Efficiency of workshops is guaranteed by short transports. A butcher should always be placed next to the cattle farms. Display your production chains around a warehouse, - the
screenshot "The Ideal City" shows you how.
Workshops take the raw material directly from the producer. Farms supplying goods for processing (sheep, grain etc.) may be placed far away from a warehouse and don't even need a
street connection as long as they aren't overproducing. Place processing workshops between producers and warehouse.
Production chains don't need to be connected to others: warehouse work like teleport stations, - what is stocked at one end of the island is available immediately at the other end, too.
Workers then simply take their material from the stock.
My tools are all gone!
Tools are one the most important goods in Anno 1503, and very short in the beginning. You need to be on settlers level to produce them yourself. Erect an ore mine as soon as possible,
followed by a smelter and a tool smith. Until that moment you'll have to buy tools from the free traders. Increase the price significantly to get the desired amount.
Your people are using tools to upgrade their houses. Stop supplying building materials from the warehouse if you need them for own projects. The settlement won't develop further then.
How do I reach the next level?
If all needs of goods and infrastructure are sufficiently satisfied in a house it will climb to the next level. For this there must be enough building material (tools, wood, bricks). The
development chain is finished with merchants; aristocrat houses must be built by yourself.
Anno 1503 distinguishes basic needs (demands to be fulfilled to keep the actual level) and upgrade conditions. If a basic need isn't satisfied the house falls back to the former level or will
even (with pioneers and aristocrats) crash completely.
What are the advantages of the levels?
New buildings are enabled with a certain number of inhabitants. For example, you build the university only when 400 citizens are living in the city.
Cathedral
Upgraded houses give room to more people:
Building Maximum inhabitants Pioneer house 8
Settler house 15 Citizen house 28 Merchant house 42 Aristocrat house 30
With the second level (settlers) all warehouses of an island obtain a second transport wagon and can get more goods from more workshops around.
With the third level (citizen) wooden houses become stone houses, which will decrease the danger of fires. But with more people in a limited space the danger of plagues will increase.
Here is the link to the table for the needs of the inhabitants to upgrade their social status.
Economy tips
How does the economy work?
Each house is represented by an inhabitant. This one satisfies his needs one after another, going to church, visiting the tavern, shopping at the market stands. This decreases the
provisions and gives you money, - the more valuable a good, the more income.
The products are consumed slowly in the house. If there's no further supply due to empty stocks or stands too far away, the inhabitants become unhappy and downgrade a level. But if all
needs are satisfied the house will upgrade to the next level.
My city is losing money!
Money is coming in only by selling goods. Main buyer is your own population supplied by the market stands. The stands should be placed next to the warehouses to have short supply
distances. Build only new markets if there are queues. Your profit doesn't depend on the number of stands but on that one of the inhabitants.
If the balance is becoming negative, expansion on a low level may help. Build quickly some blocks of houses around a center of warehouse, tavern and chapel. As long as they are supplied
with goods they will immediately change into settler houses. Such a suburb is easily satisfied and provides a quick profit of some hundreds of gold.
Beware of overproduction! Full stocks may give a certain security but no money, - this comes in only by sales. Instead of this the operating costs will use up your capital. Small stocks are
reasonable against shortages, but the principle is to adapt the production to the needs.
How can I save money?
Dare closing productions temporarily! The workshops will have only a fraction of the usual operating costs. Turn off farms and workshops if the stocks are well filled with the
corresponding products or if these aren't needed at the moment. That applies mainly to the defense industry and suppliers like the ore smelter, the roper and the charcoal burner.
Close production chains temporarily when there's no demand for them.
Soldiers and ships have maintenance costs. In case of strong austerity retire unnecessary units. Surplus ships are auctioned off or in case of urgency simply sunk. Even the scout has
permanent costs, - one piece of gold per time unit.
Is trading worth while?
Theoretically you can make also profit by selling to the free traders passing by, though in reality you will always be left with standard products like alcohol or leather even if you ask for
lowest prices. Only rare raw materials and luxury goods are very much in demand, - but these have so high production costs that overproduction normally doesn't pay.
When you have concluded a trade agreement with a competitor you can exchange goods with him per ship or scout. The advantage: with a click on his warehouse you see instantly which
goods he offers or asks for. Nevertheless the profit is limited with standard products. Offers are also unsteady and the sold quantities often low. Trading improves your reputation with the
computer players, though.
Trading with computer players doesn't make much profit but increases your reputation
The ideal city
The ideal city overview
Production plants must be arranged efficiently: high building density, short ways. The ideal system is represented by the hub forming a cloverleaf: a market in the center, two axes with the
farms. Thus building ground is used at the best and the products are quickly transported from A to B as well.
Ideal city point 1
For products which have first to be processed the hub is extended by local centers between the different farms. Workshops at the intersections (the image shows a brewery and a
weaver) take the raw materials directly at the producer, and the processed good is stocked using the shortest way.
Ideal city point 2
To avoid overproduction install first smaller hubs with only two farms on each side. If required, expand the axes outwards, eventually even with another farm duo. The image shows a
production chain for weapons; arch builder and siege machines engineer receive the same raw material.
Ideal city point 3
Each building of the settlement needs a street connection. Therefore you build ideally with a checker system: four houses are always combined by a road to form a block. The row housing
development may be as long as you want (six houses, eight houses, etc.) but never larger than two buildings.
Ideal city point 4
The center of each city district should be occupied by a service block: market house, tavern, church and a forth building of your choice, for example the school or the fire brigade. In front of
the market align the stands. Such a center makes all pioneers in its influence area to settlers, - as long as there's enough raw material.
Note from Zomby Woof It is not necessary to place the church and the university in the center of the town.
When building a church all your chapels get upgraded and have the functionality of a church, no matter if they are within the influence area of the church or not.
The same it is with school and university. So you can place church and university where you want and you need just one of them in your town.
The service for the people can be done by the upgraded chapels and schools. Quite useful i think, you save building space and maintenance costs.
Ideal city point 5
At the higher levels you will be forced to demolish houses in the city center and replace them by public buildings (cathedral, university, public baths, etc.). These space consumers are best
grouped equally in centers to synchronize their influence areas and thus reach a many inhabitants as possible.
Ideal city point 6
Fortresses don't need neither a street connection nor the vicinity of a market place or a production building. Thus, on principle, you can place them anywhere you want, as long as leave
enough space outside the gates for recruited units and make sure to have a short way to the harbor.
Ideal city point 7
In case of pirate activity in the seas or hostile competitors you protect your harbor with cannon towers against attacks from the seaside. Thus you create a security zone for ships
anchored temporarily in the harbor. Each tower contains two cannon teams.
Ideal city point 8
Mines are always at the beginning of a production chain. Line up the buildings following the processing steps. The image shows ore which is smelted directly near the mine and finished to
tools and weapons across the road. A near warehouse is obligatory to assure the supply with additional raw material (mainly wood and charcoal).
Ideal city point 9 and 10
Simple raw materials from mines which need only one processing step are won in mini production roads. Place the workshops as near as possible to the mine as well as to a warehouse.
Each mine can supply several workshops, so can you always extend the chain by other production buildings if necessary. Disable the mines and connected industries in case of short money.
Ideal city point 11
Foresters and hunters come together in an ideal symbiosis if you place the hunting lodge at the border of the forest. Animals prefer trees, and the hunter shoots them when they leave the
woods. A tannery should be in the vicinity of the hunting lodge to process the skins. You can increase the leather production if you disable the food production of the hunter.
You can download the original translation of ‘Gamestar Guide - Basics’ by Gunter in Word2000 format here.
