As usual for my recent cities, these design "rules" will be followed:
* Very Hard difficulty.
* No crummy houses.
* All schools, libraries, mortuaries, and senet houses are well-supplied.
* There are defenses against invasions from any direction.
* All roads, including the (probably rerouted) Kingdom road, are connected.
* Housing block roads, loops or not, are intersection-free and not very long.
* The city should be stable for many years.
Someone who's read similar threads of mine may notice that a few of my usual design "rules" aren't listed.

The mission briefing warns against attacks from Egyptian cities on the "wrong" side of the civil war (and from Nubians). Strangely, the "wrong" cities are 4 of the 7 initial trade cities, and they are the only sources of flax and linen. Should I try to get linen, perhaps by quickly buying enough flax to sustain the city for many years? It is very tempting, since I love to get Prosperity 100, but I reluctantly decided that trade with the enemy should be avoided. Thinis will not use linen.

No linen means that any houses better than spacious residences are impossible. Are spacious residences possible? Yes, everything necessary is available. A quick check of food supplies shows plenty of farmland for chickpeas plus 2 herds of antelope, 1 on each bank. With Sebek's altar and Min's oracle, just 1 antelope herd should be able to provide half of the food for over 10000 people, and my Thinis won't have that many people (4500 are required). Therefore, all houses will be spacious residences and Prosperity will be 65 (at Very Hard--it would be higher at easier difficulties).

No linen also means no working mortuaries, so Culture will be 35. I won't worry about extra amenities, so there will be no senet houses or libraries. Spacious residences require pavilions (at Very Hard, assuming no senet houses or zoos), and a few extra booths and/or bandstands may be required.

No manors and low Culture should mean extra workers, who will be police, manning defensive positions similar to those in my Dunqul Oasis. Hopefully, the population will be high enough to have lots of police (but making money is a higher priority).

At Very Hard difficulty (and without Ra's "trade more" blessing), Men-Nefer can sell enough papyrus to keep 5 schools well-supplied. However, in a military mission, I prefer not to depend on importing the maximum of any good, so at most 4 schools will be built. (Besides, papyrus is expensive, and the absence of scribes will keep tax income down.)

Now for perhaps the most important design decision--whether or not to build on the east bank. The east bank can have 5 gold mines, some at reduced efficiency, with a total production of around 4500 Db/year. That's a lot of income, but selling beer and pottery to Men-Nefer and Dunqul Oasis should yield over twice as much, enough to grow reasonably fast and buy a fair amount of copper (for weapons) from Waset. Therefore, it would be reasonable to build only on the west bank (and the large island), which would simplify both defense and goods distribution. I agonized over this for a while.

Thinis has a reputation for being militarily difficult. Taking that into account, my preference would be to give up the gold and go for the best defense. However, taking that into account seems too much like cheating, so I'll stick with usual style: more money. The east bank will be developed. (However, if I'm defeated the first time, my second try may stay on the west bank.)

Are 4 not-too-large housing blocks enough to support everything scattered around the map, including the existing temple complex and mansion, all 5 gold mines, meadow farms, ferry terminals, and 8 large waterfront buildings (shipwright, dock, and 6 warship wharves)? Eventually I found a design that would do it--the northern east bank housing block (without a loop) is stretched out to just barely provide reliable labor access to both some gold mines and (across a bridge) a ferry terminal and dock on the large island.

Trade is more difficult when the east bank is developed, since the land trade area (near the farms' housing block) and the dock are far from the caravan and ship entry points. Also, Dunqul Oasis will send only 2 caravans at a time, and with the long distance that must be traveled, they won't be able to buy the maximum of beer and pottery each year. To prevent Dunqul's traders from wasting time wandering around the city, the land trade area contains:
* the only storage yard that accepts wood (which Dunqul's traders sell),
* the beer storage yard that both contains the most beer and is closest to the entry point, and
* the pottery storage yard that both contains the most pottery and is closest to the entry point.
In addition, to encourage Dunqul's traders to buy the more expensive beer, the beer storage yard is closer to the entry point than the pottery storage yard, and the beer storage yard will usually contain more beer than the pottery storage yard contains pottery. The land trade area also has a storage yard that accepts copper.

