This reply discusses some of my preliminary thoughts and decisions about Menat Khufu. Quite a bit of planning before deciding where specific buildings will be!

First impressions

I unavoidably obtain "future knowledge" from this forum by reading posts. Generally, my memory does not retain the details, so I can start missions with essentially a clean slate. However, I did remember 2 details from the threads on Menat Khufu: there are no luxury goods and no invasions. After building my last city (Thinis) with no linen, the lack of luxury goods put me in a funk, since I love scribal housing. So, searching for fun ideas, I reread the threads about Menat Khufu.

The oldest thread about Menat Khufu, Menat Khufu is not possible (a refreshingly blunt title), was typical, complaining about money. Several good players, playing at Hard difficulty or lower, had a lot of trouble. There are few possible exports (1500/year linen by land, 2500/year beer and 2500/year barley by water), but that should simply encourage a player to build somewhat slower, so the reported troubles were somewhat surprising. It would be fun to play a peaceful mission with economic problems comparable to those of some military missions (such as Dunqul Oasis).

The other aspect of Menat Khufu that is immediately obvious is the small amount of floodplain for the required population. Floodplain farms must supply food (other than up to 2500/year of imported chickpeas) plus barley and flax (to make beer and linen for both consumption and export). I found places for 46 irrigated floodplain farms (most of them touching the river), 22 on the east bank plus 24 on the west bank. Osiris's temple complex will improve floods and Sebek's altar will reduce food consumption, which will help some but perhaps not enough. Menat Khufu appears to be the first mission that is severely limited by the amount of floodplain.

Personal "rules"

These rules guided the design and construction of my recent cities, and will be followed:
* No cheats, of course.
* Very Hard difficulty.
* No personal funds.
* No debt.
* The final city is stable without intervention (until too many workers retire).
* All buildings that consume goods are kept supplied.
* Defense is decent (with probably 6 forts, several warships, and a few transports).
* Fire protection is better than is required at a lower difficulty.
* All roads are connected.

I prefer to follow these rules, but may abandon them for a good reason:
* No "rescue" gift.
* No deletions except rubble and things that are present when the mission starts.
* The festival square, palace, mansion, temple complex, and some of the best houses are close together.
* The festival square has regular traffic.

A rule that I'll use for the first time since Rostja is:
* No festivals.

For a while, I've wanted to try building another city without festivals, but recent missions haven't seemed appropriate. In some missions the Kingdom rating may take a long time to satisfy without Ra's "lifts your reputation" blessing, but Menat Khufu is promised frequent food requests, and the usual reward for satisfying them is a rise in the Kingdom rating. Ra's "trade more" blessing may speed up monument construction when trying for a quick finish, but Menat Khufu can import the required granite in 10 years, and more time than that may be needed to complete the city (given the limited trade income) or satisfy the Kingdom rating.

An advantage of no festivals is that unpredictable blessings won't help supply food and goods. I make stable cities, and it's usually easy to see that they can produce or import everything that is consumed. Therefore, in my previous cities, Bast's major blessing and Osiris's blessings were obviously not needed for stability, although they may have stocked houses and perhaps reduced the completion time. However, in Menat Khufu, food and goods supplies depend on the floods, which might be bad. Not getting blessings provides some assurance that the city can take care of itself (although it certainly does not guarantee stability).

To keep the gods happy without festivals, city-wide religious coverage will be 100% (my normal practice).

Prosperity, Housing, Culture

With no luxury goods, to get Prosperity 75 (the maximum at Very Hard), all houses will be fancy residences. Since farmland is limited, only 77 houses will be built, holding 7084 people (barely satisfying the population requirement). To supply labor access to work camps near all of the farms, there will be 4 housing blocks (2 on each bank). One of the housing blocks will include part of the original settlement.

Unless there are very few school kids, the Culture rating is limited to 65 (at Very Hard) by papyrus imports. Culture 65 will be the target, with 3 schools and 1 library. However, the library should be built later than most buildings, and if there are too many school kids at that time then a 4th school will be built instead (making Culture 60).

4 dance stages, 9 music stages, and 15 juggler stages are required. While I'm usually not adverse to building extra stages to simplify the design (as in my Waset, which has 8 dance stages when it needs only 6), I don't want to spend the extra money in Menat Khufu, so there will be 4 pavilions, 5 bandstands, and 6 booths.

1 senet house is required, which may be built anywhere (since all houses will have juggler, musician, and dance coverage).

40% of the people must have mortuary coverage, which will be provided by 1 mortuary (to minimize linen consumption). The mortuary will be in the largest housing block, which will have 31 houses.

I decided to have road loops of up to 44 tiles (even though fire protection would be better with 42-tile loops). With a square 44-tile loop road, a housing block of 31 fancy residences and 1 mortuary could have 3 bazaars (allowing granaries and storage yards to be somewhat farther away) and could be built around 4 large statues.

Consumption, Imports, Exports, Farm types, Storage

Estimating the goods used by a mortuary and a senet house, the total food and beer and linen consumption will be about 21768/year. Without any extra production for exports, if all food is locally grown then an average farm would have to produce about 473/year. That may be possible in the long term, but I'd hate to depend on it.

To reduce consumption of locally-grown food, chickpeas will be imported by water from Men-nefer, which also supplies papyrus. The dock is a fair distance from the ship entry point and ships may run aground on the sand bars, so river trade is uncertain. Therefore, I won't import the maximum chickpeas, but will supply them to only 20 houses, so 2160/year of chickpeas will be consumed. (57 houses will be supplied figs, and all houses will be supplied pomegranates.) Papyrus consumption by 3 schools and a library should be around 1980/year, and Men-nefer should easily be able to send the required 3.5 trade ships per year.

While the city is being built, 4 potters and 1 weaponsmith may be running, so an average of 2256/year of clay, 564/year of copper, and 25/year (the maximum) of granite may be imported from Thinis. This requires around 4.5 trade ships per year, which may not always be sent, but temporary interruptions of clay and copper imports shouldn't hurt much. The final city will not import granite and will only need 1848/year of clay.

With the reduced fig consumption, an average farm would have to produce about 426/year, which should be considerably easier than 473/year. (Actually, farm production will have to be a little higher, since some food will be dispatched to satisfy requests.) Since I love to export a lot of expensive goods from any city, I considered having a few extra barley or flax farms, but eventually decided against it, to keep the required average farm production at a minimum. Therefore, the types of farms will be: 6 flax, 6 barley, 15 fig, and 19 pomegranate. Naturally, I'll hope that long-term production will be higher, allowing beer and linen exports in good years. (Exports shouldn't be necessary in the completed city, since taxes on 77 fancy residences should cover all expenses.)

A series of terrible floods could reduce the average farm production to well below 426/year. To survive through such a period, the city will store a fair amount of food and goods. 2.5 years worth of consumption should be enough to see the city through several years of insufficient production, since the city will produce some food and goods even in the worst times. Therefore, the city will have space for an extra 2 storage yards each of beer and linen (beyond that used to hold exports), 5 storage yards/granaries of figs, and 7 storage yards/granaries of pomegranates.

Workers

I made a quick estimate of the number of workers required by all buildings except work camps. Assuming that around 40% of the population wants to work, there would be over 1000 excess workers. Should I build a work camp for every farm, which would be an inexpensive way to provide jobs and would generate farm laborers quickly? Maybe not.

