Unit Spotlight: Howitzer

Howitzer
This is a no-holds-barred artillery unit. This kind of gun started gaining popularity in the 17th century and it grew from there as technology allowed more and more reliable guns to be built. This is one of the more reliable designs of gun from the time period it's iconic name marks how popular it became. These heavy artillery are not easy to move but are technically within the wheeled mobility type Each gun requires a 3 man crew to move, aim and fire the thing. It's special ability is Diagonal Fire, something hard calculate much less counter in the early Renaissance.

Base Social Class

Howitzers are valuable and delicate machines that require relatively small crews to man. This makes them ideal for Peer artillery units. Each Howitzer takes 3 peers from the local population. They will still require housing and Happiness allotment but will also be manning a gun in someone's Garrison or personal army. As peers, they prefer to be hired and paid in Gold Florins whenever the issue comes up.

Base Character Class

While many of the unit types vary in their base class, guns don't have the leisure to specialize in anything but causing lots of damage. Because of this, they (and their Crew) end up resembling the Soldier heroes and level as such. Their attributes focus mainly on Might, Celerity and Toughness and nothing they can equip can't be equipped by Soldiers eventually.

Training Resources
Howitzers are heavy, specialized machines. In order to build a new one, Recruitment buildings need a lot of metal, and in various forms. Each new Howitzer requires not only Iron Ingots and Steel Ingots but also Copper Ore in order to create combat-resistant alloys. During the recruitment/training phase, the Peer crew is trained to shoot at the special angles required by these awesome pieces of artillery.

Equipping Gear
Obviously you can't put armor coats on a gun, but there are ways to equip your Howitzers and their crew. Each gun can be equipped with one of the  bullet types. Their crew can be given Studded leather armor and Manuals. Perhaps best of all, each Howitzer can be equipped with a Horse to help the crew move it from strategic position to strategic position on the battle field.

Harvesting Buildings

Harvesting Buildings
Harvesting buildings can pull resources directly from the game. Their output depends on their employment % and building level. These buildings are easy to manage and often have secondary functions such as Happiness bonuses. Unlike processing and Crafting buildings, Harvesting functions are never duplicated in high ranking / main buildings.

Farms - Farms are your very first Harvesting building. They are constructed with Grain and even if you throw away all your starter Grain, it is possible to use actions to produce enough for your first Farm. After that, any one Farm can produce more than enough Grain to maintain itself and many other Farms. Farms also harvest Flax, Hemp, Produce and Herbs. The importance of Farms stems from it's wide variety of resources. Flax is processes into fine Linen. Hemp is a construction material and processes into Canvas as well. Both Produce and their result Groceries are necessary to grow your NPC populace. Herbs and their result Tinctures are both good for magic and Health. Finally, Grain can be processed into both Bread and Beer, which are usually in high demand.

Fishing Piers - The Fishing Pier is your only building source for aquatic resources. This handy establishment pulls Fish, Mollusks and Oysters out of the ocean. Having them in your district will provide a small local Health bonus. Fishing Piers require Lumber to build and maintain, meaning you'll need to have built a Logging Camp to maintain them. This building pairs with the Fishery, which processes all three types of resource. Fish can be eaten as is or process into delicious Fillets. Mollusks become Dyes, necessary for art and paperwork. Oysters can be eaten or processed into either Pearls or Black Pearls.

Hunting Camps - Hunting Camps can be built anywhere and require only Hemp to construct. This makes them easy to construct with only a Farm infrastructure. These light-weight buildings produce a steady output of Game or Pelts based on employment and building level. Hunting Camps have no happiness effect and require no prerequisite research. Game can be eaten on it's own or processed into Meat in a Butcher Shop. It is associated with Lord meal bonuses. Pelts are processed into Furs, used in gear crafting.

Logging Camps - Logging Camps can only be built in the Forest Outpost and are your only steady source of Lumber. They also produce Pulp for Paper which may seem trivial in lower ranks but quickly grows in demand as your city requires more and more paperwork. Lumber is useful on it's own as a construction material and also can be processed into Boards, an even more popular construction material. Building and upgrading your Logging Camps requires a supply of Hemp.

