castledoom.com

[JuntaJoe]

This is the final edit of my Tropico Manifesto. This is my concept of what would happen if PopTop had me conceptualize a 2nd of the original Tropico game.

Be warned that this is a rather lengthy dissertation. A quick scan might prove unsatisfying. Another thing to remember is that while you can comment afterward all you want, I’m not changing a thing. It’s my manifesto. Go make your own. Nor will I do much defending, as a lot of this is my personal feelings about a balanced game.

Now don’t look for me to advance many radical departures from the original game. First because I like the original game. I want an updated game and not a new one. I also know that most companies that would tackle this project are going to build from the original game and engine. So while I couldn’t actually make this update, I must try to put myself in the maker’s shoes.

I’ve broken this into 3 sections for my benefit. The sections are Conceptual, Buildings, and Edicts. The latter two are self explanatory, while the former is where I discuss the whole of the game and it’s concepts. Please note that these sections will not correspond with actual forum pages as I’m writing this entirety at home first before posting.

As a final note to this introduction, please remember this is the concept of an updated edition. Anything left unsaid assumes I’m accepting the functioning of the original game. To write again would be a silly duplication of effort that would simply waste the reader’s time and take up server space. It will also assume the reader knows the complete original game quite well. If you don’t, them go play and read some more.


CONCEPTUAL

The game operational concept is fairly common enough. The original game used a revenue stream to further the player’s social, political, and economic goals. My concept follows the same methods and uses most of the same tools.

The existing player interface is actually rather acceptable in function. The only visible changes would be a button in the upper corner for a drop down menu for the map and scripting editors, plus a reduction of the building type buttons from ten to nine. The editors now use a massive laundry list of hotkeys and codes that can be bewildering to anyone but a practiced hand. It’s time to bring the more than adequate editors into the user-friendly realm. The reduction of building type buttons comes from a sensible realignment of building types even though there will be an increase in buildings. The extra space can be used to enlarge those small buttons a little. A little bigger speed buttons would be nice, but not necessary. Keeping the interface mostly unchanged would allow for easier transition for existing players. The setup screens would remain mostly “as is” with a few additions. The players would place all starting buildings. A “Tyrannical” scoring option would be added. A few more Presidente traits would be added with emphasis on additional new negative traits. The Muerte would be allowed in the editor for infants, as this is just a game tool. An expansion of the game end videos is also needed. Finally, an option to add player generated Presidente profiles would be included.

Now, I’ll discuss the game’s citizens. The economy is tied together by the animated character actions of the island’s citizens. Some citizens make their contribution by simply showing up to work. When at work, they gained skill that increased the efficiency of their own or their employment location’s role. Originally, there were 11 jobs that differed from that model. They also had to perform an action to fulfill their function. These jobs were farmer, teamster, laborer, longshoreman, policeman, soldier, general, miner, lumberjack, fisherman, and rebel. Most of these jobs provided the inherent flavor of the game. Yet I would change 2 of those jobs. The longshoreman would become a non-action role. A couple dock supervisors (new unit) would run the dock. This would be an educated job for males. Teamsters would deliver goods to the dock warehouse (this would require a new dock drawing) for immediate payment of the goods. This would stop the yo-yo economic effect of longshoreman travels. Instead of dock efficiency, the skill level would be based on an export skill that would vary from –10% to +10% variable on delivered goods prices. Keeping the supervisors “on the job” longer makes your economy more profitable. This skill would also extend to yacht dock fees. The role of ships would just be for delivering citizens and tourists. This would keep the role of the economy entirely in the player’s skill. No more backed up ships or backed up docks.

The other job would be the construction laborers. The original building delay was based on too many factors to be predicted properly. Distance, size, terrain, and all the laborers needs factored into this. Whole armies of construction workers were needed to build a sizeable island. Predicting their progress was a vague fuzzy logic exercise that defied pinpointing. With critical needs coming early and often in a faction driven game, this a bad idea. Armies of laborers also drained the economy to a huge degree. The laborers would be limited to road building, and landscaping. They would be used to enhance the island only. The construction office would no longer be a “required” building as an entire scenario could be operated without them. Construction would simply become a function of building cost modifying building time. Cost determines the wait period. Placing a building outline would be followed by a short standard delay to place the building on hold or cancel. After that period, the building grows at a rate that mirrors cost. Mid construction termination allows for a partial return. Demolition of completed buildings would be debris free and would result in the return of 20% of building costs even in game scenario or random catastrophes.

One controversial job would not be changed. The teamster would stay as is. Terrain is a primary function of game difficulty. Island layout for the economy is an integral part of the player’s strategy. Managing teamsters retains this game premise. It also retains some of the random nature of the game. As a matter of fact, this would make teamster management one of the primary exercises of the updated game. With the removal of the construction laborers, more time could be spent managing the needs of the teamsters. Instead of plopping down a bunch of teamster offices and praying while watching the construction workers progress, time can be spent strategizing the best number and location of the teamster offices. The extra effort spent on this would tend to reduce the actual number of teamster offices. In the end, large islands would have a large reduction in workforce, giving a real break to the early economy. These extra windfalls would give more time and money to other entertaining aspects of the game.

