Some added tips for new players
Maybe some useful tips to add for those at the early stages of this game.
(#) This game is different from earlier Settler games. Every resource is brought to the nearest storehouse, even in between the steps in a particular production chain (f.i. Mine -> storehouse -> melter -> storehouse -> toolmaker -> storehouse). So it's very important to build your buildings as close as possible to a storehouse or the mayor's house, to keep production times (which includes travel) to a minimum. Another important piece of information is that the buildings in a production chain do not need to be close to each other. The melters can be on the other side of the map from the mines, as long as both are close to a storehouse. Resources dropped off in one storehouse can be picked up instantly from a storehouse on the other side of the island (how's that for logistics...)
(#) Another tip with regard to building placement... There are some buildings that have no direct interaction with your storehouses (no travel to and from), so they can be build as far away as possible from the storehouses, so you keep the space around them available for the buildings that do have that interaction. The buildings that do not interact (with the storehouse) are: Residence, Provision house, Barracks, Tavern, Branch office, Guild house and Noble residence. Also, if you build farms, place the farm buildings close to the storehouse and the fields around that.
(#) Upgrading you basic resource buildings can free up building licences. In stead of having 6 foresters and 4 woodcutters to supply 4 sawmills and 2 coking plants for instance, you can have the same production with half those buildings by upgrading them to level 2, saving 8 building license that you can use on other buildings. You can also use the upgrades to increase production if it's not enough to meet your demands. Keep in mind that the buildings that produce the advanced resources (like Marble and Hardwood) require gold to upgrade the buildings. Gold is always in short supply, so invest it wisely.
(#) The building location of Quarries and mines depend on the place where the geologist discovers the resources. These locations determine where a quarry is best built and also where to place your storehouses close to those locations. I made a map with all the stone, copper, marble, iron, gold and coal deposits I have found so far... (the geologist will keep finding new deposits in these locations if you send him out after one is depleted)
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w.../resources.jpg
(#) Hiring a second geologist at some point is not a bad thing either. When you start getting access to more resources (Marble, Iron, Coal and Gold) 1 geologist is just not enough to keep discovering all those deposits. A second one can be hired from the Tavern for 300 gold coins. (A third one costs 600)