capsu.org // Anno 1503/1503 AD FAQ/Strategy Guide // Appendices // Production Efficiency

The following tables are based on a .pdf document called "Production Overview", http://www.anno1503.de/english/home/show_news.php4?id=353&caller=archive , with several adjustments made to reflect inaccuracies in those tables. Cost data is based on that contained in the Building and Industry Data appendix. "Consumption" is the consumption in tons of raw materials per ton end product. "Production Time" is the time per ton of end product, in seconds. "Cost per unit" was erroneously labelled "Cost per Minute" in the original. "Base price" is the "internal game base price in gold per ton". Hakea notes: "It is for the Price we get, but the basic Stall items get modifiers applied. Things like Spice have three levels (0,5,10) plus additional bonuses depending on where your main island is. For example, Spice fetches a bit more on North Islands (two +5 bonuses), etc." All times are based on normal game speed.

Kay Bennemann writes: "To give you an example of how to read the data [for a Bakery]: the value 0.98 means that the Bakery consumes 0.98 tons of raw material (flour) to produce 1 ton of bread. The 'production time'-value represents the time (in seconds) needed to produce 1 ton of the final good. The bakery consumes 0.98 tons of raw material to produce 1 ton of bread, which takes 10 seconds." Narcissus X queries: "If I understand correctly then, a Sheep Farm will consume 15.29 tons of grass to produce 1 ton of wool in 45 seconds." Kay replies: "As far as I understand it - yes. Sheep consume LOTS of grass."

Kay provides a translation of parts of the original method: "To measure productivity a statistic continually keeps track of the amount of goods produced by the workshop in question over the last five to ten minutes. The mean value is then calculated and taken for the average amount of goods produced per minute. This amount is then compared to a value set by the programmers. The following rule applies whenever productivity lies under this value, e.g. the mean value is lower than the reference value: Effectiveness = Mean Value / Reference Value; otherwise: Effectiveness = 100%. This method's limitations are best shown using the hunter, whose reference value lies at 0.6 units of food per minute. Hunters well supplied with game can also produce 1.5 - 2 units or more of food per minute. This would represent an effectiveness of 250 - 333%, yet 100% is all that is shown. On the other hand, some workshops, such as tobacco plantations, can never reach 100% as their reference values are set just a tiny bit higher than the best possible productivity value. This therefore means that the productivity display is not particularly expressive in the 90 to 100% range. In the end, these values mean nothing more than that the workshop is producing approximately as much as the game designers expected it to. However, if productivity lies markedly under this value there is obviously a problem which you should do something about."

A test environment was created where other factors affecting the balance sheet were removed (sales to population, new construction, etc). Production times were related to the time taken for operating costs to be deducted. This method discounts the differences created by playing at different game speeds. This has one limitation: "The measurement of time in terms of balance period doesn't work for game stands with very small balance amounts (less than 50 pieces of gold). Since operating costs are deducted in many small steps rounding errors may occur in the players favor, resulting in less gold actually being deducted from the players account than theoretically required. In as much as these rounding errors (on the order of around 10 pieces of gold) themselves fall into the realm of very small balances this can result in misinterpretations."

"Although using more workshops increases the universality of the results, it doesn't do anything towards reducing errors in measurement, which increase with each new workshop added. When testing agricultural workshops (farms, etc.) it is especially important to make sure that the test phase runs significantly longer than the re-growth period of the produce in question. This is the only way to take variations in harvest yields into account in the mean values." Tests were typically run until 50-100 units had been produced by a workshop, after which a comparison of starting and finishing balance and stock were made.

