Hello (soon-to-be) world devourers,
I have now written seven texts in which I have always pretended that resources can only ever increase. Iron is mined to produce more iron, which is used to mine copper and titanium, and then even more iron and wood, and so on. But what if that was only half the story? What if every building and every new citizen also consumed resources? Would that be a catastrophe, or simply the completion of the economic system? Let's find out in this economic overview:
[Credits]
I concluded the last section by saying that it is possible to consume more resources through processing than you produce. So what now? Fortunately, there is a market in Entrotria where missing resources can be purchased. Players can do this themselves with their money (credits). However, if they lose resources, this also happens automatically. Negative resource production is therefore equivalent to negative credit production. And is it so bad to lose money and eventually have none left?
Well, it depends on how you define “bad.” The good news here is that the debts do not accrue interest and have no other negative effects. At the same time, having money creates additional opportunities, such as active use of the market. While wealthy players can easily compensate for shortages of certain resources, those with tight budgets are at the mercy of their own economic power. This can work out well, but it doesn't have to, especially since market prices rise when demand is high, causing higher and higher costs each round, while opponents can profit more and more from their own misery by selling resources.
[Water and Gases]
Examples of resources where such dynamics often occur are water and gases. Why these two in particular, when they have hardly been mentioned so far? That's right, because until now I have not told you that almost every tile involves water consumption and some also involve gas consumption. Half a water per round doesn't hurt, you think, and then another tile and another, and then using combustion energy, which also consumes water, and then twice as much for a star tile.... yes, at some point you do notice it. Then suddenly your electricity consumption is in the red as well and you're in debt. Oh, and I forgot: individuals also consume resources, especially alien groats, so don't be surprised if you haven't built any hydroponic farms for a long time and suddenly you can hardly settle any new citizens. And then a quick look at the market. Oh, nice and cheap, well, too bad if you don't have any money left and your opponents know how to take advantage of the opportunity...
So what can be said about the loss of resources? First of all: don't panic! Rushing into investments in resources such as water, gases, or maligons quickly weakens your own economy. This is because these production buildings do not produce iron, but rather consume resources. However, completely ignoring them is certainly not the best idea either, as you will quickly find yourself in debt and it will be difficult to get out of it in a timely manner. And when war comes, will there be time for that?
Only two more economic overviews to come, so enjoy them!
-a productive Giratakel (Simon Alber)