Men-Nefer also buys beer, by water. Storage yards near the dock "get" beer and have room for papyrus. There should always be a fair amount of beer in those storage yards, which (hopefully) will prevent dockers from going elsewhere. A few storage yards on the east bank are set to "get 1/4" papyrus to help distribute papyrus to schools (on both banks).

The finished city, in an average uneventful year, should consume and sell the production of around 15 breweries and 7 potters. Since there are plenty of workers, I decided to build 17 breweries, 9 potters, and 7 clay pits, in case the city receives Ra's "trade more" blessing or a request for beer, pottery, or clay.

The meadow farms in Thinis are so fertile that some do not need to be irrigated. 8 meadow barley farms (all 99% fertile) should keep 17 breweries supplied. 10 meadow chickpea farms (72% to 97% fertile) produce close to the amount that will be eaten, so with some irrigated floodplain chickpea farms the city should survive even a long series of terrible floods. (With 3 work camps and perhaps 16 floodplain chickpea farms, there will be a large excess of chickpeas after a decent flood, making housing development easier.) 2 hunting lodges on the west bank (fairly close to a herd) and 4 hunting lodges on the east bank (fairly far from a herd) should produce a large excess of game meat. (If hunters sometimes go after antelopes on the other bank then game meat production will be less, but I'd still expect enough.)

I had earlier taken a quick look at the original small settlement. The temple complex and mansion will stay, of course, and so will many of the cottages (but not the huts). Just to the southeast of the cottages will be a defensive area with police stations, which constrains the eventual housing block design. I tentatively decided to move the water supply one tile to the northeast and build a 44-tile loop road. By deleting the existing granary, hunting lodge, bazaar, and most of the statues, the block could have a moderate number of spacious residences (perhaps 16).

Would a 44-tile loop road prevent all fires at Very Hard difficulty? In my recent cities, housing block loop roads have been no more than 42 tiles long. When those loops had 2 fire stations, I never saw fire risk get very high, even with cottages (houses with the maximum fire risk). I only check fire risk now and then, so I can't be sure that it will be safe, but I decided to make other housing block loop roads 44 tiles long anyway.

The palace's location provides close to the maximum gold income. The southern east bank housing block has a 44-tile loop road, is squeezed in between the palace and some sand dunes, and provides labor access to some gold mines and much of the navy. The farms' housing block, also with a 44-tile loop road, is the only one designed for maximum housing (38 spacious residences), and also supports the west bank ferry terminal, breweries, clay pits, potters, recruiter, academy, and 3 weaponsmiths. All of the blocks support defensive areas with police stations.

After designing the other housing blocks, I reconsidered the plans for the original settlement. More people (and more police stations) are indeed nice, but (just for fun) I decided instead to preserve more of the existing buildings, including the water supply, granary, hunting lodge, and many of the statues. (The original bazaar, police station, and architect will be deleted.) The eventual housing block has only 9 spacious residences, including the 7 existing 2x2 cottages. And the loop road is gone--now there's no good reason to have 44 tile loop roads! Should I redesign the other blocks? No, I'm too lazy.

There are 94 spacious residences (half on each bank), which house 7896 people when full. Without police stations, around 1850 workers will be needed. Therefore, around 200 police stations will be built, to keep unemployment reasonable.

How about forts? My current inclination is to build in pairs of 1 infantry fort and 1 archer fort, with 1 pair on the east bank and 2 pairs on the west bank. But that might change.

[This message has been edited by Brugle (edited 10-03-2002 @ 08:49 PM).]

Some players have reported trouble with debt, which is somewhat surprising, since Thinis appears to have a lot of potential income and starts with a few houses, Osiris's temple complex, and some other useful buildings. Well, I'll see what happens, playing at Very Hard difficulty with these "rules":
* No cheats, of course.
* No personal funds (the salary will be immediately set to 0).
* No debt.
I'd guess that the "rescue" gift isn't needed, but I'll probably take it--I like to start city defenses quickly, especially in a military mission.

As usual, the first item of business is to start making money. Some people recommend beginning with something other than gold, but I disagree. Gold does have high initial costs, but starts producing income quickly, after perhaps 2 months, as compared to perhaps 5 months for pottery and perhaps 9 months for beer. In any case, all income-producing industries will be developed quickly--the initial vacant lots will include those that provide labor access for gold mines, the palace, barley farms, clay pits, and potters.

