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Engineers are an Industrial-era worker unit in Civilization II, available with the Explosives advance. They succeed Settlers, performing all tasks at double speed, and have unique access to the Transform command.

Overview[]

Engineers can perform all standard worker functions at twice the efficiency of Settlers. They are also able to transform terrain.

A city producing a worker unit loses 1 citizen upon completion; if this would disband the city, completion is postponed and Shield (Civ2) Shields will stockpile until the city grows.

Upkeep[]

Workers incur a Food (Civ2) Food upkeep in addition to any other support costs, the exact amount depending on the player's government: Anarchy Anarchy, Despotism Despotism and Monarchy Monarchy require 1 Food (Civ2), while Republic Republic, Communism Communism, Fundamentalism Fundamentalism and Democracy Democracy require 2Food (Civ2). A city facing famine will disband workers before sacrificing population.

Strategy[]

Engineers have the same production and upkeep cost as Settlers, while being faster and more efficient workers with unique access to the Transform order. It is therefore optimal to replace supported settlers with engineers once they become available. One possible exception is settlers with no home city, as such units do not require food upkeep. If the player controls Leonardo's Workshop, these settlers can upgrade to engineers, providing the civilization with an enhanced "free" labor force.

All worker units cost twice the Gold (currency) (Civ2) Gold to bribe. This is generally inefficient compared to the player building their own; however, engineers bribed closer to rival cities than the player's will not have a home city, and therefore incur no Food upkeep.

While worker units cannot fortify in the field,[note 1] they can be assigned the Fortify order when selected in the city screen, offering a functional, if precarious, emergency garrison.

Civilopedia entry[]

As technology progressed through the centuries, people began to specialize in a single skill or field of knowledge. The early pioneers who acted in the multiple roles of farmers, builders, and just about any other occupation required by their situation, were replaced by engineers specifically trained in a single discipline. Specialized training provided engineers the time and the skill necessary to accomplish feats of construction and environmental manipulation never before experienced in history.

Modding[]

Engineers are defined in the second line of the @UNITS section of Rules.txt. Food upkeep is defined in the @COSMIC section at lines 6 and 7 for "early" and "late" governments, respectively.

In original versions of Civilization II through to MGE, only the unit in the Engineers slot benefits from double work speed. In Test of Time, any unit can be flagged as an engineer in the @UNITS_ADVANCED section of Rules.txt. exclamation mark Only the unit in the Engineers slot can perform the Transform command; this becomes available once the player possesses the engineer's prerequisite advance, and is not disabled even if the unit is later rendered obsolete.

The popup advising of the Transform order is defined at @NEWXFORM in Game.txt. It is issued once the unit in the Engineers slot becomes available, even if the unit itself does not have a worker role.

Footnotes[]

  1. Through normal orders; Engineers can be fortified via the Cheat Menu.

See also[]

  • Engineers (Freeciv)
Civilization II Units
Ground

Alpine TroopsArchersArmorArtilleryCannonCaravanCatapultCavalryChariotCrusadersDiplomatDragoonsElephantEngineersExplorerFanaticsFreightHorsemenHowitzerKnightsLegionMarinesMech. Inf.MusketeersParatroopersPartisansPhalanxPikemenRiflemenSettlersSpyWarriors

Sea

AEGIS CruiserBattleshipCaravelCarrierCruiserDestroyerFrigateGalleonIroncladSubmarineTransportTrireme

Air

BomberCruise Msl.FighterHelicopterNuclear Msl.Stlth Bmbr.Stlth Ftr.

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