Industry Consumption and Production

Farm/Industry	Raw Material	Consumption	Production Time	Raw Material T/min	Raw Material Cost/min	Product	Maximum Output 100%	Production T/min	Cost/unit	Base Price
Armorer	Leather	0.94	40	1.41	30.75	Armor	1.35	1.5	59.69	65
	Iron [3]	0.94	40	1.41	28.8
Bakery	Flour	0.98	10	5.86	67.01	Food	6	6	13.67	45
Bow Maker	Wood	0.94	30	1.68	8.42	Bows	1.8	2	34.97	60
	Rope	0.47	30	0.94	31.51
Bow Maker	Wood	0.94	30	1.68	8.42	Crossbow	1.8	2	34.97	80
	Rope	0.47	30	0.94	31.51
Brewery	Hops	?	?			Alcohol	2	2	26.07	50
Butcher's Shop	Cattle	1.33	20	3.98	25.99	Food	3	3	16	45
Cattle Farm	Field	5.86	25	13.48		Cattle	2	2.3	6.52	15
Charcoal Burner	Wood	0.78	10	4.69	23.44	Charcoal	6	6	5.91	9
Cotton Plantatn	Cotton Fld	5.86	30			Cotton	2	2.1	9.52	21
Distillery	Sugar	1.88	30	3.75	34.09	Alcohol	2	2	27.05	50
Dye Works	Silk	1.09	20	3.28	76.56	Silk Cth	3	3	50.15	85
	Indigo Tree	0.47	20	1.41	33.89
Fisherman	Fish	4.04	15	3.23		Food	0.85	0.8	25	45
Forester's Hut	Forest	2.25	18			Wood	2.05	2.4	5	8
Gem Mine					30	Gems	2	2	40	52
Gold Mine					30	Gold	2	2	25	50
Goldsmith	Gold	0.94	30	1.88	46.66	Jewelry	2	2	80.94	190
	Gems	0.94	30	1.88	75
Grain Farm	Grain Field	2.19	7	4.2		Grain	1.8	1.92	5.21	12
Gunsmith	Wood	1.48	20	4.15	20.76	Muskets	2.6	3	36.12	90
	Iron [3]	0.94	20	2.81	57.59
Gunsmith	Wood	1.48	20	4.15	20.76	Cannon	2.6	3	36.12	110
	Iron [3]	0.94	20	2.81	57.59
Hemp Plantation	Hemp Field	3.4	30			Hemp	1	2.08	8.65	32
Hop Farm	Hop Field	4.45	30			Hops	2	2.1	8.57	19
Hunt Lodge [5]	Wild Game	1.34	6	2.74		Food	0.6	2.05	9.76	45
Hunt Lodge [5]	Wild Game	1.34	10	2.74		Hides	0.6	2.05	9.76	41
Indigo Plantatn	Indigo Tree	6.4	39			Dyes	1.5	1.66	24.1	36
Large Ore Mine			~7			Ore	9	8.97	7.24	15
Large Ore Sm	Ore	1.05	~8	8.44	61.13	Iron	8	8	20.48	45
	Charcoal	0.59	~8	4.69	27.69
Marble Stonemas	Raw Marble	1.03	12			Marble	1.8	1.5	12	22
Medic Herb Plnt	Med Herb Fd	1.37	5			Med Herb	2	3.05	4.92	30
Mill	Grain	1.17	20	3.52	18.31	Flour	3	3	11.44	24
Ore Mine						Ore	5	5	8	15
Ore Smelter	Ore	1.23	15	4.92	39.38	Iron	4	4	23.65	45
	Wood	0.76	15	3.05	15.23
Ropemaker [4]	Hemp	2.34	50	2.81	24.34	Rope	1.2	1.2	33.62	99
Salt Mine			10			RockSalt	6	6	4.17	8
Salt Works	Rock Salt	1.02	10	6.09	25.39	Salt	6	6	9.23	30
Sheep Farm	Grass	15.29	45			Wool	1.1	1.4	7.14	21
Silk Plantation	Silk Field	6.86	39			Silk	1.5	1.5	23.33	33
Small Farm	Field	13.67	70	9.84		Food	0.7	0.72	27.78	45
Small Farm	Potatoes	10	20			Alcohol	0.56	0.55	36.36	50
Small Weapon Sm	Iron [3]	0.59	30	1.41	24	Swords	1.8	2	32	65
Smith [2]	Iron	0.88	28	1.88	44.35	Tools	2	2.14	33.46	60
	Wood	0.22	28	0.47	2.34
Smith [3]	Iron	0.88	28	1.88	38.39	Tools	2	2.14	30.68	60
	Wood	0.22	28	0.47	2.34
Spice Plantatn	Spice Field	6.09	40			Spices	1.4	1.4	28.57	60
Stonemason	Raw Stone	0.49	6			Bricks	3	3.3	5.45	12
Sugarcane Plant	Sugcane Fld	4.8	30			Sugar	2	1.98	9.09	22
Tailor [1]	Cloth	0.94	20	2.81	63.7	Clothes	3	3	32.77	130
	Furs	0.23	20	0.7	4.61
Tannery	Hides	1.69	36	2.81	27.44	Leather	1.5	1.67	21.86	70
Tobacco Factory	Tobacco	1.99	30	3.98	62.91	Tob Pdts	2	2	39.46	75
Tobacco Plantat	Tobacco Fld	4.81	30			Tobacco	2	1.9	15.79	25
Trapper [5]		0.1	10			Furs	1	3.05	6.56	30
Weapon Smith	Wood	0.94	40	1.26	6.28	Axes	1.34	1.5	46.72	63
	Iron [3]	0.94	40	1.41	28.8
Weapon Smith	Wood	0.94	40	1.26	6.32	Lances	1.34	1.5	46.74	60
	Iron [3]	0.94	40	1.41	28.8
Weaver's Hut	Wool	1.85	43	2.58	18.42	Cloth	1.4	1.4	23.95	65
Weaver's Hut	Cotton	1.85	43	2.58	24.55	Cloth	1.4	1.4	28.35	65
Weaving Mill	Wool	1.33	20	3.98	28.46	Cloth	3	3	19.49	65
Weaving Mill	Cotton	1.33	20	3.98	37.94	Cloth	3	3	22.65	65
Whaler	Whales	0.94	10			Whale Bl	6	6	3.33	13
Whale Oil Facty	Whale Blubr	0.94	20	2.81	9.38	Lamp Oil	3	3	9.79	85
Winery	Vineyard	5.94	39			Wine	1.5	1.6	28.13	70

