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                    PILLARS OF THE COMMUNITY
          Improving Housing and Other Notes for Caesar
                         by Alan Emrich
     I've received so many e-scrolls (e-mail in the modern
  vernacular) with positive feedback on the Caesar tips posted
  here on Prodigy, that I've decided to write one more column.
  In this, I'm sweeping off of my desk the last of the notes I
  have for aspiring emperors in hopes that these tips and
  tables will put you well on the road to Rome. Primarily,
  however, I will share the secrets of improving the housing
  market in your neighborhoods.
                        The Main Ingredient: Land Value [NEXT]
 
     In the previous column, I explained what influences the
  value of land (particularly for tax purposes). Land value is
  also the main consideration for improving the level of local
  housing. Land values, it was stated previously, have
  artificial ceilings placed on them when a land square is
  near a market, rubble, heavy industry, business, barracks,
  gate or a prefecture. Consequently, housing near these
  facilities cannot raise to its full potential (there are 16
  levels of housing, the largest being a 9-square -- 3x3 --
   luxury villa block). Also, a neighborhood needs the
  amenities described in page 29 of the manual.
                             The Secret Ingredient: Civilities
 
     In other words, land value is the absolute maximum that
  housing in a given square can rise to. There is another,
  secret cap or ceiling to housing development. These are the
  special minimum requirements for housing to evolve up to a
  certain level of wealth. They are presented in the table
  that follows over the next 2 screens:
  
  Housing                                      Secret Minimum
  Level #s   Property Descriptions             Requirement
  --------   ------------------------------    ---------------
  1, 2       single tent, double tent          Positive land
                                               value
 
  3, 4       brown shack, white shack          Water supply
  5, 6, 8    2x1 white shack, 2x1 white house, Road access to
             and white skyscraper              forum
  7, 9       2x1 house with pointy roof,       Market
             brown skyscraper 
  10, 11     2x1 w/small lawn on right,        Baths
             2x1 with no lawn
  12, 13     2x1 center lawn, 2x1 with a       School and 
             big lawn on the right             hospital
  14 - 16    2x2 villas and 3x3 palace         Theater, Ampi.,
                                               or Hippodrome

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  Table Notes [NEXT]
 
     This list is cumulative. In other words, to achieve a
  level 16 house, all of these secret minimum requirements
  mentioned must exist and be close enough to influence it.
  The numbers such a 2x1 represent a housing tile that is 2
  squares across by 1 high. Notice that type 8 houses are out
  of sequence. The reason is that types 6 & 8 (and 7 & 9)
  houses are actually of identical quality. This gimmick
  allows for fairy posh housing in areas where a 2x1 housing
  tile will simply not fit. Finally, houses grow from the top
  left corner to the bottom right one. Each row of housing
  grows to the right, then drops a row for the next check.
                                        The Water Works [NEXT]
 
     Water is power in Caesar (SimCity players will appreciate
  that pun). In order to receive the benefits from a land
  square, it must be within the receiving radius of a fresh
  water source. For the record, those radii are:
  
  Source        Radius      Note that hooking up 2 fountains
  Well            1      to a single reservoir doesn't work.
  Reservoir       3      However, hooking up a third fountain
  Fountain (on)   6      to a chain of 2 reservoirs, each with
                         a fountain attached works very well.
  
                                   The Red Tape Measure [NEXT]
 
     Not only do land squares require water, they also need
  administrative control. Liberals will love that things will
  not prosper unless they're under the taxing influence of
  government administration. How large the government office
  is determines how long its arm is, as shown on the table
  below:    Administrative Source   Influence Range
            Prefecture                     4
            Forum size 1 or 2              6
            Forum size 3 or 4              8
            Forum size 5 or 6             10
            Forum size 7 or 8             12
                 The Verdict Is In On Suppressing Riots [NEXT]
 
     As many Imperial Governors have found out, the price of
  plummeting popularity is ruinous rioting. It's bad enough
  when barbarians have to be dealt with, but to have one's own
  citizens up in arms...! The antidotes for rioting are below:
         Riot Suppression Source   Radius    Influence
         Prefecture                   3          +2
         Gate                         2          +2
         Barracks                     5          +4
         Temple size 1 - 4            2          +2

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         Temple size 5 - 8            3          +2
         Oracle                       5          +2
                        Sometimes Caesar is a Real Riot [NEXT]
 
     A general, city-wide check of domestic tranquillity is
  calculated regularly for one's provincial capitol city. It
  is based on 2 things: the population tax and conscription
  levels (the higher they are, the worse things will be).
     After the general rating is calculated, a specific rating
  is calculated for each housing square in the city. This
  value is equal to the general rating, plus any local bonus
  as described in the previous table. If this value works out
  to less than 0 for any given square in the city, there may
  be trouble!
  
                             The Influence of the Baton [NEXT]
 
     Specifically, a number is added to the "unrest factor"
  for each square. This unrest factor is the cumulative result
  of these additions over time. I.e., the worse the local
  security level was, the more that is added to this factor.
     When the unrest factor exceeds a certain level, a rioter
  is born. The amount of unrest required to spring forth a
  rioter varies by the quality of the housing. Thus, single
  tents will crank out rioters with relative ease. Note that
  only the bottom 4 levels of housing will ever produce
  rioters. Rich levels will accumulate unrest, but they are
  too genteel to riot (until their housing levels decline).
                                  All Roads Lead Where? [NEXT]
 
     Brace thyself, citizen. It is almost certain that too
  many roads are adorning cities out there. Straight from the
  programmer comes this tip:
     The only place where roads are required is to connect
  houses to a forum and businesses to their marketplaces,
  PERIOD. Unlike past experiences with SimCity, traffic
  congestion is never a problem, so one must think of the city
  streets as, in fact, major avenues of commerce. Those
  wanting to optimize their property values will not want to
  run roads by their civility structures (baths, schools,
  hospitals, theaters, amphitheaters and hippodromes).
                                     Walls and Soldiers [NEXT]
 
     For those who like to build roads in the provinces, you
  will save a few dollars if you pay to clear out intervening
  bad terrain with the shovel icon before you lay down the
  road. Even if you can't afford the road right away, this
  technique at least opens up a channel for armies to travel.
     Those who build city walls will find it useful to run a
  road just along the inside of them. Next to the road, build

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PRODIGY(R) interactive personal service         04/09/93        11:21 PM

  a barracks. The effect is to get your soldiers to "patrol"
  along the wall's interior. This gets places them well to
  counter any barbarian incursions that manage to get over the
  walls. I highly recommend this technique!
                     Reading the Unemployment Statistic [NEXT]
 
     Unemployment happens. Now, while it is logical to assume
  that opening businesses helps reduce unemployment (it does,
  if they are prospering), other tiles effect the global
  unemployment number as well. Heavy industry structures will
  help reduce unemployment. So will marketplaces. Even
  building forums will make a slight dent in unemployment.
     Finally, it takes 20 promotions and a successful town
  with well over 10,000 population to be promoted to Caesar.
     Computer Gaming World magazine can be reached at EXPT40B.
  Please contact them on the Game Center Club Bulletin Boards.
  Do not send private E-mail.
 

































Copyright 1993 Prodigy Services Company. All Rights Reserved.