Quarries - Quarries are another Hemp-based harvesting building and can be built in any district. These valuable holes in the ground can harvest one of six earthy resources. Quarries can harvest Ldoestone, Marble, Raw Gems, Sand or Sandstone. Lodestone is a magical reagent and can be processed into Magnets. Marble is a fine building material that can be carved into Slabs in a Stonecutter and similar buildings. Raw Gems are valued by the Faeries and can be processed into Cut Gems in the Jewelcutter. Sand becomes Glass in the Glassblowers and Sandstone can either be used to construct simple buildings or processed into highly valued Bricks in Brickmakers and many main buildings.

Mineral Mines - The Mineral Mines can only be built in the Mines district and require a supply of Livestock to construct and upkeep. Each Mineral Mine can harvest one five options. The mines produce Nickel Ore, Gold Ore, Copper Ore, Pig Iron and Silver Ore. The Mint and Mint-like buildings process Gold Ore into Gold Florins, Silver Ore into Silver Thalers and Copper Ore into Bronze Litra. Foundries and Foundry-like buildings produce Pig Iron into Iron Ingots and Nickel ore into Steel Ingots.

Vineyards - The Vineyards are not limited to any one district but are somewhat challenging to build early on because they require Boards (along with Flax) to build, upkeep and upgrade. These valuable harvesting buildings produce both Grapes and Olives, which in turn are processed into high-value goods. The Winery and the Grand Pavilion are the only buildings that process Grapes into Wine. The Oil Press, Main Street and Sewage Pipes all process Olives into Oil. Vineyards each provide a fairly powerful local Health bonus to their district.

Pastures - Pastures are the only harvesting building that has prerequisite research. In order to build Pastures, you must first research Science, then Biology then Agriculture and finally Pastures themselves. Construction materials include Grain and Fillets. While this may be a pain, the Pastures are also your only reliable source of Animals, Fledglings and Livestock. Animals can be processed into either Familiars in Alchemy Shops or Hounds in Kennels. Once they are Hounds, they can be crafted into Hound companions. Fledglings are processed into Pet Birds in Pet Shops and from there can be crafted into Songbird companions. Livestock is the most powerful product of the Pastures. They can be processed into Leather, Wool, Meat, Horses and Pack Animals. Both Horses and Pack Animals can also be crafted into companions.

Orchards - Orchards must be built, upgraded and maintained with Fillets. They can only be built in the Inner Courtyard and provide a settlement-wide Health bonus. Each level of Orchard can store several Carts as well as harvesting Olives and produce. The Orchards doesn't exclusively produce anything, but they are cheaper than Vineyards to build as a source of Olives.

District Profile: Ranged Towers

Ranged Towers
As a Rank 7 District, the Ranged Towers will not be seen until at least one defense-minded district reaches this high level of development. Your settlement has been running for a long time and probably has access to everything needed to build this district. This is a solid addition to your Department of Defense.

Research

Both the Main and Exclusive buildings of the Ranged Towers require some preliminary research. the Defensive Tower requires you to have some mastry of Masonry in order to build a Brick building that high. By the time your settllement reaches Rank 7, it probably has already researched both Mathematics and Masonry enough to start this buildings. The exclusive Ballista Towers require Engineering knowledge, which relies on the base-research of Science.

Action - Practice Archery

Living in a settlement that contains a Ranged Towers allows players to partake in the district action. By visiting this district, residents can Practice Archery, increasing the effective Might of all troops in their current Brigade/Regiment. This bonus lasts until the end of the next Harvest cycle.

Main - Defensive Tower

Building your Defensive Tower requires Bricks and Leather but by this point your sovereign probably has access to both of these items or the settlement wouldn't be so big. Setting some of that aside for construction, maintenance and upgrades to the Defensive Tower should be fairly simple. This building trains every kind of unit currently available to your settlement, making it a powerful addition to the Department of Defense. Each level of Defense Tower supports two completely free Archer units who defend the Ranged Towers district.