Not as usual, the original settlement requires immediate care. The huts will be deleted to prevent them from burning. Fire risk is high in some of the cottages, but the deletion of a single road tile will steer the fireman toward the danger, and the addition of a planned firehouse and a bit of road will improve fire coverage. A few vacant lots will be placed. Other changes (such as adding a physician or rerouting the housing block road) will be done gradually, as appropriate.

Religious structures will be required fairly soon, as the population climbs. Fortunately, Osiris doesn't need anything more. Temples and shrines to Ptah and Ra will be built as needed.

Game meat is already being produced in the original settlement, and (because it's so inexpensive) will fairly quickly be produced on the east bank too. (I learned my lesson in Waset--food is good for people.) Chickpea production will be delayed, perhaps until there is lots of money.

The military will be started fairly quickly but not immediately. The first military buildings will probably be the recruiter, the academy, and an archer fort or two. Copper imports, weapon production, and infantry forts will follow a little later, as will wood imports, warships, and transports.

[This message has been edited by Ben The Vizier (edited 03-09-2022 @ 02:24 PM).]

Apparently the 'original' was virtually impossible at 'very hard' so they had to tone it down...just a touch..... good luck, I shall read this with interest.

[This message has been edited by Rocky (edited 10-04-2002 @ 01:26 PM).]

Rocky,
I've probably read (or at least skimmed) all of the threads on Thinis (and everything else, having followed this forum since the beginning), but (since I hadn't built Thinis yet) I tried not to commit any details to memory. Naturally, I won't reread any of them before playing the mission.

I don't know whether your "tone down" refers to the changes (significant, according to Impressions) made since the beta test version or to the weakening of a few enemies at Hard and Very Hard difficulty in the Pharaoh "patch". I thought that the enemies affected by the "patch" were encountered toward the end of the family history (later than Thinis), but that could easily be wrong. In any case, most people should have played the same version, so the results should be comparable.

Hmmm..."with interest"? As in the ancient Chinese curse, "may you live in interesting times"? Perhaps I should have ignored the east bank.

[This message has been edited by Brugle (edited 10-05-2002 @ 01:41 AM).]

After my original troubles with this mission one of the V.I.P.s came on line and stated that the original beta's found the map virtually impossible on V.hard, the way I understood it was that the mission was 'tweaked' for playability before the games release.

Thinis (Middle Kingdom) starts in 2015BC with 6019Db (at Very Hard), 402 people (60 in crude huts plus 342 in rough cottages), unemployment of 48%, very good city health, and a few buildings including the family mansion and Osiris's temple complex (with Sebek's altar and Min's oracle). Wages were raised to 32 (Kingdom+2). Salary was lowered to 0.

In Jan, I took advantage of the demolition of the huts in the original settlement. After building a ferry-and-bridge river crossing through the large island, a few vacant lots were placed on the east bank (to supply labor access to gold mines and the palace), then 6 vacant lots were placed on the west bank (to supply labor access to barley farms, clay pits, and potters). After waiting a few moments (for the game to recognize the new vacant lots), the 6 huts were deleted. The new immigrants headed for the first vacant lots placed (on the east bank), but the homeless (from the crude huts) headed for the closest vacant lots (on the west bank). This would allow gold mining to begin as soon as possible, and would also allow meadow barley farming (and nearby clay digging) to begin at least a month earlier than would occur if their labor access was provided by new immigrants. After the homeless started to move, more vacant lots were placed on both banks. Meanwhile, in the original settlement, a second firehouse became operational and a couple of vacant lots were placed. (More vacant lots will be added occasionally, on both banks.)

In Feb, 4 clay pits and 5 barley farms (those with the highest non-irrigated fertility, 77%-99%) became operational, putting everyone to work. As more people settled, there was a bit of unemployment for perhaps a month, then a long-term moderate worker shortage began.

In Apr, 2 potters and all 5 gold mines became operational. Ra and Ptah became Resentful as the population climbed above 450, so temples (one to each) were built (on the east bank). City health rose to excellent.

In May, 2 more potters (making 4) and the palace became operational. The start-up cash was gone, triggering the 3150 Db "rescue" gift.