The total changes to actual citizen units would be minimal. The only new units would be the dock supervisor and the addition of female professors. This game has had a lack of jobs for educated women. They are currently needed in fewer quantities on the whole. The addition of new government ministries for bureaucrats and the female professors should rectify the imbalance. There will also be the removal of the mother unit. While it served a purpose to create a challenge and mirror real life, it played havoc with job satisfaction. When an engineer would go on maternity hiatus, several women would flock to the schools and only one would get the slot. The rest would go back to lesser jobs along with the, ultimately, returning original engineer. This would cause a lot of underemployment and job satisfaction suffered. Children would still be born to families, but women would stay on the job. This is only a game after all.

Another significant change to the citizenry would be to the child unit. Wandering overage children made immigration control very difficult. Now children would immediately covert at the proper age. Since people convert roles only in a building, the child should not be wandering. As a matter of fact, all wandering will be stopped by the characters. They will only travel to buildings, gather to protest/rebel/ stage coups, or perform outside work. Only tourists will wander. To make up this new time bonus, personal needs will be greater. The better economy and higher needs will then require more “needs” buildings. Since children do not have funds for entertainment, a new building called the park will be added. More on that building in a later section. The increased need for more buildings will be discussed later as well.


Other citizen changes will be the removal of dead bodies in the game. I’m sure the original function was to give notice of the death and add some color to the game. In reality, most players lose citizens through emigration and death without much notice. Who actually notices that engineer when they slip into the dock building? With wanderings common, you couldn’t tell if they were visiting the area or leaving. If you were monitoring a different area, you missed it entirely. The removal of units now by death or emigration will be a quick removal when they enter a building and a notice in the almanac. A running tab of removed units will be listed for the prior 12 months and will include name, job, and reason for removal. In addition to units removed by emigration and death, all resultant orphans under adult age will be removed as well. This orphan status was really a pain in many ways. I pretty much just Muerte them now. Finally, a real problem was encountered in the game with skilled immigrants. They tended to die or leave far too early too often. Some method must be employed by the coders to make them a young age and lock them on the island for a minimum period. I’d recommend a fixed age of 20 and a minimum 10-year stay.

A lot of my changes will raise the economy on the whole. The reason for this is simple. The current game has an inherent ceiling on the economy. At a certain point, personal needs, maintenance costs, and rising pay to offset Caribbean inflation make the economy flatline after a population of 600 is reached. Larger island and long game lovers suffered from this malady. Minimalism became an important guideline. This is counter-intuitive to the concept of a building sim. While not a true building sim, this game draws heavily from that crowd of fans. This newer economy will allow, actually require, more overall building. With newer and stronger PCs emerging, larger games will no longer lag the game engine.

Now I’ll discuss building concepts. The actual buildings will be listed and described in detail in the next section. The PI expansion pack really expanded the original game, but left whole areas untapped. Government was only lightly expanded. As this is also a dictator sim as well as a building sim. The only real limit to expanding the governing aspects is sheer playability. Only when it becomes too much to juggle would there be too much. The other area that was totally ignored was industry. This area has potential for monstrous expansion. The player ideas for this area were staggering. Obviously the makers could bury this game in options. I needed a guideline. My observations of the building menus gave me a great place for limits. Using my main desire to stay within the original game whenever possible, I settled on the 10 building options current limit in each category. Some areas were maxed out already and some had filled barely half. I figured that 10 basic building options in 9 categories with supplemental options were more than plenty.

I thought about that number of buildings and the real desire for players to have the flexibility of building rotation for a, now, more crowded island. The amount of drawings required started to boggle the mind. There did seem one area for relief. Many of the current buildings are burdened with so many additional drawings due to building upgrades. I would just limit the drawings to one set of rotations per building. Upgrades would only be registered in it’s popup window and not in the drawing. This reduction in total drawings would allow rotations for every building greater than 2 by 2 squares. Players will have a greater capacity to densely pack flat areas and find better toeholds in elevated areas. It will also increase the aesthetics in the game for those who like building sim aspect. Another real problem of the game was the huge need for acreage for the housing aspect. I will modify housing to a great degree to alleviate this problem. Yet you will find that overall, I will retain most of the old buildings’ drawings. The primary change will be in capacity. By allowing tenements and apartments to hold 60% more families without an increase in footprint. A 20 family capacity tenement will really clear those shacks out quickly. Some changes in the smaller buildings will also help. The shack concept will be changed as well. With the changes in the laborers and construction, this area begged attention. Shacks were largely out of the player’s control. No longer will this be so. The player will build and destroy shacks at will and at no cost. The citizens will not build them. When citizens cannot find available housing, they will go and gather at the Palace. Failure to provide immediate housing will result in rapid housing satisfaction loss. Should this condition continue then the homeless would protest. One excellent by-product of this change will be the control of location of the shack towns.

