PRODIGY(R) interactive personal service 04/09/93 11:18 PM A "TALENT" FOR MAKING MONEY A Nuts & Bolts Look at the Economic Model in Caesar by Alan Emrich Okay, I'm hooked on Impressions' Caesar. Judging from the bulletin boards I've read, I'm not the only one. However, like many of you, I'm not generating the kind of revenue I need to get my "Prosperity" rating in line with my other more successful ratings. In an effort to get some specifics on the economic model, I got on the horn to Impressions and pressed them for some hard information. I'm happy to be sharing the information I gathered with our Prodigy readers. Industrial Espionage [NEXT] What this article will do is elaborate on pages 77 and 78 of the manual which touch upon the industry formula in Caesar. Industry is one of a player's two main sources of income (the other being the population tax). The tax base is represented in the game by the productivity of individual workshops. Workshop productivity is measured by the number of jars, up to a maximum of 7, in front of each workshop (i.e., its output). Therefore, one must strive to get the maximum output out of every workshop built so that they will generate more taxes and, thus, relieve the problems of players who are chronically short of cash (like myself). Jarring Revelations [NEXT] Page 78 of the manual lists the elements that can increase or decrease each individual workshop's output of jars. Allow me to elaborate upon them with specifics so that industrious urban planners can plan industrious urban areas. The rules encourage having a nearby workforce. The truth is that only residential squares within 3 squares of a workshop will have a positive influence on their production of jars. (This has nothing to do with unemployment, by the way, which is an entirely separate formula). The workshops have a reciprocating effect on the nearby laborers: enforced poverty! Property Values and Slums [NEXT] Every square within a 3 square radius of a workshop (or within 2 squares of heavy industry) has a maximum land value imposed upon it of 3. This means that houses will only be able to rise from single tents (value = 0), to double tents (value = 1), to brown shacks (value = 2) to a maximum real estate development of the little white shacks (value = 3). No matter how many other nearby features might raise the property value, this ceiling enforces "slum" living conditions on the very houses that improve production at workshops. That makes them prone to riot, so keep barracks, gates, temples, oracles and prefectures near these slums. Copyright 1993 Prodigy Services Company. All Rights Reserved. PRODIGY(R) interactive personal service 04/09/93 11:18 PM Security Radii (For the Record) [NEXT] For the record, the security structures (listed below) artificially increase the land value of an area (for anti- riot purposes only -- not taxation) within a certain radius: Security Artificial Land Radius of Structure Value Increase Influence Barracks +4 5 squares Gates +2 2 squares Temple (1-4) +2 2 squares Temple (5-8) +2 3 squares Oracle +2 5 squares Prefecture +2 3 squares Back to Producing More Jars of Goods [NEXT] Besides housing within 3 squares, nearby heavy industry centers also directly increase jar production at workshops. Like the housing effect radius on workshops (and vice versa), this radius is 3 squares. Note that workshops do not need either housing or heavy industries within 3 squares to produce any jars of finished goods at all, but they will certainly produce more when these 2 production resources are nearby. There is one last "secret" to increasing workshop output. The rules mention "nearby" marketplaces or roads that lead to them. Well, it's a little more involved than that... To Market, To Market, Jigity Jig [NEXT] The manual states that a market, which workshops must be plugged into in order to sell their jars of good and, thus, generate tax revenue, must be either adjacent to a workshop or connected to it by a road. Well, it helps to know how close a market must be to benefit a workshop, so here it is: 6 squares. If a market is within 6 squares of a workshop, and there is a road that leads from that workshop, its goods are being sold there. Having more marketplaces as outlets for an individual workshop's goods will increase the demand and, hence, the output of jars at that workshop. Keep this symbiotic relationship in mind. Collecting Business Taxes [NEXT] A last note on markets: their 6 square radius not only works for selling goods produced by workshops. That is also the radius in which they positively influence the growth of houses. In other words, a market will encourage improvement/growth of a residential square within a 6 square radius. When collecting taxes, workshops are taxed as a unit. If o only one square of a workshop is under "administrative influence," the whole of the workshop is taxed and the player will receive full revenue from it. Copyright 1993 Prodigy Services Company. All Rights Reserved. PRODIGY(R) interactive personal service 04/09/93 11:19 PM Remember, heavy industries and markets do not pay business taxes directly--workshops do! And more jars in front equals more tax income. Tribute to Rome [NEXT] Hopefully, with these secrets for increasing industrial output, there will be an improvement in the old income stream. Sadly, success breeds Imperial attention, so one's tribute is likely to steadily rise, but there is nothing that can be done about that. Hail, citizen! Remember, as a politician, it is your job to enjoy the fruits of others' labor. Computer Gaming World can be reached on the Games Center bulletin boards at EXPT40B. Do not send us private E-mail. Copyright 1993 Prodigy Services Company. All Rights Reserved.