In Jun, the first gold was delivered to the palace, the first pottery was produced, and the first architect posts and firehouses outside of the original settlement became operational. (More architect posts and firehouses will be added, as needed.)

In Jul, another potter (making 5) and the first storage yard became operational. (More storage yards will be added, as needed.) Money was running low--some breweries couldn't be built until next month. City health fell back to very good.

In Aug, 4 breweries became operational.

In Sep, another brewery (making 5) became operational. A request was received, for troops (to be dispatched within 2 months) to defend Nekken against a large force. If the city was friendly, and if I was willing to go into debt, then I might consider building a recruiter and fort to send a token soldier to the battle. But Nekken (loyal to the other side of the civil war, according to the mission briefing)? No way!

In Oct, the (land) trade route to Dunqul Oasis was opened.

In Nov, the first 2 water supplies outside of the original settlement became operational on the east bank, and some houses evolved to stury huts.

In Dec, we were notified that Nekken had fallen to our enemies. 2 more breweries (making 7) became operational. Traders from Dunqul Oasis bought 500 beer and 1100 pottery. (500 pottery remained.) City health fell to good, so 4 physicians (one in each block, including the original settlement) became operational. The first shrines (to Ra and Ptah) were built. (More shrines will be added, as needed.) The year ended with 768 Db and 980 people.

Plans for next year including starting the military (hopefully, there will be enough money after the next visit by Dunqul's traders), selling beer to Men-Nefer, and feeding more people game meat.

In Jan, city health improved to very good. The trade route to Nekken (that wouldn't have been opened) was shut down.

In Mar, Waset tried to give us 1000 copper, but there wasn't room in storage yards. The 4th and last water supply (in the farms' housing block) became operational.

In Apr, Waset gave us 1000 copper. Crime risk was high, so all 3 police stations in housing blocks outside of the original settlement became operational. Traders from Dunqul Oasis bought 1200 beer and 400 pottery. (1000 pottery remained.) The recruiter and academy became operational. The first fort (archers) was built.

In May, the first 2 hunting lodges on the east bank became operational.

In Jun, city health fell to good. Henen-nesw tried to give us 800 beer, but I refused to accept it. (I didn't see anything wrong with taking supplies from the enemy, but our friends might have gotten the wrong idea. Besides, we were making a lot of beer already.) The last 2 hunting lodges on the east bank (making 4 on the east bank), became operational.

In Jul, another brewery (making 8) became operational.

In Aug, Dunqul's traders bought 1600 pottery. (1400 beer remained.) Another potter (making 6), another brewery (making 9), the 2nd and last hunting lodge on the west bank (completing the hunting lodges, making 6 on both banks), and the dock became operational. The first bazaar outside of the original settlement (in the southern east bank housing block) was staffed.

In Sep, the (water) trade route to Men-Nefer was opened. The ferry terminals were staffed, and storage yards near the dock started to "get" beer.

In Oct, people in the southern east bank housing block started to get food. Another bazaar (in the farms' housing block) was staffed.

In Nov, city health fell to average. (Is the game meat tainted?) The first ship from Men-Nefer bought 1200 beer. Another brewery (making 10) became operational. The festival square was built and the first festival (to Ra) was scheduled. (Festivals will (if I remember) be held regularly, to (probably) all 3 gods.) People in the farms' housing block started to get food. Another bazaar (in the northern east bank housing block, completing the bazaars outside of the original settlement) was staffed.

In Dec, Dunqul's traders bought 400 beer and 1200 pottery. The year ended with 1440 Db and 1637 people.

Next year should see infantry troops, and perhaps warships and transports.

Thinis's third year (2013 BC) saw close to the maximum normal (without blessings) trade income, and a lot of it was spent on defense. Everyone was fed.

In Jan, a ship from Men-nefer anchored at the dock, waiting for the next ship. Some planned construction was postponed for a couple of months. (The dock is far from the ship entry point.) People in the northern east bank housing block finally started to get food.

In Feb, the 2nd fort (also archers) was built. Another brewery (making 11) became operational.