Since all roads are connected, a farm may be assigned a laborer who was generated across the river, significantly reducing production. While I'd expect that most farms would get laborers from nearby work camps, the first few farms that are exposed by the retreating flood (and perhaps the last few farms to be assigned laborers) are more likely to get laborers from distant work camps. This problem should be worse with more work camps. Trying to make a compromise between avoiding the problem (fewer work camps) and generating laborers quickly (more work camps), I chose to build 1 work camp for every 2 farms. (I may have been swayed by there being an even number of farms on each bank.)

How to employ the remaining workers? In Menat Khufu, the next cheapest buildings per worker are potters, firehouses, and police stations (since hunting lodges and sandstone quarries are not available). Extra potters and firehouses have no obvious use, but policemen could help defend the city, so most of the extra buildings will be police stations. (However, it is nice to design without caring about the efficiency of fire marshals, so the city will have more firehouses than is usual for me.) Also, just for fun, all houses will have herbalist coverage (even though there is no marsh on the map), since apothecaries (like architect posts) cost just a little more per worker than police stations.

Since there will be lots of spare workers, expensive shrines will only be used when their desirability effects are crucial. City-wide religious coverage will be provided primarily by temples and the temple complex.

That's enough for today. I should finish the design posts tomorrow.

[This message has been edited by Brugle (edited 02-05-2003 @ 02:23 AM).]

Brugle,

I'm still twitching from my Menat Khufu. Your plan sounds like it is a solid start. Those unemployed workers add up. Too bad this isn't a mission that requires a lot of peasant labor for a monument. Though I wonder what would happen if you demolished the existing pyramid....

What are your plans for the existing village? In mine, only one house remained. The rest had been razed and turned into potters. The small pyramid, gardens, and statues were untouched, of course.

As far as planning ahead, at least you noticed no luxury goods were available. I built an entire manor block before realizing that they would never go past Fancy Residence. Ever since then, I dutifully check to see what is the highest level of housing I can achieve before planning blocks. However, this was the first city where I truly believe I had planned city blocks that looked like "normal" neighborhoods. Definitely a change from my ghost town Waset, where I laid out roads for two neighborhoods that never got populated with anything but tumbleweeds.

And have fun fulfilling Pharaoh's requests. *TWITCH* I know I did....*TWITCH*

Kuros Paladin - Knight of the Nile

KurosPaladin,

If the pyramid is deleted, then it must be rebuilt (with limestone from Waset and bricks from Dakhla Oasis).

I intend to save around half of the existing village. I'll describe it later in a longer post. By the way, I didn't see any gardens there.

In my opinion, my cities never resemble "normal" neighborhoods. My On probably came closest.

[This message has been edited by Brugle (edited 02-05-2003 @ 07:22 PM).]

Oh yeah, the gardens were around the Khmun pyramid. I just remembering something alongside it being in my way, so it must've been one of the statues.

I will definitely be interested in reading your post, since I am currently in the process of replaying a lot of the earlier missions. Baki is sorta on hold right now because I just can't seem to get a good start on it, and I just did not like the first time I finished. It just didn't feel "right." I JUST finished Meidum for the second time, nearly doubling my previous score. Menat Khufu is still about seven cities away, but I might skip some of the others.

Looking forward to the remainder of your post!

Kuros Paladin - Knight of the Nile

The design of Menat Khufu advances to the locations of specific buildings!

Actually, the locations of a few buildings were determined while the decisions in my first reply were being made. The dock will be as close as possible to the ship entry point, on the east bank. A new ferry crossing near the dock will shorten cross-river journeys. The shipwright and 4 warship wharves fit nicely on a stretch of the west bank that isn't too far from the original settlement. 2 transport wharves (1 among the warships and 1 near the dock) complete the waterfront buildings.

To make it easier to control housing evolution, I decided to put houses only in locations where four 1x1 houses of the same type will merge into a 2x2 house. Short tests were run to determine those locations.

Work camps, Housing blocks, City center, Monuments, Original settlement

Each pair of farms will have a nearby work camp to generates laborers very close to both farms. A road along the floodplains will make sure that any laborer going to a distant farm travels the minimum distance.

The narrow strip of land between the southwest floodplain and rocks will contain a housing block to supply labor access to the nearby work camps. I managed to squeeze 5 fancy residences with everything they need in among a few work camps, on a road that is short enough to ensure that each "random" walker will cover all of his/her intended buildings on every walk. A dance school and a conservatory near the southern work camps will generate entertainers who pass by the houses on their walk north, and a nearby booth will attract jugglers who pass by the houses on their walk south. 11 shrines improve the neighborhood--I disliked using that many, but would have hated having fewer houses.

If the 5-house block is supplied chickpeas, then a block of 15 houses would also be supplied chickpeas, and blocks of 26 and 31 houses would be supplied figs. If the 5-house block is supplied figs, then blocks of 21 and 31 houses would also be supplied figs, and a block of 20 houses would be supplied chickpeas. It seemed better to have the 2 intermediate-sized blocks nearly the same size, so the latter option was chosen.

I fiddled around with the locations of the other 3 blocks for quite a while. I won't describe the many false starts.

The chickpea-eating 20-house block will be in the southeast, just far enough south to guarantee good labor access to the nearby work camps. It will have a booth, and entertainers will pass all houses on their walk along the northwest and southwest sides to a pavilion in the south. 3 bandstands will be close. This block will have the library, since it is close to the entry point and its houses can be evolved late in the mission.

The large 31-house block with the mortuary will be in the northeast, to provide labor access to the dock area and a couple of work camps. It will have a booth, and musicians and dancers will pass all houses on their walks to a pair of pavilions. Another booth and a bandstand will be close. 1 shrine was used, where it looks great (roadblocks NW and SE, roads touching elsewhere).

A "city center" with the temple complex, palace, and mansion will be near the pavilions of the large housing block. The festival square, a booth, and an obelisk will be close (about equidistant from the two eastern housing blocks), near the floodplain and lots of traffic.

The 21-house block will include part of the original settlement in the northwest, to provide labor access to the shipyard/warship area and half of the western work camps. It will have a booth, and musicians and dancers will pass all houses on their walks along the southeast and northeast sides then through a bandstand to a pavilion in the northwest. An obelisk will be close, near the pyramid.

The pyramid (and its statues) will be preserved (of course), along with about half of the original settlement: 6 2x2 houses, 2 1x1 houses (that will form part of a 2x2 house), 1 bazaar, the water supply, the roadblock, and some roads. Urban renewal requires the removal of 3 2x2 houses, 10 1x1 houses, 1 bazaar, the granary, both work camps, both farms, the ferry crossing, the bridge, and some roads. I hate to kick people out of their homes, but it would be difficult to preserve any more and still accomplish my goals.

Enough extra temples are around the housing blocks to provide 100% city-wide coverage. There is also space for a few more temples, just in case I decide to build temples to Osiris before the temple complex.

I typically use a lot of gardens in housing blocks, since I dislike bare ground there. However, in Menat Khufu, when I can get away with it, I'll put police stations next to roads instead of gardens (to save a little money). A lot of fancy residences will have barely enough desirability!

Industries, Goods storage, Goods distribution, Military

There will be 8 weavers and 8 breweries. A few of them may have an "odd lot" (less than 100) of flax or barley, and therefore work at less than full efficiency. Even if the overall efficiency was only 80%, they would still produce over 3600/year of each good, which would be fine. (I'd be thrilled if the average farm production was 600/year.) There will be a storage yard each for flax and barley, to hold any surplus that is produced after a good flood.)

