Cities

Cities are the centers of population, production and power. When founded or captured, a city is assigned to a Family. The first city founded by a Nation is its Capital and gains a yearly bonus of +2 Culture and  +2 Money.

Cities can only be founded on certain locations called City Sites. Originally those are controlled by either Tribes or Barbarians.

During war a City's health bar will be shown. Once a city's health reaches zero a Unit can be moved on it, at which point the city enters a state of Anarchy for a few turns. If a Unit is kept on the city tile until the Anarchy ends the city will be annexed by the army's owned.

Culture level
Each city has a culture level, which is increased each time the Culture bar fills. Culture level provides increasing bonuses to the city but also increasing costs per population.

Once a City reaches Developing Culture Level it will gain the ability to Hurry Production using a chosen resource, causing the item at the top of the production queue to be finished next turn. Each turn that an item is produced normally decreases the resources needed to rush it. However Hurry Production always produces 25 Discontent unless the  Monetary Reform law has been passed.

Improvements
Improvements can be used to grand various bonuses to a City. There are two types of improvements: rural and urban. If a Worker is selected the game will suggest the tile where each improvement is most effective.

Improvements without a Specialist will increase the City's Maintenance.

Rural improvements
Rural improvements can only be constructed on non-urban tiles. They require either certain terrain or a certain natural resource present on the tile.

Urban improvements
Most urban improvements come in three tiers. A higher tier improvement requires a lower tier one to be constructed before it can be built, as well as increasing the city's Culture Level by one for each tier. Urban improvements can be constructed on Urban,  Arid,  Lush or  Temperate tiles but only if one the following is true:
 * An urban tile.
 * A tile adjacent to two urban tiles. The tile will become urban once the improvement is completed.
 * A tile adjacent to one urban tile and one water tile. The tile will become urban once the improvement is completed.

Hamlets
Once the City reaches at least Developing Culture Level and the Nation has the Polis technology, Workers will be able to construct Hamlets the cost of 40  Stone and 1  Orders for 4 years. Only one Hamlet may be build per Culture Level. After 20 turns a Hamlet will grow into a Village, and after another 20 turns the Village it will grow into a Town. All of them improve the output of Odeon and Bath improvements.

Shrines
Shrines require the Divination technology, 40  Stone and 1  Orders for 4 years. They can be built anywhere except near another shrine. They provide resources like other improvements but their main purpose is spreading the Nation's Paganism Religion and enabling the Acolyte specialist. Each Shrine can only be built once unless the Polytheism law is passed.

Disciple improvements
Disciple improvements can only be constructed by Disciple units but they can be built anywhere. Despite having different appearance depending on Religion all improvements have the same yields and costs.

Specialists
Specialists are unlocked by certain Improvements that can be trained to boost the yield of the Improvement. All Specialists also produce a small amount of Science. A Specialist's production cost increases with each one built in a city.

Rural specialists
Rural specialists produce 1 Science. They can also provide Luxuries if the Improvement is built on a natural resource that can produce it.

Urban specialists
Urban specialists can be upgraded, improving their bonuses. Upgrading a specialist does not require Citizens.
 * Training an Apprentice specialist costs 40 YIELD FOOD.png Food and 40 YIELD CIVICS.png Civics and produces a bonus of YIELD SCIENCE.png 2 Science each year.
 * Upgrading to Master specialist costs 60 YIELD FOOD.png Food and 60 YIELD CIVICS.png Civics and produces a bonus of YIELD SCIENCE.png 3 Science each year.
 * Upgrading to Elder specialist costs 80 YIELD FOOD.png Food and 80 YIELD CIVICS.png Civics and produces a bonus of YIELD SCIENCE.png 4 Science each year.

Wonders of the World
Wonders of the World are powerful improvements that can only be constructed once. As soon as a Nation begins constructing a Wonder of the World other Nations cannot start it unless a hostile unit enters the tile of an unfinished Wonder of the World and destroys it. Not all Wonders of the World are available each game. They are chosen randomly at the start of each game. Most Wonders of the World require the City to reach a certain Culture Level before they can be constructed. Each Wonder of the World provides 2 Victory Points and cannot be replaced by other improvements.

Projects
Projects are internal City enhancements that on completion grant an instant bonus and a permanent bonus. Each Project can only be constructed in Cities with the same tier of Culture Level.

Defenses
Cities can also construct 3 permanent projects that give defenses to the city. Each one requires the previous project to be constructed but none of them have any Culture Level requirements.