In Mar, two ships from Men-nefer bought beer, one 1200 and the other 200. The first 2 weaponsmiths and another clay pit (making 5) became operational. The first statues, gardens, and plazas (outside of the original settlement) were built. In the original settlement, 4 of the 1x1 cottages (half of them) were deleted, and the housing block road was rerouted (some more) to improve fire protection. (Fire risk had reached red at least twice, but I had been lucky. ) There was (temporarily) a bit of unemployment, but some unemployment is likely to be common for a while since money should be scarcer than workers. The northern east bank block had either houses or vacant lots in all housing locations.

In Apr, Dunqul's traders bought 400 beer and 1200 pottery. All 4 tax collectors became operational. (Tax income will be small, but even a few extra debens are nice, and the offices soak up a little unemployment.) In the original settlement, the other 4 1x1 cottages were deleted.

In Jun, a ship from Men-nefer bought 1200 beer. The 3rd fort (1st infantry fort) was built. The 3rd and last weaponsmith, the last 3 barley farms (with fertility (before irrigation) of 60%-69%, making 8), and the 5 meadow chickpea farms that won't be irrigated (with fertility of 75%-97%) became operational. The (land) trade route to Waset was opened.

In Aug, Dunqul's traders bought 1200 beer and 400 pottery, and sold the first 200 wood.

In Sep, city health improved to good. Traders from Waset sold the first 600 copper (not counting their gift).

In Oct, a ship from Men-nefer bought 1200 beer. (Since a ship that buys 1200 goods is counted as having bought 1100, the 2600 beer that Men-nefer previously bought this year counted as 2400 (just below the quota), allowing them to purchase another shipload.) The shipwright started to build ships. All 3 workcamps were staffed, but didn't produce laborers since floodplain farms hadn't been built yet.

In Nov, the 1st warship was built.

In Dec, the 1st transport was built. Dunqul's traders bought 900 beer and 700 pottery, and sold 100 wood. (Future trade will be reported only if it is unusual.) The last 5 meadow chickpea farms (with fertility (before irrigation) of 32%-55%, making 10) became operational. The year ended with 1342 Db and 2647 people.

Next year should see some houses better than rough cottages! (At Very Hard difficulty, the tax rate multiplier doesn't increase until a house evolves to an ordinary cottage.) The farms' housing block will probably stay at meager shanties (no religious coverage) for a while, to limit population growth.

[Edited 10-21-2002 to mention that all northern east bank houses were started in Mar.]

[This message has been edited by Brugle (edited 10-21-2002 @ 04:09 PM).]

In Feb, another brewery (making 12), the 1st juggler school, and the 1st pavilion became operational. Entertainment! A house (on the east bank) evolved to an ordinary cottage.

In Mar, the 2nd warship was built.

In Apr, another brewery (making 13) and the 1st dance school became operational.

In May, we finally received a blessing, Osiris's "better Inundation", which is useless at this point since there are no floodplain farms. Some houses (in the northern east bank block) evolved to spacious homesteads.

In Jun, another potter (making 7) and the 1st courthouse (in the northern east bank block) became operational. Some houses evolved to spacious apartments.

In Jul, the 4th fort (2nd infantry) was built.

In Aug, a ship from Men-nefer sold the first 100 papyrus.

In Nov, we received Ra's "lift your reputation" blessing, which is nice (since the Kingdom Rating requirement is 50 above its starting value at Very Hard), but either of Ra's other blessings would have been more appreciated at this time. The 3rd warship was built.

In Dec, the 1st school (in the northern east bank block) became operational. Education! Some houses evolved to common residences. The year ended with 1878 Db and 3156 people.

Next year, the military build-up should continue.

Quoted from Brugle:

Quoted from Brugle:

Quote:

[/end borrowed]

You know 'popular demand' reads Brugle posts...

How could I not? The masters frequently give advice, but seldom give blow-by-blow "lessons." Whether anything will penetrate that lump of granite between my ears is another issue, but the ears (eyes?) are trying to follow.

Mark

Thinis's fifth year (2011BC) was exciting, with a major invasion! (It was also economically exciting, with taxes higher than wages. )

In Jan, the 5th fort (3rd infantry) was built. (The 2nd infantry fort had only 10 soldiers, but I wanted all parts of the city to have decent defenses.)

In Feb, we received a warning that Nubians would invade in 5 months. The last bazaar (in the original settlement) was staffed. (The original bazaar will eventually be deleted.)

