Help With Lumber

[aku_djinn]

I made a lumber camp with high priority but only 1 guy comes to work there. The stockades and work camp are almost full yet I can only get one guy to work the lumber camp. I don't understand.

[Captain Carrrghter]

Welcome to the Cafe!

Umm, a few thoughts here. Many occupations are gender specific, and only men can be woodcutters. Are any of the prisoners in your stockade male?

Unskilled captives in the stockade will automatically fill any job appropriate to their gender. However, unskilled captives already at a job (including construction tents) do NOT automatically move to higher priority jobs--you have to fire them by selecting a workplace and then shift-clicking on the workers you'd like to fire.

I'd suggest firing a few men from jobs that both men and women can do--construction, farming, or hauling. Then some of the women in your stockade can fill the jobs vacated by your men who have gone to cut wood.

As a general tip, to maximize the effectiveness of your workers and also keep your computer running smoothly (the pathfinding routine seems rather CPU-intensive), you will want to keep the stockade fairly close to empty. But as you learn the game, you'll find you have too few captives far more frequently than too many.  

[aku_djinn]

OK I got all my guys working. Now I can't build cannons unitl I have a gunsmith. But I can set sail to go capture one with cannon?!~?!?!?!

This game is getting to me.

My ship can't set sail. I can't build another dockyard b/c it says it must be placed along a stright beach but it won't let me place it anywhere... stays red. Even though there are stright beaches around.

Why am I stuck in this catch 22?

[Severous]

Hi Aku Djinn

Let me second CC's welcome to the Cafe.  Good to see newcomers and that you now have your lumber camp(s) going.

Capture missions. Need 250 gold and a ship with enough sea rations. Doesnt need any weapons.  My ideal ship is a Snow with a crew of Captain, one officer and one crew member. On the big map locate the Snow destination on the home island, even though it will raid elsewhere, and the Capture mission will only cost 2 or 3 sea rations.

Engineer (Cannon foundry) and Gunsmith (Muskets). I prefer making muskets as cannons can be plundered on cruises.

Docks (mooring ships) or boat/ship yard (construction)? Both need a road in the vicinity and both can be rotated - essential to roatate the docks correctly.

Go get em.

PS. I See Captain Carrraghter has gained an extra rank on this board for 100+ posts. Well done CC - no longer a Peasant.

[aku_djinn]

I click on sail to go capture a gunsmith and shipwright but it sais it can't sail b/c it doesn't have the weapons it needs. And I can't make cannon without a gunsmith. I can' go capture one b/c it won't let me sail!

How can I set the ship off without wepons?

[aku_djinn]

How do you rotate the buildings before placement?

[Captain Carrrghter]

Does your ship have rations? If not, you will need to build a sea ration factory or black market before setting sail. The black market is quicker. You don't have to wait for rations to be hauled to the docks. It can be found in the "infrastructure" section of your build menu. In the screenshot below, it has a big square around it.

If the lack of weapons is a problem, then you probably haven't changed the ship's orders. You need to change the ship's orders from "cruise" to "kidnap craftsman" if you want to go after a gunsmith or shipwright. This will cost you $250, which you must have in your treasury to select "kidnap craftsman".

Do this by:
1. Select the ship.
2. Click on the ship's orders (probably the word "cruise").
3. Select "Kidnap craftsman".
4. Select which craftsman you want from the list.
5. Cick on the red seal to actually change the ship's orders, and $250 will IMMEDIATELY be deducted from your treasury.
6. Hit the "boarding call" button and set sail.

After a "kidnap craftsman" mission the ship's orders will reset to "cruise". You should NEVER change orders from "kidnap craftsman" as you will NOT get your $250 back if you cancel your mission!

Hope this helps a little. Put up another post if that gets you going, or if you have any other questions.

Right, now to your second question: If a building is rotatable there will be a little double-ended arrow visible. Click on this arrow to rotate the building, and then build it once the little picture's in the desired orientation. The arrow is circled in the screenshot below.

EDIT:
Thanks, Sev, for pointing out my new rank. I thought I would celebrate it in my 100th post but that turned out to be a rather serious one offering best wishes to hurricane victims so it just didn't suit the mood.

I haven't been posting as much lately, simply because right now I don't have the attention span (or time) to play much. And I like to know what I'm talking about when I post.