Economy tips?

[Nabeghlavi]

Just gave the game a shot for the first time. Was doing the tutorial stuff but eventually economy spiraled down into nothing. I had 2 axemen units, 2 fisheries, a camp and maybe a bridgehead. There were people working at both fisheries but was losing money the whole game. My general was leading troops and had no economic bonuses? Also, I started as the northernmost faction in the first scenario.

[Eric Cartman]

Capture mines and upgrade them when you can. A mine nets you 60 gold IIRC, upgraded it's double that amount. Besides that, sheep and vineyard resources gives you some gold (and food) aswell. Supply lines cost more gold the longer they are, so keep that in mind. There's also the ''Market'' and Market II'' city buildings, which increase tax output. Then there's upgrading your cities to higher levels which will also increase tax output. Not sure if I'm forgetting something, but you get the point.

[Medie Lechaim]

Don't make huge armies. It's expensive.

[Phalnax811]

Starting with a general that gives economy boosts will help things too until you get the hang of it. Just be sure to set them as the governor. Don't overextend yourself.

Two units should be good unless you have access to vineyards or a mine. Then a third or fourth and slowly start expanding.

You start with 500 wood. Use that to upgrade your city and a vineyard or mine.

Supply Line - everything doesn't have to link to the city directly. You can feed a supply line through a camp to a vineyard to a farm and back to the city if that is CHEAPER and they're on the way.

[Roundpixel]

Replace workers with slaves, slaves do not cost any upkeep. Destroy camps whenever possible, they are very expensive. Set cities to "trade" stance, otherwise each city loses money. So do not expand too fast. Click on the money at the top left, and it will show you where the money comes from and where it goes. Large armies will bankrupt you. Upgrade mines, wineries and sheep, so you get more money.

Again, rushing does not work in this game, so do not expand faster than your economy and strength can support.

[󠀡󠀡󠀡󠀡󠀡󠀡󠀡󠀡Atlas]

as he says above, destroy nearly every camp.
only build a few bridges that you absolutely need
prioritize mines, vineyards and sheep above all other resources

[Phalnax811]

Originally posted by Atlas:

as he says above, destroy nearly every camp.
only build a few bridges that you absolutely need
prioritize mines, vineyards and sheep above all other resources

With a big enough empire (even just 10 cities) you can have plenty of camps. Chuck in supply depots in them and you'll have extra storage for food during winter and wood for production.

[Korashy]

I build every camp and every bridge, and have some "duplicate" supply lines because it looks better, and still make 1.5k a week. Money is only tight early game.

[scruffy_beast]

Originally posted by Korashy:

I build every camp and every bridge, and have some "duplicate" supply lines because it looks better, and still make 1.5k a week. Money is only tight early game.

This right here. The learning curve is punishing early on. Plan on starting a new game a lot. Phalanx811 is spot on, edit your general and give him +tax output, +skill, and +population. It also depends on local resources at the start, and choose a culture with nice attributesEtruscans have an awesome +40 mining (and a ton of mines).