[Question] Optimising my World Layout?

[DeletedUser27889]

One thing to look out for is gold, once most of the houses are gone. However I have some SoK's which I built for the FP's, and an unexpected side effect is they provide lots of gold too (and they are always motivated).

You are 100% correct. As soon as I realized that in order to get anything close to the number of good producing buildings ardak posted, I would need much more pop and pop taking up less land IE advanced GB my first thought was Happy and Gold.

Luckily I too have shrines, gold producing GBs and some event buildings that I will still be making more than I am spending but it is definitely something to keep an eye on. As well as making sure I level any happy producing building to cover an increase in pop before leveling Inno, once I am able to get it.

As good as those buildings are for the folks in the era's that they're in, for people like you and I they become complete game changers.

- aid (m/p): Currently because there are so many houses (with 8 hr collections), usually only half to a third of coin collections are motivated. Getting rid of most of them, will ensure any remaining houses will be always motivated, and also all supply buildings will be motivated, as well as all culturals and decos polished.

That is a fantastic point I hadn't even thought of. While I always have about 2g extra happy from mo/po I have a pole house which when motivated provides daily medals but is so far down on the aid button priorities almost never gives up it's medals. Having less houses would mean that would be motivated more often and the houses that are left would produce 2x coin almost guaranteed. Great point!

design part of your city to be permanent. Take all that stuff and shove it into that permannent section. Then you can ignore it as you redesign the rest of your city; this reduces the complexity of the redesign process. A lot. This looms large as you get to two lane roads, you'll want a minimum of one lane road buildings hooked to those two lane roads.

That's a really great tip!

 

[DeletedUser25920]

A design tip that someone shared with me over a year ago. As you finish your current Era, redesign your city with the best and most housing you can get; it will have to last you through your advance through the next Era. Some time spent planning here, especially what new Era buildings you want, will pay off big in time and costs saved redesigning your city mid Era.

An additional tip: As you gather more GBs, SoKs, and other buildings that you will never tear down, design part of your city to be permanent. Take all that stuff and shove it into that permanent section. Then you can ignore it as you redesign the rest of your city; this reduces the complexity of the redesign process. A lot. This looms large as you get to two lane roads, you'll want a minimum of one lane road buildings hooked to those two lane roads.

These are good tips Algona, thanks. I always only build the best (people/tile) house in each age as soon as I research it, and I only replace it when I have researched the new 'best' house in the next age. And since so far these are all 2x2, no change/redesign was needed in the residential neighborhood of my city

And yes, I have heard of the complications of two-lane roads from PE onwards, as well as that is a good idea to have all the 'permanent' single-lane buildings (GB's, Sok's, etc) at one area of the city (efficiently placed), and they would not need to be moved in any succeeding age.

I assume most of you are already familiar with this, but just thought to mention that there is an excellent tool for city design, the Foe city planner (foemanager.com). Not only it is good to help design optimally one's current city, one can use it to plan in advance the city layout for next ages (which can affect what GB's one chooses to build and when). Because one can plan, say, to have x of this building, and y of that building 2-3 ages down the line, but would these actually fit in the city? This tool gives the opportunity to try things out.

For example, my current plan is to build the Habitat (and RAH for more supplies), and later (next 1-2 ages) build the Dynamic tower. Because more people in little space can only be a good thing. However, I tried out a layout for my future PE city, and saw the the Dynamic tower does not fit. And I can instead put my population in a level 8 Habitat and 4 high rises.

And that I could have 8 PE goods buildings. (none of previous era's, usually it is easy to trade down, and I build enough stock of each previous era's goods, before deleting them).
I see Ardak has managed more goods buildings (although most are IndA, they still need more people). I guess the choice of goods buildings depends on which good is more in demand (from those you have boost for), and possibly what one's guild needs.

I think my fewer goods buildings (in my future PE city that is) are due to not having premium supply buildings (so will need more of the non-premium ones) and also due to having some barracks.

