Borehole Mines: Way OP?

[Sparky]

I've just finished the main campaign in Tropico 4, and loved it every step of the way. Feels very balanced, and after you learn how it all works the scenarios feel appropriately difficult.

But is it just me, or in the Modern Times campaign, are Borehole Mines just an EZ win? I've seamlessly completed the first 7 missions now and all I did was build borehold mines and export raw resources. They never run out, don't need upgrades, only have three uneducated workers to go at full capacity, and outproduce industry buildings. Kindof gamebreaking. I just build one on every single mineral deposit at the start of the game and wait for victory. :S

[Tydo]

Originally posted by Sparky:

all I did was build borehold mines and export raw resources. They never run out,

That has cheat or mod written all over it. They do run out.

[Trojan Horse]

Yes they do run out.

[Sparky]

Lol, maybe it's glitching? I just mine endlessly, I wouldn't know how to cheat even if i wanted to :P

[PapiwA]

You need to check the output stats and budget sheet your borehole mines. They msy still be functioning and operational, but if you'll notice, they are not producing any raw resources, instead they're just wasting your precious treasury funds. Each building's stats include a lifetime results balance and one for the current fiscal year, the one on the left being the year's production results.
Alternately, you can just use the map overlay to check for yourself to see that the mineral deposits are no longer there. Just like oil fields, raw resources are inevitably depleted.

[Uzi Master]

Borehole mines will continue to generate resources even after the ore deposite has depleted, at a reduced rate. This is outright stated in the building description, how so many people could fail to know this is beyond me... But yeah, they are really useful.

[Salt Stride]

Most of Modern Times is OP. Business Centers for instance, it takes a good chunk out of the unedcuated unemployed pop, and if done right, can pay for itself.

[Tydo]

That really does not change the main point.
It dwindles to something like 180unit/year. At which point you can not keep your island running with any usable size population, much less meet objectives in a timely manner. Does not coexist nice with "all i did was.."

Running costs are about 500$/year/mine.
At material cost of lets say 2000 (per 100), that leaves you with less than 1500$/year profit (or import savings). About the same amount as the running cost of a cathedral.
Extremely poor return for the workforce and wage cost.
Just to get 10k/year from that you need 6-7 mines (18-21 miners). With that many workers you could make much more from just about anything short of cornfarms.

No, if you want to see overpowered broken stuff: MT fishfarm, on oyster mode. Same amount of workers, not educated either.

[LSD]

^ Mad because he doesn't understand the game. Git gud lol.

[Trojan Horse]

Originally posted by LSD:

^ Mad because he doesn't understand the game. Git gud lol.

Oh really, it has nothing to do with the fact that the game is easy. It does not strive to challange the gamer. Even the general story lines of the missions seems to be like their trying to market a very young crowd.

If T6 is to be any success they need to take their game seriously and make it a realistic challenge. T4 could be so much more and I do love the creative aspect to the game but it needs to be more challenging and not so predictable.

[LSD]

Originally posted by Trojan Horse:

Originally posted by LSD:

^ Mad because he doesn't understand the game. Git gud lol.

Oh really, it has nothing to do with the fact that the game is easy. It does not strive to challange the gamer. Even the general story lines of the missions seems to be like their trying to market a very young crowd.

If T6 is to be any success they need to take their game seriously and make it a realistic challenge. T4 could be so much more and I do love the creative aspect to the game but it needs to be more challenging and not so predictable.

"That really does not change the main point."

[Uzi Master]

If you really want challenge, try starting a sandbox game with each slider set to maximum/minimum (depending on which way increases the difficulty) and choose the worse combination of backgroun, rise to power, and traits you can imagine.