The 8 weavers will be northwest of the northeast housing block (which has the mortuary), fairly close to its entrance. 3 linen storage yards will be south of the northeast block, not too far from the weavers, and not too far from the nearest bazaar in the southeast housing block. Storage yards that "get 1/4" linen will be closer to the entrance of the northeast block and on the west bank, both of them farther from the land entry point than the main linen storage yards, to prevent visits by trade caravans.

The 8 breweries will be north of the southeast housing block. The senet house will be nearby. 3 beer storage yards will be near the dock, not too far from the breweries, and not too far from the nearest bazaar in the northeast housing block. Storage yards that "get 1/4" beer will be closer to the entrance of the southeast block and on the west bank.

At some point during the design, I recognized a problem that I haven't encountered before. In my cities, bazaar goods buyers and "getting" cart pushers are typically assured of picking up a moderately large amount (usually 400) of their desired good on each trip. One method (used in 4 of my last 5 cities) is to have only 1 storage yard for a good and to make sure that it always has enough for the peak demand. That cannot be done in Menat Khufu.

When a good is stored in multiple storage yards, and its production can sometimes be lower than consumption, a bazaar goods buyer or a "getting" cart pusher may go to a storage yard that contains only 100 (or less) of a good. (I'll assume that a bazaar goods buyer will convert less than 100 of a good to 100 (since a bazaar food buyer will do that), and will also assume that a "getting" cart pusher will rarely get less than 100 of a good.) It is unlikely that this situation would occur repeatedly, but it is possible for beer or linen in my Menat Khufu, and became an important consideration. Those who may be affected (storage yards cart pushers that "get" beer and linen for the west bank, the beer bazaar buyer for the northeast housing block, and the linen bazaar buyer for the southeast housing block) have a short enough distance to and from storage yards so that getting only 100 on each trip would be OK.

4 potters are required. They will be in two groups (which I dislike, but not too strongly) close enough to the clay (and pomegranate) storage yard near the dock to maintain full production. A pottery (and wood) storage yard will be near the middle of the east bank, and a storage yard that "gets 1/4" pottery will be on the west bank.

The wood (and pottery) storage yard will be closer to the land entry point than the main linen storage yards, to make sure that the traders from Dakhla Oasis don't vist one of the "get 1/4" linen storage yards. The carpenter guild and stonemason guild will be nearby. The shipwright will be some distance away (across the river), so micromanagement may be required when the shipyard is active, especially if carpenters are active at the same time.

1 weaponsmith will be placed near the breweries, which is close enough to the copper (and chickpeas) storage yard near the dock to allow full production. The recruiter and academy will be nearby. Since none of the housing needs the senet house (and the space I had originally planned for it near the mansion was taken by a granary), I decided to put the senet house across the street from the academy.

Papyrus will be distributed by the papyrus storage yard near the dock and by 2 "Brugle storage yards" (which are described in my Double a "getting" storage yard's delivery capacity thread). I didn't use "Brugle" storage yards" in my last 4 cities, but in Menat Khufu I don't want to buy the extra papyrus that regular "get 1/4" storage yards would require. A plain stone quarry between the northwest block and the pyramid will provide the "filler".

Food storage, Food distribution, Farms

I decided to prevent another unusual problem that may occur when granaries "get" food (in this case, from storage yards). The problem happens because a granary does not send out a labor-seeker if both of its cart pushers are in use. (A similar problem with storage yards was fixed in the Pharaoh "patch".) If a granary sends out both cart pushers to get some food, and then farms produce enough of the food to fill all storage yards and all granaries, then the granary cart pushers may not be able to get rid of their loads for a long time, the granary may lose labor access, and bazaars (and houses) that depend on that granary may not get any food. (I saw this happen to a granary when I ran my Thinis for 5 extra years after completion, but one of the granary's cart pushers eventually returned to the granary and labor access was restored.)

This problem may be avoided by making sure that a "getting" granary does not use both cart pushers, which will be the case if at most 2 bazaar buyers buy food from the granary and if a single cart pusher can handle the load. I think this will be true for all of the local-food granaries in my Menat Khufu, at least when a lot of food is stored (which is the only time that the problem will occur).

The problem cannot occur with imported food. A granary north of the (chickpea-eating) southeast block will "get" chickpeas from the chickpea (and copper) storage yard near the dock.

Figs will be stored entirely (except for bazaars and houses) on the west bank. Most of the fig storage yards will be north of the northwest block. A "getting" figs granary will be close to the ferry terminal on the west bank, which will be used by 2 bazaars in the northeast block (the only bazaar buyers that will cross the river). Another "getting" figs granary will be in the middle of the west bank (with 3/4 of a storage yard for figs nearby), which will be used by a bazaar in the northwest block and the bazaar in the southwest block.

Most of the pomegranate storage yards will be near the ferry terminal on the east bank. A "getting" pomegranates granary will be northwest of the northeast block, and will be used by a bazaar in the northeast block. Another "getting" pomegranates granary will be in the middle of the east bank (with 1/2 of a storage yard for pomegranates nearby), and will be used by 2 bazaars in the southeast block. A third "getting" pomegranates granary (with 3/4 of a storage yard for pomegranates nearby) will be fairly close to the ferry terminal on the west bank, and will be used by 2 bazaars in the northwest block and the bazaar in the southwest block. While the last granary is used by 3 bazaar buyers, the total obtained by the 2 from the northwest block should not (once houses are fully stocked) be more than a single bazaar buyer could get.

Since all figs will be stored on the west bank, the 15 fig farms will be there (in the south). Since all weavers and breweries are on the east bank, the 6 flax farms and the 6 barley farms will be there (flax in the north, barley in the middle). The 19 pomegranate farms will be split, 9 on the west bank (in the north) and 10 on the east bank (in the south).

That's it for Menat Khufu's design (unless I forgot something). The next installment (which might be any time in the next few weeks) should be the initial construction plan.

[This message has been edited by Brugle (edited 02-06-2003 @ 06:38 AM).]

I haven't decided to how to start building Menat Khufu yet. The biggest question is whether to take the "rescue" gift. I'll give my thoughts, and then ask for opinions.

At Very Hard difficulty, the starting funds are 5999 Db. Since the raw materials (flax and barley) have to be grown (with a harvest in Jul), sales of expensive goods can't start until near the end of the year. Money will be tight. First, I'll assume that the "rescue" gift is not taken.

Each year, the maximum exports of expensive goods will be 1500 linen and (with a little micromanagement) at least 3600 beer (3800 beer, if I'm sure that 4 ships will visit from Men-nefer). Unless floods are fairly good, it's likely that beer exports will not always be maximized, and therefore all of the barley grown could eventually be turned into beer and sold. Linen exports, however, should be maximized in each year after the first (until linen consumption becomes large). Therefore, in the first year, the emphasis will be on growing barley, growing flax, and producing and selling linen. Producing and selling beer is somewhat less important, but should be started fairly quickly.

Therefore, the following should be done in the first year:
* On the east bank, build some roads and vacant lots and perhaps a water supply. Add protection when needed.
* As soon as people settle on the east bank, build a work camp or two and most or all of the flax and barley farms.
* By the harvest, build most or all of the weavers and a storage yard.
* Open the trade route to Dakhla Oasis, and sell some linen.
* Build some breweries, when they can be afforded (perhaps after linen sales).

