Starting a stable Island

[Juan Carlos XX]

Hey, I'm new to the board AND Tropico.

Does anyone have any tips for starting a stable / happy island?

I usually start by trying to build housing but run out of money.  If I start industry, they gripe for lack of housing.
I'm always playing catch-up trying to satisfy what they're complaining about rather than supplying what they need prior to it becoming a hot-button issue.

Thanks in advance for the help...

[Sticker]

in the first few years, dont worry about quality of stuff too much, just get your industry going (logging is some quick cash) and then build housing and entertainment and better food.

[Juan Carlos]

I'll try that...

Thanks!

[el_malo]

make sure you check to see where minerals are located on your island.

It is not uncommon to have something close to your initial urban center.

I do not hesitate to pay Miners an additional peso or two.

[artemais]

All of my initial startup cash is spent before I ever unpause the game, going towards anything the island gives me to make money.

[Coconut Kid]

Hey, I'm new to the board AND Tropico.

Does anyone have any tips for starting a stable / happy island? ...

Welcome to the Cafe.

Here are a couple of links to helpful posts:

http://dynamic.gamespy.com/~tropico/cafe/index.php?topic=9134.msg185854#msg185854

http://dynamic.gamespy.com/~tropico/cafe/index.php?topic=9134.msg185779#msg185779

After you have looked at them, you will see that you are in a thread full of hints. Skim through them, eh?

 

[Sticker]

make sure you check to see where minerals are located on your island.

It is not uncommon to have something close to your initial urban center.

I do not hesitate to pay Miners an additional peso or two.

 I agree.  Minerals are very important.  Check farm conditions as well.  Sometimes you find yourself (as in Ride'em Callebreo) sitting on some of the most fertile ground for cash crops thinkable.

[Juan Carlos]

 ;DMuchas Gracias!!

After reading the threads and tips here, I played my FIRST non-frustrating game.

I had over 50 on the happiness scale and over $120,000 in funds (that's after my skimming off the top).

Thanks to everyone.  I'm truly enjoying the game now.

Adios

[Coconut Kid]

Thanks to everyone.  I'm truly enjoying the game now.

A satisfied customer! Enjoying the game! What good music to our ears!!!

Now if PopTop will only come by and plan a patch to fix four of the worse errors.

 

[el_malo]

What's the ol' saying, "when hell freezes over" 

Remember, we are talking about Pop-Top... not Paradox Entertainment 

[TruthForAll25]

you should worry about qulity early in the game. if you build bunkhouses for 30%-40% of the population and blue houses for the remaiing 60-70% you will generally see a lot more hapiness among the people add 2 pubs and 2 restarants for even better results.

[Sticker]

you should worry about qulity early in the game. if you build bunkhouses for 30%-40% of the population and blue houses for the remaiing 60-70% you will generally see a lot more hapiness among the people add 2 pubs and 2 restarants for even better results.

Then you have no cash to build your economy, unless you play in sandbox or cheat.  Getting your money makers jump-started early is essential.  Ensuring a steady cash flow is invaluble, then you don't have to worry and can then up quality.  Building blues houses for 60%-70% would cost a fortune and would divert workers from building essential buildings.  I like to get a diplomatic ministry up early and issue the diplomatic edict (the name escapes me) with Russia for cheaper housing.  Then throw up tenaments and apartment complexes for less money when my economy is strong.  I agree that hapiness is important, but for the first election cycle you will still be elected usualy even if everyone is in shacks.

[Juan]

Would an immigration office be a prudent choice as it boosts immigration ?
 If you do play with elected as capatalist then You have to build a tenement or 2 a church a pub and a clinic before 1955. i usualy spend the first year building up my economy  and spend my starting cash completely. I spend the the next two years building two  constructions offices.the remaining two years i go on a crazy building spree .That allows me to win the first election. i usualy play on hard political difficulty

[Coconut Kid]

Would an immigration office be a prudent choice as it boosts immigration ? ...

So far as I have found, the Immigration Office only opens or closes the door, or adjusts the kinds of immigants or emmigants.

One guide says, "Early in the game, you can increase the flow of immigrants ... with an open-door immigration policy [option setting]."

I do not recall any comment posted here which supported that idea as opposed to the clearly effective method of setting pay higher than the Carribean average wage.

[Juan]

True but with an immigration office you can get a total of 12 immigrations per freighter .these immigrants could quickly fill up vacant jobs in the logging camp, farms , construction office

[TeamStar]

If you do play with elected as capatalist then You have to build a tenement or 2 a church a pub and a clinic before 1955.

You 'have to' build a church because you're playing on high political level, not because your character is a capitalist.

[Coconut Kid]

True but with an immigration office you can get a total of 12 immigrations per freighter ; these immigrants could quickly fill up vacant jobs in the logging camp, farms , construction office

O.K.

What are you saying? ?? ??

With an Immigration Office set to "Open Door Immigration," you will <always> <usually> <sometimes> get 12 immigrants per ship. Such ship load arrivals will appear without regard to job vacancies or the pay settings.

Without the Immigration Office, ship loads of immigrants will always be a lesser number such as eight and appear only when there are vacant jobs.

You see, there are at least three variables. Can you tell us "for sure" what effect the Immigration Office has?

If you can, that's great!

 

[s_stabeler]

maybe a test should be done? using rapido, first get a shipload of immigrants with high wages 50 for every job) and masses of job openings ( to maximise the number of immigrants), then put in an immigration office, then wait for the next freighter ( using pesos of you run out of money), and record the result.

[Brf]

According to the info bar, the Immigration Office adds xx% to the immigration rate, depending on the skills of the diplomats working there. I took that to mean that the number of immigrants is computed, using the open employment slots and carribean average, and then that number is multiplied by the Immigration Office efficiency to get the final number that show up.

[one brow]

From my limited experience, you won't get immagrants if you don't have open jobs.  I would suspect that first the number is determined by the Carribean average wage and immagrant office effect, and then capped by the number of open jobs.

[TeamStar]

I love it when a priest or a shopkeeper pops out of a freighter.
I don't know if they arrive as farmers (or whatever) and immediately get a higher education level spot ...