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{{tocright}} __NOWYSIWYG__
   
 
== Requirements ==
 
== Requirements ==
   
To colonize you must have researched [[Expansion]] in [[Seafaring]].
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To colonize you must have researched [[Research:Expansion|Expansion]] ({{Sea}}).
 
# You then must build a [[Building:Palace|Palace]]. The number of [[Colony|colonies]] you can found is limited by the level of your [[Building:Palace|Palace]]. For example, to establish your 1<sup>st</sup> [[colony]] you need a Level 1 '''Palace''' and then to make your 2<sup>nd</sup> colony your '''Palace''' must be expanded to Level 2. <ref>The [[hard cap]] for the [[Building:Palace|Palace]] is '''Level 11''', beyond which it is not possible to store all the{{Wood}} needed for the upgrade in each [[town]]. This means that you cannot have more than 11 [[Colony|colonies]] plus your [[Capital]].</ref> Without any reductions, a Level 1 [[Building:Palace|Palace]] needs {{Wood|712}} and takes about 4 hours to be built.
 
 
# You need {{CitizenC|40}}, {{Gold|9000}}, {{Wood|1250}} and at least 3 [[Unit-ship:Cargo Ship|Cargo Ships]] for each [[Colony]] you want to establish. __NOWYSIWYG__
# You then must build a [[Palace]]. The number of colonies you can found is limited by the level of your [[Palace]]. For example, to establish your 1<sup>st</sup> [[colony]] you need a Level 1 '''Palace''' and then to make your 2<sup>nd</sup> colony your '''Palace''' must be expanded to Level 2. <ref>The [[hard cap]] for the [[Palace]] is '''Level 11''', beyond which it is not possible to store all the {{Wood}} needed for the upgrade in each [[town]]. This means that you cannot have more than 11 colonies plus your [[Capital]].</ref> Without any reductions, a Level 1 [[Palace]] needs {{Wood|712}} and takes about 4 hours to be built.
 
# You need {{CitizenC|40}}, {{Gold|9000}}, {{Wood|1250}} and at least 3 [[Cargo Ship]]s for each [[Colony]] you want to establish.
 
   
 
<h3> Notes: </h3>
 
<h3> Notes: </h3>
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== Preparation for colonization ==
 
== Preparation for colonization ==
   
Establishing a new colony will create [[corruption]] in all your other colonies ('''not''' in your [[Capital]]). You should upgrade the [[Governor's Residence]] in all existing colonies '''before founding your next colony'''. They need to be at the same level as your [[Palace]] for 0% [[corruption]] in all colonies.
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Establishing a new colony will create [[corruption]] in all your other colonies ('''not''' in your [[Capital]]). You should upgrade the [[Building:Governor's Residence|Governor's Residence]] in all existing colonies '''before founding your next colony'''. They need to be at the same level as your [[Building:Palace|Palace]] for 0% [[corruption]] in all colonies. __NOWYSIWYG__
   
== Choosing the right [[island]] ==
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== Choosing the right island ==
   
  +
You have to carefully choose the right [[island]] for yourself.If you have friends nearby islands you can trade with them the resource which you don't have. The{{Wine}} is the most valuable resource in the game because lots of {{Wine}} is used in the Tavern to increase satisfaction.You have to build at least two {{Marble}} colonies as well because you'll need it for your future progress.
=== [[Luxury Resource]]s ===
 
   
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; Notes<nowiki>:</nowiki>
The first thing you must consider is the type of [[resources|resource]] on the [[island]] you want to colonize. Sometimes this will depend on your strategy and play style. Generally, however, [[marble]] and [[wine]] are the safest bets because everybody needs these [[resources]]. [[Marble]] is especially valuable early on due to its extensive use in the construction of [[building]]s. You may even consider getting two [[marble]] colonies prior to other [[resources]], since you will be using that much and it is fairly easy to trade some [[marble]] to get the other [[resources]] you need. However it is sensible to have a [[wine]] colony as your second (if it is not your first) as trade can often be expensive or dangerous.
 