Exclusive - Ballista Tower

The Ballista Towers can only be built in the Defense Towers district and their units only defend this district. Every Ballista tower is home to 2 completely free Ballista units per level that defend the Defense Towers from any invasion force. Ballista Tower require Bricks and Canvas to construct, keep up and improve.

Linked - Fletcher

Fletchers are your primary source of Ranged Weapons. They can be built in any district but are most efficient in the Ranged Towers. They need Leather and Pet Birds to construct and harvest feathers from and offer no positive or negative Happiness effects to district or settlement.

Minister - Magister Inflectum
In charge of hitting stuff at a distance is the Magister Inflectum. They have a seat on the Department of Defense and are one of the few Ministers with the inherent power to train any kind of troop that's been researched. This leaves them and their Ministry of Ranged Warfare in a relatively powerful position among their fellow Ministers of Defense.

Gear - Ranged Spell

Ranged Spells
As a type of Basic Gear, every character can equip a single Ranged Spell, along with a Buff spell and Blessing. Which specific spells you can equip depend on your personal Magic Rating in comparison to that of the item. Ranged Spells are the only way for characters to inflict Magical Damage. They do this by consuming some of your Magic Points per round of combat in order to launch their magical attacks.

Burn

Burn spells are not the most powerful or impressive, but they can be understood and cast by even the most magic-inept Commander characters. Their magic ratings range from E to D and in effect from Smolder to Incinerate. While these do the lowest per-rank of all the Ranged Spell types, high ranking Burn spells can still do some real damage. Crafting a Burn spell requires Oil and Black Pearls. Burn will continue to do damage in combat for as long as you have Magic Points. Learning to use a ranged spell enhances the caster's Reason, but Burn is a clumsy spell type and reduces your Celerity a little.

Splash

Splash spells may seem less scary than Burn, but are more difficult to master and can overall do more magical damage. These range in magic rating from E to C, meaning most Trader characters will be able to equip the highest rank Splash spells. These spells increase the caster's Reason and natural Charm as water has many effective uses. Like the other Ranged Spells, it continues to do damage in combat until MP is exhausted. To craft a Splash spell,  you'll need Tinctures and Black Pearls.

Blast

Blast spells create control over the winds that blow around you and your opponents. These gusty spells naturally increase the caster's Reason and Arithmetic attributes. In order to craft them, Pearls and Black Pearls will need to be combined in the Spell crafting building. The Magic Rating of Blast spells range between D and B and are more powerful per same-rank spell than both Burn and Splash spells.

Quake

Quake spells shake the earth beneath your targets, creating tremors, distractions and abrupt displacement. These spells do comparable magic damage to that of Blast spells but apply a different style to their work. They increase the Reason and Mettle of their casters separate from combat and Magic Points. Crafting Quake spells requires Cut Gems and Black Pearls.

Ray

Ray spells grant the caster control over light in laser-like concentrations. Blind and scorch your enemies with the holy light of the sun behind you. These are the second most powerful type of Ranged Spell and range in Magic Rating between C and A. The passive bonus of the Ray spells improves Reason and Judgement of the casters. Ray spells can be crafted with Glass and Black Pearls.

Shock

By wielding raw bolts of electricity, your character becomes the most terrifying magic wielder on the field. Watch as enemies flee in terror rather than be fried where they stand leaving naught but smoking boots and a toasty meat smell. These spells passively increase their users Reason and Creativity attributes. Creating the Shock spells consumes a number of Magnets and Black Pearls per spell.

Sovereign's Life: City (Rank 8)

Rank 8
It takes a long time to become a Rank 8 Sovereign with an equally esteemed city. Rural populations and new players flock to huge well established settlement. The first district you need to become Rank 8 is a Downtown. It's time to centralize your tall buildings and give the people a showy place to work and shop.

