A Quick Economics Guide & Primer to RTW

[Fisherking]

The economics of the game are a mystery to me. I have not done the analyses that you people have but I can see that each building cuts income in some fashion. I have also seen that population actually cuts your income. The best thing to do with a large unruly city is to let it rebel & wipe it out. Then for a few turns at least you have a positive income from it as well as the tens of thousands that you may have looted. I have seen with the 1.2 patch that looting is less lucrative than in the original.

There are only a few cities that remain profitable with or without a governor. I am unsure of all that is going on with the build etc. but some of it would seem to be ridiculous. The building of blacksmiths, armories, stables, & what-not should not have a negative effect on the economy but none the less they do. Even walls… I understand maintenance fees but you start out paying a fortune for the larger building & they destroy your ability to continue. Not building is not much better as the population growth will also eat away profits. I am not an expert on ancient cities but it would seem that there was profit to be had in ruling, not assured bankruptcy. Something in the model needs to be changed. One thing I know for sure is that Egypt provided the Romans the cash for their great gifts to the Roman welfare state but in the game these three provinces are usually liabilities.

Spain was also wealthy but taking it in this game will be a burden over time in this game. There are no explanations of these things that I have found but if some one knows I would sure love to hear it.