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# To build a level 2 [[Building:Palace|Palace]], {{Marble|1433}} is needed, so if your first town is not a marble town, and no marble is available for trade in your area, your first colony should be on an island with{{Marble}}.
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# To build a level 3 [[Building:Palace|Palace]] you need {{Sulphur|2900}}, so if none is available for trade, you will have to ensure that one of your first three cities is built on an island with a{{Sulphur}} mine, or you will not be able to expand your Empire further until you have demolished one of your existing cities and recolonized on an island with a{{Sulphur}} mine.
   
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{{Sulphur}} is very important to build army to defend your cities and to pillage other players. The{{Crystal}} is the resource that you will need only for academies ([[research]]es and experiment's) and for the [[Building:Workshop|workshop]] (to upgrade your army). Here you can see how much{{Crystal}} you will need for the upgrades. __NOWYSIWYG__
[[Crystal glass]] is perhaps the least valuable luxury item. [[Crystal glass]] is necessary for certain recruting [[Doctor]]s and [[Diving Boat]]s, building [[Academy|academies]] and [[Temple]]s, upgrading [[Unit]]s and [[Ship]]s and conducting [[experiments]] (swapping it for [[research point]]s) but may be a problem to [[Trading post|buy or sell]]. If everyone follows these suggestions, a glut of [[marble]] on the [[Trading post|market]] may be harder to sell, especially since [[Palace]]s and [[Governor's Residence]]s are no longer needing too much [[marble]] each.
 
   
 
=== [[Luxury Resource]]s ===
# If you start on {{Marble}}, get {{Wine}}, then {{Sulphur}}
 
# If you start on {{Wine}}, get {{Marble}}, then {{Sulphur}} (or {{Crystal}} because you will need it for the academy and workshop)
 
# If you start on {{Sulphur}}, get {{Marble}}, then {{Wine}}
 
# If you start on {{Crystal}}, {{Marble}} should be a priority, but both {{Sulphur}} and {{Wine}} are important very quickly after that.
 
# If you start on {{Sulphur}} or, especially, {{Crystal}}, another option is to move to a {{Marble}} [[island]] and abandon your original [[capital]].
 
# A fourth [[town]] should probably be on {{Crystal}} as it is mainly required to build [[Academy|Academies]] and later levels of the [[Palace]] and the [[Governor's Residence]].
 
   
 
The first thing you must consider is the type of [[resource]] on the [[island]] you want to colonize. Sometimes this will depend on your strategy and play style. Generally, however, [[marble]] and [[wine]] are the safest bets because everybody needs these [[resources]]. [[Marble]] is especially valuable early on due to its extensive use in the construction of [[buildings]]. You may even consider getting two [[marble]] colonies prior to other [[resources]], since you will be using that much and it is fairly easy to trade some [[marble]] to get the other [[resources]] you need. However it is sensible to have a [[wine]] colony as your second (if it is not your first) as trade can often be expensive or dangerous.
* Choose the island depending on the area. For example, if you can't choose between [[marble]] and [[sulphur]] but {{marble}} is a lot more expensive than {{sulphur}} in that area, you should go for a {{marble}} island. On the other hand, {{sulphur}} might become a very expensive luxury item (especially after [[Patch 0.3.2]] which requires lots of {{Sulphur}} to build heavy [[unit|army]] or [[ship]]s) in the case you are involved in a [[battle|war]].
 
   
 
[[Crystal glass]] is perhaps the least valuable luxury item. [[Crystal glass]] is necessary for recruiting [[Unit-ship:Doctor|Doctors]] and [[Unit-ship:Diving Boat|Diving Boats]], building [[Building:Academy|academies]] and [[Temple]]s, upgrading [[Units]] and [[Ships]] and conducting [[experiments]] (swapping it for [[research point]]s) but may be a problem to [[Building:Trading post|buy or sell]]. However, a glut of [[marble]] on the [[Building:Trading post|market]] may be harder to sell, especially since [[Building:Palace|Palaces]] and [[Building:Governor's Residence|Governor's Residences]] no longer need as much [[marble]].
* Generally you need about one {{wine}} island for 3 towns. Based on that assumption, you can create a {{sulphur}} island, a {{crystal}} island, the {{wine}} [[island]]s you need and all the rest {{marble}}.
 