Notes:

1. Figures assume use of Cotton Production.
2. Figures assume use of Small Iron Works.
3. Figures assume use of Large Iron Works.
4. Assumes 3 Hemp Plantations to 2 Ropemakers.
5. Output variable. Depends how far hunter needs to go to find wild animal.

The second table shows land and workforce requirements for primary industries (farms, plantations, mines). Growth per second is the time from harvest until a new crop is available. "No. Fields" is the number of fields that can be placed within the farm's service area; "Max Effec Field" is the maximum number of fields that are used. "Max Trnspt" is the maximum weight each worker can carry, in tons. "Time" is the time needed to harvest one field, in seconds. "Workers" more accurately means figures, so a worker on a cattle farm is actually the cow figure. On most farms these figures are humans.

Requirements for Primary Industries

Farm	Field Type	Growth/s	Number of Field	Maximum Effective Fields	Workers	Maximum Transport	Time
Cattle Farm	Meadow	204	52	45.8	3	2	7
Cotton Plantation	Cotton	270	52	52	2	3	6
Fisherman					1	3	11
Forester's Hut	Forest	480	84	43.2	2	1	4
Grain Farm	Grain	310	36	21.7	1	3	9
Hemp Plantation	Hemp	330	52	38.9	2	3	11
Hop Farm	Hops	310	52	48.3	2	3	9
Hunting Lodge					1	1	4
Indigo Plantation	Indigo Tr	300	52	52	2	3	7
Marble Stonemason	Marble Qy	20	1	1	1	1	10
Medicin Herb Plant	Med Herbs	300	34	20.85	1	3	8
Sheep Farm	Meadow	204	88	72.8	5	3	9
Silk Plantation	Silk	300	52	52	2	3	6
Small Farm	Meadow	204	34	33.5	3	3	11
Small Farm	Potato	272	34	24.9	1	3	7
Spice Plantation	Spice	330	49	46.9	2	3	8
Stonemason	Quarry	20	1	1	1	1	10
Sugarcane Plantatn	Sugarcane	330	52	52.3	2	1	6
Tobacco Plantation	Tobacco	330	52	50.2	2	3	11
Trapper					1	1	4
Whaler					1	20	0.5
Winery	Vines	330	49	49	2	3	7

The final table in this series shows the number of people each industry can support. In most cases, these values assume 'combines'. Combines attempt to balance the provision of industries in a way that tends to make them operate efficiently. Usually they provide 1 processing building per 2 raw material suppliers. For example, a Cattle Combine, is 2 Cattle Farms and a Butcher, because a Butcher processes Cattle into Food at about twice the speed that one Cattle Farm produces Cattle. Suggested combines are:

• Cattle = 2 Cattle Farm + Butcher.
• Charcoal = 2 Forester's Hut + Charcoal Burner.
• Clothing = Trapper + 4 Weaving Mill + 4 Tailor's Shop [Values are based on Cotton for Cloth, so I assume 8 Cotton Plantations are also needed, but that is not stated].
• Cotton/Weaving Mill = 2 Cotton Plantation + Weaving Mill.
• Grain = 4 Grain Farm + 2 Mill + Bakery [Dragonling suggests the optimum (double) combine is 7 Grain Farms + 4 Windmills + 2 Bakery].
• Hop = 2 Hop Farm + Brewery.
• Jewelry = Gold Mine + Gem Mine + Goldsmith.
• Lamp Oil = 1 Whaler + 2 Whale Oil Factories.
• Marble = Marble Stonemason + Marble Quarry.
• Ore (Small) = Ore Mine + Ore Smelter + 2 Forester's Hut.
• Ore (Large) = Large Ore Mine + Large Ore Smelter + Charcoal Burner.
• Rope = 3 Hemp Plantation + 2 Ropemakers [1:1 ratio also suggested].
• Salt = Salt Mine + Salt Works.
• Sheep/Weaver Hut = 2 Sheep Farm + Weaver's Hut.
• Sheep/Weaving Mill = 3 Sheep Farm + Weaving Mill.
• Silk = 2 Silk Plantation + Indigo Plantation + Dye Works [LadyH's suggestion (for a double combine) is 5 Silk Farms + 2 Indigo Farms + 2 Dye Works].
• Stonemason = 2 Stonemason + Quarry.
• Sugarcane = 2 Sugarcane Plantation + Distillery.
• Tannery = Figures are for one Tannery. 3 Hunting Lodges + 2 Tanneries is an optimal combine, however often settlements will reach Citizen levels and never need more than one Tannery, so I have left the figures as one Tannery. Hunting Lodge output is variable, so use the values with caution.
• Tobacco = 2 Tobacco Plantation + Tobacco Factory.