The reduction of building groups will occur because of housing changes. With the addition earlier of the dual use condominium gave me several ideas. The luxury house and villa will be combined. The never used bungalow will serve also as a single unit dwelling to replace the bunkhouse concept and low class hotel. The low tourism lodging will require no hired help. The country house was merely a weak sister of the regular house. It would be changed to a 2 family farmhouse of decent quality that would be suitable for decent housing near distant farms and other resources sites. With these combinations and deletions, the hotel section would be combined with the housing section. There will be 10 buildings in this section of which 3 will be dual use. The concept of Tourist Lodging rates will be changed to avoid the rate cheat. All rates will be an Auto Rate for 80% occupancy. Players will be encouraged to work on raising rates through employee skill and surrounding tourist environment.

The industry buildings will be greatly expanded and modified. The player will have many options to build an economy in varying island conditions. The resource section will have only one actual building addition called the plantation, but there will be numerous new agricultural products. Every raw resource should and will have a follow on industry and there will be many new factory types for the player. Industrial sections of island can grow to fantastic proportions if the player desires. All island types will support multiple profitable industries.

The government section will be expanded to give Presidentes many control and governing options. The significant additions will be the Government Ministry building, the Guard Shack, and the Military Intelligence building. The Government Ministry building will be a multi-use building to affect a wide array of topics that affect island life, factions, and basic government. It will operate like a media building in that several settings will be available and multiple buildings can be built. The Military Intelligence building will finally satisfy the overwhelming player community desire for other military and secret police aspects of the game. The Guard Shack differs from the Guard Station (which will be renamed Outpost). Combined with walls (described in the Infrastructure discussion), the player will be able to section and secure his island. The Guard Shack is primarily a gate that does not permit rebels to pass without destroying it first and tourists to never pass. The player no longer has to suffer a wandering free-for-all. The Police Station, Armory, Immigration Office, Military Barracks, and renamed Outpost will remained unchanged.

Unfortunately, the government building section is already filled with 10 buildings and something must give before adding 3 new buildings. The combination of radio and TV into the Broadcasting Building will free up one slot as will the deletion of the prison opens the second. Folding the Foreign Ministry into the Government Ministry will make the final space. The Broadcasting building will operate differently as well. They can be built anywhere without a coverage radius. The limitations due to program choices make this silly. If a large island can only have one “Learning with Larry” then you must wrestle with the island for proper coverage. I contemplated allowing multiple stations with similar programming, but they are already profitable as is. Having 5 “Russian Soap Operas” would be a gross abuse of profitability in the game. Now all Broadcast Stations will cover the entire island. The newspaper will also have island wide coverage along with a College Paper option for the intellectuals. The prison is rendered redundant by 2 things: the PI addition of the Colonial Fort and an addition of a Spanish Mission special building. The Colonial Fort will now be fixed only in the prison mode. The Spanish mission will be a multi-use facility that covers some of the old aspects of the Fort. Islands will now automatically get the Fort/prison and the player will get the choice of either the Archeological Site or the Mission.

As a matter of fact, choice will begin every game. The player will place all of the starting buildings including the specials and Palace. After island generation, the player will locate the Palace, 2 specials, dock, teamster office, a park, plus a number of farms and shacks based on initial population settings. Note that the construction office is off the initial list. It is not now a critical building. Players will purchase the new road construction office normally. After the buildings are placed, the game will regenerate one last time to set the game based on island changes from construction and drop in the initial citizens.

Significant changes will be seen in the Resource/Industrial sections. A number of new agricultural products will be added. To not overburden the poor farm, a new agricultural building will be added. The Plantation will grow all non-food products. The original farm will still have 7 products and all will be foodstuffs. The farm will get an upgrade called irrigation. Feeding the people should not be at the whim of the weather. The plantation will not have this upgrade to retain the challenge working with what each individual island gives. The only other changes to the resource buildings will be the deletion of the beef smokehouse and the starving cattle calls will be stopped (No matter what the experts say, this problem persists). No refined goods will be made at resource buildings now. All resources will have a factory type that makes goods only for export. One final note on foodstuffs. The food happiness number was a function of sufficient quantity and no more. If food was plentiful, food happiness was always capped at 69 unless the food edict was tripped. Variety played no role. In the update, each different foodstuff would give an additional point of food happiness. It will now be possible for a 79 rating if all 10 foodstuffs are made and quantity is sufficient. The bonus for the food edict will still top out at 99 as before. Back to industry, there will be 9 operational factories that will handle the various resources and a 10th industrial site to assist the factory system.

The tourist section will be little changed. Frankly, Breakaway did a nice job on the xpac. Yet one of their additions, the Duty Free Shop, turned the barely useful Souvenir Shop into redundant. It will be replaced. As will the dull Scenic Outlook. There already are a number of scenic options for tourists. The two will be replaced with the Golf Course and Jai Alai Court. Both will satisfy the sports desires of tourists. Jai Alai will also satisfy rich tourist gambling. The Mini Golf will stay the same, but will be relabeled the Arcade and be a low tourism site. The Golf Course will be a big affair like the airport and very expensive. It will be the absolute pinnacle of tourism. It will also increase your tourism rating and draw potential for rich tourists.