 
# If you start on{{Marble}}, get{{Wine}}, then{{Sulphur}}
 
# If you start on{{Wine}}, get{{Marble}}, then{{Sulphur}} (or{{Crystal}} because you will need it for the [[Building:Academy|academy]] and [[Building:Workshop|workshop]])
 
# If you start on{{Sulphur}}, get{{Marble}}, then{{Wine}}
 
# If you start on{{Crystal}}, get{{Marble}}, and soon after that, you will need both{{Sulphur}} and{{Wine}}.
 
# If you start on{{Sulphur}} or, especially{{Crystal}}, another option is to move to a {{Marble}} [[island]] and abandon your original [[capital]].
  +
 
A fourth [[town]] should probably be on{{Crystal}} or{{Sulphur}} (if you already have a colony for crystal) as it is mainly required to build [[Building:Academy|Academies]] and later levels of the [[Building:Palace|Palace]] and the [[Building:Governor's Residence|Governor's Residence]].
  +
 
* Choose the island depending on the area. For example, if you can not choose between [[marble]] and [[sulphur]] but{{marble}} is a lot more expensive than{{sulphur}} in that area, you should go for a{{marble}} island. On the other hand,{{sulphur}} might become a very expensive luxury item in the case where you are involved in a [[battle|war]].
 
* Generally you need about one{{wine}} island for 3 towns. Based on that assumption, you can create a{{sulphur}} island, a{{crystal}} island, the{{wine}} [[island]]s you need and all the rest{{marble}}. __NOWYSIWYG__
   
 
=== [[Resources]] levels ===
 
=== [[Resources]] levels ===
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You should look at the level of the [[island]]'s [[resources]] (mouse over them in the [[island view]]). If the [[saw mill]] and the luxury resource mine have a low level, you cannot make good use of them. If the [[island]] is full of low-level players they may become inactive or try to leech all the time, making progress of the shared [[resources]] very slow. Try not to colonize an [[island]] loaded with [[Inactive player|inactives]] or people on [[vacation]]. Try and find an [[island]] that has high level resources because they will have donated a lot more [[wood|building material]] to the [[resource]] mines. One note of caution, however, is that if you are relatively new or weak and you move onto an [[island]] with high-level resources, there are probably also high-level players that could easily farm your [[town]] if they wanted to, especially if you cannot or will not contribute your fair share to the [[island]]'s [[resources]]. Most sensible players will allow a grace period of a few weeks if you are a small player before requiring that you begin donations.
 
You should look at the level of the [[island]]'s [[resources]] (mouse over them in the [[island view]]). If the [[saw mill]] and the luxury resource mine have a low level, you cannot make good use of them. If the [[island]] is full of low-level players they may become inactive or try to leech all the time, making progress of the shared [[resources]] very slow. Try not to colonize an [[island]] loaded with [[Inactive player|inactives]] or people on [[vacation]]. Try and find an [[island]] that has high level resources because they will have donated a lot more [[wood|building material]] to the [[resource]] mines. One note of caution, however, is that if you are relatively new or weak and you move onto an [[island]] with high-level resources, there are probably also high-level players that could easily farm your [[town]] if they wanted to, especially if you cannot or will not contribute your fair share to the [[island]]'s [[resources]]. Most sensible players will allow a grace period of a few weeks if you are a small player before requiring that you begin donations.
   
Check the [[miracle]] on the [[island]], different [[miracle]]s give you different benefits.
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Check the [[miracle]] on the [[island]], different '''monuments''' give you different benefits. __NOWYSIWYG__
   
 
=== Distances ===
 
=== Distances ===
   
Try to choose [[island]]s that are not too far away from each other; you will need to send [[resources]] back and forth to make sure each colony is running smoothly and you don't want to tie up your trade fleet for many hours each trip. Moreover for rapid reinforcement times when defending an attack it is very useful to have towns close together. However, if you are a trader, try not to build them too close either, as this causes overlap in your trading range and makes you more insular; you won't be able to interact with as many different people and [[alliance]]s.
+
Try to choose islands that are not too far away from each other; you will need to send [[resources]] back and forth to make sure each colony is running smoothly and you don't want to tie up your trade fleet for many hours each trip. Moreover for rapid reinforcement times when defending an attack it is very useful to have towns close together. However, if you are a trader, try not to build them too close either, as this causes overlap in your trading range and makes you more insular; you won't be able to interact with as many different people and [[alliance]]s. __NOWYSIWYG__
   
 
== Founding the colony ==
 
== Founding the colony ==
   
[[File:City constr-1-.gif|thumb|A colony under construction]] Places that can be colonized have yellow flags on the [[island]] view. As soon as you order the colony, foundation works appear on its site. Now you will need to wait for [[Cargo Ship]]s to load and arrive at their destination. The town space on the island you are colonizing is immediately reserved when your [[ship]]s start loading (after you press the "Found Colony" button).
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[[File:City constr-1-.gif|thumb|A colony being built]] Places that can be colonized have yellow flags on the [[island]] view. As soon as you order the colony, foundation works appear on its site. Now you will need to wait for [[Unit-ship:Cargo Ship|Cargo Ships]] to load and arrive at their destination. The town space on the island you are colonizing is immediately reserved when your [[Unit-ship:Cargo Ship|Cargo ships]] start loading (after you press the "Found Colony" button).
 
If you plan to send additional supplies of {{wood}}, {{wine}}, {{marble}}, {{crystal}} or {{sulphur}}, you will need to have the appropriate number of additional [[Cargo Ship]]s available (beyond the 3 needed for the new colony). If you send them at the same time, they will share the same [[action point]]. Note, however, that beyond some extra [[wood]] and a little [[marble]] to get the town started, you probably don't want to send extra [[resources]], and here's why:
 
 
* Corruption in a new colony is so bad that the first thing you probably want to do is upgrade the [[Governor's Residence]], and beyond Level 1 you will also need to build and upgrade the [[Warehouse]]. In the meantime, you will have no use for [[crystal]], or [[sulphur]]. However, the presence of a tavern that is upgraded quickly will promote population growth and tax revenue.
 
   
 
If you plan to send additional supplies of {{wood}}, {{wine}}, {{marble}}, {{crystal}} or {{sulphur}} then you will need to have the appropriate number of additional [[Unit-ship:Cargo Ship|Cargo Ships]] available (beyond the 3 needed for the new colony). If you send them at the same time, they will share the same [[action point]]. Note, however, that beyond some extra [[wood]] and a little [[marble]] to get the town started, you probably don't want to send extra [[resources]], and here's why:
 
* Corruption in a new colony is so bad that the first thing you probably want to do is upgrade the [[Building:Governor's Residence|Governor's Residence]], and beyond Level 1 you will also need to build and upgrade the [[Building:Warehouse|Warehouse]]. In the meantime, you will have no use for [[crystal]], or [[sulphur]]. However, the presence of a tavern that is upgraded quickly will promote population growth and tax revenue.
 
* Unused [[resources]] will make you an easy [[pillaging]] target since greedy neighbours will know that a new town is likely undefended, and even weak players can easily steal from you until you get the colony's defenses up. You should deploy defensive troops to your new [[town]] as soon as possible to prevent this.
 
* Unused [[resources]] will make you an easy [[pillaging]] target since greedy neighbours will know that a new town is likely undefended, and even weak players can easily steal from you until you get the colony's defenses up. You should deploy defensive troops to your new [[town]] as soon as possible to prevent this.
   
A new town with a Level 1 [[Town hall]] (and no [[Warehouse]]) can only hold 1,500 of each resource. This is the maximum amount that you can send with your colony ships. Note that a new town receives 250 {{wood}} (taken from the 1,250 needed to build the colony), so the maximum additional [[wood]] you can send is capped at 1,250.
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A new town with a Level 1 [[Building:Town hall|Town hall]] (and no [[Building:Warehouse|Warehouse]]) can only hold 2,500 of each resource. This is the maximum amount that you can send with your colony ships. Note that a new town receives 250 {{wood}} (taken from the 1,250 needed to build the colony), so the maximum additional [[wood]] you can send is capped at 2,250.
   
You can start using your brand-new colony as soon as the ships return home, when you can start putting your new colony to full use. But remember that your new colony will not be 100% efficient from the start since it will have [[Corruption]]; you will need to build a Governor´s Residence to the same level as your palace for your colony to be completely productive.
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You can start using your brand-new colony as soon as the ships return home, when you can start putting your new colony to full use. But remember that your new colony will not be 100% efficient from the start since it will have [[corruption]]; you will need to build a [[Building:Governor's Residence|Governor's Residence]] to the same level as your [[Building:Palace|Palace]] for your colony to be completely productive.
   
  +
; Note<nowiki>:</nowiki>
'''Note:''' It is worth building a [[Carpenter]] in the newly-founded colony and upgrading it to the highest possible level, as it will save you a large amount of [[wood]] by the time you have upgraded your [[Governor's Residence]] and [[Town hall]].
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It is worth building a [[Building:Carpenter|Carpenter]] in the newly-founded colony and upgrading it to the highest possible level, as it will save you a large amount of [[wood]] by the time you have upgraded your [[Building:Governor's Residence|Governor's Residence]] and [[Building:Town hall|Town hall]].
   
{{For|further information|Palace|Governor's Residence|Corruption}}
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{{For|further information|Building:Palace|Building:Governor's Residence|Corruption|l1=Palace|l2=Governor's Residence}} __NOWYSIWYG__
   
== After founding a new colony ==
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== Post founding of the new colony ==
   
  +
You should then perform the following steps:
 
# Change your Town's name
 
# Change your Town's name
# Build and upgrade your [[Governor's Residence]], along with the [[Warehouse]] as needed. Build a Tavern and upgrade as this will promote population growth while you are working to reduce corruption. Install a port and station a small but effective pillaging army. This way the town will become self sufficient in resources that are needed to develop your buildings.
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# Build and upgrade your [[Building:Governor's Residence|Governor's Residence]], along with the [[Building:Warehouse|Warehouse]] as needed. Build a [[Building:Tavern|Tavern]] and upgrade as this will promote population growth while you are working to reduce corruption. Install a port and station a small but effective pillaging army. This way the town will become self sufficient in resources that are needed to develop your buildings.
# Don't start gathering [[resources]] or [[research]] points in the [[Academy]] until you get [[corruption]] under control. Your citizens may be worth more for taxation at 3 {{gold}} income (no [[corruption]] penalty) than in gathering [[resources]] or performing [[research]], where they may suffer a severe penalty to productivity. An exception might be if you are dependent on the market for an expensive luxury item, which is holding up the growth of your other [[town]]s.
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# Don't start gathering [[resources]] or [[research]] points in the [[Building:Academy|Academy]] until you get [[corruption]] under control. Your citizens may be worth more for taxation at {{gold|3}} income (no [[corruption]] penalty) than in gathering [[resources]] or performing [[research]], where they may suffer a severe penalty to productivity. An exception might be if you are dependent on the market for an expensive luxury item, which is holding up the growth of your other [[town]]s.
# As your town matures and you start sending workers to the [[island]]'s resources, remember to donate [[wood]] for upgrades in accordance with your level of usage, or your new neighbours may resent your [[Island#Leeching|leeching]].
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# As your town matures and you start sending workers to the [[island]]'s resources, remember to donate [[wood]] for upgrades in accordance with your level of usage, or your new neighbors may resent your [[Island#Leeching|leeching]]. __NOWYSIWYG__
   
 
== Abandon colony ==
 
== Abandon colony ==
   
You can abandon a '''colony''' from the [[Town hall]]. If you wish to abandon your [[capital]], you must first move it to one of your colonies using the '''"Declare this town to be your capital"''' button in the [[Governor's Residence]].
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You can abandon a '''colony''' from the [[Building:Town hall|Town hall]]. If you wish to abandon your [[capital]], you must first move it to one of your colonies using the '''"Declare this town to be your capital"''' button in the [[Building:Governor's Residence|Governor's Residence]]. __NOWYSIWYG__
   
 
=== Why to abandon a colony ===
 
=== Why to abandon a colony ===
   
There are several reasons you may wish to abandon a colony. One is that the local [[island]] [[resources]] is very low level, and it is faster to move to a more developed one than to try and upgrade your existing [[island]]. Another reason might be that you are dissatisfied with the luxury [[resource]] on your island, and you want to make a fresh start that better fits your gameplay style.
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There are several reasons you may wish to abandon a colony. One is that the local [[island]] [[resources]] is very low level, and it is faster to move to a more developed one than to try and upgrade your existing island. Another reason might be that you are dissatisfied with the luxury resource on your island, and you want to make a fresh start that better fits your game play style. __NOWYSIWYG__
   
 
=== Effects and tips ===
 
=== Effects and tips ===
   
When you abandon a colony, you lose all [[resources]], [[citizen]]s, and [[building]]s in that colony. For this reason, it is a good idea to first demolish all your [[building]]s to salvage some of their materials, then ship those materials to a different location. You cannot abandon a colony until all "events" associated with that colony are cleared, which includes the shipping of your [[resources]]. So if you try and salvage materials, you will need to wait longer. Be careful when demolishing [[building]]s that you save your [[warehouse]] until last, so that you don't accidentally lose goods by destroying it. Similarly, you should be careful demolishing your [[Trading port]], as loading goods will become slower and slower. You may also want to build spearsmen out of your remaining population, and send those to other towns where they can be fired to add to your other town's population.
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When you abandon a colony, you lose all [[resources]], [[citizen]]s, and [[buildings]] in that colony. For this reason, it is a good idea to first demolish all your buildings to salvage some of their materials (you can't demolish the town hall), then ship those materials to a different location. You cannot abandon a colony until all "events" associated with that colony are cleared, which includes the shipping of your resources. So if you try and salvage materials, you will need to wait longer. Be careful when demolishing buildings that you save your [[Building:Warehouse|warehouse]] until last, so that you do not accidentally lose goods by destroying it. Similarly, you should be careful demolishing your [[Building:Trading port|Trading port]], as loading goods will become slower and slower. You may also want to build spearsmen out of your remaining population, and send those to other towns where they can be fired to add to your other town's population. __NOWYSIWYG__
 
[[Category:Guides]]
 
[[Category:Guides]]

Latest revision as of 12:42, 22 March 2017

Requirements

To colonize you must have researched Expansion ( Seafaring ).

  1. You then must build a Palace. The number of colonies you can found is limited by the level of your Palace. For example, to establish your 1st colony you need a Level 1 Palace and then to make your 2nd colony your Palace must be expanded to Level 2. [1] Without any reductions, a Level 1 Palace needs 712 712 wood and takes about 4 hours to be built.
  2. You need 40 40 Citizen(s), 9,000 9,000 Gold, 1,250 1,250 wood and at least 3 Cargo Ships for each Colony you want to establish.

Notes:

  1. The hard cap for the Palace is Level 11, beyond which it is not possible to store all the Wood needed for the upgrade in each town. This means that you cannot have more than 11 colonies plus your Capital.

Preparation for colonization

Establishing a new colony will create corruption in all your other colonies (not in your Capital). You should upgrade the Governor's Residence in all existing colonies before founding your next colony. They need to be at the same level as your Palace for 0% corruption in all colonies.

Choosing the right island

You have to carefully choose the right island for yourself.If you have friends nearby islands you can trade with them the resource which you don't have. The Wine is the most valuable resource in the game because lots of Wine is used in the Tavern to increase satisfaction.You have to build at least two Marble colonies as well because you'll need it for your future progress.

Notes:
  1. To build a level 2 Palace, 1,433 1,433 marble is needed, so if your first town is not a marble town, and no marble is available for trade in your area, your first colony should be on an island with Marble.
  2. To build a level 3 Palace you need 2,900 2,900 sulphur/sulfur, so if none is available for trade, you will have to ensure that one of your first three cities is built on an island with a Sulphur/Sulfur mine, or you will not be able to expand your Empire further until you have demolished one of your existing cities and recolonized on an island with a Sulphur/Sulfur mine.

Sulphur/Sulfur is very important to build army to defend your cities and to pillage other players. The Crystal Glass is the resource that you will need only for academies (researches and experiment's) and for the workshop (to upgrade your army). Here you can see how much Crystal Glass you will need for the upgrades.

Luxury Resources

The first thing you must consider is the type of resource on the island you want to colonize. Sometimes this will depend on your strategy and play style. Generally, however, marble and wine are the safest bets because everybody needs these resources. Marble is especially valuable early on due to its extensive use in the construction of buildings. You may even consider getting two marble colonies prior to other resources, since you will be using that much and it is fairly easy to trade some marble to get the other resources you need. However it is sensible to have a wine colony as your second (if it is not your first) as trade can often be expensive or dangerous.

Crystal glass is perhaps the least valuable luxury item. Crystal glass is necessary for recruiting Doctors and Diving Boats, building academies and Temples, upgrading Units and Ships and conducting experiments (swapping it for research points) but may be a problem to buy or sell. However, a glut of marble on the market may be harder to sell, especially since Palaces and Governor's Residences no longer need as much marble.

  1. If you start on Marble, get Wine, then Sulphur/Sulfur
  2. If you start on Wine, get Marble, then Sulphur/Sulfur (or Crystal Glass because you will need it for the academy and workshop)
  3. If you start on Sulphur/Sulfur, get Marble, then Wine
  4. If you start on Crystal Glass, get Marble, and soon after that, you will need both Sulphur/Sulfur and Wine.
  5. If you start on Sulphur/Sulfur or, especially Crystal Glass, another option is to move to a Marble island and abandon your original capital.

A fourth town should probably be on Crystal Glass or Sulphur/Sulfur (if you already have a colony for crystal) as it is mainly required to build Academies and later levels of the Palace and the Governor's Residence.

  • Choose the island depending on the area. For example, if you can not choose between marble and sulphur but Marble is a lot more expensive than Sulphur/Sulfur in that area, you should go for a Marble island. On the other hand, Sulphur/Sulfur might become a very expensive luxury item in the case where you are involved in a war.
  • Generally you need about one Wine island for 3 towns. Based on that assumption, you can create a Sulphur/Sulfur island, a Crystal Glass island, the Wine islands you need and all the rest Marble.

Resources levels

You should look at the level of the island's resources (mouse over them in the island view). If the saw mill and the luxury resource mine have a low level, you cannot make good use of them. If the island is full of low-level players they may become inactive or try to leech all the time, making progress of the shared resources very slow. Try not to colonize an island loaded with inactives or people on vacation. Try and find an island that has high level resources because they will have donated a lot more building material to the resource mines. One note of caution, however, is that if you are relatively new or weak and you move onto an island with high-level resources, there are probably also high-level players that could easily farm your town if they wanted to, especially if you cannot or will not contribute your fair share to the island's resources. Most sensible players will allow a grace period of a few weeks if you are a small player before requiring that you begin donations.

Check the miracle on the island, different monuments give you different benefits.

Distances

Try to choose islands that are not too far away from each other; you will need to send resources back and forth to make sure each colony is running smoothly and you don't want to tie up your trade fleet for many hours each trip. Moreover for rapid reinforcement times when defending an attack it is very useful to have towns close together. However, if you are a trader, try not to build them too close either, as this causes overlap in your trading range and makes you more insular; you won't be able to interact with as many different people and alliances.

Founding the colony

City constr-1-

A colony being built

Places that can be colonized have yellow flags on the island view. As soon as you order the colony, foundation works appear on its site. Now you will need to wait for Cargo Ships to load and arrive at their destination. The town space on the island you are colonizing is immediately reserved when your Cargo ships start loading (after you press the "Found Colony" button).

If you plan to send additional supplies of Wood, Wine, Marble, Crystal Glass or Sulphur/Sulfur then you will need to have the appropriate number of additional Cargo Ships available (beyond the 3 needed for the new colony). If you send them at the same time, they will share the same action point. Note, however, that beyond some extra wood and a little marble to get the town started, you probably don't want to send extra resources, and here's why:

  • Corruption in a new colony is so bad that the first thing you probably want to do is upgrade the Governor's Residence, and beyond Level 1 you will also need to build and upgrade the Warehouse. In the meantime, you will have no use for crystal, or sulphur. However, the presence of a tavern that is upgraded quickly will promote population growth and tax revenue.
  • Unused resources will make you an easy pillaging target since greedy neighbours will know that a new town is likely undefended, and even weak players can easily steal from you until you get the colony's defenses up. You should deploy defensive troops to your new town as soon as possible to prevent this.

A new town with a Level 1 Town hall (and no Warehouse) can only hold 2,500 of each resource. This is the maximum amount that you can send with your colony ships. Note that a new town receives 250 Wood (taken from the 1,250 needed to build the colony), so the maximum additional wood you can send is capped at 2,250.

You can start using your brand-new colony as soon as the ships return home, when you can start putting your new colony to full use. But remember that your new colony will not be 100% efficient from the start since it will have corruption; you will need to build a Governor's Residence to the same level as your Palace for your colony to be completely productive.

Note:

It is worth building a Carpenter in the newly-founded colony and upgrading it to the highest possible level, as it will save you a large amount of wood by the time you have upgraded your Governor's Residence and Town hall.

Post founding of the new colony

You should then perform the following steps:

  1. Change your Town's name
  2. Build and upgrade your Governor's Residence, along with the Warehouse as needed. Build a Tavern and upgrade as this will promote population growth while you are working to reduce corruption. Install a port and station a small but effective pillaging army. This way the town will become self sufficient in resources that are needed to develop your buildings.
  3. Don't start gathering resources or research points in the Academy until you get corruption under control. Your citizens may be worth more for taxation at 3 Gold income (no corruption penalty) than in gathering resources or performing research, where they may suffer a severe penalty to productivity. An exception might be if you are dependent on the market for an expensive luxury item, which is holding up the growth of your other towns.
  4. As your town matures and you start sending workers to the island's resources, remember to donate wood for upgrades in accordance with your level of usage, or your new neighbors may resent your leeching.

Abandon colony

You can abandon a colony from the Town hall. If you wish to abandon your capital, you must first move it to one of your colonies using the "Declare this town to be your capital" button in the Governor's Residence.

Why to abandon a colony

There are several reasons you may wish to abandon a colony. One is that the local island resources is very low level, and it is faster to move to a more developed one than to try and upgrade your existing island. Another reason might be that you are dissatisfied with the luxury resource on your island, and you want to make a fresh start that better fits your game play style.

Effects and tips

When you abandon a colony, you lose all resources, citizens, and buildings in that colony. For this reason, it is a good idea to first demolish all your buildings to salvage some of their materials (you can't demolish the town hall), then ship those materials to a different location. You cannot abandon a colony until all "events" associated with that colony are cleared, which includes the shipping of your resources. So if you try and salvage materials, you will need to wait longer. Be careful when demolishing buildings that you save your warehouse until last, so that you do not accidentally lose goods by destroying it. Similarly, you should be careful demolishing your Trading port, as loading goods will become slower and slower. You may also want to build spearsmen out of your remaining population, and send those to other towns where they can be fired to add to your other town's population.