Shores of Hazeron - Construction

Construction

Construction is the process of creating buildings and roads. Not all players have authority to make buildings and roads. A player must be in the chain-of-command of a city to construct or destroy buildings or roads. Cities develop and grow as a result of construction.

For construction purposes, all terrain is divided into a grid of squarish tiles. Due to the curvature of the terrain over the spherical planet, the tiles are actually trapezoids that get narrower toward the poles. When any edge of a tile is deemed to be too short, no developments may be built there. In other words, there is a latitude limit as you approach either of the poles beyond which no more buildings or roads may be built because the terrain tiles get too narrow.

Cities are built following a simple formula. All cities start with a Town Square tile; the town square is the only development that must not be built next to any other developments. A city can only have one town square. Once the town square is built, roads and buildings can be built. Roads must be built next to existing road tiles or the town square. Buildings must be built next to existing roads or the town square.

When selecting a location for a building or a road, the cursor will show helpful information about the location selected. The following table show the different cursors that might appear while planning to build a road or building.

	Bulldozer cursor appears when clearing buildings or roads. There is no undo; be careful what you bulldoze.
	Building material cursors appear when planning a building. In empty terrain, this is the current building material selected on the Construction (F9) window. On an existing building, this is the material that will be used to add another level.
	Road cursors appear when planning to construct a road. The cursor shows the kind of road that will be constructed.
	Cursor indicates construction is blocked by an existing development in the terrain tile. This cursor will also appear when no more levels can be added to an existing building.
	Cursor indicates construction is blocked by an existing development next to the terrain tile. This cursor only appears when placing a town square, which must not be placed next to any existing development.
	Cursor indicates the terrain tile is not adjacent to an existing road or town square. Most developments must be built next to an existing road or town square.
	Cursor indicates the terrain tile is not adjacent to a road slab.
	Cursor indicates the terrain tile is not adjacent to an existing road or a building.
	Cursor indicates the terrain tile lacks rocks.
	Cursor indicates the terrain tile lacks trees.
	Cursor indicates the terrain tile lacks an adjacent open sea tile. A ship yard needs an open sea tile to spawn boats that it manufactures.
	Cursor indicates the terrain tile is too submerged in surface liquid. Look for a terain tile that has less of its corners submerged.
	Cursor indicates the terrain tile is not submerged in enough surface liquid. Look for a terrain tile that has more of its corners submerged.
	Cursor indicates the terrain tile is too narrow. Try planning the development closer to the equator where the terrain tiles are wider.
	Cursor indicates the terrain tile is too hot. Try a different building material.
	Cursor indicates the terrain tile is too cold.
	Cursor indicates the location is not in any terrain.
	Cursor indicates there is no construction process available to build in the terrain tile.

Buildings and roads are constructed in a similar manner. Each requires labor and may require additional materials. Each building and road has its own recipe for construction. Additional ingredients are required when building in hostile environments.

When a tile is selected for construction of a building or road, the terrain changes to an "under construction" appearence. Move to that area to assist with constructing the building or road. When standing in the terrain tile, press F9 to display the Labor window.

At the top left is the name of the development that is under construction.
Center right is a list of commodities that affect the process but that are not directly consumed by the process; this example shows that a hammer, wrench and wrench are required. A vehicle, a computer and electricity reduce the time required.
Bottom right is a number showing the Labor needed. Press the Work button to reduce the amount of labor remaining. The text will indicate when construction is stopped due to a wild animal in the area.
Bottom left is a check box that says "Employ Citizen". Turn off the check box to prevent citizens of the town from working this job.
On the left is the Materials section. This shows the commodities that are needed to construct the development.
Press the Fetch button to acquire commodities from the city's inventory; useful commodities are also fetched that are lying on the ground or in containers. When commodities are fetched the amount of labor needed is increased. The quality of the commodities available determines the failure rate when fetched. For example, when 20 units of metal are needed the Fetch button attempts to acquire all 20 units. The number of failures is determined based on the quality of the commodity. Those that fail are lost; the net result appears on the construction sign.

When a wild animal is present in the terrain tile, construction labor cannot be applied. This happens whether the animal is on land, flying, underground, or in the water. Neither human players or the citizen population will be able to complete the construction until the wild animal is gone.