In Mar, we received a request from Waset for 1000 game meat, which was dispatched immediately.

In Apr, the 2nd transport and the 6th and last fort (3rd archer) were built. All houses in the northern east bank block had evolved to common residences. (A review of other housing: the southern east bank block had an ordinary cottage, a lot of rough cottages, and some empty spaces; the farms' block had a lot of meager shanties and some empty spaces; and the original settlement had some rough cottages and the original bazaar in a house's space.)

In May, we received Ptah's "stock with raw materials" blessing, which very usefully gave the shipwright 200 wood. (I had been wondering whether to buy more wood.) The 3 warships were sent to guard the south. (I figured that if the Nubians invaded by water, it would be from that direction. A land invasion, however, could come from any direction.) The 2 transports were sent to positions where troops would cross the river.

In Jun, the 4th warship was built, and was sent to guard the north (just in case the Nubians are really sneaky). (In the future, warships and transports should generally be stationed in similar positions, ready for battle.)

In Jul, Nubians (7 archers and 18 infantry) invaded by land near the Kingdom Road in the south. Our 3 nearby warships moved to the coast and attacked them. The enemy archers stayed to fight, but the enemy infantry moved out almost immediately (instead of waiting for a month as usual). Was the warships' attack wise? Our troops on the east bank, 10 infantry and 16 archers, were transported across the river and headed south. 16 infantry near the farms' housing block also headed south. 16 archers near the original settlement approached the enemy, fired a few arrows, and retreated toward the planned defensive position (with the enemy in pursuit). 9 infantry near the original settlement (6 in the fort and 3 in transit) waited for another soldier to be trained and then headed for the planned defensive position. (The remaining soldier, 1 archer near the farms' housing block, was left in his fort so the recruiter would continue to produce soldiers.) Once the enemy appeared to be taking the bait, the defensive position (just southeast of the original settlement) was built, with 15 new police stations. (The original settlement's police station and architect post were deleted.) Caught in the warship-Nubian crossfire, a donkey from Dunqul Oasis was killed (but its caravan continued on), and a whole caravan from Waset was killed. A warship was sent in for repairs when its hull strength dropped to fair. The 5th warship was built. Another clay pit (making 6) and another potter (making 8) became operational.

In Aug, we received another Ra's "lift your reputation" blessing. Another donkey (from Waset) was killed. The few remaining enemy archers retreated, and a second warship (with strong hull strength) was sent in for repairs. Our archers from the east bank arrived at the defensive position just when the main battle started. Some enemy infantry tried to swing around the southwest flank, so a fort of infantry was repositioned. Our infantry from the east bank arrived in time to fight on the northeast flank.

In Sep, the remaining Nubians were killed, and our soldiers headed for their forts. Our total land casualties (ignoring policemen) were 7 infantry, 1 archer, and 1 police station. Some houses (in the northern east bank block) got chickpeas for the first time. (With the previous year's chickpea harvest in storage yards, there wasn't room for this year's harvest.)

In Oct, transports picked up the soldiers that were heading for their forts on the east bank.

In Nov, transports dropped off their soldiers on the east bank. A damaged warship was repaired.

In Dec, we received Osiris's "double harvest" blessing. (Some floodplain farms should be built soon!) The 6th and last warship was built. The other damaged warship was repaired. The year ended with 1575 Db and 3600 people.

With military purchases nearly complete (just a transport wharf and 600 copper are currently required, but some extra copper will be bought for spare weapons), Thinis can afford to grow more rapidly next year.

[This message has been edited by Brugle (edited 10-21-2002 @ 10:40 PM).]

Sounds like it's moving along exceptionally well. I don't generally tend toward military missions if given a choice. So I'm curious about your comments regarding donkeys being killed. Obviously a destroyed caravan trades with no one (unless it's destroyed on its way off the map), but does the loss of a donkey affect the amount caravans trade?

Looking forward to the next installment.

Mark

I'm tempted to reinstall Pharaoh to see if that clears the problem up. Very frustarting since i had to restart the level twice and have put many hours into it only to have it freeze up on me.

Any ideas out there?

BTW, great writeups on the level.