I used to have one of each barracks (current age only). Now, since I am mostly using rogues, I do not build artillery barracks anymore (saves a lot of people). And I guess I could also get rid of ranged barracks. Also having an Alcatraz further down the line may change this, as I guess one can then rotate barracks, rather than having one of each at the same time.

 

[Algona]

Lady Egwene, Traz is a game changer. If you ever fight, it is the best GB in the game. Highly recommend you get it as soon as possible and level it as fast as you can. Lvl 10 Traz produces 11K happiness. The long term effect of stockpiling troops as you progress through each Era is profound: you will be able to fight for past Era PvP towers the rest of the game. At least as long as some folk in your Hood maintain the silliness of 2 spearfighter defenses. LD

 

[DeletedUser26579]

I don't pvp, plunder or GvG, so I don't feel the need for an Alcatraz at this time.

81 fights in a single week is impressive! If you're not doing pvp or GvG, how do you get 81 fights in a single week?

GE has 16x3=48 spots. (Do the double fights count as two fights? If so, that's 60 fights from GE, otherwise 48.) Is the rest coming from the solo campaign map? Do you ever run out of spots to fight at that rate? Some of my guildmates pvp, but don't plunder, in order to get higher fight counts.

 

[DeletedUser26154]

81 fights in a single week is impressive! If you're not doing pvp or GvG, how do you get 81 fights in a single week?

Hello Ekarat.
Some was from the continent map.
Most was from Guild Expiditions.
I clear my G.E. every week.
All 48 encounters.
My number of fights per week is chicken feed compared to a true heavy-hitter.

I don't fight other players for any of my tower ranks.
I never ever steal from another player's city under any circumstances.
If I need something, I work out a trade every single time.
Thank you.

 

[DeletedUser26154]

81 fights

Here's a little part-two that I feel is worth pointing out.



This is the first time, all week, I beat my kind neighbor, welcomed trade partner and friendly competition Xilya.
Unless Xilya's troops take a long weekend at Palm Springs, that lead will vanish like a fart in the wind.
Notice the number of fights. I have 83, he has 42.
All I did this week so far was G.E.
I'm assuming he's doing some pvp and GvG.

Can anyone confirm that G.E. gives less battle points per fight won, compared to pvp or GvG?
Or does my unfavorable fights/win ratio have anything to do with me bringing 7 rogues to every battle?
Someone please answer or add to this if they can.
Thank you.

 

[DeletedUser25273]

In GvG you are always fighting 8 unit armies, and all of the age you are fighting with, while in GE many of the battles are with less than 8 units, and at the beginning will be an age below you (so if you are fighting with current era units, lower age than yours). While some GE battles are two stage worth double points, they double the second round which tends to be the lower valued one.

Points are also reduced by the damage you take, so if you have a number of battle where you take a lot of damage, that will reduce your points.

 

[DeletedUser25920]

Lady Egwene, Traz is a game changer. If you ever fight, it is the best GB in the game. Highly recommend you get it as soon as possible and level it as fast as you can. Lvl 10 Traz produces 11K happiness. The long term effect of stockpiling troops as you progress through each Era is profound: you will be able to fight for past Era PvP towers the rest of the game. At least as long as some folk in your Hood maintain the silliness of 2 spearfighter defenses. LD

Yes, I am aware that Traz is a very popular GB. However, I think it is essential only if ones does GvG (which I don't). Or if one does a lot of PvP, which I don't. I only do the continent map and GE, and for those the troops I have are sufficient. So I don't need it currently. I will build it, and before I reach PE, just not yet.
Trying to evaluate its potential benefits for me (with my play style and priorities) I am thinking that its advantages will be:
- once I level off my current happiness GB's, it is the next GB that can give me some additional happiness.
-I think I should be to rotate the barracks built, so instead of having 3-4, I can only have 1-2 at any one point, freeing up some space. (the rogue hideouts will of course remain).
- (the point you also mention): I may also be able to build some earlier age barracks, in order to get some additional medals from the earlier pvp towers (for example in my neighbourhood the CA and LMA pvp towers are quite crowded, but the earlier ones almost deserted, so there may be some easy medals to be had there. This will also depend on how many neighbours have 2 spearfighters defense ).
- Currently GE is ok (I have also resorted to negotiating the easier encounters in order to save time). However I know in higher ages the opponents have higher boosts, which will result in higher number of casualties, which may make the Traz more useful for GE.

