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Where Do Your People Live?

Aethelcatt VIII

Active Member
On the surface, my city is booming these days, with bigger and fancier buildings going up left and right. Underneath the surface, though, I’m beginning to sense a serious housing crisis brewing.

Back in the days when we only had dirt trails in the city and there were no buildings more than one story tall, everybody lived in a house. Granted, for quite a while those houses were just cheaply built little huts, but at least they were what the Census Bureau would classify as “residential buildings,” and at 14 people per unit, it was quite manageable for the average household.

Then, as the city began to grow rapidly, urban overcrowding reared its ugly head. First we had 32 people living in one chalet, then we had 73 in a small cottage, then 111 in a clapboard house, and finally up to 156 in a townhouse. Since we are stuck in the Middle Ages without the benefit of running water and indoor plumbing, I can only imagine the stench in those crowded quarters.

And the rich and powerful are not faring much better. In the best neighborhood in my city, there is a beautiful edifice known to the locals as the lord’s manor. With its tall French roof and tall semi-basement, the elegant manor looks quite spacious—until you factor in the fact that a full 600 people are living in it. I doubt the lord would be very pleased with that situation.

But it gets worse than that these days. As more and more houses get “phased out” in our ongoing urban renewal efforts, more and more people have resorted to living where they work, worship, or entertain themselves. According to the most recent census results, we have 688 people living in a watermill and another 1,031 living in a bigger watermill next door. More alarmingly, a total of 2,500 of our hardworking citizens have reportedly taken up residence on two Ferris wheels. I mean, Ferris wheels, for goodness’ sake!

I’m glad we do not have code enforcement in the city yet, but I have spent many a sleepless night worrying about the safety of those folks on the Ferris wheels. After all, our medieval builders and craftsmen are not particularly known for the quality of their engineering and metal work.

And it gets worse even than that. Those people at least have a roof over their heads and walls around them, even if it is just a thin metal sheet. What about the 750 men, women and children who live at the druid temple, where there is only a stone altar to shield their bodies from the bitter winter gale? Or the 412 people who list one of the two royal marble gateways as their home? Legally and technically, I’m pretty sure they would have to be classified as being homeless. The design, construction and appearance of the gateways certainly live up to their “royal” moniker, but as living quarters, you have to admit that they are really not all that different from a freeway overpass.

Being a very concerned city administrator, I decided to study the problem in depth—and went international about it. After a survey of many other cities of various sizes, ages and levels of prosperity, what I found out is that the problem is much more prevalent in the more advanced societies than in developing countries. In the Third World cities (you know, those cities that you automatically think of when a quest asks you to “win three battles” or “defeat 20 units”), as it turned out, people tend to live in traditional residential neighborhoods with neat rows of houses and cottages—nothing fancy, but certainly the kind of environment where you would want to raise your children rather than on a Ferris wheel.

In contrast, many of the more advanced cities no longer provide traditional residential units to their loyal citizens but relegate them to live on board pirate ships or blimps, in crow’s nests and, yes, on Ferris wheels. One fellow city administrator recently told me that in order to build a gigantic federal penitentiary in his city he had to order the demolition of the last few remaining houses and let all the displaced residents live in prison cells instead, which by no means could have been a very popular decision among the affected people.

Here, I’d like to pose this question to the kings and queens of cities in the developed world: Do you really need to deprive a three-year-old the opportunity to ride a tricycle on the front lawn of his house, or ignore the need of a mother to visit her son in a neighboring residence without worrying about the danger of falling to her death from the top of a Ferris wheel, just to put up an outlandish monster of a building called an “arc” or a cathedral that brings you nothing but money and military might? In a more humane society, I believe the correct answer is “no.”

While we are at it, I don’t think you really need all those bulky and unsightly military buildings in your cities either. But that’s just my opinion—from deep down in the conscience of a fellow city builder and administrator.
 
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CherryButterfly

Active Member
A thoroghly enjoyable read!! I, too, have many, many people living in Ferris Wheels, on a giant Blimp, and in a Spooky Funhouse! I have tried to alleviate the problem of kids having no place to play by building several small parks, and a whole line of free Carousels that seem to be in use all hours of the day. But, I will think about the problem of my "Homeless" population residing, it seems, on the steps of my Royal Marble Gateways. There are several large tobacco Plantations in town, and a large chunk of Farmland that probably needs tending to, so there should be jobs for all. At least it seems that the weather in my Town is fairly temperate, as I have many flowers and crops that bloom and flower year- round. So, at least they will not freeze!
And as for those "unsightly" troops barracks and Statues of Honor- we take our city's Freedom very seriously, and, as a Wise Old Veteran taught me long ago, Freedom isn't Free!! We honor our troops in the finest fashion, and don't make them hide on the outskirts of town.
Wishing all Veterans a happy and safe Memorial Day weekend!!
 

