Population above 2000 at year 30 a possible goal?

[Nilla]

My latest attempt has been with a medium start rather than an easy start and it does seem to actually be going better.

I also find that a "medium" start is almost always easier than "easy". 

I agree with you two. I find a "medium" start easier than "easy", too. But I used an "easy" start in this game anyway. The reason is, that I wanted to test how fast it's possible to build. The number of inhabitants from the start is in this case very important. I don't think we use very different strategies, @irrelevant. I suppose you build a house for each couple as soon as possible, too. The difference in the population between our two towns is due to the number of people at the start.

@Nilla With 400 in 15 years, I think you will easily get 2000 in 30 years, more likely in 25-26 years

No, I will not! At least not easily! This is hard! Very hard! I played another 5 years. 1000 inhabitants in late winter 19. In Doolin it took 4 years (low) to go from 1000 to 2000, so theoretically; yes, I could reach 2000 in year 23-24. But that's pure theory. I don't think it will go on that long. There's a lack of almost everything:

- I don't have enough laborers to clear enough ground to expand the number of fields enough. One winter I tried to clear a bit more land and the farmers who made most of the work, didn't get back in time to work on the fields, and the harvest was very bad. I don't know how to manage this.

- I don't have enough ale to bye enough apples to make more ale to bye more apples............and other food. I don't know how to manage this either. No use to build more trading ports when I can't fill the ones I have.

- I don't have enough firewood to buy enough logs, stones, iron, tools, wool, not to talk about food.

- Sheep breed slower than people. I wanted to be self sufficient on wool but it doesn't work. Maybe I was a bit slow building new pastures at the beginning; not enough wood, mutton was valuable to sell. I must pay now. My tailors produce very bad.

So, what will I do? First go on like this until it crashes! Than, I have some ideas to go back to an earlier save and make some changes, not quite so fast, but more realistic. I'll let you know what I do and how it works.

[A Nonny Moose]

For what it may be worth, I tend to agree that animal husbandry (easy start) can be a nuisance as opposed to a medium start (agriculture only).  The beasts seem to just complicate the issue, so maybe the designations should be reversed.

[Oenanthe]

The latest variant on Calamity Valley does seem to be going the best so far (hope i haven't spoken too soon), I did use the easy start and got sheep, threw up a pen quickly and got them breeding and splitting, concentrating on the wool not the mutton. 

Unlike most I do seem to need a quarry fairly quickly i never seem to have enough stone otherwise and I don't know why but my traders never seem to bring anything of use.  I have being experimenting with stone roads for the longer trips as they are meant to give faster movement, and I think it is paying off.  A few stone houses thrown into the mix is also helping with firewood use. 

I had a mild out break of dysentry early on that took a couple of peeps and then i seemed to have a serious outbreak of child birth, that took a few more or my women.  Still I'm at 105 population at 12 years and still managing to keep my supplies reasonable.  I doubt I'll make the 2000 by 30 years but it seems my best attempt so far.

[irrelevant]

I've been trying to ramp up my infrastructure with the idea of trading my way up to 2000, but after reading what @Nilla wrote about her town and seeing firsthand what is happening in mine, I'm thinking that this is not the way to go. Like @Nilla said, it is very difficult to produce enough goods to be able to rely on trading to supply food.

Now I'm thinking that I will use just a few TPs to trade some firewood for logs, stone, and iron, venison/mutton for nuts, and some ale for fruit. Cover the rest with farms and pastures, with forest circles on the outskirts. Food is the big problem. If there aren't enough laborers I'll cut back to one farmer/120-tile farm.

[Nilla]

Unlike most I do seem to need a quarry fairly quickly i never seem to have enough stone otherwise and I don't know why but my traders never seem to bring anything of use.  I have being experimenting with stone roads for the longer trips as they are meant to give faster movement, and I think it is paying off.  A few stone houses thrown into the mix is also helping with firewood use. 

With uneducated workers, a quarry never pays off. But off cause, you must order stones from the traders, and take the 20% higher price. It pays off. I don´t remember exactly, but I don´t think an uneducated worker makes much more than 10-15 stones each year. If you count the higher order-price of 8 it´s worth 80-120. An uneducated woodcutter makes maybe 400 wood each year, with a profit of 2,6 if you buy the logs.

I don´t think stone roads pay off, at least not at the beginning. I use to "pave" main roads late in the game, if I have a lot of stones, but at the beginning, stones are more valuable for other things. Stone houses pay off in about 8 years, if I remember it right. I normally build them, as fast as I can. In this game I tried, but didn´t manage to buy enough stone. It will cost me later, but not so much in this game, that will not be played so many years.

  I doubt I'll make the 2000 by 30 years but it seems my best attempt so far.

I wish you best luck!

Now I'm thinking that I will use just a few TPs to trade some firewood for logs, stone, and iron, venison/mutton for nuts, and some ale for fruit. Cover the rest with farms and pastures, with forest circles on the outskirts. Food is the big problem. If there aren't enough laborers I'll cut back to one farmer/120-tile farm.

