What is your Tropico Achilles heel?

[Mr.P]

We all have out strong points when playing Tropico, but what about the weakenesses?

I've started this threads, we can perhaps share our experiences, and try and help out. Call it Dictators Annoymous if you will.

My name is Mr.P. I have been EL Presidente for over 4 years, yet I still find balancing the peaks and troughs of exports difficult.

What can be done to help even out - as best possible - this imbalance?

[Mr.P]

Yup, tried all those CK. As a micro-manager in Tropico I felt I had ironed out most of the kinks and that they peaks and troughs were due to growing cycles of crops.

Perhaps if I was able to tailor my growing patterns of products and tweak farmers so that they were more productive that might help.

Folks, what is your average scoring in a game (after say 30 years) for the farm production stats. i.e goods produced per farmer, no. of farmers/vs 'acreage' (Sorry, at work, so cannot recall the exact terms or location.)

[Privateer0]

And how do you feel about this?

...

Yes, and does that bother you?

 

Seriously, though, why do you care? If your economy is doing fine on average, just keeping a several dozen-thousand cushion in the treasury is more than enough to get you through the fluctuations of your production. If not... Well, then you have a much, much bigger problem.

I don't recall the productivity figures and I don't presently have any saves that'd be running for over 30 years, but I'll try to remember and let you know when I get some.

My own biggest weakness is politics. The Tropicans are stupid, that's clear as day. Giving them what they want inevitably results in less efficient growth. Worst of all, over time they get progressively more and more demanding, those little... I'm sick and tired to having to answer to them every five years and if I cancel elections and go ironfist on them, that in itself inevitably stalls growth, too. Not to mention that I eventually get kicked in a coup.

[Crazy Legs]

This will sound probably really bad, but my biggest weakness is keeping up with housing. It always seems the population gets ahead of me, and then im in a mad race to catch up on housing. However, im a newb to the game, i have only played it twice now, but i think i can find my faults. Any recomendations?

[Mr.P]

Hey Crazy Legs, welcome aboard. 

I am not the best person to give advice on housing, as I too leave it until the very last minute, just as people are protesting in the streets. Housing can be one of the more difficult developments to keep up with, given the quite fast growth in population, so you need to play around with the actual types of housing that best suit your needs, even if they are not what you would prefer to provide.

Once you've found your feet in the game have a good look through the archives, as there is feedback and testing on the subject of housing, which may prove of use.

Thanks for the link CK. I'll have to do a trawl of the archives later, as I recall one of our older members doing some testing on development, growth rates and production returns for farms. I'll link it if I can find it.

[Brf]

I am not that great with housing either.... although I make sure my educated group is happy....

[TeamStar]

My weakness is Law & Order. "Anarchy in Tropico", as Sid Vicious would sing, if he could ever set a gig in one of my islands.

I keep the smallest police force I can and I have never built a prison. . Now that I'm talking about it, I'm getting the will to go back to the game and play a random map with LOTS of prisons!

I also usually neglect banks, until I don't really need them anymore...

[Chairman Robbo]

Housing - definantely housing is my weak point.

Even when I set out to ensure there is a surplus of housing, the level of housing always falls way behind the population.

My only real solution? I often end up with a 49/51 split of those who hate me/those who love me, and my regular playing style involves shooting those who hates me. This means I now have a surplus of housing.

Running a close second would be tourism. Unless playing a tourism scenario, I often find it very difficult to start a thriving tourist island, alongside my current industrial setup.

[Captain Carrrghter]

Too many to mention... 

I don't do tourism or military rule very well.

At some point in the game, I usually get behind on food production.

And I tend to build too much, too soon, and not keep enough cash in the treasury, leaving myself vulnerable to droughts, hurricanes, and maritime strikes.

[Mr.P]

I am not that great with housing either.... although I make sure my educated group is happy....

Yup I agree with you regarding intellectuals Brf, something which is under-estimated by players in my view. I coddle the military and capitalists, because it is in my nature and play style, however the level of impact that the intellectuals seem to have seems to be more than perhaps we may give credit.

By satisfying the intellectuals in almost all areas it seems to actually give you a slightly more free hand to repress - as contradictory as it sounds.

I keep the smallest police force I can and I have never built a prison. . Now that I'm talking about it, I'm getting the will to go back to the game and play a random map with LOTS of prisons!

I would not last 20 years if I did that on my island. Hats off to you TeamStar!

My only real solution? I often end up with a 49/51 split of those who hate me/those who love me, and my regular playing style involves shooting those who hates me. This means I now have a surplus of housing.

Yup, this almost 50/50 split is a golden rule for my play style and - in my view - shows what you can get away with when it comes to housing. Provide just enough to get you by, leaving more money and - importantly - space to other ventures.

At some point in the game, I usually get behind on food production.

Capt'n, food shortages are the only thing that gets my heart skipping a beat if the vocal warning appears. Therefore my peons always have (just) enough to eat without too much surplus. Why waste the space! It is perhaps a little too much micro-management to keep demand close to supply, however I loath seeing food being exported to peanuts when tobacco or coffee could be growing in its place.

Plus food sitting at the docks just holds up the export of more valuable goods. Which is also why I avoid the logging industry, except perhaps at the very beginning.
.

