Food shortages

[Inardesco]

Ok...This is one of the more annoying things that I've noticed with R2 TW in comparison to previous TW series.

Everytime I take control of a new province, I have to rearrange my entire empire in order to not fall into a food shortage. I kinda have created whole provinces upon building my foodsupply, which then leads to to much squalor and that leads to revolts and all other sorts of nonsense... It's kinda useless for me to take enemy territory like this because it ♥♥♥♥♥ up my already build empire and then I have to spend turns and money on rearranging it so it won't fall apart...

Now I'm still in my first campaign, arguably the second, but my first first became unplayable after WoS was launched so still first and still trying to figure some of it out (I still prefer Medieval 2 in the city building and taxes more then I do with the Shogun/Rome 2 stuff).

So, any tips in order to not run into massive food shortages in the future, my grainfields now have created a surplus of 150+ but squalor is trampling down some of my provinces and all my armies are kinda on the other side of Europe.

[Arcaneslaughter]

combat squalor with temples and the yellow building chain in your province capitol, dismantle unneeded high end buildings that use food, change eddicts to bread and games

[HeavenlyHost]

dismantle all your barracks in save region and build more farms and such. or disable tax for that regionns until everything runs on green line. always build yellow and green buildings

[Inardesco]

I haven't found anything as to where I can disable tax, only increase/decrease tax. Also, is there an easy way to see where I've issued my edicts? Because now it's just a maze...

[HeavenlyHost]

u click on your provinz. and tick disable Tax for this provinz. It will also not using your food supply

[Varmint]

Originally posted by Viridis:

Ok...This is one of the more annoying things that I've noticed with R2 TW in comparison to previous TW series.

...(I still prefer Medieval 2 in the city building and taxes more then I do with the Shogun/Rome 2 stuff). ....

Rome2 doesn't really have Taxes. All the other games have Taxation - either percentage of wealth that goes into national coffers, as in Empire and Shogun2 - or as a per capita Tax based on population, as in Rome1 and Med2 - just like real life.
In Rome2, "Taxes" are just another form of Wealth - as a percentage of Wealth that goes into the coffers - alongside the Wealth itself. They just call it "Taxes" when it has no relationship whatsoever to any system of Taxation irl or in any game I've ever seen.

[bansheeonfife]

ideally, you would have a +60 foodsupply a turn. that way, if you get a new province or new buildings. you actually have a reserve off food to dig into while getting more food supplies. and consider what you need at the moment, but also in the coming, say, 10 turns. keep an accurate list off how much your going to be producing and how much will be taken when all the buildings are done.

[Knutticus]

I get the idea behind "Food" foricing a balanced economy etc, but in practice all it does is stop you building the really good Military Buildings that would allow you to Build Top Tier units until fairly late in the game, by which time your Armies are pretty Full of half decent well trained units and far away from the stable provinces which Contain Iron and could have Barracks (etc) and specialist military Training buildings.

Instead you are scrabbling around so you don't run out of food upgrading Farms and Buidling Temples or even Markets that Magically Create Food, fighting your Battles with Levy Spearmen, supported by Archers, and relying on Your General for Cavalry.

Considering Rome II is meant to be a Game of Military Strategy the Economic Side of the Game is overblown, but then so is Politics and Diplomacy.

I like the game, but it's more complicated than it need to be, and my complicated I don't necessarily mean difficult. There just endless grotty little decisions and Random events that don't kill you off but just make the Campaigns endless.

[Dragnipurake]

Originally posted by Knutticus:

I get the idea behind "Food" foricing a balanced economy etc, but in practice all it does is stop you building the really good Military Buildings that would allow you to Build Top Tier units until fairly late in the game, by which time your Armies are pretty Full of half decent well trained units and far away from the stable provinces which Contain Iron and could have Barracks (etc) and specialist military Training buildings.

No. You dedicate 1-2 provinces for recruiting. All the rest is for food/cash. That way you will not run into food shortages. And never move on before a province is stable and has your cultur.

[bansheeonfife]

Originally posted by Knutticus:

I get the idea behind "Food" foricing a balanced economy etc, but in practice all it does is stop you building the really good Military Buildings that would allow you to Build Top Tier units until fairly late in the game, by which time your Armies are pretty Full of half decent well trained units and far away from the stable provinces which Contain Iron and could have Barracks (etc) and specialist military Training buildings.