Road Construction

Roads are necessary to expand a city. Without roads, a city is limited to the four tiles adjacent to the town square, which isn't much. Roads are constructed next to the Town Square and next to existing roads.

Roads may enter/exit a terrain tile from each of the four edges. Roads do not cross the terrain diagonally.

Four kinds of roads can be constructed.

Dirt Road	No Materials Needed	Requires minimal labor. Does not grade the terrain except when making a dirt slab.
Asphalt Road		Labor determined by the amount of grading required.
Concrete Road		Labor determined by the amount of grading required.
Pressurized Road		Labor determined by the amount of grading required.

To plan construction of a road, select the road button on the Construction toolbar that corresponds to the material you wish to use. Find a suitable location on the terrain and enter Hand Input mode. In Hand Input mode, a green line outline appears around the tile under the mouse cursor. Large three-dimensional arrows appear to indicate the current road entry/exit directions. Use arrow keys to toggle the directions that the road will exit the terrain tile. Click the left mouse button to plan the road.

Road construction key commands.

Left Arrow	West road direction toggle.
Right Arrow	East road direction toggle.
Up Arrow	North road direction toggle.
Down Arrow	South road direction toggle.
*	Invert current road directions.
-	Slab. All road directions off.
+	All road directions on.

When all four directions are turned off, a road 'slab' is built. Road slabs serve several purposes in the game. Spacecraft must be sitting in a road slab to trade cargo with a city. Certain buildings must be constructed next to road slabs, often so the road slab can be used as the spawn point for vehicles manufactured by or for the building.

When constructed, paved roads and dirt slabs modify the terrain to make it more level. Note that dirt roads do not level the terrain, only dirt slabs. The leveling applied is based on the exit directions selected for the road tile. The terrain leveler attempts to level each edge of the tile that has a road exiting. Labor is added to the construction process based on the amount of terrain leveling applied.

Do not plan roads so that every building has a "driveway". This does not work because every road section becomes a tee or cross, which requires leveling in all four directions. The topology of the terrain does not permit every tile to be level; some ups and downs are needed. Make your roads pass by the front of each building tile without a driveway. The Cities page has some pictures of well-formed roads.

The exit directions of an existing road tile can be changed. Simply place another road of the same material on top of the existing road tile, with new arrow directions. No terrain leveling is applied and no labor or materials are required. This is a free change. To force the terrain to be leveled; bulldoze the existing road and build a new one.

Dirt roads can be paved simply by constructing paved roads on top of them. Terrain leveling is applied. Labor and materials are required as if the dirt road wasn't there.

Road paving tips for best leveling results:

When paving over dirt roads, pave intersections, turns, and cul-de-sacs before straight sections.
Pave areas of slabs, such as airports and spaceports, starting with the highest terrain.

When a road is built next to a road tile that belongs to another city, the two cities become connected. The cities are considered "connected by land" for trade purposes.

Building Construction

Buildings represent the homes and businesses of a city. Buildings are constructed next to the Town Square and next to roads.

To plan construction of a building, select the structure from the Construction toolbar. Find a suitable location on the terrain and enter Hand Input mode. In Hand Input mode, a green line outline appears around the tile under the mouse cursor. Click the left mouse button to plan the building.

Buildings can be stacked. Stacking is limited by the industry and the material with which the building is constructed. To add a level to a building, simply construct another building in the same location as an existing building of the same type.

The Construction toolbar shows a list of the buildings that can be constructed. Next to each building are columns showing the jobs and homes created, the products produced, the materials required, and the terrain requirements for constructing the building. That information is duplicated here. The toolbar is correct in cases where this document fails to match what is shown on the toolbar. This document adds some columns that are not present on the toolbar.

