anno-117-docs/docs/guides/starting-city-layouts.md

Starting City Layouts

A guide to early game city planning in Anno 117: Pax Romana, covering initial settlement layouts for both Latium and Albion regions.

City Building Tools

Before building your city, familiarize yourself with these essential tools:

Planning and Construction Modes

Tool	Description
Diagonal Construction	Allows placing buildings diagonally to fit into tight corners and create unique layouts
Planning Mode	Places blueprints instead of actual buildings, letting you experiment without spending resources

Building Toolbar (PC Keybinds)

Tool	Key	Description
Demolish	X	Drag to highlight and demolish buildings. Uses smart select by building type
Relocate	G	Move multiple buildings to a new location for a Denarii fee based on distance
Upgrade	U	Upgrade residences, finalize blueprints, or rebuild ruins instantly
Copy	C	Duplicate highlighted buildings to a new location - great for replicating layouts
Cosmetic Tool	-	Change building style and appearance

Latium Starting Layout

Initial Setup

When starting in Latium, your immediate goals are:

1. Set up a Timber supply chain
2. Build enough Liberti residences for workforce
3. Provide food for citizens
4. Generate Denarii for expansion

Step 1: Basic Infrastructure

1. Place 10 Liberti Residences near your Trading Post (Hotkey: H)
2. Position residences close to trees for efficient logging
3. Build 2 Woodcutters in forested areas
4. Add 2 Sawmills to refine Logs into Timber
5. If Woodcutters/Sawmills are far from Trading Post, add a Warehouse to connect them

Step 2: Food Production

Choose one of these food chains:

• Fishing: Build a Fishing Hut on the shore
• Porridge: Build an Oat Farm and Porridge Stand

Step 3: Housing Blocks

Organize housing in "blocks" (2x4, 2x5, or 2x6 residences):

• Larger blocks (2x6) are more space-efficient but harder to service
• Smaller blocks (2x4) waste space but are easier to provide services to
• Use service buildings to connect blocks

Step 4: Services and Goods

Build these to meet Liberti needs:

• Tavern - Limited range, place close to residences
• Market - Essential for generating Denarii
• Hemp Farm + Spinner - Provides Tunics
• Sheep Farm + Pileus Felter - Provides Pilei

Progressing to Plebeians

Construction Materials

Before upgrading residences, set up Tiles production:

1. Clay Pit - Place in a river slot
2. Charcoal Burner - Place AWAY from houses (applies -3 Fire Safety and -3 Health to nearby buildings)
3. 2 Tilers - To produce Tiles
4. Warehouse - If needed to connect the supply chain

Food for Plebeians

Bread production chain:

• 2 Wheat Farms
• 1 Charcoal Burner (place away from residences)
• 1 Grain Mill (river slot)
• 2 Bakeries (place away from residences to avoid penalties)

Services for Plebeians

As your city class rises, build:

• Vigiles - Raises fire safety, requires Tiles to build
• Grammaticus - Provides Knowledge
• Sanctuary - Provides Belief

Monitoring Tips

Use Ctrl+Q or click the governor portrait to open Statistics and check for deficiencies in:

• Sardines
• Porridge
• Tunics
• Pilei

Albion Starting Layout

Terrain Considerations

Albion presents unique challenges:

• Space is more limited due to mountains
• Marshland restricts building placement but provides unique resources
• Many citizen needs require marsh-based buildings

Initial Setup

1. Build 2x4 or 2x5 housing blocks near trees AND marshland
2. Place 2 Woodcutters and 2 Sawmills connected to supply chain
3. Consider a 3rd Woodcutter/Sawmill for extra Timber to extend roads into marshes

Food Options

• Cockle Picker - Place by the shore
• Eel Grabber - Place in the marsh

Services and Goods for Waders

Build these to meet Waders' needs:

• Market - For commerce
• Bardic Hearth - Unique Albion service
• Reed Gatherer + Shoe Weaver - For footwear
• OR Hemp Farm + Spinner - For clothing

Use Diagonal Construction to fit additional buildings around irregular terrain.

Progressing to Smiths or Mercators

The Upgrade Choice

Albion residences offer two upgrade paths:

• Smiths - Native Celtic population, easier as they use local Albion goods
• Mercators - Romanized population, more challenging as they need goods from Latium

Construction Materials

Start with 3 Mud Driers in the marsh, then:

For Tiles:

• 1 Charcoal Burner
• 2 Tilers

For Wattle and Daub:

• 2 Reed Gatherers
• 2 Labourer's Yards

Food for Smiths

• Ochs Farm + 2 Dairies - Provides Cheese

Service Buildings

Building	Purpose	Notes
City Watch	Public order	Build as population grows
Medici	Health	Prevents disease
Vigiles	Fire safety	If settled Latium first
Custodes	Unrest prevention	If settled Latium first
Fanum	Religion	Good for both paths
Grammaticus	Knowledge	Mercator path
Recreation Ground	Health/Happiness/Prestige	Smith path, can wait until needed

Space Efficiency

Due to Albion's limited space, you may need to compromise on efficiency:

• Ideal: Two adjacent housing blocks with services in the middle
• Reality: Offset blocks due to terrain obstacles
• Accept some inefficiency as the cost of settling in Albion

Next Steps After Initial Settlement

1. Expand housing - Add more residence blocks as resources allow
2. Send ships - Gather resources from other islands
3. Settle new islands - Access more resources and fertilities
4. Tier III preparation - Work toward higher population tiers
5. Military - Build forces to defend against threats (like Voada's raiders in Albion)
6. Trade routes - Take advantage of unique fertilities on different islands

Related Documentation

• Population Tiers - Citizen tier requirements
• Production Chains - Resource manufacturing
• Timber Chain - Basic construction materials
• Area Effects - Building proximity bonuses/penalties