 

[DeletedUser26660]

Yes, I am aware that Traz is a very popular GB. However, I think it is essential only if ones does GvG (which I don't). Or if one does a lot of PvP, which I don't. I only do the continent map and GE, and for those the troops I have are sufficient. So I don't need it currently. I will build it, and before I reach PE, just not yet.
Trying to evaluate its potential benefits for me (with my play style and priorities) I am thinking that its advantages will be:
- once I level off my current happiness GB's, it is the next GB that can give me some additional happiness.
-I think I should be to rotate the barracks built, so instead of having 3-4, I can only have 1-2 at any one point, freeing up some space. (the rogue hideouts will of course remain).
- (the point you also mention): I may also be able to build some earlier age barracks, in order to get some additional medals from the earlier pvp towers (for example in my neighbourhood the CA and LMA pvp towers are quite crowded, but the earlier ones almost deserted, so there may be some easy medals to be had there. This will also depend on how many neighbours have 2 spearfighters defense ).
- Currently GE is ok (I have also resorted to negotiating the easier encounters in order to save time). However I know in higher ages the opponents have higher boosts, which will result in higher number of casualties, which may make the Traz more useful for GE.

Hello Lady Egwene, perhaps I can offer some advice regarding the Traz, here is the wiki link which will show you what the Traz gives a player at each stage.

http://forgeofempires.wikia.com/wiki/Alcatraz

A Traz at level 3 for example will produce 5 free troops per day which is very good for level 3. As soon as I got my Traz I trimmed down all my military buildings to just a Rogue hideout and let the Traz produce 5 Rogues a day for me. My other military units came from playing GE so I was able to free up a lot of space by deleting all the military building I had previously been using. The happiness a Traz produces also means you can potentially get rid of some smaller less efficient happiness items.

By operating a Traz on level 3 with just one Rogue Hideout will mean you can get free every 24 hours 5 rogues which would take you 5 days to produce from each hideout, plus each hideout has a max of 5, so even if you have say 8 hideouts you can only have a max of 40 Rogues at any one time. My one Rogue Hideout means that I have hundreds and hundreds of Rogues in my army, making it by far the most efficient way to produce Rogues. You will also save a lot of space to use on other things by not having multiple Rogue Hideouts.

I made a point of getting the Traz as early as possible so that I had time on my side which has meant a large Rogue army. If I had waited until I actually needed them I would not have been able to draw on the large pool I now have as I would be using them up faster than I produce them. With GE for example, I do not need to spend diamonds on repairing Rogues for the next battle or wait for them to heal, I simply switch any damaged ones over for new ones and continue straight away, that is another huge benefit of getting a Traz as soon as possible and building up a large army as you will use it all through the game.

Hope this is of use and I will be happy to try and assist any player with anything I know same as Ardak is doing, I think this is a great thread for passing on advice and experience.

 

[DeletedUser24552]

Interesting outlook, deleting your Military buildings with a Traz, once you have a stockpile of unattached troops. I'll have to look at that as I soak in Progressive.

I've taken a different approach on my city, and will gladly share. I don't purchase a lot of diamonds, most of what I've accomplished has been through game play and historic quest lines. I've built every GB as it was available, and have since deleted the Colosseum and Notre Dame. I like Babel for goods and the smaller footprint; population is secondary. From friends I've learned that goods are a major issue starting in Modern Era, so I'm focusing there right now to be prepared.

