The Buildings That Keep the City Moving
Hello everyone!
In previous dev blogs we talked about the Logistics System and how resources move through the city.
Today we want to focus on two specific buildings that play a central role in keeping the entire economy functional:
Construction Bureau
Storage
These two buildings interact closely with the logistics network, but they serve very different purposes. One is responsible for building and maintaining the city, while the other acts as the central hub of resource movement.
Understanding how they work together is key to maintaining a stable and efficient settlement.
Construction Bureau: The Builder of the City
The Construction Bureau is one of the most important operational buildings in your settlement.
While it participates in the logistics ecosystem, it works independently from the standard link system used by production buildings.
Normally, production structures require:
Outgoing links to deliver resources
Incoming links to receive resources
The Construction Bureau works differently.
Instead of relying on manual links, it collects required resources automatically from nearby storage buildings within its operational range.
This allows it to operate with a high degree of autonomy.
It can repair itself and supply itself.
Internal Storage
The Construction Bureau also maintains its own internal storage.
When construction wagons are not actively building or repairing structures, they will refill the bureau's internal storage from nearby storages.
This behavior ensures that construction teams are ready when new tasks appear.
However, despite being self-sufficient in design, the Construction Bureau still depends heavily on external storage networks.
If nearby storages lack resources, construction activity will slow down or stop.
Work States
The Construction Bureau operates in two primary modes:
Construction - Building new structures across the city.
Repair - Repairing damaged or deteriorating buildings.
Construction and Repair- switching between construction and maintenance. Where construction has higher priority.
Player can switch these mods in order to micro the construction workers. Switch everyone to maintenance to repair city after disaster. Switch everyone to construction to stop wasting resources on repair and build something new and fast. Or keep it in balance.
Without proper maintenance, buildings gradually degrade, making the Construction Bureau essential not only for expansion but also for long-term city stability.
Storage: The Heart of Logistics
If the Construction Bureau builds the city, Storage keeps it alive. Storage buildings act as the core hubs of the logistics network.
They:
Hold resources
Distribute resources
Operate the largest number of wagons in the system
Unlike most buildings, storage can be linked to almost any production or trade structure. Because of this, it becomes the central routing point for the city's economy.
Logistics Capacity
Every new storage building increases:
Available transport wagons
Resource buffering capacity
Logistics flexibility
However, simply placing many storages does not automatically create efficient logistics. Effective logistics requires smart distribution of responsibilities between storages.
Segregating Storage Networks
One of the most efficient strategies is to separate storages by purpose.
For example:
Storage A
Collects wood logs
Supplies the Town Market
Storage B
Collects wood logs
Supplies Lumberyards and other production buildings
This separation allows players to react quickly to changing demand. If the Town Market experiences a sudden shortage, you can simply relink woodcutters to Storage A, ensuring faster supply. If demand spikes beyond what one storage can handle, you can temporarily redirect Storage B to support the Town Market.
Logistics Efficiency
This system creates interesting management scenarios.
If a storage has idle wagons, it means resources are being transported faster than they are produced. This signals that logistics capacity could be redirected to more critical areas.
If wagons are constantly busy, it may indicate:
Supply shortages - if the amount of goods in storage is gradually decreasing
Need for additional storage infrastructure - if the amount is gradually increasing
Everything is under control - if the amount is increasing slightly or stay in constant margin
Efficient logistics becomes a strategic layer rather than a background system. So by looking at numbers you are able to understand what do you need to do. Would it be increasing the amount of storages alongside with new woodcutters to inject more resource into system, or redirect the resources somewhere else.
Construction Depends on Storage
The relationship between these two buildings becomes especially clear during crises. Both Construction Bureau and Storage require resources to function.
If storage buildings run short on materials:
Construction projects will stall
Maintenance will stop
Damaged buildings will remain unrepaired
This means that poor logistics can create cascading problems across the entire city.
In other words:
No resources → no construction → no recovery from problems → more shortage.
Looking Ahead
Of course, buildings and logistics are only one part of the equation.
Behind every wagon, every repair, and every transport route are the workers that make it all possible.
In the next dev blog we will dive deeper into worker management, and how labor allocation can make the difference between a struggling settlement and a thriving city.
Even when everything seems to be going wrong, there is always a way to recover, if you understand how the system works.
Stay tuned for more development insights!