User:Jamespapp/sandbox

Overview
This is my sandbox. I usually create my test pages as a subpage of this.

Wiki things
Here are some things I'd like to help out with on this wiki:


 * infoboxes
 * buildings (in progress, see subpages)
 * first stab at reformatting and consolidating forms supporting different tab counts &larr; DONE, awaiting approval
 * SMW &larr; pending
 * resources
 * SMW &larr; IN PROGRESS
 * professions
 * wanted pages

Game things I'd like to learn
Here are some things I'd like to help out with regarding playing/winning the game:


 * specific metrics on desirability, i.e. positive influence a building has measured by range and impact
 * tools: I'm seeing no complaints (callouts above buildings) if I never make/buy a tool ever! Which buildings actually Do the complaining? Do tools really help anywhere other than those buildings?
 * occupancy
 * exactly how many farmers do you need? (I'm seeing 30% of max as a rule myself, in this case.)
 * do you really need any more than a single worker in the (regular or upgraded) market?
 * how many herders do you need? Do you risk cows wandering off with too few, even if fenced in? Is it really the milking that needs the herders more?
 * how many health points does a raider start with and how much damage does a crude weapon, sword, bow, crossbow do?
 * conversely, guard's starting health, and protection offered by hide coat, hauberk, platemail armor?
 * how many villagers can a nightsoil collector service? and just how sensitive is that number to proximity? gotta balance the desirability placement debuff with the waste/rat buildup.
 * can guard towers (if placed way out) give you earlier notice of raids?
 * trading
 * pages for each trader (including a pic of their wagon!) and what they are (usually) good for buying and selling, how often they show up (which level of Trading Post) if they prefer early/late in the Spring/Summer. Also indicate possible cross-trades! Also call out where a trading post max store of 500 actually EXCEEDS their typical capacity to buy!
 * pages for each of the goods (or at least a trading section in each) that speaks to production costs &amp; rates versus expected price paid. This is probably the most complex "mechanic interplay" to pin as producing any good costs villagers, the food (and other supplies) for them, the housing and raw materials. The study of price paid will probably seem trivial in comparison!

Game Things I've learned
Here are somethings I think I've figured out.

Miscellaneous

 * Whenever you build a Storehouse, turn off food, flour & wheat!

Trading

 * Nobody buys Wheat or Beans!
 * Books aren't (yet?) a tradeable item! Paper isn't either!
 * Don't forget to Keep In Stock on for those items you need it.
 * Don't forget to Transfer Gold if your town is running net-negative.

Introduction
I tried (on easiest level & terrain) a "no fancy mining" strategy, where I didn't mine Coal, Iron ore or Gold ore.
 * It's not only doable, but I think it works even better. Those Deep Mine s are SLOW, smelting iron is SLOW, and making weapons & armor is SLOW.
 * Building an industry that makes fine goods is a winner! Think Furniture, Glassware, Pottery and Cheese.
 * The other amazing item to sell is BEER! It does NOT count against Happiness if you build a Brewery (the Villager Happiness dialog still says "Your villagers aren't concerned about this yet." regarding beer) only if you build a Pub and they aren't entertained enough buy it/them!

Desirability
When it comes to Desirability, you only ever need to consider 25 Shelters! One way to do this is to build a "nice" part of town that you don't build anything undesirable near. You could design it beforehand to make sure the desirable buildings & Decorations you will subsequently add both fit (you'll be leaving gaps for them initially) and actually cover all of these "special" shelters such that they will, ultimately, enjoy a desirability of at least 65%. One such design is shown. You can build all the other shelters anywhere you want, even right next to all the nasty stuff, and it won't matter!
 * Wherever you do build shelters (that aren't part of the uptown area) try to group them together so that they can be covered by a Market (so you only build the minimum markets needed to cover all/most of them). Tip: a market covers a 9×9 shelter (27×27 tiles) area, but you really should include a Well and a Rat Catcher in that area.

Farming
Farming is super easy!
 * Create a 12×12 Crop Field. Improve it with Field Maintenance and Clover—as many FM's as you can get into the current year, then an FM+FM+C the second year, then maybe a C+C the third year (depending on how its Fertility is looking).
 * As soon as the field is in good shape, i.e. fertility is over 70%(?), plant (the upcoming year) clover & Beans (the year after that) Turnips, clover & FM (sliding that FM over to the farthest right you can to make it stagger nicely with your subsequent fields) and (the year after that) clover & Wheat.
 * Be sure to move the Soil Mixture slider to ~52%. Even if you don't have adequate clay/sand yet, it'll get added eventually and bring the soil mixture to where you're crops benefit the most. You need your beans at +10%, and your turnips too. If you can get your wheat there as well, all the better, but not at the expense of your beans/turnips.
 * Once the first field is created you can begin creating the next one, i.e. don't create more than one field concurrently unless you somehow have a crazy surplus of laborers.
 * As each field becomes created, i.e. you are now able to assign crops, be sure to reduce the number of Farmers from the maximum of 13 to just six! You don't need more than six farmers for a 12×12 field but, as you can't change this number until the field has been created, be aware that all those 13 farmers will be automatically assigned and drain your labor force accordingly unless you manually manage Professions! I don't bother manually managing professions as I don't want to risk forgetting to set something back.
 * Even when this maximum number increases to 18, you don't need more than six farmers!
 * When you create each subsequent field, offset the crops by a year from the field next to it (this is good for multiple reasons). For this reason, it's also good to create a number of fields that is a multiple of three ... but only if those fields have exactly the same crops assigned (albeit rotated by a year).
 * You can tweak this model by replacing the wheat with either Flax or Cabbage.
 * For each pair of fields, you can build four Shelters in between as they are 12 tiles long so fit perfectly.
 * Once they become available, build an Apiary at the corner of every field!

Items
NOTE: You aren't permitted to buy Cows until you build your first Barn. Also, Lethros &amp; Massuke won't show up until you upgrade your Trading Post.

Raw Resources
Prices are shown with triangles indicating sold (&#9664;) by the trader and/or bought (&#9654;) by the trader. Coloration reflects the game's coloration indicating high/mid-high/mid/mid-low/low price indication.

Relics
NOTE: You won't be permitted to buy Relics (or excavate Ruins) until you build a Temple.

Miscellaneous

 * Whenever you place a Well you should leave the tiles (all the way) around it empty so you can add trees later (to help the well).
 * If feels like Tools are totally unnecessary! Heavy Tools are still important, but if you're only grinding Flour, making Furniture & Glassware, and maybe deep mining Clay or Stone (buying weapons & armor instead of making those) you don't need as many.
 * Use Production Limits FTW! It is so much easier to let your labor force manage itself than to do it manually. There are a few different techniques you can use here:
 * Leave it alone and let them create the item ad infinitum. This is okay for stuff you are always going to need and will never run out of the source/ingredients but gets consumed kinda in line with its production so you don't fill up storage.
 * Just set the maximum and let the minimum default to 50% of that.
 * Set both the minimum & maximum if consumption is a bit "bursty".
 * This technique can be further leveraged by having an "excess" of buildings that produce the item (more than you might normally expect to have) so its production can also be bursty.
 * You only really need to protect the heart of your town with Soldiers. What should your town's heart comprise? Your Town Center (which also serves as a Barracks of sorts), the Trading Post, all of your Stockyards, Storehouses & Granaries (and maybe a Root Cellar) and as many barracks as you will want (and maybe a few Shelters and a Well). Surround this heart with Palisade Walls and then upgrade those to Fortified Walls when you can ... and double thick walls are better than single thick! You don't need to worry about protecting anything else!

Subpages
Here are all the subpages of this page: