A block can sometimes make it easier to evolve housing to the scribe level.Įspecially tough to do in later missions is obtain a high culture ratings.
If you want to control unemployment as your population gets larger, you can change your peasants into scribes.Ī few stately manors can do wonders for your prosperity rating, even if the rest of your housing is poor. If you want to increase prosperity, you can gain fancier and fancier housing. If you want to increase your culture, you can add to the block what your culture advisor says you are lacking. If you need more workers, evloving the housing in a block allows more people to move in.
Housing blocks can help control evolution of housing as you can logically add things to them to precisely control each step in housing evolution. You will reach a point where you want to either: increase your number of workers, increase your ratings, or (later in the game) decrease unemployment. Culture and Prosperity ratings are important at the end of the mission only. Novice players tend to try to build too much, too soon with respect to evolving their housing. Your first housing block can bring in a stable happy population to supply enough labor, in the right place, to allow your city to make money fast. Almost invariably, the site for the first housing block is chosen where it can supply labor access for an export industry and a dock. This means less money spent early in the game and more employees available for export industries. They tend to avoid duplication of bazaars, fire and police, watersupplies, etc. Housing blocks can be much more efficient as well. Knowing how many blocks of housing and where to put them can prevent fatal map mistakes later. With this information, road networks can be laid out at the beginning of a mission, industry areas can be planned, etc. If one knows that their favorite housing block holds 1000 people and the scenario calls for 6000 people, it is an easy matter to plan ahead and make room for 6 housing blocks. Foremost of these advantages are: aid in city and population planning efficient use of labor and space control of housing evolution and control of ratings such as culture rating (CR). They have many advantages over strips of housing or haphazard housing. The use of housing blocks is a tool of intermediate to advanced players.