There should be enough money to do that, and perhaps just a little more. Some food could be grown (on the west bank), to satisfy any requests and to start accumulating the huge amounts that will be stocked in houses (42427 pomegranates, 31407 figs, 11020 chickpeas) and (hopefully) held in reserve. Or a few breweries could be built, but if the breweries take too many more workers then population would need to be over 449 (or worse, 499), and the gods would become resentful (or angry). There probably isn't enough money to placate the gods.

In the second year, some more housing will be added, and temples (or perhaps shrines) built to keep the gods in a reasonable mood. Food and beer production would be increased (requiring more storage yards), the dock built, the trade route to Men-nefer opened, and beer sold. Those things (and wages) would take much of the money made from exports, but there might be enough for 1 or possibly 2 of the following:
* Build the mansion (and set salary to 0), to increase the Kingdom rating by 1 each year.
* Build the palace and some tax collectors, to earn a bit more money.
* Build the temple complex, to improve floods and satisfy Osiris without any more temples or shrines.
* Open the trade route to Waset, and start importing 25/year of granite.
* Start the military, either the recruiter and academy and forts or the shipyard and warships.
It might take over 4 years to accomplish just those few tasks.

Even if the "rescue" gift is fairly small, taking it should allow beer production to begin earlier, and maybe be sold in the first year. The earlier beer production should mean that a few more debens can be made (or saved) by starting taxation (or building the temple complex) earlier. It might also allow more food production. In short, the "rescue" gift could help the city grow somewhat faster.

Would faster growth be more fun? I don't know. Starting a city with limited funds is (for me) one of the most enjoyable parts of the game. However, even if the "rescue" gift is fairly large, money would still be tight for many years, and growing too slowly could be boring.

Therefore, I'm asking if anyone reading these posts has a preference--should I take the "rescue" gift or not?

Hi Brugle,

its great to see you at 'work' again .

Quote:

I had a quick peek at the mission at hand and noticed the following:

If you count everything that is already built (ex. pyramid) the starting funds come to 8531db (assuming I counted & added correctly ).

225 pop with 16 unemployed and room for 101 more, that leaves roughly room for 120 more new housing population - if you don't feed the existing during the first year.(put up a storage yard for foods for requests?) - Don't know how the existing farms interfere with your final layout plans, but if possible I'd add a couple more 'food farms' too.
Also, I'd make sure all farms to be irrigated right away (fertility seems low as is).

Off the additional choices you listed for the second year, I'd go for the temple complex as my first choice (flood plains seem to be the key for success in this mission) and funds permitting the trade route to Waset second.
(The 'roi' on taxation seems under the given circumstances too low; military can be postponed [banking on 'peaceful'] unless 'events' would require it; kingdom rating shouldn't be a concern considering the total length of the mission [guessing 12-15 years]).

To sum it up, I think you (if anybody can) should try to 'live without the rescue money' - since this seems to be the main challenge in this mission (however 'boring' it may become later...)

Ps, on another note that I keep forgetting to ask you, do you dislike walls, towers and gatehouses or is there another reason for the 'armies' of 'smurfs' in some of your other missions...and about to be here too, if I read your discription right?

[edit]

Quote:

Oh yes you have...

[/edit]

[This message has been edited by C Franziskus (edited 02-09-2003 @ 10:35 AM).]

Brugle,

I am sure that you have noticed that in the Advanced Rules for Pharaoh thread that I didn’t list “no debt” as one of the rules that I play by. It wasn’t an accidental oversight.

The game was designed to allow a certain amount of debt, and being in debt has its own in-game penalties. In the game, as in real life, we are allowed to consider the advantages verses the disadvantages that come with debt and chose the path that is most beneficial to our future prosperity. I live my life “debt free” now, but that wasn’t always my strategy. I didn’t wait twenty years to save enough money to buy a house. I borrowed money to start my business. I had to get a loan for my new first car. I made the decision to go in debt on these occasions because I believed that, in the long run, I would come out ahead in the “game of life”.

I play Pharaoh the same way. Debt is an option. If it to my advantage (in regards to other mission goals) to temporally go into debt, I will do so. If I can avoid debt by postponing new construction for a month or two, I will do that instead. Unfortunately, the “rescue gift” isn’t an option. I never received a rescue gift in real life; but I was never assigned a task by Pharaoh that I must complete. If my game strategy requires debt that triggers the rescue gift, I gladly accept it.

Of course, your question isn’t about playing strategy. I think that what you are really asking is “Will accepting the rescue gift make this mission unchallenging (too easy).” If there was a question about this mission being impossible to complete on Very Hard without going into debt or accepting the rescue gift, then it would be a worth while challenge. But that is not the issue here. I have no doubt that you could complete this mission with out the rescue gift. Avoiding debt, and thereby avoiding the rescue gift, only prolongs game play. So what is really accomplished? You fundamental strategy remains the same, you just have to “slow it down”. The mission isn’t less difficult if you receive the rescue gift; it’s just longer.

I recommend that you accept the rescue gift and get on with the mission.

Hi Vaia,

I'm not trying to speak for Brugle,
but your conclusion of your reasoning surprised me somewhat.
Isn't it exactly the 'slow down' effect and therefore a much more quantitative approach that must be taken if a player chooses to play at 'very hard'? That just implies to me, that what you layed out is not really an option 'taking the rescue gift and getting on with it'; if thats the idea then you might as well play on 'normal' and be done even faster. I personally think in this case, with such limited funds and restricted trade potential (its only through farming!!! & two outstanding monuments & high population demand vs severely limited housing evolution) - that trying to avoid the rescue gift definitely poses a major challenge.

[This message has been edited by C Franziskus (edited 02-09-2003 @ 06:30 PM).]

C Franziskus,

Assuming that I counted & added correctly , just the bricks and limestone in the pyramid would cost 16032 Db. But the mission would be much different if that much (plus the cost of a bricklayer guild and the required wood) was added to the starting funds and the pyramid had to be constructed, since the money to pay for monument materials is needed gradually. The revised mission would have plenty of money to start almost everything (including both export industries, imports of granite and limestone and bricks, full food production, taxation, and the temple complex) in the first year, and the main city construction issue would be maximizing imports from Waset (the source of granite, limestone, clay, and copper).

I'm likely to irrigate every farm as soon as it's built. The difference in production would be small in the initial growing season (since most farms would have 93%-98%) fertility, but the first flood is expected to be poor, and if irrigation will be used immediately after the first flood (before any exports are sold), then it might as well be used from the start. Flax farms are a possible exception, since production in the initial (short) growing season may be more important than in the next one.

The existing pomegranate farm (and some of the road) will eventually be replaced by 2 farms and some irrigation ditch. The fig farm will eventually be replaced by another farm that is closer to the river. I may not delete those farms initially, since if only a few food farms will be built in the initial growing season then it may be more cost effective to build them elsewhere (where fertility is higher).

While the return on investment of taxation is small initially, the only other investment besides the temple complex that has any return is improving housing (and what that requires, such as growing food) to make taxation more lucrative later.

Whether the Kingdom Rating will affect completion time depends on how much it rises due to events. I'll assume that those events will be food requests, that they will be dispatched on time, and that each will raise the KR by 5. At Very Hard difficulty the KR has to increase by 35, and it will drop by 1 at the end of the first year (from the loss of money). If 6 or more requests are dispatched then the KR should be satisfied early. However, if only 5 (or 4) requests are dispatched, then the KR should not be satisfied until at least 10 (or 15) years after the end of the year that the mansion is built (which would not be the first year).