[belbincolne]

Well I know mine is any scenario where soldiers/police are necessary. I hate wasting money on unproductive units so when its a military scenario I usually try to win it as fast possible and never replay - there are one or two exceptions  and I mean 1 or 2 . I often try to play with no soldiers (therefor no revolts) and have hardly ever built a police station. This may be why other people do better in Hotel scenarios because (presumably) tourists like the safety even if the Tropicans dont. Like Teamstar I've never ever built a prison and loathe (and can't win) Jailhouse Rock. (Should start a new thread on this - can anyone?)

Food shortages - I get constant messages (very aggravating) because I nearly always build cattle ranches so ignore - even when they're genuine and mostly my people are 50/50 on happiness too - which makes me happy

My other bug is micro-managing. Mostly makes the game more like work than play which is why I don't win competitions!

[El Jefe Loco]

My name is Mr.P. I have been EL Presidente for over 4 years, yet I still find balancing the peaks and troughs of exports difficult.

What can be done to help even out - as best possible - this imbalance?

My best solution - diversification.  Usually I try to start out with 2 corn farms, a farm or two of some straight cash crop (depending on what will grow, of course) and at least one papaya farm.  Throw in a logging camp or two and things usually stay pretty even once it's up and running.  I'll throw in a mine if one is reasonably close, but I like to use those to jump-start my industry, as their initial exports tend to be quite high.

I have noticed that sometimes a downturn in the exports has nothing to do with the harvesting cycle.  If there are less than five dockworkers, many times there isn't anyone to load the ships with all the goodies, and you just don't get paid or paid very little.

Okay, my Achilles heel - the environment.  The tree-huggers always hate me, and the feeling is mutual (side note: why is it that the Environmentalists like to pick lumberjacks to lead them?).   I just keep everyone else in the fair to very close range and the greenies are outnumbered.

[Captain Carrrghter]

I have noticed that sometimes a downturn in the exports has nothing to do with the harvesting cycle.  If there are less than five dockworkers, many times there isn't anyone to load the ships with all the goodies, and you just don't get paid or paid very little.

Yeah, I've run up against this one in my last couple of games. It's a crying shame that I have to employ 3-4 dockworkers to get my goods onto freighters in a timely fashion in the early game, when my whole island has a population of about 50.

[Michal Ricard]

I can't build fast enough. I end up with hundreds of thousands of dollars in the treasury and scads of laborers in an endless loop of pubs and cabarets, home to sleep it off, a trip to the doctor and then the obligatory trip to the priests for repentance and absolution. No work gets done.

I have thought about using only female workers for construction and send the men out on the other side of the island to log. That might cut down on the cabaret time. But those darn teamsters will still get amonst the ladies and then I'll lose time to maternity leave.

Can't win no way no how...the Tropican maximum.

As for peaks and valleys in economy, I like tourism which provides a more steady stream of income. But it is only important early cause I always end up with more money than I can spend (at least playing with moderate economy and political settings).

[Michal Ricard]

Yeah, I knew about the bug. But that doesn't change the fact that tourism revenue streams are flatter.

[MusicRulez]

I keep getting food shortages and no matter how many farms I build, I lose 60 people a year becuase they starved to death.

I guess it helps that my population is 5000+

[Brf]

It would help if you told the truth. I doubt you could run an island with much more than 1000 people.

The guideline is to have one food source -- farm or fishing -- for each 35-50 people. If you have markets and restaurants spread liberally, it will help spread the food around.

[TDK Returns]

Housing and a certain blindspot when it comes to money, mostly the fact that I tend to spend it all before I notice and say "Oh crap, there goes my miltary budget for the month"
And then the rebels blow up my sparkly new power plant costing me further >_<

But I should say that housing is a big problem, as has been said, I simply cant get it to the point where its at surplus.
My solution for this is to turn on the editor and cover half my island in bunkhouses

[Rex Presidente]

Housing and the economies of scale are my problems.

I can never keep up with housing. You build houses, that attracts more people, who need more housing. You build housing for them, it attracts more. Etc. I almost always am forced to impose harsh immigration controls, and even then I simply can't waste all that space building houses, and the people, they suffer.

Economies of scale. As population grows to 250 plus, it inevitably starts requiring more funds on non-profit activities, maintenance, and those dadgumeded college educated workers who must constantly be replaced at great cost. It means I'm good at the economy until the 80s or so.

Tourism too. I've never been good with tourism - sometimes I can get a thriving paradise of sorts but, more often than not I leave it as a side-venture and concentrate on mining, farming and a little industry.

[TDK Returns]

I never liked the tourist industry, they always ended up wandering into the 'bad' side of my island and seeing people getting shot/arrested.
I stick to things like gold mines and tobbaco, good high-profit things.

[MusicRulez]

It would help if you told the truth. I doubt you could run an island with much more than 1000 people.

I have nothing else on my computer so there's loads of space... and i've been playing for a long time so yes I am passed 5000 by a few people

[Brf]

The proof is in the pudding dearie.

Post a picture of your island with 5000 people.

[TDK Returns]

Somebody had a picture a while back of a revolution with at least six or seven hundred people in it...lots of little wavy flags.

[artemais]

I keep getting food shortages and no matter how many farms I build, I lose 60 people a year becuase they starved to death.

I guess it helps that my population is 5000+

The proof is in the pudding dearie.

Post a picture of your island with 5000 people.

You know, given that the editor is easy to manipulate, maybe we could get a post of the complete save game.

[Georgie]

 How do I get a snapshot or screenshot of my game? I don't know how to do that.