I see that you've asked the same question in the Technical forum. (Either forum would be OK, since it's unclear whether your problem is related to game play or to the computer system.) I'll put my comments there.

marstinson,
In a caravan, only the trader (in the front) appears to count. (He's the only one who complains "Our long and dangerous trek here was for nothing...this city won't trade.") If the trader dies, so do the donkeys. If a donkey dies, the caravan trades normally. I don't know what happens if both donkeys die.

Let's review a couple of design statements from reply #1:

Quoted from paragraph4:

Quoted from paragraph14:

Just 1 antelope herd would be enough, if the hunters weren't distracted by the other herd. 6 hunting lodges (as described) would produce a large excess of game meat, if the two banks of the river weren't connected with a manned ferry crossing. In other words, in my Thinis, hunters were frequently going after (or getting confused by) antelopes on the "other" bank. As I said, .

For a few years, I had watched hunters cross the river and noticed that there wasn't as much game meat as I had expected. I was busy with making money and building defenses, so I hoped that it would straighten itself out. However, after playing less than 2 months into 2010 BC (which will be reported when I finish the year), I decided to stop (temporarily) and check out game meat production.

Backing up to a previous save, I made a quick "test run" for a few years. Game meat production was erratic, and neither bank produced enough to feed 47 spacious residences. Even though I didn't expect it to help, I repeated the test run with extra hunting lodges--the 3 west bank lodges produced less, and the 6 east bank lodges might have produced a little more but were even more erratic. So I tried deleting a hunting lodge from each bank, and it worked better--the 1 west bank lodge consistently produced a little more game meat than 47 spacious residences would consume, and the 3 east bank lodges produced enough game meat on average and were somewhat less erratic than before.

I'd like to stick with the original design as much as possible, so I'm not going to try to improve game meat production further. I'll simply delete 1 hunting lodge from each bank (keeping the original hunting lodge on the west bank), and hope that the test runs were accurate. Development will be harder with barely enough game meat, and growth may be slowed. Fortunately, chickpea production is high, as expected.

Here's another design statement from reply #1:

Quoted from paragraph8:

In retrospect, I didn't agonize enough. I knew that there could be trouble when game meat herds are far apart, but somehow thought that it wouldn't be too bad. Wishful thinking! If I had also considered the ease of supplying game meat (not a large excess, but enough) from the single herd on the west bank (not to mention the short immigration distances), I would have decided to not build on the east bank.

Enough of that. Back to rebuilding Thinis!

[This message has been edited by Brugle (edited 10-23-2002 @ 06:56 AM).]

In Jan, the first 15 floodplain chickpea farms were built and irrigated, and started to get laborers. The meadow irrigation system was built. The water lift and another 2 breweries (making 15) became operational.

In Feb, we received an extortion request from Henen-nesw for 142 debens, which will be ignored. Another 4 irrigated floodplain chickpea farms (making 19) were built, (probably) completing the farms. Another clay pit (making 7) and another potter (making 9) became operational, completing the clay and pottery industries. The 3rd transport was built, completing the navy. The southern east bank block and the farms' block had either houses or vacant lots in all housing locations. (Only one house remains to be started, in place of the bazaar in the original settlement.) A hunting lodge on each bank was deleted (leaving 1 in the original settlement and 3 on the east bank), as described in reply #21.

In Mar, our Kingdom rating rose because Waset received the game meat. We received Ra's "trade more" blessing. (While it would have been more useful earlier, the blessing should allow an extra shipload of beer to be sold to Men-Nefer, removing most financial pressure.)

In Apr, the 1st booth and another juggler school became operational, and some houses in the original settlement evolved to ordinary cottages. The last temple (to Ra) became operational, and some houses in the farms' block evolved to rough cottages.

In May, police stations were built in another defensive position, to reduce unemployment. (Many more police stations will be built, as needed.) Houses in the farms' block and the southern east bank block started to get chickpeas. All existing houses in the original settlement block were ordinary cottages. The worst houses in the city (aside from those that recently formed) were 4 common shanties in the farms' block.

In Jun, another 2 pavilions became operational, and all houses in the southern east bank block (aside from those that recently formed) evolved to ordinary cottages.

In Aug, we received another Ptah's "stock with raw materials" blessing, which gave the shipwright 133 wood.

In Sep, the plain stone quarry became operational (just in case we get a request for plain stone). Each of the 3 infantry forts had 16 soldiers.