Downtown

Building your Main Street (and starting the Downtown district) requires knowledge of Masonry. By the time you've reached Rank 8, it's very likely you've already got both Science and Masonry researched into a few levels, so this shouldn't be an issue. Players who go Downtown will be able to go on a Shopping Spree, risking a little currency for a chance at usable gear. The Main Street increases the tax income from all Commerce districts and processes Oil from fish. The Exclusive Office Building is built with Dyes and Paper and increases building storage Capacity for all buildings in the settlement. They also sell paper to Yeomen for Drachma. Mints are most efficient in the Downtown district but can be built anywhere. Your Downtown is likely to have high Prosperity but fairly low Security.

Militia Compound

In order to build your Militia HQ, you'll need to do a level or two of Tactics research. Beyond this you need Iron Ingots and Leather for the actual construction and upkeep. This district is dedicated to training local troops. The Militia HQ trains Infantry units and reduces Canvas upkeep costs throughout the settlement. The exclusive Mustering Hall decreases training cost and increases training speed of Peasant Units. The Armorer building, your best avenue for crafting Armor, is most efficient in the Militia Compound but can be built anywhere.

Commercial District

A quick study of Astrology will allow you to build your Conservatory and start a Commercial District. Unsurprisingly this district belongs to the Department of Commerce. The Conservatory acts as an Income building, selling paper to Peers and players, and increases settlement Education. It also processes as a Weaver, leaving you a bonus source of Linen, Canvas or Wool. The exclusive Showroom takes a quick study of Aesthetics but increases Settlement Prosperity and currency income on top of selling any Good to Yeomen for Thalers. Weavers are most efficient in the Commercial District but can be built anywhere as long as you've researched Logic.

Industrial District

Another member of the Department of Commerce, if you like processing resources into goods, the Industrial District is for you. The main Industrial Park increase processing speed for building that is primarily a processing building. It also processes as Foundry, producing both Iron and Steel Ingots. The exclusive Factory increases all processing speed in the settlement and itself processes as a Weaver. Each Factory also increases Prosperity and decreases Health in every district. Tanners, which produce Furs and Leather, are most efficient in the Industrial District but can be built anywhere.

Leisure District

The Leisure district is a great way to extract currency from your NPC populace. Both the main and exclusive buildings sell several things to your population. In order to build your Casino and found the Leisure District, you must first do a little research on Statistics. Without it, your Casino would not be resilient and would lose money rather than making it for you. This temple of gambling sells Beer to Yeomen, Wine to Peers and Bread to Peasants while they play their games. The exclusive Dancehall sells a lot of Beer to Peasants and Yeomen while they work up a thirst kicking up their heels. This building also processes Beer and increases local Health because dancing is good for you. Breweries are most efficient in the Leisure District but can be built anywhere.

Transportation with Carts

Carts
Carts are the cheapest and most basic type of Transportation Unit /  vehicle. Many more buildings can craft and store them than Boats, Ships or Trains. They also require no Research prerequisites to build ranked 1 Carts. These simple wheeled constructions can seriously improve your storage and trading without breaking the bank.

Construction / Recruiting
Carts, even high ranking Carts, are made only of Hemp. This means that building owners with very limited production access can usually put together enough to make some kind of Cart. Small as they can start, Carts still require crew to manage, especially if you plan to send them trading and raiding.

Auto-Trading
Carts can be sent on predictable journeys to known locations in order to bring back a share of the local goods. It should be noted that Cars cannot be sent to any region outside their own so the trade rewards they bring back are limited to those provided by their home region. Carts auto trading require small crews which never include Peers. They are more likely to bring back Resources than Goods, and even less likely to return full of currency. The consistent banditry along trade routes ensures that your Cart is always in some danger of being attacked and never returning.

Auto-Raiding
In the ancient tradition of land-based banditry, Carts can be sent to auto-raid their neighbors. Remember that you still can't leave your home region so rewards (and victims) will all be in the same area you live. Carts have the shortest of all transport raiding cycles and the lowest chance to intercept.

