I've been wondering for a while what the most efficient way is to reach the 250 carts required for sending out a new settle command. This information is useful when you're landing on a new continent and want to expand quickly. I looked at this from the aspect of both resources and time required.
Note that the construction times here assume no cottage or other building time bonuses. This would be a foolish way to build, so the actual time required will be less. However since the construction bonus will affect all building equally, the analysis of efficiency of approach still works.
Two Marketplaces[]
There are two ways to get to 250 carts with just two marketplaces in the city. You can build one to level 10 and the other to level 6, or you can build one to level 9 and another to level 8.
Level 10 & Level 6[]
Building the first marketplace to level 10, then the second as far as level 6 requires the following resources.
| Marketplace Level | wood | stone | build time (s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | 23,200 | 29,140 | 429,608 |
| 6 | 4,680 | 2,340 | 42,698 |
| Total | 27,880 | 31,480 | 461,088 |
So, it would take 5d 8:04:48 to get 250 carts this way
Level 9 & Level 8[]
Building a level 9 and a level 8 marketplace requires the following resources.
| Marketplace Level | wood | stone | build time (s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | 35,080 | 17,540 | 266,258 |
| 8 | 19,880 | 9,940 | 158,528 |
| Total | 54,960 | 27,480 | 293,738 |
So, it would take 3d 9:35:38 to get to 250 carts using this approach.
Analysis[]
The Level 9 & 8 approach is clearly faster. In fact it is 1d 22:29:10 faster than the level 10/6 approach.
More Marketplaces[]
I won't bore you with the details, but I extended the analysis beyond 2 Marketplaces. In fact, I calculated the materials and time to build all the way up to 25 level 1 Marketplaces. The fastest results for each potential solution are shown below.
Shortcomings[]
There are several flaws to only considering the Marketplaces in determining how quickly you can get a beachhead established on a new continent.
Other Buildings[]
In addition to marketplaces, you'll need a level 10 Trinsic Temple and a level 1 Barracks. In order to build the Trinsic Temple, you'll need a Town Hall that is at least level 8.
Material Storage[]
If we're assuming this is a new landing on a new continent, your Town Hall is only level 1. A level 1 Town Hall can only hold 5000 of each resource. In order to build a level 9 Marketplace (for the 2MP approach), you'll need 15,200 wood and 7,600 stone. Without any warehouses, that means you'll need at least a level 5 Town Hall (24,000 storage for each resource).
Building a level 5 Town Hall requires a total of approximately 33 minutes. So that time has to be added to the calculations as well.
Number of Buildings[]
Also, beyond 10 marketplaces, you'll need to upgrade the TH just to support the number of buildings in the city.
In fact, since you also need a Trinsic Temple (level 10) and a Barracks (level 1), anything above 8 Marketplaces requires Town Hall upgrades.
Town Hall Level[]
Since you'll have to build up your Town Hall to level 8, that will allow you to store the resources and support as many buildings as you need to get the beachhead rolling. In fact, you will have 80 build slots total in your city. Subtract 1 for the Trinsic Temple, 1 for the Barracks and up to 25 for the Marketplaces, and you'll still have 53 slots for other buildings (I suggest cottages and wood/stone resources at least).