The Entertainment section will see a few changes. While Breakaway did a great job overall they did have one lemon. The Presidente Childhood Home was a dud. It was rather irritating to listen to. It had poor attendance and profits. The need for more entertainment can be filled in other ways. The bonuses of respect and graft can be handled elsewhere. An improved bank is needed anyway (more on that later) and the respect will be handled in the new park. There was a limited selection of non-powered entertainment options in the original game even with the xpac. Now the section will be balanced. There will be 5 of each. The Conservatory will now be non-powered. Do plants need that much power? It will be matched with the original 3 and the park. The park will be a fairly large structure the size of a power plant or cathedral. It will not charge admission. It will fulfill the “wandering” need and children play time. It will have entertainment, sports, and respect settings. The powered ones will stay the same except the Casino will lose the rich tourist setting that Jai Alai will cover. Players will now use it more often for their citizens than in the past. One big reason players avoided the Casino and Stadium was due to their poor attendance. With increased “needs” to offset wandering, they should be more viable.

Infrastructure changes would seem minimal in appearance. The larger changes would be in function. The only building to leave would be the Substation. It was bad enough struggling mid game to build towards the western shore without having to drag the power back to the eastern tourist areas. Even though the building of structures is different now, small islands still need not suffer this difficulty. If this were a SimCity game, individual power lines would be added. The Substations represented a poor stab at this concept. Like the media structures, Electrical Power Stations will now have island wide coverage. The Electrical Power Station will also have a 3rd setting. The Gas Turbine option will raise power output per engineer at a higher maintenance costs. This will allow players to reduce the overall power footprint on the island. It will have the same pollution level as the regular gas setting. The Demolish command will stay. Keeping it will remove the need for a demolish button on each building. Demolishing will now recover a 20% portion of building construction costs. The road command will function exactly as before. The road will get a companion in the form of the Avenue. It will operate the same way in construction and removal. The only difference is a paler color close to the white sand and the fact that it will increase speed over roads by 50%. And cost twice as much. The speed reward will cost more for the Avenue to keep normal roads a viable construct in the game. Otherwise, the road would end up a white elephant. A cost allowance will be made for constructing Avenues over roads. This will encourage early roads with follow up Avenues in busy areas. The Construction office will switch roles as I discussed before. Roadways and landscaping will be its role. There will be changes to landscaping and the Road Construction office will handle it. The Airport will be unchanged. The Teamster office will operate the same as well. It will have one new informational feature added. A running reportage on the load count for the past 12 months picked up by that office. This feature will help players to find optimum locations for the office in this new teamster critical game. The Dock changes were discussed earlier. It will also have a running 12-month counter for loads delivered. The bank would be changed in 2 ways. The Swiss Banking option has always been a dog. In a profitable year of 100,000 pesos, 3 fully staffed banks would be siphoning off a mere few thousand. The cost of operating banks is immense when you factor in the full costs of supporting banker citizens. The update will solidly raise the siphoning level. There will also be a Savings option. This will raise the island’s liberty score based on the number of bankers and banks on this setting. The final addition to the infrastructure is the wall unit. It will be a full small square unit that is impassible like a building. It can be demolished, but not destroyed by weather or citizen action. In conjunction with the Guard Shack, the island can be sectioned for security or traffic flow. The wall unit will also have another feature. It will not be dependent on level ground. Like landscaping, it can be placed in any open square without altering the elevation or slope of the underlying ground. Yet, the road crew will not install it. It will be player placed.

The human services section will be renamed the social services section. This is because the 3 new inclusions will not get actual human visits. The first two of the three are actually transfers from the landscaping section. The statue and large fountain will be moved here. Both will have adjusted affects. The fountain will retain its beautification effects and additionally give a 1-point bonus to respect for each large fountain made. The statue will still radiate a sphere of government control, but at a lower level. Each one made will also radiate a zone of slightly lower crime in the same area. Statues will become handy for lightly populated areas that don’t warrant military or police stationed nearby. A lonely ranch or mine would find the statue to be a handy addition close by. The price of the statue will rise to the same 1000 pesos like the large fountain. The final added structure would be the Library. It will not be a citizen-visited structure. Instead a few schoolteachers will run the facility and add to the education dynamic of the island. When this structure is added, the librarians’ skill will be added to both the High School and College for the purpose of graduation speed. In addition, it will function like the Literacy Edict or Learning with Larry. It will also raise the respect of the intellectuals. Because of its obvious value, it will be rather expensive like the College.

The other structures in this group will have minimal changes. The Market and High School will stay unchanged. The College will only change in the fact that there will be women professors as well as men. The Church and Cathedral will operate the same, but the Church requirement before the Cathedral is built will be dropped. Players will have the option of an all Cathedral island to raise the religion score without drawing the ire of the faction for having no church. The same concepts will extend to the Hospital and Clinic. The Hospital will still be powered. The settings for the Hospital and Clinic will be dropped. The maternity option is redundant with the Contraception Ban and is rarely used, as players tend to prefer immigrants instead of children anyway. The Immigration Office is cheaper to run overall anyway. The geriatric option is worse than useless. Elderly tend to be a game burden anyway. Keeping them around longer is a waste of pesos. While children and elderly are a part of the game challenge, most players will not actively encourage them.

