Fast building guide for levels 1-17
As requested by some people, here's a building guide to hit level 17 fast while building efficiently. I'll just start with the end result; it's not necessarily pretty, you will move or demolish a lot of those buildings later on, but it works very well for the start of the game.
http://i50.tinypic.com/snfd4h.jpg
Here's the build layout. Place peach colored buildings anywhere you like, as long as they're out of the way, or put them where the layout shows. Build roads if you like, they're just decorations. If you don't like graphic layouts like this, just take a look at the screenshots further down.
http://i46.tinypic.com/678wwj.png
First, follow quests. You can't progress without completing them.
Step 1: Build 3 cutters, 4 foresters and 4 sawmills next to your mayor's house on the exact locations shown on the layout picture. They're not the most efficient locations for the rest of your life, you will be moving those buildings elsewhere one day, but for now they're about as good as you can get.
http://i46.tinypic.com/23lnt44.jpg
Step 2: Now we have pinewood plank production sorted. Build 6 stone masons on the marked locations. You'll probably be doing a quest to build a fisher about now, place it also on the marked spot. After that you build provision house and a fish platter. Use it on a sawmill. Then you'll be doing a quest for exploring next zone. While you're waiting for the explorer, build one more pinewood cutter and 2 foresters on the marked spots. As soon as the new sector is found, build a storehouse there on the marked location (screenshot below shows spot better).
http://i46.tinypic.com/scbdqg.jpg
After the storehouse, quest pushes you to find copper deposit and build a copper mine. It may not be the same one I marked on the layout, but that doesn't matter, just build which ever you find. After that, build coking plant, copper smelter and toolsmith on the marked locations. Right about now you're out of pinewood planks. Make more fish platters and use them on your sawmills. Queue up the construction of that extra storehouse next to your cutters, foresters and masons. Now you can take couple hours off, waiting for wood and stone to pour in and all those buildings you queued to get finished. If you want to stick around a bit longer, next quest is to build a Barracks which is also quite expensive, so at that point the latest, take a break.
http://i50.tinypic.com/2vigx2w.jpg
Step 3: Follow quests and build all the remaining buildings marked on the map. BW2 means Bronze Weaponsmith, which you should upgrade to level 2 (when you have a quest to upgrade one building). And here we are. This last screenshot is taken when the only remaining quest is to reach level 17.
http://i50.tinypic.com/snfd4h.jpg
Step 4: You'll be producing a lot of pinewood and stone: convert any excess into hardwood and marble and save them for later, do NOT upgrade anything else yet. Also, build more residences somewhere as you see fit. Train recruits, destroy bandits and you'll be 17 very quickly. First thing you do when you hit 17: build trade office. After that, you're on your own, finish capturing sector 5, start producing hardwood, build marble production on sector 5, start producing bread, build more storehouses and create efficient hubs around them.