The main thing I have against walls, towers, and gatehouses is their expense. (A tower and its underlying wall costs 733 Db, while a police station costs 45 Db.) I've used towers in several cities for predator control. I prefer to use towers for defense against land invasions when I can cover all approaches with them, and have done that in a few cities (including Bahariya Oasis, which is in the Downloads and is described in a few replies in the old Bahariya Oasis in 139 months thread). I don't care for walls without towers. I've previously used policemen for defense only in Dunqul Oasis (where towers are not available) and Thinis (which was huge). In Menat Khufu, policemen are mainly inexpensive jobs--their defensive function is just a small bonus.

[This message has been edited by Brugle (edited 02-09-2003 @ 08:29 PM).]

VitruviusAIA,

I've used debt in my life too (and may again). But I don't consider my life a model for playing Pharaoh--in fact, I would never want to be a dictator (even a benevolent one), since I only want relationships that are completely voluntary.

I thought that you would recommend accepting the "rescue" gift, since one of your rules is to try for a fast completion. I also like to finish quickly (as in Waset), but in some missions (such as Thinis) that didn't seem to be important. My feelings in Menat Khufu are intermediate (wishy-washy ).

Refusing the "rescue" gift might prolong the mission, but it might not. This partially depends on when requests are received. For example, using the assumptions in the second-to-last paragraph of reply #10, if the 5th request is received in the 15th year, then I'd hope that the mission would end when the Kingdom rating increase for dispatching that request is received, even if the "rescue" gift was not taken.

In any case, I probably won't start building Menat Khufu for several days, so the decision can wait.

[This message has been edited by Brugle (edited 02-09-2003 @ 08:32 PM).]

I just realized that I appear to not know that there will be a food request early in the first year. I have seen that request (during the short tests to determine where four 1x1 houses of the same type will merge), but am trying to play as if I hadn't. (I might be more willing to build food farms initially if I didn't know about that request.)

Brugle,
that's why I put (ex pyramid)...

Anyhow, its your call and either way I wish you good luck and lots of fun.

Looking forward to see the story unfold...

Brugle, I thought I'd post here on this thread just in case you haven't been following the Game Maps thread. I just put up a link to a map of Menet Khufu (sorry if spelled it wrong) that I made in Excel. You might want to go there and read what I posted there about it. It could help you when designing your city.

Zamirathe,

I read almost everything that is posted in this forum (and several others), and I expect that the other moderators do too.

My design of Menat Khufu (except for a few minor details such as fort locations) is done and is summarized in replies #1 and #5. I just have to find the time to build it (after deciding whether to take the "rescue" gift).

Over a month with no city-building! I probably won't have any "spare" time, so I'll just have to take it away from something else. The construction of Menat Khufu should start this weekend.

Checking the design, I saw that I had mistakenly planned more religious buildings than were necessary to keep the gods "Congenial". So 1 temple and 2 shrines were eliminated, leaving 8 temples plus 4 shrines for Bast and 7 temples plus 6 shrines for Ra. (Even more houses should now have just enough desirability.) Osiris has 2 ordinary temples, to keep him happy before the temple complex is built.

I decided to not accept the "rescue" gift, mainly for the reasons given by C Franziskus in reply #9. VitruviusAIA, I hope you don't mind my not following your suggestion. If it's any consolation, connecting all roads (which you persuaded me to start doing) made the design considerably harder.

I've finally started Menat Khufu, which begins in 1950 BC with 5999 Db (at Very Hard difficulty), 225 people (plus room for 101 more), and KR 40. Growth was severely limited by money. There was a labor shortage much of the time.

In Jan, vacant lots were placed for 3 houses, 2 in the southeast block (to provide labor access for work camps and breweries) plus 1 in the northwest block. (3 vacant lots were placed for each new house. The 4th vacant lot for each house will be added appropriately.) Walker control in the existing settlement was improved with a roadblock and a few road deletions. Another vacant lot was placed in the northwest block, which will eventually merge with 2 existing 1x1 houses. The granary was set to accept nothing. 6 irrigated flax farms and 6 irrigated barley farms were built on the east bank. 2 work camps were built so that their labor-seekers would approach the southeast block houses soon after immigrants arrived.

In Feb, the new work camps started supplying laborers to the flax and barley farms. Vacant lots were placed for 8 houses in the northeast block (some of which will provide labor access for weavers and the dock). The northeast block is intended to house most of the new immigrants in the next few years. The first new firehouse was built. (More firehouses will be built as needed.)

At the start of Apr, a request for 1100 pomegranates was received from Men-nefer. 3 irrigated pomegranate farms were built on the west bank. (Those farms, plus the original pomegranate farm, should produce enough to satisfy the request. More food farms will be built after some linen is sold.) 3 temples, 1 each for Osiris, Ra, and Bast, were built in or near the southeast block. The first new architect post was built. (More architect posts will be built as needed.) 6 weavers were built. All farms had laborers.

In Jun, a 1x1 crude hut in the original settlement was deleted, which improved the neighborhood enough to allow the remaining crude huts (another 1x1 plus a 2x2) to evolve to sturdy huts. (I should have done that in the beginning.) Vacant lots for 3 more houses in the northeast block were placed. The 7th weaver was built. The first 2 storage yards, 1 on the west bank (temporarily for pomegranates and figs) plus 1 on the east bank (for barley and temporarily for beer) were built. (The road connection to the barley storage yard was longer than necessary, to allow better management of land caravans. A shorter connection will be added, probably before next year's harvest.)

The harvest in Jul produced 2504 flax, 2536 barley, 1376 pomegranates, and 48 figs.

In Aug, 1100 pomegranates were dispatched. The original farms (1 pomegranate and 1 fig) were deleted. The weavers became operational. The 3rd storage yard (for flax, and temporarily for linen) was built. The land trade route to Dakhla Oasis was opened, the first caravan headed for the flax/linen storage yard (thinking they would sell wood there), and the second caravan similarly headed for the barley storage yard. (Since the caravans were travelling on roads, the exact travel time is easy to calculate. The trade route opening was timed so that the second caravan would arrive at the flax/linen storage yard a little before the end of the year.) There was 294Db, enough to last into Nov.

In Oct, the first linen was produced. The second caravan arrived at the barley storage yard and headed for the flax/linen storage yard.

In Nov, the first caravan bought 700 linen. Vacant lots for 4 houses in the southeast block were placed. (All houses in the southeast block that do not touch the loop road were now started.) 5 breweries were built and became operational. The original granary was deleted. 2 fig farms were built on the west bank. There was only 72 Db. (To save money, the new farms were not irrigated.)

At the start of Dec, the Kingdom rating rose 5 because Men-nefer appreciated the promegranates. The second caravan bought 700 more linen. The 6th brewery was built. 3 more fig farms (making 5) and 1 more pomegranate farm (making 4) were built on the west bank. The 2nd temple to Osiris was built, in the northwest block. 1 of the original bazaars was deleted. (If that bazaar had been deleted before the 2nd temple to Osiris was built, then one of the original stury huts would have devolved to a crude hut.) Another caravan from Dakhla Oasis (fooled again by the promise of wood sales) headed for the flax/linen storage yard. There was 240 Db, barely enough to last into Mar.

The year ended with 682 people, 167 Db, CR 5, PR 0, and KR 44. Next year should see beer exports (by water), more food farms, and the mansion.

[This message has been edited by Brugle (edited 03-18-2003 @ 07:13 PM).]

Menat Khufu continued to grow slowly in its second year, 1949 BC.