The final section is landscaping. With the removal of 2 items, interesting landscape ideas are now possible. The vegetation rotations will be bolstered to give more landscape options. With walls and the reduction of wandering, the landscaping will be less trampled if placed correctly. Player made gardens will have a greater chance of surviving. Small fountains will still remain as a minor landscape item and will radiate environmental beauty no more than any other full square plant. Its price will also be reduced. The final two slots will steal from the terrain editor tools. One option will be the replanting of grass in the area of a large yellow square. This will only affect existing grass areas. This will be handy to reclaim land trampled early in the game when the structures and citizen-flow become stable. It will also help restoring overgrazed ranch land to maintain their profitability. The final slot will be for minor terrain surface changes. The player will be able change any island small square into either sand, rock, or green-grass. There will be no provision for reclaiming land from the sea. Additionally, the map editor will allow for adding and removing crop plants.

The final discussion of buildings will be about the Specials. The Archeological Site will remain a tourism site for rich tourists. It will have its entertainment rating upgraded from 70 to 85. The Colonial Fort, as discussed earlier, will become the island’s prison manned by soldiers. It will be given 3 settings. The Rehabilitation setting, a Slow Death setting, and a Forced Labor setting to generate money. The new Spanish Mission will have 3 settings. The Monastery setting will be manned by 2 priests and will raise the religious faction respect and the religious happiness score by a few points. And it would function as a 5 capacity church. The Military Mission setting will function as a mini Army base. One general will command a barracks housing for six military families. It will be eligible for the same boost that the Modernization edict gives the normal barracks. It will have a low tourist Museum setting similar to the old Colonial Fort tourist setting manned by schoolteachers. It would also function for citizen entertainment like that other one did. This setting would also increase respect from the intellectuals. Finally comes the palace. It would function the same way, as before, yet it will have an available upgrade. The upgrade would add some small attractive gardens surrounded by a low wall. The low wall will not function like the new wall unit, but would raise the Palace’s hit points total by 50%. The gardens would also function as a large fountain does by raising the area beauty and respect level by 2 full % points. The Palace will now have a larger footprint to allow for the upgrade. As mentioned before, the player will place all starting buildings, including the specials. This will allow for those strategic specials to be located where they will do the most good and not interfere with the player’s layout plans.

The final discussion in the conceptual section will be about edicts. We players love edicts. Some love the pushbutton changes to the island. Others love the immediate response in the election polls. Whatever the reason, the ease of use has a certain allure. Yet edicts cost money and allow the player to ignore complicated building settings. If all the desired edicts by the players were allowed, it would boggle the mind. It would also allow extreme control over certain elements of the island if a skilled player used them along with the corresponding building settings. My building additions and game changes allow for a much greater control of the populace already. The addition of new edicts should only be to counter certain inequities and to create balance. Another thing to factor in is that certain factions are pleased by certain situations that are better solved by buildings or style of play. A good example is the communists. Their basic desires are shelter, employment, and close pay scales. A bunch of edicts would simply be a waste in their case. Yet I will add a few edicts that affect the various factions where buildings have not created a balance already. The goal of mine was to allow the player to use a combination of buildings, edicts, or game style to grant favor to certain factions or suppress them. When looking at the original list, I saw a heavily skewed list that favored the religious faction. The Inquisition, besides being a dated concept, does nothing that other actions cannot solve. The Contraception Ban also needs an opposite for the players who prefer using immigrants as the primary source of new labor. A general celebration without a crime penalty was really needed. Finally, we all want a little more control over certain individuals who make our life difficult. A simple Deport edict is long overdue for players who avoid the military route.

Let me end this section with an apology for the erratic nature in which it was followed. Yet a more organized discussion would have to include all the original game’s old concepts side by side. At some point, it would have rivaled a published strategy guide. Worse would be the lack of side-by-side comparisons. This manifesto was made for the Tropico expert player. Should you feel confused by the discussion, I’d recommend further practice of your favorite game.

BUILDINGS

Housing

House: Unchanged

Shack:
Cost: None
Requirements: None
Upgrades: None
Income: None
Options: None
Staff: None
Notes: Houses 1 family; BHQ of 5; 2 variations; Now is player placed.

Farmhouse:
Cost: $700
Requirements: None
Upgrades: None
Income: Rent
Options: None
Staff: None
Notes: Houses 2 families; BHQ of 45; 2 variations.

Tenement:
Cost: $6000
Requirements: None
Upgrades: None
Income: Rent
Options: Roach Patrol; Normal Maintenance.
Staff: None
Notes: Houses 20 families; BHQ of 25 or 35.