In Oct, we received Osiris's "better inundation" blessing.

In Dec, the original bazaar (the only remaining condemned staffed building of the original settlement) was deleted. The year ended with 2302 Db and 4842 people.

Next year should see the completion of the army (unless there are more battle casualties) and all houses evolved to at least ordinary cottages.

In Jan, we received another Ra's "lift your reputation" blessing. Vacant lots were placed for the last remaining house (in the original settlement block). The last 3 courthouses became operational. The 4 common shanties in the farms' block evolved to rough cottages. Houses in the southern east bank block started evolving to spacious homesteads.

In Feb, we received a warning that Nubians would invade (again) in 10 months. Also, our Kingdom rating fell "because of dissatisfaction in the Kingdom". (Satisfying the Kingdom requirement may take quite a while. ) The first 2 granaries outside of the original settlement (on the east bank) were staffed and started to collect food, which should cut down on the whining about hunger. (Most bazaars had been buying food from storage yards, since both game meat and chickpeas were set to "Importing to maintain 0".) Another brewery (making 16), the 2nd booth, and the last juggler school became operational. Houses in the farms' block started evolving to ordinary cottages. The vacant lots of the last house were settled and evolved to meager shanties.

In Mar, (at least part of) every house was an ordinary cottage or better. Each of the 3 archer forts had 16 soldiers, completing the army.

In Apr, the last 2 pavilions (in the farms' block) and another dance school became operational.

In May, we received another Ptah's "stock with raw materials" blessing, but the shipwright already had 200 wood. The first 2 conservatories became operational. A firehouse that had been built in the wrong place () was deleted and rebuilt properly. The last remaining condemned structures of the original settlement were deleted.

In Aug, the last booth (making 3), conservatory, and dance school were staffed, completing the entertainment buildings, but the conservatory and dance school won't produce entertainers until the original settlement is connected to the rest of the city (which has the pavilions).

In Oct, 1 of the 3 warships guarding the north was sent to join the 3 warships guarding the south (where the Nubians are more likely to attack). The last storage yard (making 24) became operational.

In Dec, we received another Ra's "trade more" blessing. Nubians invaded by water in the south. Remaining in their positions, our warships sunk the 2 Nubian transports before they got close and sunk the 1 Nubian warship after it had hit one of ours (causing no damage). 1 of the warships was sent back to guard the north. The last 3 granaries (on the west bank, making 6 on both banks including the original 1) were staffed, and 1 of them started to collect food. With money to burn, all remaining shrines were built. The year ended with 4113 Db and 5891 people.

I haven't yet decided how much to grow the city next year.

In Jan, our Kingdom Rating rose due to "sacrifices in combat". The houses in the farms' block evolved to spacious homesteads. The bazaar in the northern east bank block upgraded due to some beautification that was done when the remaining shrines were built. (My play has been rather careless, but (luckily) the mistakes weren't too damaging.) The trader teleported from that upgraded bazaar and supplied beer to 3 houses in the southern east bank block, allowing them to evolve to spacious apartments. Well, I no longer have to decide when to evolve the southern east bank houses.

In Feb, we received another useless Ptah's "stock with raw materials" blessing. The remaining houses in the southern east bank block evolved to spacious apartments, with beer from their own bazaar.

In Apr, we received Osiris's "significantly better Inundation" blessing, which was doubly disappointing because the next flood was already supposed to be perfect. To reduce chickpea consumption (I had hoped for the "double harvest" blessing), the 1st dentist was built, and the houses in the northern east bank evolved to spacious residences. Another brewery (making 17) was built, completing all industries.

In Jul, our Kingdom Rating rose because we didn't pay extortion to Henen-nesw. The houses in the farms' block evolved to spacious apartments.

In Aug, we received another Ra's "lift your reputation" blessing.

In Sep, the trade route to Henen-nesw (that wouldn't have been opened) was shut down.

In Oct, the trade route to Sauty (that wouldn't have been opened) was shut down. The 2nd school became operational, and houses in the farms' block started evolving to common residences.

In Nov, the trade route to Khmun (that wouldn't have been opened) was shut down.

In Dec, we received a warning that Egyptians would invade in 4 months. The year ended with 12143 Db and 6865 people.

Next year should be exciting, with another invasion.