Buildings - what exactly do you build in your colonies?

[delra]

Just curious. What's your year, game situation and what have you built in your colonies?

My current game:
- Year 1670 on Hard
- I have the largest fleet but don't lead in warships
- I own: 2x Spices, 2x Tea, 2x Silk, 1x Porcelain and 1x Furs

In all my ports I've built so far:

- Trade Post Level 4 (to get 20% discount when buying, no real choice here on Hard)
- Warehouse Level 1 (it's always there)
- Shipyard Level 1 (to fix ships on each end of the trip since my convoys are often scratched by AI war fleets)
- Fort Level 1 (enough to repel Xebecs and Galleons sinking at least one or two ships even before they commence land attack)
- Garrison Level 3 (750 Marines each, they are perfectly capable of repelling an attack of Xebecs and Galleons, especially if Fort first sinks some of ships)

I fight regular wars with AI factions who are too strong. My ports were attacked only a few times and usually by a fleet containing Xebecs so attacks were suicidal against my defences.

Is there ANY point in building higher levels of defences?

 

[Baracus]

This could be another area I've overstretched myself in then!

I'm at 1716 on Normal - and have all 12 Indian ports, 1 x coffee, 1 x gold, 1 x diamonds and 2 x furs. All ports in India and the islands + Cape Town all have lvl4 trade, fort and garrison so it's costing an absolute fortune in upkeep. Also 5 ports have lvl 4 shipyard and a few have larger warehouses.

I felt I had to get all defence up to try to keep the ports but I've probably gone over the top as I have not even been attacked yet!!

Not sure where to take it from here... I need to scale back a bit, but not sure how best to go about it.

 

[delra]

- I build only Level 1 Shipyards since they are dirty-cheap. 2000 per year is less than upkeep for two Brigs so it's affordable. Level 4 Shipyard costs 25 000 and is standing useless most of the time. So start by demolishing those. Will save you yearly 115 000 if I count correctly.

- Also demolish all the Warehouses, you will save 2000-3000 on each so up to 35 000 yearly, they don't cost much but are pretty much useless in the current system so why waste cash.

- I'd also demolish Forts and rebuild them to level 2. Those have upkeep of 10 000 compared to 50 000 upkeep for max fort... so you would save 680 000 per year.

- Going from Garrison Level 4 to Level 3 would save 5000 on each so it's not really worth demolishing and rebuilding at lower level.

In general it's better to upgrade Garrison than Fort since it doesn't cost Tools and is much cheaper. 15 000 for top-level garrison compared to 50 000 for top-level fort.

My plan for 1700s is to have Fort Level 2 and Garrison Level 4 in each colony so I will pay 10 000 for Fort + 15 000 for Garrison + 2000 for Shipyard + 15 000 for Trade Post. 42 000 each per year. Counting in travel times and ship upkeep it gives me 200-300k income yearly per port.

 

[Ionus]

I only use a level 4 Trading Post if I am comvinced there will be heavy trade through there. For the non-MTI ports, 2 is usually sufficient, though for the islands I sometimes use only a 1 level.

All forts are level 2 and All garrisons are level 3. I once had the natives take back a port on this level of defence, but I feel the increased cost of maintenance is not worth the risk assesment. Cheaper to take it back.

All shipyards are level 1 for repairs only, but I always have a second port with a 4 level shipyard in case of emergency fleet building.

Warehouses, I leave at level 1 to store the iron wares needed to develop the port.

This is based on several completed games on Medium difficulty, for both the general (objectives driven) campaign and the free campaign.

 

[Slaists]

I only use a level 4 Trading Post if I am comvinced there will be heavy trade through there. For the non-MTI ports, 2 is usually sufficient, though for the islands I sometimes use only a 1 level.

All forts are level 2 and All garrisons are level 3. I once had the natives take back a port on this level of defence, but I feel the increased cost of maintenance is not worth the risk assesment. Cheaper to take it back.

All shipyards are level 1 for repairs only, but I always have a second port with a 4 level shipyard in case of emergency fleet building.

Warehouses, I leave at level 1 to store the iron wares needed to develop the port.

This is based on several completed games on Medium difficulty, for both the general (objectives driven) campaign and the free campaign.

Maximizing the trading port is crucial not only for the discount you get, but also for maximizing the production (it's one of the tips that pop up in the game). The supply of the good recovers much faster if the trading post is maxed out. If you have max supply when your ships arrive, you're ensured to get maximum profits.

I actually quite like owning also one gold and one gem port (Cape is perfect for the latter) with max trade posts in each. As soon as their supply maxes out, I buy the whole stock and store it awaiting the time when the demand maxes out in the home port. Then I just use a salesman captain to bring the stocks back home for a great boost in profitability... The profits surely pay more than the upkeep of the trading post and the garrison.

 

[unmerged(137907)]

Note on trading post effect:

Higher level trading post also increases the amount the port gets per month on that item. This increased amount actually decreases what the other ports are getting, so you can also disrupt your competitors this way.

 

[Ionus]

Maximizing the trading port is crucial not only for the discount you get, but also for maximizing the production (it's one of the tips that pop up in the game). The supply of the good recovers much faster if the trading post is maxed out. If you have max supply when your ships arrive, you're ensured to get maximum profits.
(Slaists)

Higher level trading post also increases the amount the port gets per month on that item. This increased amount actually decreases what the other ports are getting, so you can also disrupt your competitors this way.
(Kim_Soares)

Whilst not disagreeing with the above, I dont think that for the little island ports where there is little profit to be had, the cost is justified by the profits. Certainly not at the start of the game, when the money could be spent on developing a very profitable port, eg spices, and especially seeing the further away the port is the less profitiable it is. Later in the game I am too wealthy and too busy sinking ships to bother.