Apartments:
Cost: $6000
Requirements: None
Upgrades: None
Income: Rent
Options: Normal Service or Cable TV.
Staff: None
Notes: Houses 10 families; BHQ of 55 or 65.

Cottage Bungalow:
Cost: $200
Requirements: None
Upgrades: None
Income: Rent or Lodging Rate
Options: Housing or Tourist Lodging Auto Rate.
Staff: None
Notes: Houses 1 family-Citizen or Tourist; BHQ or BTQ of 30.

Hotel:
Cost: $5000
Requirements: None
Upgrades: None
Income: Lodging Rate
Options: Normal Service or In-Room Movies.
Staff: 3 maids
Notes: BTQ of 50 or 60; 12 couple occupancy

Luxury Hotel:
Cost: $10,000
Requirements: 15mw Electricity
Upgrades: None
Income: Lodging Rate
Options: Normal Service or Luxury Appointments.
Staff: 6 maids
Notes: BTQ of 80 or 90; 15 couple occupancy.

Condominiums:
Cost: $7000
Requirements: 8mw Electricity
Upgrades: None
Income: Rent or Lodging rate
Options: Housing or Tourist Auto Lodging Rate.
Staff: 2 maids for tourist setting.
Notes: Houses 6 families-Citizen or Tourist; BHQ and BTQ of 80.

Villa:
Cost: $3000
Requirements: 3mw Electricity
Upgrades: None
Income: Rent or Lodging Rate
Options: Housing or Tourist Auto Lodging Rate.
Staff: 1 maid for tourist setting.
Notes: Houses 2 families-Citizen or Tourist; BWQ and BTQ of 100.

Resource Buildings

Mine: Unchanged
Fishing Pier: Unchanged
Logging Camp: Unchanged


Ranch:
Cost: $750
Requirements: None
Upgrades: None
Income: Resource Production
Options: Cattle or Goats
Staff: 2 farmers
Notes: Land quality dependent

Farm:
Cost: $1000
Requirements: None
Upgrades: Irrigation $2000
Income: Resource Production
Options: Grain; Papaya; Banana; Pineapple; Citrus; Coconut; Mangos.
Staff: 5 farmers
Notes: Land quality dependent

Plantation:
Cost: $1000
Requirements: None
Upgrades: None
Income: Resource Production
Options: Sugar; Tobacco; Coffee; Cotton; Cocoa.
Staff: 5 farmers
Notes: Land quality dependent

Factories

Jewelry Factory: Unchanged
Cigar Factory: Unchanged
Rum Distillery: Unchanged

Cannery:
Cost: $15,000
Requirements: None
Upgrades: Packing House $3000; Flash Freezer $3500 and 10mw.
Income: Canning (Papaya, Coffee Beans, Fish, and Pineapple); Freeze Dried Coffee (Coffee Beans).
Options: Sweatshop and Easy-does-it
Staff: 8 factory workers
Notes: None

Woodworking Mill:
Cost: $6000
Requirements: None
Upgrades: Sawdust Burner $2000; Power Saw $2000 and 10mw; Furniture Shop $10,000 and 10mw.
Income: Lumber and Furniture (Logs)
Options: Sweatshop and Easy-does-it
Staff: 8 factory workers
Notes: This factory will have a greater volume output than the prior Lumber Mill.

Bottling Plant:
Cost: $15,000
Requirements: None
Upgrades: Crating Shop $3000; Juice Concentrator $3500 and 10mw.
Income: Milk (Coconuts); Beer (Grain); Soda (Mangos); OJ (Citrus); Frozen OJ Concentrate (Citrus).
Options: Sweatshop or Easy-does-it
Staff: 8 factory workers
Notes: The upgrades will work exactly the same as the Cannery’s.

Food Factory:
Cost: $5000
Requirements: None
Upgrades: Assembly Line $2000 and 10mw.
Income: Baby Food (Bananas); Smoked Cabrito (Goats); Chocolate (Cocoa Beans).
Options: Sweatshop or Easy-does-it
Staff: 6 factory workers
Notes: Assembly Line increases productivity by 30%.

Smelter:
Cost: $20,000
Requirements: None
Upgrades: Electric Coke Furnace $5000 and 15mw.
Income: Iron Ingots (Iron); Aluminum Ingots (Bauxite); Steel Ingots (Iron).
Options: Sweatshop or Easy-does-it
Staff: 12 factory workers
Notes: Coke furnace needed for steel manufacture.


Clothing Factory:
Cost: $7000
Requirements: None
Upgrades: Autostitcher $2000 and 10mw; Chemical Furnace $2000 and 5mw.
Income: Textiles (Cotton); Leather Goods (Beef).
Options: Sweatshop and Easy-does-it
Staff: 8 factory workers
Notes: Autosticher increases productivity by 30%; Chemical Furnace reduces pollution by 50%.

Repair Shop:
Cost: $5000
Requirements: None
Upgrades: Machine Shop $2000 and 5mw
Income: Maintenance income from other factories.
Options: Sweatshop or Easy-does-it
Staff: 4 factory workers
Notes: Income derived from 15% (20% sweatshop) of all other factories maintenance costs; Machine shop adds 5% to percentage total; Only one of these may be built.