The columns are:

	Structure	The name of the building that is constructed.
	Jobs	The number of jobs created by the first level of the building. A plus sign (+) indicates that one additional job is added for each level of the building that is constructed, including the first level. For example, a two-level Aircraft Factory adds 3 jobs, two for the first level and one for the second level.
	Homes	The number of homes created by each level of the building.
	Storage	The amount of storage added to the city's inventory. The inventory storage limit is applied to each commodity individually. For example, a Town Square and a Mine combine to add 150 units of storage space to the city; 50 are added by the Town Square and 100 are added by the Mine. This means the city can store 150 units of each different commodity: 150 stones, 150 metal, 150 plastic, etc.
	Power Reserve	The amount of electricity storage added to the city's power reserve. The city's power reserve acts a buffer for power usage. Power plants fill the power reserve. Buildings and roads consume power from the power reserve. Inadequate power reserve results in intermittent power outages, or complete blackouts.
	Products	Lists the commodities that can be produced by the building.
	Material	Lists the commodities that are required to construct the building. The list includes components that are required but not consumed, such as tools. The Lumber commodity is replaced with the current building material when construction of the building starts. For example, when using Metal to build, the Lumber commodity is replaced with Metal.
	Levels	The maximum levels that can be constructed on the same structure. When four numbers are shown "by Material", the numbers correspond to the building materials that can be used; in order they are Logs, Lumber, Stone, and Metal.
	Terrain	Placement required for construction of the building. 'Land' means a terrain tile that has all four vertices above water. 'Coast' means a terrain tile that has at least one vertex under water but not all vertices under water.
	Notes	Information about the building.

