Whats the trick to wealth?

[Kobra]

I always dwindle down to no cash, slowly but surely.

It seems as I build my population up, and increase their status, all it does is increase burdon so I have to build more production, which increases costs even further. Its a vicious circle that I can't seem to break!

Whats the magic system for creating a positive cash flow and still advancing? I seem to be missing the magic formula and going broke every game despite my best efforts.

[LadyH]

Hi Kobra

it may be very helpful for you to check out this thread
http://forum.sunflowers.de/showthread.php?t=12620

[St-Craft]

May be stop using colon, upgrade a bit :lol:
After Citizen, the only time my cash going down is when i upgrade citizen to marchand, after the cash is never a problem.

To know something who may help you : Play in hard mode, you start with around 10k, so you need to be careful with what youre doing ! :go:

[Corsair]

Rush to citizens, its the first tax money boost. I always rush to citizen and then stabilize my economy ( i build enough of everything to sustain about
2.8k citizens ) and advance to merchants.

Dont forget to set taxes to the border between yellow and light red when you population is maxed.

[CreamyBlood]

Also, make sure you read the excellent tips by Dutchman in this thread:

http://forum.sunflowers.de/showthread.php?t=13333

[Sokratesz]

I got this problem at first, too. Trick is to just build alot of houses and be careful what you spend your money on...dont build too many production facilities and as said earlier, watch the tax level. Also selling goods that you have in surplus is a very easy way to make some cash (often overlooked - not sure why lol)

[Angryminer]

When I start a settlement I go for 400 Pioneers. Then I need to upgrade to settlers to get the cattle farms because otherwise my two fisher's huts won't be able to keep up with the food demand. But by the time I already have a balance of +200 and to no time I go into the negative anymore.

Some hints:
- If all houses are full with people and you don't need any more growth, just increase the taxes to the line between yellow and orange. That way you get a nice money boost while you build the economy for the next level.
- If you are still struggling to get enough money in, build small settlements. A small harbour, a fisher's hut, one woodcutter, a town center and 112 Pioneers (8 houses) generate a joint balance of +40, if you disable the woodcutter and increase taxes to the line between yellow and orange. Also the blacksmith will visit the new town after a while and you'll get lots of tools you can sell or use to construct something on your main island.
- Always sell spare goods. Always sell every good if you have more than 100t in stock. Usually you shouldn't have a over-production at all (expensive!) but this gives you some of the lost money back.
- Just as a benchmark: If you have fewer than 1500 citizens you're settlement is too small!
The idea is that the bigger your population is the bigger is the demand. The bigger the demand the easier it is to produce just as much as needed. Thus you produce fewer excess and thus you get a better balance.

Angryminer

[rags]

This thread is also very helpful, gives you the stats on the different production chains so you can design your town accordingly.

http://forum.sunflowers.de/showthread.php?t=12712

-rags