Tourist Attractions

Marina: Unchanged
Nature Preserve: Unchanged
Duty Free Shop: Unchanged
Arcade: Miniature Golf with name change only
Tennis Court: Unchanged
Pool: Unchanged
Beach Site: Unchanged
Spa: Unchanged

Jai Alai Court:
Cost: $8000
Requirements: Any hotel
Upgrades: None
Income: Admission Fee
Options: No Dress Code or Upscale Dress Code
Staff: 2 Pit Bosses
Notes: This is a rich tourist gambling site; BEQ of 90; 10-person occupancy.

Golf Course:
Cost: $25,000
Requirements: Any hotel
Upgrades: None
Income: Admission Fee
Options: No Dress Code or Upscale Dress Code
Staff: 3 Athletes
Notes: This is a rich tourist site; Airport size footprint; BEQ of 90; 12-person occupancy; Raises island tourism rating by 10 points.

Entertainment

Pub: Unchanged except a Locals Only setting
Nightclub: Unchanged
Restaurant: Unchanged except a Locals Only setting
Gourmet Restaurant: Unchanged
Cabaret: Unchanged
Sports Complex: Unchanged
Movie Theater: Unchanged
Conservatory: Power requirement removed; Otherwise Unchanged

Casino:
Cost: $5000
Requirements: 15mw Electricity
Upgrades: None
Income: Admission Fee
Options: Blackjack Tables; Slot Machines
Staff: 3 Pit Bosses
Notes: This site will now cater to citizens, middle, and low class tourists; 18-person occupancy; BEQ of 50.

Park:
Cost: $1000
Requirements: None
Upgrades: None
Income: None
Options: Playground (entertainment); Sandlot Baseball (sports); Island Beauty (respect).
Staff: 1 Attendant
Notes: Free site replaces wandering need and entertain citizens without income; 6x6 footprint; 15-person occupancy.

Infrastructure

Road: Unchanged
Airport: Unchanged
Teamster Office: Unchanged

Demolish: Recovers 20% of original building costs.

Avenue:
Cost: $200 per square; $150 over existing Road.
Notes: Increases travel speed to 50% more than road speed.

Wall Section:
Cost: $100
Requirements: None
Upgrades: None
Income: None
Options: None
Staff: None
Notes: Single square non-passable obstruction; Not subject to elevation, slope, or weather effect; No maintenance costs.

Power Plant:
Cost: $17,000
Requirement: None
Upgrades: Scrubbers $3000, reduces overall pollution by 50%
Income: None
Options: Coal Fired; Gas Fired; Gas Turbine Fired
Staff: 6 Engineers
Notes: Power output dependent on staffing level; Gas Fired options have reduced emissions at higher maintenance costs; Turbine option has 50% higher output at 50% higher maintenance than Gas Fired.

Road Construction Office:
Cost: $1000
Requirements: None
Upgrades: None
Income: None
Options: Sweatshop and Easy-does-it
Staff: 8 Laborers
Notes: Builds Roads, Avenues, and Landscaping only.

Dock:
Cost: $2000
Requirements: Must be shoreline placed
Upgrades: None
Income: Yacht fees and goods delivered
Options: None
Staff: 2 Dock Supervisors
Notes: Goods are paid upon arrival; Freighters are no longer loaded; Supervisor skill affect money earned by +/- 10%.

Bank:
Cost: $8000
Requirements: None
Upgrades: None
Income: Based on option setting
Options: Urban Development; Slush Fund; Offshore Banking; Savings.
Staff: 5 Bankers
Notes: Urban Development & Offshore Banking as before; Slush fund will siphon off max 2% of net profits per month per banker based on skill; Savings will raise liberty max 2% per banker based on skill.

Government

Police Station: Unchanged
Outpost: Unchanged except for name change
Armory: Unchanged except staffing reduced from 3 general to 2.
Immigration Office: Unchanged
Army Base: Unchanged except staffing reduced from 3 generals to 2.

Newspaper:
Cost: $7000
Requirements: None
Upgrades: None
Income: Based on worker skill for Coupons option.
Options: Same as before plus College Crier option.
Staff: 3 Journalists
Notes: Same as before except College Crier increases Intellectuals respect; building has island wide coverage; Limit 4 newspapers; No duplicate programming.

Broadcast Station:
Cost: $15,000
Requirements: 10mw of Electricity
Upgrades: None
Income: Based on workers skill for Spanish Pop, Salsa, Opera, US Sitcoms, World Sports, & Talkshows.
Options: Spanish Pop, Salsa, Opera, US Sitcoms, World Sports, Talkshows, BBC, Island News
Staff: 3 Journalists
Notes: Paying stations add 5% respect bones to target group; Spanish Pop (Age 25 or less); Salsa (uneducated); Opera (educated); US sitcoms (all citizens); World Sports (males); Talkshows (females); BBC (+20% Liberty); Island News (+20% Respect); Earnings per capita are higher for smaller groups; Limit of 5 Broadcast Stations; buildings has island wide coverage; No duplicate programming.

