Civilization III
FAQ Information
Version History
Introduction
Gameface
Civilization for Beginners
What's New in Civ3?
Starting Off
Managing Your Nation
Managing Surrounding Terrain
Communicating With Civs
Culture
Waging War & Battle
Routes To Victory
Frequently Asked Questions
Strategies
Civilizations
Units
City Improvements
Technological Advances
Wonders of the World
Governments
Credits
Copyright Information
More War & Battle Tips
  
  
The surrounding terrain in your empire is a resource waiting to be used. There are various types of terrain, often depending on how far you are from the equator. On or around the equator, you should generally come across desert. Desert is dry and barren, and offers little in the line of production, commerce or food. A little north or south of that, you will come across plains, which are much more profitable in all three areas.

Close to that, you will find grasslands, flood plains, plains, jungles and perhaps forests. Grasslands produce a lot of food and shields, especially when irrigated. Flood plains produce about the same as grasslands. Be wary, however, that flood plains contract disease -- you can loose soldiers, workers and even civilians through having them work on flood plains. Plains are average in terms of food production. Jungles also contract disease to your people, so don't send them to work in jungles very often. When cleared, jungles turn into flood plains. Forests produce less food than a cleared tile would, but produce more shields. When cut down, forests will send about ten shields into the nearest friendly city and will then turn into grasslands. The best food-producing tile in the game is flood plain with wheat. Get!

Note that there are two types of grasslands - "Bonus" and regular. The regular kind produces two food pieces, while the bonus kind produce an extra sheild. In general, you should irrigate the regular types and mine the bonus ones.

You will find tundra towards the north. Often, there is forest and hilly terrain nearby. Tundra gives little in the line of food or production, but it can be mined. It can not, however, be irrigated. Water, as you might expect, lies off the coasts. However, there are three types of water: coast, sea and ocean. Sea is close to land, ocean is deep water far from land and coast is water which has a border with land. No shields are produced in water. Only food and commerce.

I'd also like to point out that forests, hills and jungles are tougher to move through than other, more open terrain.

Resources are littered throughout the land. They assist you in building units, city improvements and wonders. They can even be used as a valuable trading source. There are the following resources, though in order for some to be seen on the map, certain advances have to be discovered:
Resource Advance Food Shield Commerce
Aluminium Rocketry 0 2 0
Coal Steam Power 0 2 1
Horses The Wheel 0 0 1
Iron Iron Working 0 1 0
Oil Refining 0 1 2
Rubber Replaceable Parts 0 0 2
Uranium Fission 0 2 3
Saltpeter Gunpowder 0 0 1
 
Some resources, such as iron, can only be found in mountains and hills. Also keep in mind that resources can become depleted, void of all of that resource. Sometimes, resources can be discovered nearby too.

Luxuries are also scattered throughout the land. These will take the form above the land. These will also, like resources, increase the amount of shields/resources/commerce produced in that certain square. These are the following resources:
Luxury Food Shield Commerce
Dyes 0 0 1
Furs 0 1 1
Gems 0 0 4
Incense 0 0 1
Ivory 0 0 2
Silks 0 0 3
Spices 0 0 2
Wine 1 0 1
 
There are, along with resources and luxuries, bonus luxuries. Unlike the previous two, however, you cannot trade bonus luxuries.
Luxury Food Shield Commerce
Cattle 0 0 4
Fish 2 0 0
Game 2 0 1
Gold 2 1 0
Whales 1 1 2
Wheat 1 0 0
 
I would recommend you to either mine or irrigate the land tile on which the resource is. This will bring in the maximum of money, food and production. Also, you can't trade an item or actually call it 'yours' until it has been mined and a road runs to it. If you want to use a resource/luxury which is outside your boundaries, you can have a worker build a colony on it, and then build a road to it. However, if a nation's boundary swells so that the resource is covered, you will lose it and a fortress will be left in its place.

Remember, also, that pollution can be a huge problem in the latter stages of the game. That is the downside to improving and using terrain. Cities with high amounts of production shields will generate pollution, as well as cities which have large populations. To lessen pollution, build hydro and solar power plans in place of coal and nuclear plants. Build recycling plants and mass transit too. The Hoover Dam, also, buts a Hydro Dam in every friendly city on the continent.

-- After workers have made every available improvement to a continent, they tend to hibernate in cities. Occasionally check military advisor screen, which will show all units, including workers. If you have a large number of dormant workers, you can use them up by building outposts or radar, or ship them off to another continent to jump-start development there.
    
Last Update: March 23, 2008 Contributors: TimmyTheRabidTurtle