Instead you are scrabbling around so you don't run out of food upgrading Farms and Buidling Temples or even Markets that Magically Create Food, fighting your Battles with Levy Spearmen, supported by Archers, and relying on Your General for Cavalry.

Considering Rome II is meant to be a Game of Military Strategy the Economic Side of the Game is overblown, but then so is Politics and Diplomacy.

I like the game, but it's more complicated than it need to be, and my complicated I don't necessarily mean difficult. There just endless grotty little decisions and Random events that don't kill you off but just make the Campaigns endless.

i tend to only have two or three military decked provinces. all off them maximally build (researched buildings included), with time on my first victory goal left to spare. and that's discounting a second goal i might like to get. you also mention why you do not need (alot) off the best troops; armies are far away and the experience counterbalances their lack in basic strength. however, recuiting 2, 3 or 4 "super" armies in the end game should be no problem whatsover. sending these to the 3 corners off expansion (i tend to pool armies in 2 or 3 directions off attack) will make for an easy ride.

[Inardesco]

I now have my food supply stabilised and with that my armies are back on marching orders. 2-3 in the north-east in current Ukraine, around 4-5 in western Anatolia and 2-3 in the south of Egypt/Etheopia. So that's half of the world in my possesion and no country strong enough to beat me. None but the Spartans can dish out of a punch anymore.

Coming across this major food shortage (at one point I was stuck with -40 food) made me realise that slaves are quite annoying. Because they kinda made things worse when they were all rebelling. It wasn't so much the wars that were dangerous during that period of, whats it, perhaps an year or 20-30, but perhaps the collapse of my empire, at something as stupid as food, higher taxations to make up for the loss of income and simply restructuring the whole of Western and Southern Europe.

Now that is something, I haven't experienced in a Total War since I was just new at Medieval 2 and didn't know it was rubbish to keep castles in areas you've already conquered because it drains your economy.

[MANWHATADONGA]

Paranoid me to no problem with food

[Sifer2]

It's actually really easy once you get the province concept. And understand that if you disable tax for the province it imports food from the rest of your empire. So you can just do that until you get farms setup. You should probably always disable tax anyway to help get public order fixed until culture switches.

[Knutticus]

Recently started a Royal Scythia Campaign. They have three basic types of "Farm", one produces the maximum amount of food, another less food but more income, and the third average amount of food, some income and get this allows the recruitment of units.

[Inardesco]

Originally posted by Sifer2:

It's actually really easy once you get the province concept. And understand that if you disable tax for the province it imports food from the rest of your empire. So you can just do that until you get farms setup. You should probably always disable tax anyway to help get public order fixed until culture switches.

I found this to be untruthful. What I noticed with the exemption of tax is that all incomes of that province is gone. So that includes, food, money, research rate. Haven't got a clue about recruitment but I suspect you're still able to reruit.

Originally posted by Knutticus:

Recently started a Royal Scythia Campaign. They have three basic types of "Farm", one produces the maximum amount of food, another less food but more income, and the third average amount of food, some income and get this allows the recruitment of units.

I believe all factions have that. A grainfield that gives highest of food but low income, cattle herds that give medium food but high income, and a grainsilo that gives the lowest food + army reinforcement.

[bansheeonfife]

Originally posted by Viridis:

Originally posted by Sifer2:

It's actually really easy once you get the province concept. And understand that if you disable tax for the province it imports food from the rest of your empire. So you can just do that until you get farms setup. You should probably always disable tax anyway to help get public order fixed until culture switches.

I found this to be untruthful. What I noticed with the exemption of tax is that all incomes of that province is gone. So that includes, food, money, research rate. Haven't got a clue about recruitment but I suspect you're still able to reruit.

believe it or not he's telling the truth. disabling the taxes completly neutralises the food balance. the OP didn't mention income or the research, which yes you do lose. not taxing a province should only be a stop gap though, only use it when there is no other way. like some have said truthfully; food should never be a reall issiue. and you'll find that when you build commerce/temples/food supply combos from the start, you should see provinces getting reall happy reall soon. the psoible excepption th that being when you take several cities in the same province (in 1 or as many turns as you take cities).

Originally posted by Knutticus:

Recently started a Royal Scythia Campaign. They have three basic types of "Farm", one produces the maximum amount of food, another less food but more income, and the third average amount of food, some income and get this allows the recruitment of units.

I believe all factions have that. A grainfield that gives highest of food but low income, cattle herds that give medium food but high income, and a grainsilo that gives the lowest food + army reinforcement.

this is true. with different names for different factions.