In Feb, another caravan from Dakhla Oasis was lured by the prospect of wood sales and headed for the flax/linen storage yard. (Some more caravans will be manipulated, starting near the end of the year.)

In Mar, a caravan bought 700 linen. The 7th brewery was built. The 4th storage yard (temporarily set to get beer) was built near the dock's location. The first new water supply was built in the northeast block. 2 more pomegranate farms (making 6) were built on the west bank. (The next flood was predicted to be good, so I didn't mind building farms near the end of the growing season.) Some irrigation was added, leaving only 2 fig farms unirrigated.

In Apr, the last food from the original settlement was eaten, and the only remaining meager shanty devolved to a sturdy hut.

In May, a caravan bought 400 linen. The dock was built and became operational, and the (water) trade route to Men-nefer was opened. All of the houses in the northeast block had evolved to sturdy huts. There was 179 Db, enough to last into Jul.

In Jul, the harvest produced 4032 flax, 4024 barley, 3054 pomegranates, and 2912 figs. (Future harvests will probably not be reported.) A ship from Men-nefer bought 1200 beer (recorded on the world map as 1100). The 8th (and last) brewery was built and became operational. A shorter road was built between the breweries and the dock area, allowing the breweries to deliver directly to the storage yards near the dock.

In Aug, city health fell from very good to good. Vacant lots were placed for 6 more houses in the northeast block plus 1 more house in the southeast block (to provide labor access for another work camp). 3 pomegranate farms were built on the east bank.

In Sep, a ship bought 1200 beer.

In Oct, another work camp was built on the east bank (making 3 on the east bank) and started supplying laborers to the new farms. A caravan bought 400 linen.

At the start of Nov, a request for 2000 figs was received from Waset and was dispatched immediately. The 5th storage yard (for pomegranates) was built on the west bank. 9 more pomegranate farms (making 10 on the east bank plus 9 on the west bank) were built, completing the farms except for 10 fig farms on the west bank. To save money, no irrigation was added. A ship bought 900 beer.

In Dec, disease risk became "yellow" for 2 crude huts in the southeast block, so the first 2 physicians were built in the southeast and northeast blocks. The first 2 police stations were built in the southeast and northeast blocks. (Physicians and police stations were not built in the northwest block, since that requires the deletion of some original houses and rearrangement of some roads.) The 6th storage yard (for several things, including finer control of trade caravans) was built near the dock. (More storage yards will be built as needed.) The mansion was built and the salary set to 0.

The year ended with 969 people, 531 Db, CR 5, PR 4, and KR 45. Next year some people should eat and be taxed, and granite imports (for the first obelisk) should begin, but the population should rise only a little (until more temples and the temple complex are built, probably in the fourth year).

[This message has been edited by Brugle (edited 03-22-2003 @ 01:17 PM).]

There were insufficient workers throughout Menat Khufu's third year, 1948 BC, as in the previous year. Micromanagement of labor priorities was tedious.

In Jan, a ship from Men-nefer was not allowed to buy beer, since there was only 800 beer available. (A full shipload of 1200 beer is counted as 1100, so sales can be maximized by selling mainly in full shiploads.) A caravan bought 800 linen.

In Feb, the population went above 1000. A caravan from Dakhla Oasis was bounced between storage yards so that it would buy 300 linen as the linen arrived from weavers. The palace and the first 2 tax collectors were built in the northeast and southeast blocks.

At the start of Mar, the Kingdom rating rose 5 because Waset appreciated the figs. The same caravan bought 400 more linen. The trade route to Waset was opened. A ship from Men-nefer bought 1200 beer. The tax rate was set to 13%, and the wage rate was set to 34 (Kingdom+4).

In May, city health fell to average. A ship from Waset sold 12 granite.

In Jul, a ship from Waset sold 1 granite. A ship from Men-nefer bought 1200 beer.

In Aug, the first new granary and the first 2 new bazaars were built, in the northeast block. A ship from Men-nefer was allowed to buy only 200 beer. (At this point, the world map recorded Men-nefer as buying 2400 of 2500 beer.) The first booth and first juggler school, in and not too far from the northeast block, were built. Entertainment!

In Sep, the 2nd temple for Ra and the 2nd temple for Bast were built, in and near the northeast block. Pomegranates arrived in the granary, and buyers from the northeast block bazaars got some. A ship from Waset sold 4 granite (and continued to sell).

In Oct, the same ship sold 8 more granite, for a total of 25. (25 granite should be purchased each year for the next 8 years.) Some houses in the northeast block received pomegranates. Food! The first large statue, first plazas, and first gardens were built, in the northeast block. The houses with food evolved to ordinary cottages. (At Very Hard difficulty, ordinary cottages are the lowest level whose residents pay double taxes.) There was only 104 Db.

In Nov, a ship from Men-nefer bought 1200 beer, for a yearly total of 3800, which maximized expensive exports. (In the future, only unusual trades will be reported.) 2 more unirrigated fig farms (making 7) were built on the west bank.

In Dec, city health rose to good. However, disease risk became "red" for some sturdy huts in the original settlement (part of the northwest block). 2 2x2 sturdy huts and 2 1x1 sturdy huts were deleted, for several reasons: to eliminate a "red" disease risk house, to allow a road to be rerouted, and to lower tribute by dropping the population below 1000. The original firehouse was also deleted. A physician, a police station, a tax collector, and a replacement firehouse were built in the northwest block. All 21 existing houses in northeast block had evolved to ordinary cottages.

The year ended with 993 people, 864 Db, CR 10, PR 15, KR 51, and 25 granite. Since the next flood is likely to fail, Osiris's temple complex will be built early next year. Also, more people should get food, attracting more immigrants.

[This message has been edited by Brugle (edited 03-27-2003 @ 04:21 PM).]

Menat Khufu grew decently in its fourth year, 1947 BC. There were also a few surprises.

In Jan, the 2nd granary (for figs and temporarily pomegranates) was built, on the west bank, both foods arrived there, and buyers from the existing bazaar in the northwest block got some. (Figs will not be consumed at this time but will be counted as a 2nd food by the Overseer of Public Health, and houses are a convenient place to store food.) A couple of 1x1 sturdy huts (scheduled for demolition) devolved to crude huts. Osiris's temple complex was built, on the east bank, and the Nilometer prediction immediately improved from "likely fail entirely" to "likely to be poor". To make room for flax in a storage yard, 1600 linen (half of one of the burial provisions) was dispatched to the pyramid.

At the start of Feb, a request for 2000 pomegranates was received from Waset and was dispatched immediately. Some houses in the northwest block received pomegranates and figs. In the northwest block, 1 2x2 sturdy hut, 5 1x1 sturdy huts, and 2 1x1 crude huts were deleted. Of the items that remained from the original settlement, the only ones that were not planned to be kept are the 2 work camps, the architect post, some roads, the ferry crossing, and the bridge.

In Mar, all existing houses in the northwest block had evolved to shanties or rough cottages.

In Apr, the 2nd juggler school and 2nd booth were built, in the northwest block. The 2nd large statue and more gardens were built, in the northwest block, and all 8 houses evolved to ordinary cottages. (More beautification will be added as needed.) Taxes should now be almost equal to wages, making it easier to spend down to the last deben! The new ferry crossing was built, to speed immigration to the west bank. Vacant lots for a 9th house in the northwest block (to provide labor access for more food storage yards) were placed. All existing farms were irrigated.

At the start of Jul, the Kingdom rating rose 5 because Waset appreciated the pomegranates.