The Lady Redneck

Well-Known Member
I do admit that an ever growing population does pose a problem. However I also admire the loyalty and work ethos of my peasants and know it is up to me to do my best for them. I also realize that they have their own preferences as to lifestyle, some of which does seem a bit outlandish to my more refined tastes. However their happiness is importance, and they do need to have that freedom of choice.

I do insist that all of my people do military service . Some choose it as their permanent way of life so are happy to reside in the military barracks I have built. But I have also provided a magnificent chateau for those who wish to move their families in there. I find that the peasants with a more rural outlook favor it. Whilst the families of those who serve in my armies enjoy life in one of the different styles of castles and towers I have built. There are also churches and temples for them.

I to have that huge island prison but I keep that for the benefit of the many PoWs my armies bring home. They reside there until they have recovered from their wounds and have been shown the error of their ways and have decided to join with my forces.

I have also built cherry gardens and other recreation areas for them and their families to enjoy. Plus a wonderful Orangery and Arc where they can pass the time in more inclement weather. So now the Ferris wheels, haunted house, pagodas etc. are mainly used as accommodation during their vacation time. I am now at the stage where I am considering their educational needs and am looking at what I should build that will best serve that purpose.
 

Aethelcatt VIII

Active Member
A thoroghly enjoyable read!! I, too, have many, many people living in Ferris Wheels, on a giant Blimp, and in a Spooky Funhouse! I have tried to alleviate the problem of kids having no place to play by building several small parks, and a whole line of free Carousels that seem to be in use all hours of the day. But, I will think about the problem of my "Homeless" population residing, it seems, on the steps of my Royal Marble Gateways. There are several large tobacco Plantations in town, and a large chunk of Farmland that probably needs tending to, so there should be jobs for all. At least it seems that the weather in my Town is fairly temperate, as I have many flowers and crops that bloom and flower year- round. So, at least they will not freeze!
And as for those "unsightly" troops barracks and Statues of Honor- we take our city's Freedom very seriously, and, as a Wise Old Veteran taught me long ago, Freedom isn't Free!! We honor our troops in the finest fashion, and don't make them hide on the outskirts of town.
Wishing all Veterans a happy and safe Memorial Day weekend!!
Ah the carousels...another building I am thinking of proposing an international ban on. Once you build that thing, it never stops spinning, day and night. Now that's gotta be a whole lot of carbon footprint.

And what about the watchfires? They burn 24 hours a day and 7 days a week. We can't have that if we want our future generations to have the kind of fresh air we are enjoying here in the Middle Ages.
 

Aethelcatt VIII

Active Member
I to have that huge island prison but I keep that for the benefit of the many PoWs my armies bring home. They reside there until they have recovered from their wounds and have been shown the error of their ways and have decided to join with my forces.
After studying the Alcatraz Penitentiary a little further, I found out that it has the added benefit to a city by making the townsfolks very happy just looking at it, sort of the same effect that gallows and pillories have on my medieval population. I thought it was a unique trait among us sadistic medieval folks, but since the Alcatraz is from the Progressive Era, I guess we will not really have progressed that much by the time we get there.
 

Ebeondi Asi

Well-Known Member
Since over 95% of all my citizens do nothing productive... I do not worry about the quality of their accommodations. the 220,000 laying free are probably playing Foe all day..that is my guess. Also not counted are the 20,000 or so military... where they sleep I have no clue.
 

Aethelcatt VIII

Active Member
Since over 95% of all my citizens do nothing productive... I do not worry about the quality of their accommodations. the 220,000 laying free are probably playing Foe all day..that is my guess. Also not counted are the 20,000 or so military... where they sleep I have no clue.
20,000 military...and I thought I had a big army with 100+ units!
 

Zatrikon

Well-Known Member
You think that's bad! 13,649 people live in the Governor's Villa in my city. 2123 live in a windmill. 7414 live in a Menagerie - with animals! 9772 living on a train, and 15,367 on a bridge! 10,137 live in an Art Exhibition! How charming can those Charming Cottages be, with 4853 people sharing them? I've got 4691 people living in a House of Horrors! 1160 in a Dark Doorway! A few different Druid-type structures (Stonehenge-like, no roofs) with a total of about 25 thousand people living in them! Over 16 thousand people living in a chariot racing track! 1316 people living on a life-size outdoor chessboard.

And yet, there are three castles, a Maharaja's Palace, a monastery, and a large Chateau in my city that have no one living in them! You'd think living like this would drive people insane, and yet only one person lives in the Asylum!
 