Structure	Jobs	Homes	Storage	Power Reserve	Products	Material	Levels	Terrain	Notes
Aircraft Factory	1+				Aircraft	Lumber Hammer	1	Land Near Slab	The slab is the spawn point for aircraft. Multiple adjacent slabs allow multiple aircraft to spawn.
Air Defense Base	6					Lumber Hammer Electronic Part Mechanical Part Metal Textile Wrench	1	Land Near Road	Adds a flag capture point to a city. Adds defensive weaponry against aircraft and spacecraft. Spawn location for up to 6 troops.
Airport Repair Shop	1+					Lumber Hammer Electronic Part Mechanical Part Metal Plastic Textile Soldering Iron Wrench	1,2,2,2 by Material	Land Near Slab	Provides repair services to aircraft and spacecraft. Craft must be sitting in a road slab of the city or near a friendly space station in the solar system. Subsidized spacecraft receive free repairs at friendly cities.
Airport Terminal	1+					Lumber Hammer Electronic Part Mechanical Part Metal Plastic Textile Soldering Iron	1,2,2,2 by Material	Land Near Slab	Connects the city to other cities on the planet and in the solar system that have airports. City is considered "connected by space" for trade purposes.
Apartment	1	4				Lumber Hammer	1,4,8,16 by Material	Land Near Road
Arena	1+					Lumber	1	Land Near Road
Armorer	1+		200		Leather Body Armor Metal Body Armor Plastic Body Armor Woven Body Armor Power Armor	Lumber Hammer	1,4,8,8 by Material	Land Near Road
Bakery	1+		100		Bread Candy Pastry	Lumber Hammer	1,4,8,8 by Material	Land Near Road
Bank	2					Lumber Hammer Metal	1,4,8,16 by Material	Land Near Road	Enables players to redeem empire debt for cash.
Brewery	1+		100		Beer	Lumber Hammer	1,4,8,8 by Material	Land Near Road
Broker	1+					Lumber	1,4,8,16 by Material	Land Near Road	Imports all commodities from all connected cities. Number of levels increases the amount of import.
Capitol	1+					Lumber Hammer Electronic Part Mechanical Part Metal Textile Soldering Iron Wrench	1,4,8,16 by Material	Land Near Road	Enables a city to be the capital city of an empire.
Carpenter	1+		200		Hammer Torch Crate Sewing Needle Shovel	Lumber	1,4,8,8 by Material	Land Near Road
Casino	2+					Lumber Hammer Electronic Part Mechanical Part Metal Plastic Textile Gem Ring Soldering Iron	1,4,8,16 by Material	Land Near Road
Church	2					Lumber	1,4,8,16 by Material	Land Near Road	Increases morale of citizens.
Clothing Factory	1+		200		Flag Linen Shirt Leather Shirt Linen Hat Leather Hat Plastic Hat Leather Shoes Plastic Shoes Linen Shoes Vac suit Knapsack Backpack	Lumber Hammer	1,4,8,8 by Material	Land Near Road
Coal Power Plant	1+			500	Electricity	Lumber Hammer Mechanical Part Metal Wrench	1,4,4,4 by Material	Land Near Road
Coast Defense Base	6					Lumber Hammer Electronic Part Mechanical Part Metal Textile Wrench	1	Coast Near Road	Adds a flag capture point to a city. Adds defensive weaponry against water craft. Spawn location for up to 6 troops.
Computer Factory	1+		200		Computer	Lumber Hammer	1,4,8,8 by Material	Land Near Road
Design Studio	2					Lumber Hammer Electronic Part Mechanical Part Soldering Iron	1,4,8,16 by Material	Land Near Road	Each level adds a design studio. Design studios create instances of design environments in which players design spacecraft.
Distillery	1+		100		Whisky Rum Vodka Gin Tequila	Lumber Hammer	1,4,8,8 by Material	Land Near Road
Electronics Factory	1+		200		Electronic Part Lantern Blank Disk Glue Gun Soldering Iron	Lumber Hammer	1,4,8,8 by Material	Land Near Road
Explosives Factory	1+		200		Gun Powder Nitrate Explosive	Lumber Hammer	1,4,8,8 by Material	Land Near Road
Farm	1+	2	100		Vegetable Beans Plant Fiber Hay Fruit Grain Herbs Hops Grapes Nuts Spices Milk Cheese Eggs Fertilizer Animals	Lumber	1,2,2,2 by Material	Land Near Road	Can produce domestic riding animals.
Fire Department	1+					Lumber	1,4,4,4 by Material	Land Near Road
Gasoline Power Plant	1+			500	Electricity	Lumber Hammer Mechanical Part Metal Wrench	1,4,4,4 by Material	Land Near Road
Grist Mill	1+		100		Flour	Lumber Hammer	1,4,8,8 by Material	Land Near Road
Grocery	1+		50			Lumber	1,4,8,16 by Material	Land Near Road	Sells food and pharmaceuticals.
Ground Defense Base	6					Lumber Hammer Electronic Part Mechanical Part Metal Textile Wrench	1	Land Near Road	Adds a flag capture point to a city. Adds defensive weaponry against ground vehicles. Spawn location for up to 6 troops.
Hospital	1+					Lumber Textile	1,4,8,16 by Material	Land Near Road	Heals players. Performs DNA modifications.
Hotel	3	3				Lumber Hammer Textile	1,4,8,16 by Material	Land Near Road
House	1	2				Lumber	1,4,4,4 by Material	Land Near Road
Hydroelectric Power Plant	1+			500	Electricity	Lumber Hammer Mechanical Part Metal Wrench	1,4,4,4 by Material	Coast Near Road