Construction and Storage Buildings
There are many buildings in the game that can either store or build carts. The Cargo Dock and Lodge can do both at the same time. These are very common forms of transportation and are expected to serve many purposes in a settlement. If allowed to, players will buy lots and build places to construct and store their Carts and rent extra Cart storage to their neighbors.

Unit Spotlight: Elementalist

Elementalist
The Elementalist has reached their level of magical prowess through careful study of nature, attuning themselves to the natural forces. These casters value their connection to things like fire, water, wind and earth. Whether they choose a single one or try to master multiples depends on the individual mage but all of them share the special ability of Ice Blast. Like most magical troops, Elementalists move like Infantry.

Base Social Class

Training an Elementalist takes a practical soul If they are too ephemeral or worldly they will not be able to find the special place between nature and human will that allows them to bend the elements. Thus, recruitment buildings prefer to pull unemployed Yeomen from the population to train into Elementalists. These reasonable recruits still live in their Yeomen housing not doing any yeomen jobs and prefer to be paid in silver coins.

Base Character Class

Like the majority of magical units, the Elementalists will gain levels as if they are pure-casters. This causes them to resemble the Wizard heroes in their leveling structure, though troops don't gain access to level-based abilities and will only ever be able to equip their few specific gear items.

Training Resources

Elementalists are not cheap in terms of training materials. They require Black Pearls in order to fuel their inner powers (not vanity at all) and familiars to help them connect to the deep external forces of nature. Neither of these materials are easy to get in their own right and must be paid both on recruitment and (to a much smaller extent) each week as upkeep.

Equipping Gear
Equipping your stacks of Elementalists is relatively simple. Like many spell-slinging combat troops, they can be equipped with a deadly Ranged Spell, which is particularly appropriate as Ranged Spells mostly target the manipulation of elements. As they are Yeomen troops, they can equip two other Gear items as well. These are some snazzy and kind of protective Robes and a Grimoire, to remind of them of all the spells that don't have to do with the elements.

Gear - Ranged Weapon

Ranged Weapons - Every character has a gear-slot for a Ranged Weapon. As with all Basic Gear, you can equip one of each with no conflict. This means you can definitely wear a Ranged Weapon and a Melee Weapon at the same time. Every Ranged Weapon does a certain amount of ranged damage in combat. Like Melee Weapons and Armor, characters can only equip a Ranged Weapon at their Arms Rating and lower.

Throwing Knives - Throwing knives are the smallest and weakest form of ranged weapon. Good for close quarters but not exactly intimidating on the battle field. Each small knife requires a small amount of Iron Ingots and Canvas to craft and raises the effective Guile and Celerity of their wielders. Throwing knives range in arms rating from E to D at the highest.

Bolas - Bolas are a ranged tangle weapon consisting of connected straps with weights on the ends. The name derives from assuming the weights are ball-like but more dangerous developments have varied from the ball shape. Each rank of Bolas requires more Leather and Canvas to craft and further increases the wielders Acumen and Might. Their arms ratings range from E to C and each rank goes further than throwing knives of the same rank.

Bullets - To even use pebbles in a bullet-propulsion device requires an Arms Rating of D. A character must have an arms rating of B or higher to equip a ranked 13 Explosive Bullet. These ranged weapons require Iron Ingots and Canvas to craft and naturally go further than Bolas and Throwing Knives. Each rank of bullet adds a profound bonus to the wielder's Might but guns in this time period are clunky and unreliable. Equipping bullets as your ranged weapon will decrease your effective Celerity.

Arrows - While the bow that shot it makes a difference, it's the arrows that stick with you afterward. How well designed and nasty that arrow determines a lot about how it flies and how much damage it does. Arrows require Pet Birds and Canvas to craft and have about the same range limitations as bullets. In this time period bows are nice enough and guns are new enough that the weapons are still comparable. Arrows require Arms Ratings of D to B and increase the Arithmetic and Might of their wielders.

Crossbows - Crossbows in the Renaissance are more reliable and often do more damage than the early gun designs. These relatively devastating personal weapons come in a wide range of sizes and designs. Wielding one requires both strength and mechanical ability. Because of this, their Arms Ratings range from C to B. By rank, they have the second longest range of all ranged weapons. These devices requires Boards and Canvas to craft and improve the Arithmetic and Might of their wielders.