As a rule, I only have 1 or 2 supply buildings for my era, the rest are event buildings. I like the fact that I can alternate what I need by varying the production time, and they all produce superbly when motivated. I have a medium size guild and a lot of friends, so M/P is not an issue. For Goods buildings, I have the two boosted ones from my current age and the 2 boosted from my previous age. My guild has an active marketplace, so I can almost always find what I need.

When I enter a new age, I start replacing housing as soon as possible, and then replace that with the highest population once it's unlocked. Moving from 2x2 to 3x3 housing prompted my first major renovation. The two-lane roads haven't impacted me too severely yet, but I'm sure they will once I progress to Modern Era. I have a surplus of population currently, so can start removing some of the housing I have to make room for permanent structures--thanks for the strategy idea.

While my city isn't "tight", it does supply a surplus of my needs, and suits my preferred style of game play.

 

[Algona]

Great post, sir lanceaboil!

For GE fighters.

Did you know that as you advance Eras that the GE Encounter defensive troops get Higher combat bonuses? I didn't. Make sure to keep levelling those attack GBs!

Changing Era is traumatic. Those troops you've been kicking GE hiney with are now inferior. You're gonna get pummelled! I know. I was King of the World in Prog GE. Just before Winter Event I advanced to Modern, blitzed the Modern tech tree and entered PME (I admit on the surface it seems stupid; more on why I did this next post) about 2 weeks later. My first GE has not been pretty; the GE map is running with my troops' electric blood.

Negotiate? Never tried it, I dunno if you need current Era Goods to negotiate low level GE. You can hope to hit good troops in the first level GE Encounters, but a few artillery or infantry units in a row can ruin your week. Relics? Ya gotta win Encounters and not get more BPs and Decos. You can work your way up the tech tree, but it takes time to reach the good units.

Having Traz and it's two best sidekicks, Rogue Hideout and Champion's Retreat means you immediately have access to lots of current Age troops the moment you enter the new Age. You'll also have a huge reserve of last Era's regular troops for cannon fodder and not care that 6 died to win an Encounter. These two advantages are crucial for having a fighting chance your first couple of new GEs.

And if you do PvP, well, heh, you get to surprise hell out of your hostile hoodies.

Just something to ponder.

 

[DeletedUser26660]

Thanks Algona.

I just did a quick tally up of my army out of interest to see what I have seeing as we have been talking about Traz and it's benefits. I had to use the filters to do it age by age but I got an approx total of 1700 which includes some 300 Rogues.

The bulk of these troops have come from the Traz and maybe 20-25% have come from GE and other events, but certainly I would wholeheartedly advice anyone who does any sort of battling to get a Traz asap.

 

[Algona]

December 1, I've been in Prog a year. Building infrastructure, acquiring and levelling GBs instead of tech tree, winning a lot of Medal expansions, starting to learn to fight effectively, and just enjoying the whole Progressive experience. Best time I've had in this game! But even paradise pales. It was time to advance.

Two factors led me to decide to run through Modern as fast as possible. The fist factor: To me, Modern does not look like a fun Era to spend much time playing. PME looks a lot better. Second Factor: Winter Event was starting. Skip an Era? That's crazy talk! Lose out on accumulating a much needed stockpile of Modern Goods and getting a city up to date? TBH, I don't see a lot in Modern that is a big upgrade over Prog buildings. I had 80K earlier Era Goods, 175 M Coins and 100 M Supplies.

DI figured out last year that during Winter (Summer as well?) Event that when you change Era that the building prizes available that day upgrade to the new Era.

Hmmmm. I said what a bear GE is when you advance. What if you can drop a barracks or two from deep in the tech tree the day you advance? And maybe add one or tow other barracks over the next couple weeks? PME, here I come! I had 1500 FP in inventory and was under 20K Coins to buy FPs. I went through the Modern tech tree as fast as I could and waited. If no barracks showed up I would stay in Modern. Happily a Light barracks came up in the Event, I advanced to PME, and hit the barracks on the 8th try. Still with over 400 Stars, I hit the Heavy in 10 tries three days later. Hoping for a shot at the Ranged before the end of the Event.