Aethelcatt VIII

Active Member
You think that's bad! 13,649 people live in the Governor's Villa in my city. 2123 live in a windmill. 7414 live in a Menagerie - with animals! 9772 living on a train, and 15,367 on a bridge! 10,137 live in an Art Exhibition! How charming can those Charming Cottages be, with 4853 people sharing them? I've got 4691 people living in a House of Horrors! 1160 in a Dark Doorway! A few different Druid-type structures (Stonehenge-like, no roofs) with a total of about 25 thousand people living in them! Over 16 thousand people living in a chariot racing track! 1316 people living on a life-size outdoor chessboard.

And yet, there are three castles, a Maharaja's Palace, a monastery, and a large Chateau in my city that have no one living in them! You'd think living like this would drive people insane, and yet only one person lives in the Asylum!

:p I see...things always go from bad to worse as human civilization and society "progresses." Quite a enchanting future for us medieval folks to look forward to!
 

Zatrikon

Well-Known Member
I built some Juno Dwellings recently. They look very nice with their patios and swimming pools. But then you realize that each one has 8240 people living in it!
 

The Lady Redneck

Well-Known Member
No-one has mentioned the Color Guards all wandering around with their flags or those dang drummer boys with all their racket. But even worse. Are the population numbers the ENTIRE population, or just those old enough to work? If so you got all the snot nosed kids and teenagers running wild over and above.
 
On the surface, my city is booming these days, with bigger and fancier buildings going up left and right. Underneath the surface, though, I’m beginning to sense a serious housing crisis brewing.

Back in the days when we only had dirt trails in the city and there were no buildings more than one story tall, everybody lived in a house. Granted, for quite a while those houses were just cheaply built little huts, but at least they were what the Census Bureau would classify as “residential buildings,” and at 14 people per unit, it was quite manageable for the average household.

Then, as the city began to grow rapidly, urban overcrowding reared its ugly head. First we had 32 people living in one chalet, then we had 73 in a small cottage, then 111 in a clapboard house, and finally up to 156 in a townhouse. Since we are stuck in the Middle Ages without the benefit of running water and indoor plumbing, I can only imagine the stench in those crowded quarters.

And the rich and powerful are not faring much better. In the best neighborhood in my city, there is a beautiful edifice known to the locals as the lord’s manor. With its tall French roof and tall semi-basement, the elegant manor looks quite spacious—until you factor in the fact that a full 600 people are living in it. I doubt the lord would be very pleased with that situation.

But it gets worse than that these days. As more and more houses get “phased out” in our ongoing urban renewal efforts, more and more people have resorted to living where they work, worship, or entertain themselves. According to the most recent census results, we have 688 people living in a watermill and another 1,031 living in a bigger watermill next door. More alarmingly, a total of 2,500 of our hardworking citizens have reportedly taken up residence on two Ferris wheels. I mean, Ferris wheels, for goodness’ sake!

I’m glad we do not have code enforcement in the city yet, but I have spent many a sleepless night worrying about the safety of those folks on the Ferris wheels. After all, our medieval builders and craftsmen are not particularly known for the quality of their engineering and metal work.

And it gets worse even than that. Those people at least have a roof over their heads and walls around them, even if it is just a thin metal sheet. What about the 750 men, women and children who live at the druid temple, where there is only a stone altar to shield their bodies from the bitter winter gale? Or the 412 people who list one of the two royal marble gateways as their home? Legally and technically, I’m pretty sure they would have to be classified as being homeless. The design, construction and appearance of the gateways certainly live up to their “royal” moniker, but as living quarters, you have to admit that they are really not all that different from a freeway overpass.

Being a very concerned city administrator, I decided to study the problem in depth—and went international about it. After a survey of many other cities of various sizes, ages and levels of prosperity, what I found out is that the problem is much more prevalent in the more advanced societies than in developing countries. In the Third World cities (you know, those cities that you automatically think of when a quest asks you to “win three battles” or “defeat 20 units”), as it turned out, people tend to live in traditional residential neighborhoods with neat rows of houses and cottages—nothing fancy, but certainly the kind of environment where you would want to raise your children rather than on a Ferris wheel.

In contrast, many of the more advanced cities no longer provide traditional residential units to their loyal citizens but relegate them to live on board pirate ships or blimps, in crow’s nests and, yes, on Ferris wheels. One fellow city administrator recently told me that in order to build a gigantic federal penitentiary in his city he had to order the demolition of the last few remaining houses and let all the displaced residents live in prison cells instead, which by no means could have been a very popular decision among the affected people.

Here, I’d like to pose this question to the kings and queens of cities in the developed world: Do you really need to deprive a three-year-old the opportunity to ride a tricycle on the front lawn of his house, or ignore the need of a mother to visit her son in a neighboring residence without worrying about the danger of falling to her death from the top of a Ferris wheel, just to put up an outlandish monster of a building called an “arc” or a cathedral that brings you nothing but money and military might? In a more humane society, I believe the correct answer is “no.”