Javelins - Javelins are not useful to players without bodies sculpted for the purpose of throwing them. On the other hand, these are huge pointy ranged weapons that can be thrown at potentially massive distances by the right wielders. These dangerous weapons require a minimum Arms Rating of B, but most Javelins are rated A. They require Iron Ingots and Canvas to craft. Every rank of Javelin provides the wielder with more Guile and Might in and out of battle.

District Profile: Mid-Town District

Mid-Town District

No Settlement can reach Rank 7 without a Mid-Town district. Belonging to the Department of Interior, the Mid-Town is primarily dedicated to administrating your growing city. Building it unlocks the optional R7 districts and your ability to move on to Rank 8 through the Downtown district.


Action - Keep the Peace
Keep the Peace allows civic-minded player to contribute to their community. If a Mid-Town district is built in their settlement, players can visit and act as an impromptu voluntary police force. This action not only reinforces Security in the Mid-Town but comforts the local Yeomen immensely. Seeing this display of public safety causes a few more Yeomen to move in each time Keep the Peace is performed.


Main - Town Hall

The Town Hall is there for your bureaucratic needs. Every level of Town Hall increases the taxes you get back from resident Nobles in your settlement. Simply by being a centralized paperwork hub, the building decreases Paper upkeep throughout the settlement. To top it all off, the Town Hall also processes wood Pulp into Paper, supplying the endless bureaucratic consumption of the stuff.


Exclusive - Civil Administration
The effect of the Civil Administration buildings are only evident to those looking at the big picture. It's primary function is to reduce the Upkeep requirement of all Main buildings. This means the central building of every district will cost less to maintain. All the paperwork done in the Civil Administration has a beneficial effect on transportation risks. Keeping track of losses helps to reduce the overall Transport Loss Chance for everyone in the settlement. Building a Civil Administration costs only Paper and Dyes so it's a pretty good deal.


Linked - Apartment Building

The Apartment Building is your primary source of Yeoman housing. They are most efficient in the Mid-Town district but can be built anywhere. These stacked residences are built of Bricks and Canvas, requiring a fairly developed city in order to build them in mass. Providing more than a hundred Yeomen per building level of each Apartment, this is the most efficient of your Linked Yeomen housing.

Minister - Lord Mayor

The Lord Mayor is an inevitable seat in the Department of Interior. They are supported by the Mayoral Office (ministry). This team together faces the true mass of civil administrating. This can be represented in tons of paperwork processed through the hands of intelligent and thoughtful clerks. Just keeping track of everything in a rank 7 settlement is a huge job and the Mayor must be up to it.

Game Cycles

Almost everything in Brunelleschi happens on one of the 12 Timers. These range from energy Regeneration to building Processing to the return of trading Ships. Each cycle has a primary function, a set of events it finalizes, but other random events can be attached to any one of the cycles. For example, actions that effect Harvest buildings often stay in effect until the completion of the next Harvest cycle.

Cycles are not 100% predictable. They are purposefully kept slightly irregular and can be distributed in order to prevent crashes with too many events triggering at once. While these timers are always running in the background, they are not predictable like normal clock-based events. Make any plans based on cycles with some margin for error.

Basic Cycles
Daily
Many high end actions and game events will have bonuses that last for a daily cycle. While this can sometimes mean that the effects take place for a full 24 hours, usually the 'daily' effect lasts until the completion of the next daily cycle. When the daily cycle completes will be slightly offset but reliably occur about every 24 hours.

Weekly
Some game effects are even more lasting. There are several aspects of the game that activate/complete on the weekly cycle. This often has to do with the various forms of Upkeep in the game. Things that need weekly upkeep include buildings, diplomacy, groups and coalitions, extra character slots, gear, units and research.