I'm looking forward to a long warm cozy time in my new PME home. Guarded by lots of Universal Tanks and Commandos. And a couple of neighbors who have made a habit of attacking me over the past year are gonna get a rude surprise in the New Year.

Princess Myciena: Beloved despot for life, defiler of the poor, who treads upon the masses, merciless to the pitiful, and all around swell fella Algona, this yea'rs budget has millions for defense and nothing at all for the public welfare!

Algona, smiter of the weak: Exactly! When the peasants revolt I'll be ready!

 

[DeletedUser28005]

Haven't been checking out this thread in a while and I'm shocked to see all of this good information. I've also updated my progress:
http://imgur.com/a/PsuNs in case anyone's curious.

 

[DeletedUser26154]

Here's a little part-two that I feel is worth pointing out.

Part three.
I've been dethroned.
The uncrowned king.
My reign has come to an end.



I'm all out of fights, too. That's it. G.E. is done for the week.
I also figured out why I have so many fights.
Each surrender counts as a fight.
I surrender some maps multiple times, in order to get a map favorable to the types of troops I use.
This week I surrendered over 25 times.
That's what inflated the number of my fights this week.

 

[DeletedUser26965]

Here are some tips, or general guidelines I follow for city design (everything of course is dependent on your playstyle and what you want out of the game):

1) Keep the city as square as possible
2) Put largest buildings on the outside perimeter
3) Attempt to make sure buildings are only touching one road (can't always be helped of course)
4) Have the shorter side of the building touching the road (can't always be helped of course)
5) Almost always have your current age buildings (you can sometimes get through an age without updating some things like residential or supplies production until you get to the next age but always have the current age goods buildings and trade down).
6) Always have your current age roads and have as few roads as possible
7) 1x1 Decorations are generally useless
8) Don't have empty space

Here is an online city builder I highly recommend http://foemanager.com/city-planner/app/

 

[DeletedUser27096]

I'll tell you everything I know as clearly as I can, with examples.

I've never had less than 16 goods production buildings since EMA.
Colonial Age was my maximum at 22 goods production buildings.
8-hour production timers.
I collect on time 90% of the time.

No, I use premium supply buildings. I have one premium house that came in a pack.
I pick houses with 24-hour timers on purpose.

Presently I have 9 Fertilizer plants and 15 goods factories total.

Lots of goods factories running at maximum output around the clock.
Keep good trade relations with friends and neighbors.
I pick up the forge point cost when trading outside my guild.
I complete at least a 8 of the reoccurring quests for gathering coins and supplies every day.

You are not. I am just at the far end of the curve. Lots of Diamonds spent along the way really helped.


View attachment 2050

I wouldn't go that far.
I learned a lot from the forums.

This is why I appreciate you, @ardak kumerin...you are smart, generous with your thoughts and still humble. All are desirable and rather rare qualities. Much respect!

 

[DeletedUser27889]

Did you know that as you advance Eras that the GE Encounter defensive troops get Higher combat bonuses? I didn't. Make sure to keep levelling those attack GBs!

I've been stalled in my era so long I can't even remember if I got to combat bonus sections of GE in previous eras and if so I didn't remember the bonus. Thank you very much for saying something, this is certainly important to keep in mind.

 

[DeletedUser10415]

The fist factor

Perfect title for an academic paper of some sort.

 

[DeletedUser26154]

I got bored so I used some stored FP packs then went into Modern Era.



One Expansion from Autobahns, two more expansions from spending the D.
Once my goods buildings are finished with their cycle, I'll harvest then construct Modern Era Goods buildings.
I'll keep some Fertilizer plants because they will still be useful.
More will be added to this as I progress so people can see what I'm doing.