+river+sea network, same as distribution of map resources (e.g. Bronze) across your empire.] > > **The number of trade routes** > Each city begins with a maximum of one route. The maximum number of trade routes per city can be increased by discovering new technologies, completing wonders or buildings or adopting civics. > Discovering Currency increases the number of trade routes in all your cities by 1. > Discovering Corporation increases the number of trade routes in all your cities by 1. > Building a castle increases the number of trade routes in that city by 1. > Building an Airport increases the number of trade routes in that city by 1. > Building a Cothon (Carthegenian special building) increases the number of trade routes in that city by 1. > Adopting Free Markets increases the number of trade routes in all your cities by 1. > Passing the United Nations single currency resolution increases the number of trade routes in all cities in the world by 1. > Building the Great Lighthouse increases the number of trade routes by 2, but only in your coastal cities. > > **The size of trade routes** > The size of a trade route depends on three factors. > Whether the route is from a foreign city. > The size of your destination city. > The size and location of the source city. > > The route producing the greatest commerce will be from a high population foreign city located a long way away. If your destination city has a harbour (or in the case of Carthage, a Cothon) , the size of the route will be increased by 50%, but this is rounded down, so a route of size 1 remains size 1. Building the Temple of Artemis increases the value of trade routes in that city by 100%. If you are using the civic Mercantilism, you will only have trade routes to your own cities. Similarly you cannot have trade routes to an AI that is using Mercantilism. > \*\* > Allocation of routes\*\* > All available foreign routes are listed by size. All destination cities are listed by size (modified by possesion of a harbour) and date of foundation. Routes are allocated in turn from the first list to the second. If there are no available foreign routes, allocation is completed using domestic routes. This means that when you gain additional trade routes, the distribution of these routes will change. Similarly the distribution of routes will change if you build a harbour. ---
**Author:** ![Cicero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cicero/32/3594_2.png) [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2010, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/civilization-ideas-that-work-and-dont/526101/25 "2010-01-27T00:30:23Z")
I’m still darned if I can accurately work out the food concept. I know each city produces a finite amount and each population points need two food amounts per turn- the rest being accumulated and hence the city grows. However, when you harness a new food point- say pigs- - it is supposed to bring an extra food point to the civilization- one source being sufficient for the whole economy. However, I cannot fathom how this works. I do understand about the health aspect so maybe this is where I am getting confused. ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2010, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/civilization-ideas-that-work-and-dont/526101/26 "2010-01-27T01:00:02Z")
> [@Cicero](#): > > I’m still darned if I can accurately work out the food concept. I know each city produces a finite amount and each population points need two food amounts per turn- the rest being accumulated and hence the city grows. > > However, when you harness a new food point- say pigs- - it is supposed to bring an extra food point to the civilization- one source being sufficient for the whole economy. > > However, I cannot fathom how this works. I do understand about the health aspect so maybe this is where I am getting confused. AFAIK, food resources only have a global public health effect (= +1 max city size before the green fumes of doom, which… don’t do much, akshully.). Luxury resources have a global +happiness effect (=+1 max city size before you start getting unproductive, angry citizen) and industrial resources are either needed before you can even think of producing some stuff (e.g. Bronze/Iron for Axemen) or speed up the construction of some other stuff (e.g. Stone for Stonehenge) A newly “penned pigs” tile does produce more food than an “unpenned pigs” one, but only locally (i.e. instead of a Pig Grassland producing 3 Food, it’ll produce 5 Food once the pen is built), maybe that’s what you’re talking about ? ---
**Author:** ![Cicero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cicero/32/3594_2.png) [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2010, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/civilization-ideas-that-work-and-dont/526101/27 "2010-01-27T01:09:03Z")
Sort of what I am talking about. If the AI cancels my access to pigs, some cities go red and start starving. I think however that my be due to the “green fumes of doom” (consider that stolen) now outnumbering the health circles and food being lost. Damn it all- I now have to go and have a game. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/civilization-ideas-that-work-and-dont/526101.md?page=1)