Even though it was predicted to be poor, the flood in Aug failed entirely! While Osiris's temple complex would have been built anyway, I was hoping for some help with the inundation.

In Sep, 3 new work camps were built, 2 on the west bank and 1 on the east bank (making 4 work camps on each bank). 4 more fig farms (making 11) were built on the west bank.

I checked farm fertility in Oct. After missing a flood, most irrigated farms had fertility of 68% or 69%, and 1 pomegranate farm that was a few tiles from the river had fertility of 60%. However, 4 barley farms that were touching the water had fertility of 45%. Is there randomness in fertility loss? It was unfortunate that the lowest fertility farms grow barley, since I planned to maximize beer exports for the next few years.

In Nov, 4 more irrigated fig farms (making 15) were built on the west bank, completing all farms and irrigation. There were enough workers to leave the labor shortage entirely in religion. I could finally stop micromanaging labor priorities!

The year ended with 1661 people, 1052 Db, CR 10, PR 29, KR 57, and 50 granite. I haven't made plans for the next year yet, other than to store the food surplus from the last harvest on the west bank.

Menat Khufu began defending itself in its fifth year, 1946 BC. Food stocks were significant, with over 6 storage yards of extra food (not needed before the next harvest), and with most houses containing both pomegranates and figs.

In Jan, the bazaar in the northwest block was set to not buy pomegranates (only figs), although the existing houses were stocked with enough pomegranates to last for over a year. The 2 original work camps were deleted, and a replacement work camp was built near the northwest block. Vacant lots were placed for the 10th house in the northwest block (to provide labor access for a ferry terminal) and for the first 3 houses in the southwest block (to provide labor access for work camps). 1600 linen (completing that burial provision) was dispatched to the pyramid. The recruiter and military academy were built, on the east bank.

In Feb, the first fort (archers) was built, and the first soldier trained.

In Apr, the 4th physician, 4th tax collector, and 4th police station were built, in the southwest block, completing the physicians and tax collectors.

In Jul, roads were run to the ferry terminals, connecting the two halves of the city (temporarily), which allowed cart pushers from the west bank farms to deliver their food to the east bank.

In Sep, a road tile (from the original settlement) was deleted, once again disconnecting the two halves of the city. (The ferry terminals will remain staffed.) A bazaar was built in the southwest block and set to buy figs. The 3rd booth was built, near the southwest block (so jugglers walking to it will pass all southwest block houses). Vacant lots were placed for the 4th house in the southeast block (to provide labor access for work camps). 3 more work camps were built, 1 on the east bank and 2 on the west bank (making 5 on each bank). Since more employees were needed, religion, government, health, and entertainment had to share the worker shortage (but, thankfully, micromanagement wasn't necessary).

In Oct, city health fell to average (perhaps caused by having 7 crude huts, with 31 ordinary cottages).

In Dec, the 3rd water supply and 3rd temple to Bast were built, in the southeast block.

The year ended with 1950 people, 1060 Db, CR 10, PR 28, KR 58, and 75 granite. Next year, the first obelisk should be placed and everyone should eat (improving city health, I hope).

Menat Khufu's sixth year, 1945 BC, went about as expected. As in the third and fifth years, the flood was mediocre. (So far, there has been a flood better than mediocre only in the second year.)

In Jan, vacant lots were placed for the last 2 houses in the southwest block, 1 house in the the northwest block, and 3 houses in the southeast block. The 3rd granary (temporarily for pomegranates) was built, not far from the southeast block. A bazaar (set to buy pomegranates), the 4th booth, the 3rd temple to Ra, and the 4th water supply (completing the water supplies) were built in the southeast block. The plain stone quarry was built, on the west bank, to supply the "filler" good for the papyrus delivery storage yards. The 2nd fort, also archers, was built on the west bank. Sebek's altar was added to Osiris's temple complex, to reduce food consumption. The 3 existing houses in the southwest block evolved from crude huts to ordinary cottages.

In Mar, city health rose to good,

In Apr, some houses in the southeast block (including the oldest houses that weren't in the original settlement) received food.

In May, everyone was eating!

In Jun, all housing was ordinary cottages: 7 2x2s in the southeast block, 21 2x2s in the northeast block, 11 2x2s in the northwest block, and 3 1x1s (which will merge into a 2x2 after another vacant lot is placed) plus 4 2x2s in the southwest block. After this, all new housing should evolve to at least ordinary cottages shortly after being settled.

At the start of Aug, a request for 2400 figs was received from Waset and was dispatched immediately. Another work camp was built on the west bank. The 100th granite block was purchased, so the 1st small obelisk was placed, on the west bank. (The construction guilds, which will be on the east bank, won't be built for a while.)

In Sep, there was a bit of unemployment (which might continue until the city is complete).

In Oct, vacant lots were placed for the last 10 houses in the northeast block.

In Nov, a ship from Men-nefer sold the first 800 chickpeas, which will eventually be eaten (along with pomegranates) in the southeast block. 2500 chickpeas should be purchased (and stored) each year for the next few years.

At the start of Dec, the Kingdom rating rose 5 because Waset appreciated the figs.

The year ended with 2470 people, 1079 Db, CR 10, PR 30, KR 64, and no granite (outside of the obelisk). Since there are no invasion threats and each bank has a fort of academy-trained archers, further military preparation will be postponed. Pottery should be manufactured next year, to prepare for evolving houses to higher levels. Even though the next flood is "likely to be poor", the large food reserves should be enough for the planned growth (assuming that Osiris doesn't completely abandon us).

This appears to be a good time to stop and reflect, especially since I may not be able to play Pharaoh for a while.

In all my previous non-military missions, finances were in good shape after a few years, but Menat Khufu looks like it will be short of money until completion! (I started playing at Very Hard difficulty with the Djedu and Bahariya Oasis missions, but I doubt that any earlier non-military mission would be as difficult with similar "rules".)

With all houses ordinary cottages except for a few that have been recently settled, tax income (at 13%) is about the same as wages (at 34), and city sentiment has stayed at "pleased" for quite a while (with little or no unemployment). At Very Hard, tax rates increase when houses are evolved to common residences and again when they are evolved to fancy residences. The increased taxes from fewer than 20 common residences should cover the consumption costs (imported papyrus for the school, imported clay for pottery, and the loss of beer exports), but the real benefit comes from evolving houses to fancy residences--there is a large excess of linen production (7200 linen is stored), so linen sales would not be affected for years (if ever).

So why haven't I evolved houses to fancy residences by now? Well, maybe I should have, but there are 3 reasons why I didn't: money, food, and children.

The structures required to evolve a block of ordinary cottages to fancy residences (pavilions(s), entertainer schools, statues, plazas, courthouse, school, extra temple(s), potter(s), and more) cost a lot. They could have been afforded earlier if the military had been ignored, but I like to have at least a little defense.

Evolving a block to fancy residences would mean a large increase in population. Keeping the population small has meant food surpluses even after bad floods. With a poor flood predicted, I'm glad to have plenty of food in reserve. (Storage yards, granaries, and carts now hold around 27000 pomegranates, 15000 figs, and 800 chickpeas.) This brings up a side issue: everyone on the west bank is either eating figs or will do so within a month (when they finish their pomegranates), and I haven't decided whether to switch some or all of them to pomegranates (requiring around 5000 pomegranates to stock all of the existing west bank houses).

