How do I beat the 'not enough population to build a building' early game problem?

[ls35a]

Hi,

Just started playing. Having trouble developing my cities. What's the deal with the not enough population problem?

Is there a set amount of free population you need to build a new building?

I'm guessing putting food+ buildings in your queue early on? I always build at least one farm first.

Also having running out of money which is where the 'can't build a building' thing is hurting me.

Any tips on early city development appreciated.

 

[Shidan]

1 Pop = 1 Building

And increasing food will not help your city grow faster, as food is not tied to growth. Your cities do consume food based on their pop, but having 100 excess food compared to 1 excess food will not give you any increase.
Growth is its own income, each city grows a set amount every turn, which decreases with every pop. Every 1000 units of growth a city gains 1 pop.

The main building tip I can give is to specialize your cities. This city is a food city, this one is gold etc. You will have far greater incomes doing that. You can check the building tree to find what building you should build next in those cities. Look for the ones with +% increases.

 

[ls35a]

1 Pop = 1 Building

And increasing food will not help your city grow faster, as food is not tied to growth. Your cities do consume food based on their pop, but having 100 excess food compared to 1 excess food will not give you any increase.
Growth is its own income, each city grows a set amount every turn, which decreases with every pop. Every 1000 units of growth a city gains 1 pop.

The main building tip I can give is to specialize your cities. This city is a food city, this one is gold etc. You will have far greater incomes doing that. You can check the building tree to find what building you should build next in those cities. Look for the ones with +% increases.

So having +1 extra food is no different from having +100 extra food? It doesn't help growth so as long as you're not starving you have enough? Do military units consume food?

I'm used to a 'maintenance cost' for upkeep on buildings and units. Does this game have more of a 'you pay for the unit when you get it, then it's free' kinda deal?

 

[Shidan]

Many units do consume food. All units have an upkeep of some sort. It is visible by right clicking on the unit.

Most buildings do NOT have an upkeep, but there are a few exceptions.

 

[WingedKagouti]

Most buildings do NOT have an upkeep, but there are a few exceptions.

Economic buildings tend to have no or minimal upkeep while unit/perk/utility buildings have upkeeps (but usually just Gold or Mana).

Unless you've modded buildings of course.

 

[Shidan]

You know, all this time I never realized that distinction. I never paid attention to what kind of buildings had upkeep or not. So yeah, what WingedKagouti said.

 

[WingedKagouti]

You know, all this time I never realized that distinction. I never paid attention to what kind of buildings had upkeep or not. So yeah, what WingedKagouti said.

Do note that I place certain buildings under Utility where others would have given them the Economic label (most often Mana multiplier and Research buildings).