Hydrogen Power Plant	1+			500	Electricity	Lumber Hammer Mechanical Part Metal Fitting Wrench	1,4,4,4 by Material	Land Near Road
Jeweler	1+		200		Gem Ring Crystal Jewelry Metal Bracelet	Lumber Hammer	1,4,8,8 by Material	Land Near Road
Logging Camp	1+		100		Log		1, 2 if 4+ Trees	Trees Near Road
Lumber Mill	1+		100		Lumber	Lumber Hammer	1,4,8,8 by Material	Land Near Road
Machine Shop	1+		200		Mechanical Part Hammer Lantern Fitting Wrench Glue Gun Soldering Iron Screw Driver Sewing Needle Tongs Hammer Shovel	Lumber	1,4,8,8 by Material	Land Near Road
Meat Processing Plant	1+		100		Leather Animal Meat Fish Meat	Lumber Hammer	1,4,8,8 by Material	Land Near Road
Mine	1+		100		Stone Crystal Gem Ice Mineral Ore Radioactives Coal Lumenite		1 per Rock	Rocks Near Road	Rock resource produced by mine depends upon type of rocks present. All rocks produce stone. Most rocks produce another resource besides stone that can be mined.
Munitions Factory	1+		200		Pistol Ammunition Heavy Arms Ammunition Plastic Explosive Bomb Rifle Ammunition Dynamite Small Missile Large Missile Small Rocket Large Rocket Shotgun Ammunition	Lumber Hammer	1,4,8,8 by Material	Land Near Road
Natural Gas Power Plant	1+			500	Electricity	Lumber Hammer Mechanical Part Metal Fitting Wrench	1,4,4,4 by Material	Land Near Road
Nuclear Power Plant	1+			500	Electricity	Lumber Hammer Electronic Part Mechanical Part Metal Plastic Fitting Wrench Wrench	1,4,4,4 by Material	Land Near Road
Orchard	1+	2	100		Fruit Plant Fiber Herbs Grain Nuts Spices	Lumber	1,2,2,2 by Material	Land Near Road
Park							1	Land or Coast Near Road or Any Structure
Pharmaceutical Lab	1+		200		Medical Kit Pharmaceuticals Antidote Antitoxin	Lumber Hammer	1,4,8,8 by Material	Land Near Road
Plastics Factory	1+		200		Plastic Mechanical Part Hammer Crate Fitting Wrench Screw Driver Sewing Needle Tongs Wrench Shovel	Lumber Hammer	1,4,8,8 by Material	Land Near Road
Police Department	1+					Lumber	1,4,4,4 by Material	Land Near Road
Refinery	1+		200		Hydrogen Air Gasoline Petrochemicals	Lumber Hammer	1,4,8,8 by Material	Land Near Road
Retail Store	1+		50			Lumber	1,4,8,16 by Material	Land Near Road	Sells many non-food commodities such as weapons, clothing and tools and the materials needed for construction and repair.
Rocket Motor Factory	1+		200		Large Rocket Motor Small Rocket Motor	Lumber Hammer	1,4,8,8 by Material	Land Near Road
School	1+					Lumber	1,4,8,16 by Material	Land Near Road
Ship Yard	1+				Commercial Ship Naval Ship Submarine	Lumber Hammer	1	Coast Near Road	Water craft spawn in the water by the Ship Yard.
Smelter	1+		200		Metal	Lumber	1,4,8,8 by Material	Land Near Road
Solar Power Plant	1+			500	Electricity	Lumber Hammer Electronic Part Metal Soldering Iron	1,4,4,4 by Material	Land Near Road	Does not produce electricity in the dark.
Spacecraft Factory	1+				Spacecraft	Lumber Hammer	1	Land Near Slab	The slab is the spawn point for small spacecraft. Space stations spawn in orbit when there are no friendly space stations already in orbit. Large spacecraft spawn near a friendly space station in orbit.
Sugar Mill	1+		100		Sugar	Lumber Hammer	1,4,8,8 by Material	Land Near Road
Cantina	1+		20			Lumber	1,4,8,16 by Material	Land Near Road	Sells food and intoxicants.
Textile Mill	1+		100		Textile	Lumber Hammer	1,4,8,8 by Material	Land Near Road
Town Square			50	50		Flag	1	Land Not Near Anything	Establishes a city and becomes its primary capture point. Flag must be character's current item when building a town square. Name of city is provided by player. First city in a solar system names the solar system; first in a sector names the sector.
Vehicle Factory	1+				Farm Machinery Mine Machinery Tank APC Vehicle	Lumber Hammer	1	Land Near Slab	The slab is the spawn point for Vehicles.
Warehouse	1		500			Lumber	1	Land Near Road
Water Treatment Plant	1+		100		Water	Lumber	1,4,4,4 by Material	Land or Coast Near Road	On coast, produces water from the environment or from ice. On land, only produces water from ice.
Weapon Smith	1+		200		Knife Pistol Rifle Heavy Weapon Shotgun	Lumber Hammer	1,4,8,8 by Material	Land Near Road
Well	1+		100		Oil Natural Gas Water	Lumber Shovel	1,2,2,2 by Material	Land Near Road	Drill for water anywhere except inferno worlds. Rate of water production based on water in the environment. Drill for oil and natural gas where oil shale rocks are present.
Wharf	1+		100		Fish	Lumber Hammer	1	Coast Near Road	Connects the city to other cities on the planet that have wharfs. City is considered "connected by sea" for trade purposes.
Wind Power Plant	1+			500	Electricity	Lumber Hammer Mechanical Part Metal Wrench	1,4,4,4 by Material	Land Near Road
Winery	1+		100		Wine	Lumber	1,4,8,8 by Material	Land Near Road
Zoo	1+					Lumber	1	Land or Coast Near Road or Zoo