The third reason for evolving houses slowly is to limit the number of children. I don't know the algorithm, but it appears that more births occur when there are more vacancies at the beginning of a year. Culture 65 is planned, which requires 60% city-wide school coverage. If there are too many children then the 3 planned schools will not provide 60% coverage. 40% school coverage would be acceptable, since it is sufficient for the required Culture 60, but it would be a shame to build the expensive library and a couple of extra bandstands and not take advantage of them. Lower than 40% school coverage would be a disaster.

There are 2 ways to increase city-wide school coverage. One way (mentioned in reply #1) is to accept Culture of only 60, and to build a school (plus some extra beautification) instead of the library. Before deciding to reduce Culture, I'd want to know that there were too many children. Another way is to build an extra school near the papyrus distribution storage yards. However, an extra school would require ships from Men-nefer to sell close to the maximum 2500 papyrus each year plus an average of 2160 chickpeas per year, which is probably possible, but I would prefer not to depend on that. Naturally, if there are a great many children, the two ways can be combined.

This is the plan (subject to change, especially if floods continue to be poor) for housing evolution. Next year, the new houses in the northeast block will be evolved to 2x2 ordinary cottages, as full as possible. Early in the 8th year, the 31 houses in the northeast block will be evolved to fancy residences. Also in the 8th year, the remaining new houses will be placed in the northeast block, but the 21 houses probably won't be evolved to fancy residences until the 10th year. The (eventual) 20 houses in the southeast block (to be supplied with imported chickpeas) and the 5 houses in the southwest block will probably wait even longer.

Carving of the first obelisk should begin in the next few years, when the required wood imports can be afforded. As long as there are no threats, the military will have a low priority. I'd like to eventually resume building defenses with copper imports, weapons production, and an infantry fort, but that will depend on money.

Being constrained by money, and seeing no relief for years, is strange. (In contrast, the first few years were also contrained by workers, but I knew that that would change.) For those who enjoy an economic challenge, I recommend Menat Khufu played this way.

I managed (by losing some sleep) to play the seventh year of Menat Khufu, 1944 BC. Immigration increased back to a reasonable rate.

In Jan, vacant lots were placed for the 8th house in the southeast block (to supply labor access for work camps) plus the 12th and 13th houses in the northwest block. 3 more work camps were built on the west bank.

In Feb, City Sentiment fell to indifferent. I immediately saved the game and experimented with wages and tax rates during the past month, and was surprised to find that I could have kept people happier while making more money. (Ignorance can be expensive! ) I reloaded the saved game and continued. Wages were raised to 38 (Kingdom+8) and tax rates were raised to 15%. City Sentiment rose to pleased. The 1st potter was built, near the dock.

In Mar, a ship from Waset sold the first clay. (Clay should continue to be purchased, enough to keep the potter(s) running.) 2 more work camps were built on the east bank.

In May, 2 more work camps were built on the west bank.

In Jun, 2 more work camps were built on the east bank.

In Aug, City Sentiment rose to very pleased. (I considered raising tax rates again, but decided to wait until several houses evolved to levels where their residents pay more tax.) The 2nd potter was built. The bazaar in the northwest block was set to buy pomegranates (in addition to figs), to replace some fig consumption with pomegranate consumption. The 1st pavilion and the 1st dance school were built, near the northeast block. The direct road from the loop to the pavilion was not built, to make dancers from their school go "the long way" around the loop and through the location of the other northeast block pavilion.

In Oct, 1 more work camp was built on the east bank. (There were 11 work camps on the west bank and 10 work camps on the east bank, with 1 remaining to be built on each bank.)

In Dec, the direct road from the northeast block loop to the pavilion was built, so that dancers from their school would go "the short way" around the loop, to supply dancer coverage to the remaining northeast block houses. The 1st courthouse and another bazaar were built, in the northeast block. Near the end of the month, all 3 northeast block bazaars were set to buy pottery, beer, and linen, and as soon as 1 of them sent a buyer to obtain pottery then the other 2 were set to not buy pottery. (Similarly, 2 of those bazaars will later be set to not buy beer and 2 will be set to not buy linen.)

The year ended with 3281 people, 1090 Db, CR 15, PR 30, KR 65, and 25 granite. Next year should see some houses evolve to fancy residences. (I won't have any "spare" time for days, but I'm so eager to see houses better than ordinary cottages that I may give up sleep again!)

[Edited to mention building a bazaar in Dec.]

[This message has been edited by Brugle (edited 04-07-2003 @ 03:02 PM).]

Menat Khufu's eighth year, 1943 BC, had lots of immigration and wild financial swings. The cash reserve plus over half of the year's export income was spent in the first 2 months (mainly for expensive structures to provide desirability for fancy residences), and for the next several months there was barely enough money to build the (inexpensive) structures needed to keep unemployment below 5%. However, taxpayers were squeezed hard, the treasury was replenished, and obelisk construction work was resumed near the end of the year.

In Jan, vacant lots were placed for the last 8 houses in the northwest block (making 21), leaving only 12 houses in the southeast block unstarted. The 4th temples to both Bast and Ra, the 1st conservatory, the 2nd pavilion, the 1st school, and the 1st dentist were built, in or around the northeast block. A ship from Men-nefer sold the first 100 papyrus, which was delivered to the school. (More papyrus will gradually be bought, but it will be stockpiled and released to the school(s) only as needed.) All houses in the northeast block evolved to at least modest apartments, some to spacious residences. Meanwhile, a bazaar obtained beer and another sent a buyer to obtain linen.

In Feb, the 5th temples to both Bast and Ra, the 1st shrine (to Ra), and the 1st bandstand were built, around the northeast block. All houses in the northeast block were at least common residences, and some evolved to fancy residences. The tax rate was raised to 19%.

In Mar, 2 more bazaars (set to buy pomegranates and figs) were built in the northwest block. The 6th temple to Bast was built, around the northeast block. All houses in the northeast block (with over half of the city's residents) were fancy residences.

In Apr, 1 more work camp was built on the east bank (making 11 on each bank). Only 1 work camp remains to be built, on the west bank, but won't be for a while, because building it (and maintaining labor access for the west ferry crossing) would create a road connection between the two halves of the city.

In May, City Sentiment fell to pleased and the tax rate was lowered to 17%. The 3rd potter was built. The first extra police stations were built to provide jobs, and many more will be built as needed.

In Jul, City Sentiment rose to very pleased and the tax rate was raised back to 19%. (For the rest of the year, tax rates were similarly changed whenever City Sentiment changed, and that should continue until City Sentiment behaves differently.)

In Sep, the 4th (and last) potter was built. To remove a little linen from storage yards, all 3 bazaars in the northeast block were set to buy linen.

In Oct, the carpenters' and stonemasons' guilds were built. A caravan from Dakhla Oasis sold 100 wood which was delivered to the carpenters' guild, and another caravan sold another 100 wood. (Wood will continue to be purchased, but only as needed by the carpenters' guild or (later) the shipwright.)

In Nov, 2 more bazaars (set to buy pomegranates) were built in the southeast block, completing the bazaars. The 2nd conservatory and 2nd dance school were built, near the southwest block, to train musicians and dancers who will walk by all west bank houses on their journey to the west bank pavilion (when it is built). The 6th temple to Ra was built, around the northwest block.

The year ended with 4389 people, 1105 Db, CR 35, PR 55, KR 66, and 50 granite. The military build-up will resume next year. (However, I probably won't play Pharaoh for days.)

[This message has been edited by Brugle (edited 04-07-2003 @ 04:04 PM).]