In most 4X games, you build buildings or objects that produce X amount of materials/food/energy that is then stockpiled to eventually build things. In this regard, Imperia is not actually that different. The main difference is that you have what are called economic sectors that determine what is produced on the planet. There are several different types of resources in Imperia:
- Money – An Imperial dollar is the currency, and it is abstracted in the game at about a 10 to 1 ration (meaning that you can add a zero to whatever amount you see if you want to know the ‘real world’ value. Money is acquired on a planetary by taxing your production sectors, taxing wages, and by gifts and subsidies. On a sector level and empire level, money is acquired through sector and empire-level taxes.
Planet report showing cash flow and projected spending/earnings. The cash flow screen shows what is projected to be spent for government next turn, so if you pass an Edict and it costs money, it will show up under Subsidies.
- Materials – These are a catch-all for all building blocks in Imperia. Materials are used to build everything from starships to cities to additional economic infrastructure. Certain items can not be build without being designated a certain way or having a certain building, but everything comes from materials. Planets also use a ‘base line’ amount of materials monthly for upkeep and production.
- Food – People need to eat to live, and in Imperia it is no different. Food can be grown and imported to make sure it reaches a planets hungry bellies.
- ADM – Admin is treated like a resource in Imperia. It is generated by the size of government on a planet and there is a multiplier based on the planet seat (system capital, sector capital, Imperial capital). ADM can not be traded, but it can be used for an Edict as long as that planet is in its’ system/sector chain. Imperial ADM can always be used for any Edict, but at a cost of 6 to 1, making it very inefficient for large projects. This is why it is critical to have a solid administrative chain and not to build new colonies until you have a strong system or sector that can support its needs.
- Data – Research in Imperia is conducted by the scientific sector, and is measured in terabytes of data. This data is collated and sent to the Imperial capital where research is done. Unlike other resources, it does not require a trade hub – it is transmitted through a hyper-relay network that is also used for communication.
- Retail – While not strictly a resource, it is generated from your industrial sector and by your luxury minerals. Retail aids in boosting your economy and giving your people something to spend their money on (and by extension, tax!) This also includes your service jobs that do not fall under any manufacturing or high-tech capacity.
So how do resources get generated? Well, each sector has a base level that abstracts how large and advanced the sector is. From there, taking several factors into account, such as the Empire level of that sector, the habitability of the planet, the tectonic level (for manufacturing) and a few other factors, a ‘raw output level’ is generated. From there, actual output is calculated from efficiency: how many people actually work in the sector vs how many can, and unrest plays a part if it is above a certain level.
The profitability of a sector is determined by how much it costs to produce one item vs. how much it sells for on the planetary market. Wages play a big factor in determining cost. While you can not directly set wages (your viceroys will do this depending on their preferences and traits) you can expand a sector, which will raise wages to entice people to come work there. Each sector also has a base ‘desirability rating’ which is the second number to the right of the wage shown in each sector summary. This represents how ‘desirable’ the job is with a combination of wage and prestige. Agriculture jobs are considered the least desirable, with scientific and government jobs (depending on your Popular Support!) the most. This means that your viceroys may have to overpay in order to fill a less desirable sector if jobs are plentiful. You may influence your viceroys to raise or lower wages through conversations, but it will not have as great an effect as through an Edict.
So what happens every 3 months? Your viceroys will determine building for the next 3 months – whether a certain sector expands, stays the same, or contracts. They will also set wages based on profitability, need of the sector, and sometimes just plain greed (they get a cut of the planetary taxes, after all!) This depends most on the Designation of the planet, but is also influenced by the viceroy’s wants and needs, and the needs of the planet. If you are out of materials, you can not build anything new, and in fact your sectors will slowly decay!, putting people out of work and raising unrest! This is why it is so critical to have either a robust trade network or to have a planet capable of self-sustaining itself!
NEXT: Trade Concepts/System
Thanks for reading! – Steve