Aristocrats are widely considered not to require Cloth, just Clothing. The original table included Cloth figures for Aristocrats (215 per Sheep/Weaver Hut Combine, and 462 per Weaving Mill Combine).

Population Supported by Industry

Product/Industry	Pioneers	Settlers	Citizens	Merchants	Aristocrats
Alcohol
Small Farm (100% Potatoes)	138	110	110	138
Hop Combine	500	400	400	500
Sugarcane Combine	500	400	400	500
Cloth
Sheep/Weaver Hut Combine	349	279	279	465
Sheep/Weaving Mill Combine	750	600	600	1000
Cotton/Weaving Mill Combine	750	600	600	1000
Clothes
Clothing Combine					1716
Tailor's Shop					429
Food
Hunting Lodge	205	228	228	228	228
Fisherman	80	89	89	89	89
Small Farm (100% Food)	72	80	80	80	80
Cattle Combine	300	333	333	333	333
Grain Combine	600	667	667	667	667
Jewelry
Jewelry Combine					667
Lamp Oil
Whale Combine			3000	3000
Whale Oil Factory			1500	1500
Leather
Tannery	417	556
Salt
Salt Combine	3000	3000	2400	2400
Silk
Silk Combine			750	500
Spices
Spice Plantation		350	350	350
Tobacco
Tobacco Combine		500	500	500
Wine
Winery					320

Stratgan analysed food production using the figures in the tables above:

Food Production Analaysis

Farm/Combination	Cost	T/min	Cost/T/Min
Hunting Lodge	20	2.05	9.76
Fisherman	20	0.8	25
Small Farm	20	0.72	27.78
Cattle Farm(2)	15	-	-
Butcher(1)	22	3	-
Combo	52	3	17.3
Grain Farm(4)+	10	-	-
Windmill(2)+	16	-	-
Bakery(1)	15	6	-
Combo	87	6	14.5

Notes: "You will notice that the cost/minute of the .pdf file is not the same as mine for some items. These are the butchers/windmill/bakery costs. From what I have gathered, they include the price of raw materials in their base cost/minute, which 'could' be sold on the market instead, which considerably raises the price tag. I have factored that out of my equations, using only operational cost/tons produced. That should help explain the discrepancies."

Cattle/Grain Comparison

Farm/Combination	Cost	T/min	Cost/T/Min
Cattle Farm(9) + Butcher(5)	179	15	11.9
Grain Farm(11) + Windmill(6) + Bakery(3)	251	18	13.9

Notes on Optimal Combos: "As per the production table .pdf files, I have calculated different combo's to maximise efficiency. Since cattle farms produce 2.3 cattle per farm, and butchers eat 3.98 cattle per shop, with the standard ration, you basically produce 4.6 cattle, and the butcher eats 3.98 of them. The leftovers are put in the warehouse. Instead, using those values, make 9 cattle farms (20.7 cattle/minute), and 5 butcher shops (eats 19.9 cattle/minute), thus, you save 1 cattle farm's worth of operational cost, hence the much lower cost of this combo, while still putting in 0.8 cattle/minute in your stock. For grain, its the same. Using the .pdf file as a reference, I put 11 grain farms x 1.92 grain = 21.12 grain/minute, 6x windmills x 3.52 grain consumption/minute = 21.12 (exact amount needed). Because the conversion ratio of a bakery is nearly the same as the output of a pair of windmills (5.86 consumption for the bakery, vs 6 tons of production from 2 windmills), I use 3x bakery x 5.86 = 17.58 grain/minute consumed, with .42 t/grain/minute going in reserves."

Stratgan continues: "It is important to compare another factor when deciding on which food chain to produce... space, or 'fields' used. The following table list how many field each food production chain uses, and their averages (I had to manually count all the squares for each type of building... took a while):

Combo Field Comparison

Farm/Combination	Fields	Production	#Fields/Ton
Fisherman	9	0.8	11.3
Hunting Lodge	221	2.05	107.8
Small Farm	45	0.72	62.5
Cattle Combo I	131	3	43.7
Cattle Combo II	594	15	39.6
Grain Combo I	207	6	34.5
Grain Combo II	576	18	32

Note: "The fishermen take only 9 spaces on the mainland, their fields being water! Thus, although they are incredibly expensive to maintain for their production, they can be a life saver when you have limited space on an island. The Cattle combo II is the best cost wise, but it takes up more fields than the grain combo. This can be especially important when strapped for space on a small island."