Help with building question plz

[Olaf Blackeyes]

Can someone tell me WTF this is and why it costs half of Europa AND takes 1000 years to build?

[a completely inoffensive name]

Umm, it only takes 15 years to build...

[Lysimachos]

Basically it gives you a huge trade bonus. I prefer waiting with construction of one of these until I feel safe that I won't need to build something else there in a while

What it is? Well, the provinces have natural harbors of different sizes. Some provinces provide a natural harbor that is large enough to house a Large Trading Port (for example Carthage). In provinces which have a natural harbor that is not as big, you can build that "Extensive Large Trading Port Upgrade" to bring your trading port to the highest level.
If the natural harbor isn't even sufficient to build the second highest level, you can build a "Extensive Small Trading Port Upgrade" to bring your trading port to at least the second highest level.

These upgrades are extensive (and thus expensive) because you have to change the coastline, excavate port basins, build artificial wave-breakers and so on. I hope you get the idea

Edit: By the way, it's not really that expensive, you have to remind yourself that you won't build anything else for 15 years, and a cost of about 1067 per turn is not that bad really.

[A Very Super Market]

But you have to pay of front, so it is costly in that you won't be building or recruiting for 10 turns to save up for the damn thing. Maritime trade is nice and all, but this is too much.

[Ardri]

A trading port of this size probably wouldn't be built until there was a substantial economy already formed and that is the same approach that it requires in the game. If you have a decent size economy (10-15 developed cities) saving enough to build the trade port shouldn't be too big of a deal. Just need a nice stretch where you are not at war so you aren't cranking funds into your military.

[HunGeneral]

Is the bonus this Port gives really woth the price? I mean to my judgemant mines are already expensive and need long to be built but give lots of cash. However I wouldn't start building something like that port without having atleast half of the whole mediteranian see (or, + the black sea, and lots of Indian cost would also be nice)

[Ludens]

Is the bonus this Port gives really woth the price?

No, it gives the same benefit as a normal port of equal level. Hence it's only worthwhile in your biggest trading ports, and even then it takes something like a century to pay itself back.

[Mediolanicus]

It is a good way to soak up unnecessary mnai. And that's pretty much it's only gameplay use...

[Ardri]

If you like the role play aspect of the game you can basically treat it as a splurge of power and wealth. Basically, it is like saying, "We have so much wealth and technology, we can build grand harbours where they naturally should not be." Like Mediolanicus said, it is a very good way to use up some excess mnai.

[A Very Super Market]

It is actually is pretty useless, since the only reason and only way you could build it, is if you're economy is super-profitable, which defeats the point of increasing your naval trade. So yeah, pretty pointless.

[gamegeek2]

Heh, well sometimes we like to spend our 200000 mnai on stuff other than military.

[Ardri]

Isn't it also historically accurate for governments to spend large sums of money on projects that aren't really worth their value, but they had the money and felt obligated to spend it?

[Mediolanicus]

Isn't it also historically accurate for governments to spend large sums of money on projects that aren't really worth their value, but they had the money and felt obligated to spend it?

True, governments like spending large sums of money on projects that are totally unnecessary and aren't really worth their value, but they just feel obligated to do so because it might give them some prestige or a higher standig among nations or just to shows they can handle such a large project - even if it is an unprofitable project...

[Ludens]

Isn't it also historically accurate for governments to spend large sums of money on projects that aren't really worth their value, but they had the money and felt obligated to spend it?

Well, Augustus' enlargement of the harbour of Ostia for example. And it wasn't quite useless. It allowed him to concentrate more resources at the centre of the empire. I guess the Hellenic factions may have carried out similar projects.

[LordCurlyton]

I call it the"for when you have built everything else" building. That's the only time you see me getting around to it. So roughly around 172 BC or so, when my building options in a very sizable portion of my empire begins to dwindle I start queuing them up. Sooner if I have a mega-builder who chops like 60% of the price off (once got a guy who dropped the 64k price down to almost 10k!). The upgrade for smaller ports (the one that costs 36k) is much more useful IMO as going from one trade route to two seems to make a hell of a difference. But those large ones can really kick it up a notch once they all start popping out.

[Ardri]

At reduced costs there is no reason not to build them, especially at a 54k discount!

I will say that building something at a discount isn't very historically accurate as far as governments go, call me cynical, but I believe the United States government in its entire history has only built 3 construction projects under budget and ahead of schedule. I apologize for getting on my government spending soapbox, and I'm not bashing the historical accuracy of the mod, just the ineptitude of most governments at controlling their budgets... a side affect of studying governmental accounting I guess.

[LordCurlyton]

Well, there ARE limits to what amounts to a tactical war simulation game can do...

[Ardri]

Very true, luckily we have a great mod to play that pushes those limits as far as they can be.