Coal (Civ2)

Coal is a commodity and resource type in Civilization II.

Civilopedia

More than 300 million years ago, plant life growing in swamps began to decompose. Layers of sand and mud covered the decomposing plants, and the decaying plants were compressed by the combined weight of water and sediment. Over time, the plant matter hardened and became coal. Coal deposits are mined all over the world, and coal was one of the major fuel sources in the world through the 1970's. In many countries, concern over the environmental effects of the burning of coal has led to a decline in its use. The smoke produced by burning coal has a high acid content, and creates an environmental condition known as "acid rain", which is harmful to plant and animal life. Despite the environmental concerns, some of the largest coal mines in the U.S. each still produce more than 450,000 metric tons annually, making coal mining a very profitable industry.

Commodity

Main article: Commodity (Civ2)

As a commodity, coal appears in cities with hills, with plains, forests, swamps, and jungles also increasing supply to a lesser extent. Coal is more abundant in large cities; on continents with odd numbers other than #1; and for civilizations that have not yet developed 20 technologies.

The value of a coal caravan or freight is multiplied by 2½ times if it is in demand. Demand increases with city size (no city under size 5 will demand coal), technological advancement, and distance from the map's equator. Demand for coal is doubled with the development of industrialization and electricity.

Coal cannot appear as a supplied or demanded wildcard until a civilization has developed 32 technologies, causing an in-game mismatch between when it is most available and when it is most used. It's not worth holding coal caravans in reserve for the industrial age and many are probably best utilized for building wonders.

Resource

Main article: Resource (Civ2)

Coal deposits, shown as black lump icons in Hills terrain, represent rich locations of coal or metal ores. These areas produce greatly increased shields, especially when mined. —Manual

Coal is a fish-class resource that appears in hills, increasing their shield production by four. The visible coal resource does not make supplies of the commodity coal more likely, except insofar as it counts as four hill tiles rather than one.