Game Cycles by Length
Carts Return

Carts practically can't go very fast, so they don't get very far. For this reason, Carts sent out trading cannot traditionally go anywhere outside their home-regions. This short distance also shortens how long it takes for carts on a mission to return to their owners. Carts will finish their assigned tasks with your Cart cycle.

Crafting Buildings Output
Crafting buildings must be constructed and well-run in order for players to ever have a steady source of Gear in the game. These valuable buildings can produce a certain amount of Gear per Crafting cycle, so the relative brevity of this cycle is very useful to crafting building owners. Other events may be connected to the Crafting cycle, but mainly this determines the frequency of gear production.

Processing Buildings Output
Buildings are required to church your mass of raw resources into useful civilized goods. Who wants to chew raw produce when they can shop for groceries? Likewise buildings made of Bricks are both sturdier and more weather-resistant than those of simple stacked stones. Processing buildings complete their batches of production with the Processing cycle. Speeding a building's native production speed will cause it to temporarily disconnect from the Processing cycle.

Players Regenerate
Characters are living, breathing, healing creatures. Every one of them slowly heals their natural energies over time. The amount they regenerate depends on their class, level, and current local effects but how often they regenerate is controlled by the Regen cycle. This is both a frequent and regular cycle, occurring many times during the day.

NPCs Immigrate/Emigrate
People can only move into your city so quickly. Even if it's the best place on earth everyone just heard of, the roads are only so big and people have a basic walking speed. If you have room for them (and sometimes even if you don't) there will always be rural-living NPCs looking for a new life in the growing city. The rate at which NPCs move into or leave your settlement is the Immigration cycle. Many NPC based effects will run with or near the Immigration cycle.

Harvesting Buildings Output
Perhaps one of the most important cycles in the game, the Harvesting Cycle rules the lives of early Sovereigns and their subjects. This controls the rate at which your settlement can harvest raw resources that will eventually become the wealth and physical foundations of your settlement. This cycle also runs many times a day, allowing well managed settlements to get ahead on material resources at the very least.

Recruitment/Training Buildings
It takes a certain amount of time to locate recruits, train them, and turn them out as functioning Units. This task usually falls to your Recruitment/Training buildings and the speed at which they produce units is controlled by the Recruitment cycle. This cycle runs several times a day so a settlement with no standing army can respond relatively quickly if suddenly threatened with a declaration of war. There are many ways to speed recruitment and training cycles for a building, district or entire settlement. This will temporarily separate the training from this cycle, but they will realign when the bonus is complete.

Trains Return

Trains are limited by land connections but can go very, very fast once set up in the right direction. This speed combined with potential for foreign travel allows the Train cycle to be relatively short compared to other long-range transport units. Players can send their Train units to auto-trade and repeat personal Direct-trades for them. Trains will return from these assigned missions with the completion of the Train cycle.

Boats Return

Boats, like Carts, cannot leave their home-region. They simply are not big or sturdy enough to support long oceanic voyages. However, they have more cargo space and have a larger chance of returning with rewards when sent out auto trading and raiding. They, like other Transport units can also be used to automate direct-trade. Boats sent on missions will return to their owners with the Boat cycle.

Ships Return

Ships cycle only about twice a day. Despite this long cycle, the Ships ability to carry massive loads of cargo make them highly profitable vehicles to send out. Every Ship is a large investment of building materials and crew population. When one sinks, it's a heavy loss but when they return, they do so on the Ship cycle.

Income Buildings Output
Income buildings sell an item or two to the Population all day long. When the Income cycle completes, they count their daily profits and report to their building owners what was sold and how much was made. This occurs once a day, making the Income cycle a functional daily cycle. Players who own Income buildings will not know the full extend of each day's business until the completion of the Income cycle.

Upkeep is Paid
Upkeep comes in many forms. Buildings require upkeep in the form of resources and goods. Research levels require collected research points to maintain. Extra Character slots and Diplomacy between settlements both cost PH from the leading character's inventory while Groups and Coalitions cost both Platinum and Importance in upkeep. Each of these costs will be checked for and paid with or related to the completion of the Upkeep cycle.