While we are at it, I don’t think you really need all those bulky and unsightly military buildings in your cities either. But that’s just my opinion—from deep down in the conscience of a fellow city builder and administrator.
I do not know how you thought of this but what the heck
mine all live in my level 100 inovation tower
 

Johnny B. Goode

Well-Known Member
I have several ghost towns where no one lives. Just an abandoned Town Hall and a bunch of Wishing Wells and Fountains of Youth. And a haunted Great Building of one kind or another. Others have an occupied Tower of Babel, where they apparently are still trying to understand each other's languages before they depart for greener pastures.
 

Mor-Rioghain

Well-Known Member
Ferris Wheels! I thought I was the only one! My 199,333 citizens (198,313 of whom are giddily unemployed, those frolicing miscreants!) frolic on solar-paneled roads with Pirates in Ships, Hideouts, and even Towering Structures they'd like to pass off as Crows Nests but are really ribald dens of debauchery filled with drunken sailors singing shanties while tossing chum and Sunflower Seeds into the reefs filled with Captains, Anchors, Piers, and Teeming Sharks!

As if this weren't shocking enough, they have a Gigantic Squid caged in a tiny pool right next to a Monastary and Abbey disturbing the Peace and Prayers of these Holy Men! They clearly have no sense of shame as they toss their refuse into another pool of shark-infested waters surrounding a dark and mysterious penal colony nestled in the crags of a towering Military Structure purportedly the Castle of a Wise KIng who hides his Armies in Clay Pots. They wander aimlessly in gardens filled with Silk-Draped Ladies with Twirling Parasols who exchange pleasantries with Men in Robes under looming trees festooned with garlands,
Vikings rest under a towering tree festooned with ribbons, and even consort with Gypsies in tents! They cross flower-strewn bridges to admire the Plazas and Temples honoring Ancient Tribal Warriors and even stop to catch plays on the multitude of Stages with costumed miscreants spouting poetry of all things! Passersby are constantly beset by litter-bearing slaves with Eqyptian Queens, Mongolian Warriors on Horseback, and Maidens flinging flowers and seeds at the stone feet of some forgotten bearded God.
They eat at Winter Bakeries and buy their produce straight from the farms while climbing steep staircases on not one, but TWO observatories to gaze at the Constellations and even consort with Elves, Druids, Indian Traders in town from the Jungles, Goddesses of Wisdom and Warfare, and gnosh on Weinerschnitzel, Candy Corn, Carmel Apples, Baked Pies, Chocolate Treats, Gingerbread, and Macarons! They defy gravity in Airships and Hot Air Baloons and even visit the Constellations in a Great White Starship only returning to feast their eyes and ears on lovely music from Great Concert Halls and view strange and exotic Sealife in A Great Aquarium!
They are a drunken, sea-faring, space-exploring, war-like lot and when not visiting Foreign Settlements or looting Mysterious Temples full of puzzling artifacts, gold, and strange metals, they Clash with Titans in Arenas and Visit nearby taverns filled with neighborly Merrymakers who buy and sell their wares for strange, glowing stones and eldritch coins. They seem to be a frivolous lot glutted on plenty but are extremely war-like having consorted with all of these Pirates, Wolfmen, Gods, Demi-Gods, Convicts, Parolees, Warriors, and Merchants but are loyal to the bone and ready to worship at 10, 10! houses of worship from all Corners of the Globe! Yes, the Future Eras seem to be fraught with over-population and a life of plenty! This situation requires further study as I have spotted them breaking ground in a nearby pond with great beams of metal and domes made of some grand plasticeen material. It's truly hard to imagine what depths they will attempt to plunder to quench their seemingly insatiable thirst for Adventure and New Horizens.
 

SomePlayer5000

Active Member
Plot twist: every house counts as a street and your actually just building a large square grid neighborhood.

EDIT: Plot Twist 2: the FoE world defies our laws of physics and the interior can be much larger than what it looks like on the outside.
 

Snek

Active Member
Doesn't anyone find the Alcatraz troubling ? They obviously have thousands of couples in the prison forced into slavery to create 100s of babies per week in some cities. These babies are then snatched from their mothers arms and forced into combat training sometimes even forced into pilot school at the tender young age of 13 weeks. Then ........ These little babies are forced into combat over and over until death. This is an outrage and nobody cares ----.....<shocked face if I knew how to make one on a PC >
The higher level, higher human farming....
 

Johnny B. Goode

Well-Known Member
I have several ghost towns where no one lives. Just an abandoned Town Hall and a bunch of Wishing Wells and Fountains of Youth. And a haunted Great Building of one kind or another. Others have an occupied Tower of Babel, where they apparently are still trying to understand each other's languages before they depart for greener pastures.
I also have a Future Era city with 133k inhabitants. I don't know where they all live. Only about 10k of them have jobs. About half of them work at my Food Printers and the other half work at my Hover Tank Base. (There are a few others working somewhere in the city, but I haven't figured out where.)
 
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