That´s exactly how I try to make it. But my biggest problem is to clear enough land to increase the number of fields. I don´t have enough free laborers and have to use the farmers in winter. But as I said, they might not get back in time to work in the fields. Especially if I have only one farmer on the field, there´s sometimes only crops on half the field. Do you have any ideas how to make this?

Anyhow, I have struggled on a few years. It still works. Very fast! 1500 inhabitants in late winter 21. I had help  from 120 nomads. I´m not sure, I can survive another two springs, that I need to get 2000. In any case; it will not be sustainable, but maybe it´s possible to reach 2000 people this way. I will give it a try.

[Oenanthe]

Year 20 and just over 250 peeps and mass starvation hit.

So to start again, i'll try what the more experienced players are suggesting, no mine or quarry, order what stone and iron I need.  I'm going to be sticking to wooden houses and dirt roads.  The starting position wasn't good, in the middle of a a U shaped bend in the river, but it does mean I can get a trading post up quickly.  Cows to start with so it will take a bit longer to get coat production going, but the meat will be useful.

Lets see if i can get better than 250 at 20 years.

[Oenanthe]

How many Trading posts do you lot build?  I have just tried a couple of games without building a quarry or a mine and a couple of Trading posts, by year 15 even having placed the order for stone and iron, I hadn't had a trader turn up with any.  I had only built wooden houses and dirt roads but I quickly ran out of available stone and iron and was having to send my labourers so far out to try and get enough everything was taking far too long and I could barely build enough houses to keep up with population growth let alone build anything else.

[irrelevant]

So here's where I am right now. Year 20 pop 339

Don't know if I will make 2000 but I have a decent shot at it.

Right now, 4 TPs, soon will build another.

I don't have enough houses but I don't want to overstress my infrastructure. Came close a couple of years ago and nearly ran out of both food and firewood.

Right now concentrating on food production and housing.

[Nilla]

I looked at my screenshots, and in year 10 (164 inhabitants) I just started to build port number 4, year 15 (400); 5 ports, year 19 (1000); 7 ports, now I have 9. At the beginning I order iron, stones and logs from the resource tradesman and logs, stones and apples from the general tradesman. @Oenanthe, a small advice to avoid starvation: Look at my second picture. It shows the food graph. You should always try to make it look like it does the first 3/4 of the time; the stores increasing every year. The last 1/4 of the time shows problem.

It's done! 2000 inhabitants, early spring 24. Not easy. Not at all easy! With a lot of struggle and a few starvation deaths in summer, I manage to survive.

This is very fast, a bit faster than in my modded town Doolin. Could it be made even faster? Not much, but yes, maybe a little bit. First if you find a map with more than 12 children. The start is important. There could have been more nomads. I had 3 batches, but they were never very big. Each time rather less than 10% of the population. The last years could also have been made better. I wanted to survive, so I didn't build many new houses.

What will I do now? Go on with the game. It's probably not sustainable, but we will see. It's not totally impossible. The harvest was a bit better this year, than last year and if I manage to survive until now, it could work a few more years The most important thing, is to stop the population growth. I have started to demolish a few houses to build schools. This way there will be no new couples the last few years. If this doesn't work, I will go back to a save to about 1000 inhabitants, build the schools and go for 2000. This time the last years a bit slower.

[irrelevant]

@Nilla well done! You are the Banished queen! If I don't get 2000 I may try again. It's been awhile since I played, I'm rusty but it's fun!

[Oenanthe]

Congratulations Nilla,  I'm going to keep trying and hopefully by following the advise given I might eventually manage it.

[RedKetchup]

hmmmm 2000 citizens with food barely for 190 person (19k food) ^^

i think was time to ding 2000 lol

congratulations

[salamander]

I was right -- that was fun to watch.  Congrats @Nilla.  Now, can @irrelevant reach 2000 (no pressure  )?

[Nilla]

Thank, you. It was fun to play. And besides; I'm not finished yet. I want to make 2000 inhabitants, fast and sustainable. We'll see if this town survives as it is, or if I must go back and replay the last years.

Yes, @RedKetchup the food stores.   Not large. But it's not always necessary to have these big amount of food stored. You might remember my town Mobilene: http://worldofbanished.com/index.php?topic=1002.0   I made 2000 inhabitants with a food limit of 20 000. Here the stores went up to 50-90 000 after the harvest. And you may never forget that there are a lot of food stored in the houses.

I forget to tell you one small trick @Oenanthe, maybe you don't know about it. If you don't get enough stones (ore something else you want) delivered from the merchants. You can make a save, as you see that a merchant arrives. If he doesn't deliver the right things, restart the game until the "right" merchant arrives. I seldom use this, because I find it quite boring, but I must confess, I did it a couple of times in this town. Stones was the problem a long time.

[irrelevant]

I was right -- that was fun to watch.  Congrats @Nilla.  Now, can @irrelevant reach 2000 (no pressure  )?

Right now it's a 50/50 bet. Food is tough. But if I don't, I'll try again