Guard Shack:
Cost: $1500
Requirements: Must connect to a wall unit
Upgrades: None
Income: None
Options: Normal Training or Special Ops
Staff: 2 soldiers
Notes: Rebels or Rioters must destroy before passing; Tourists may not pass.

Government Office:
Cost: $3000
Requirements: None
Upgrades: None
Income: None
Options: Communist Party Office; Capitalist Party Office; Foreign Policy Office; World Bank Liaison; Post Office; Courthouse; Election HQ; Agribusiness Ministry.
Staff: 2 Bureaucrats.
Notes: The Communist and Capitalist Offices work like the old foreign options for the USA/USSR favoritism with the addition of a small boost in the faction respect; The Foreign Policy Office is like the old neutral option with a small boost to the intellectual faction respect; World Bank Liaison extends the limit of the negative treasury without wage caps and gives a 5% overall respect bonus; The Post Office increases liberty by 5% and earns $1 per citizen per month wage from expatriate wire transfer fees; Court House lowers overall island crime by 10%; Election HQ permits greater election fraud and siphons 20% of foreign aid into the Swiss account; Agribusiness Ministry gains respect from the environmental faction and slowly removes permanent pollution damage; Limit of 4 buildings with no repeat setting.

Military Intelligence:
Cost: $8000
Requirements: Armory
Upgrades: None
Income: None
Options: War College; Boot Camp; Internal Affairs; Street Patrols; Surveillance.
Staff: 2 Generals
Notes: War College slowly increases the skill of all soldiers and generals; Boot Camp raises the bravery attribute of all military by one level while this setting is on; Internal Affairs reduces the threat of a coup while setting is on; Street Patrols reduces the threat of a civilian uprisings while in effect; Surveillance slowly removes the veil on rebels permitting the new Hunt Rebels Edict.

Social Services

Church: Unchanged
Market: Unchanged
High School: Unchanged

Clinic: Unchanged except Options removal.
Hospital: Unchanged except Options and Requirements removal.
Cathedral: Unchanged except Options and Requirements removal.
College: Unchanged except addition of female Professors.

Statue:
Cost: $1000
Requirements: None
Upgrades: None
Income: None
Options: None
Staff: None
Notes: Increases government control and decreases crime for a radius of one yellow square in all directions.

Large Fountain:
Cost: $1000
Requirements: None
Upgrades: None
Income: None
Options: None
Staff: None
Notes: Increases beauty for a radius of one yellow square in all directions; Each Large Fountain adds 1 point to respect total.

Library:
Cost: $10,000
Requirements: High School
Upgrades: None
Income: None
Options: None
Staff: 2 Schoolteachers
Notes: Increases citizen learning by 20%; Staff add skill to instruction rate at High School and College; Increases respect of intellectual faction.

Landscaping

Due to the nature of this section, a building list is impossible.

A few extra options for variety’s sake will be added to the plant rotations with emphasis on ornamental plants for the purpose of developing large ornamental gardens. The small fountain will be built and will function like a plant by the road crews. It will add beauty and be semi permanent like the painted palm tree. Buildings can be placed over it like any other plant. It will no longer have a maintenance cost or building profile window. One window will be the replanting of grass in the area of a large yellow square. This will only affect existing grass areas. This will be handy to reclaim land trampled early in the game when the structures and citizen-flow become stable. It will also help restoring overgrazed ranch land to maintain their profitability. The final window will be for minor terrain surface changes. The player will be able change any island small land square into either sand, rock, or green-grass. There will be no provision for reclaiming land from the sea.

Specials: See Conceptual Section for complete details

EDICTS


I will first give explanations for individual deletions and additions to be followed by a master list in sectional order. Some of the retained edicts were shuffled and shoehorned to make room in the self imposed limit of 10 per category. A certain amount of rationalization was used in this shuffling. You may not agree with the new locations, but I got it to fit nicely.

Deletions

Inquisition: This edict actually does not affect the religious faction members per se. It is also a centuries old concept that never made the 20th century. The actual effects have been dispersed throughout the updated game. A skilled player could recreate the same effects without the need for an edict.

Capture: This edict was needed to implement the new Fort dungeon. With the removal of the prison, only one edict is now needed. The police will still issue the arrest and the prisoner will now report to the soldier manned Colonial Fort.

Open the Jails: With the new edicts to be added this edict is redundant and could damage relations with the US for no reason. A player could simply have all prisoners deported or “removed”.

Changes

Martial Law: This edict will function the same way with the addition of canceling any impending election.

Conscription: This will become a personal edict. With the radical changes made to the military aspect of the game, the military style player will need to exercise more management of the military personnel. When activated, a general will “draft” the educated citizen into the best available military job. There will no longer be uneducated in the military…again. The drafted citizen will report to his new post and convert. Players should exercise care in drafting individuals. Faction loyalties, bravery, and loyalty will remain unchanged. Players will need to screen individuals before drafting to avoid any problems later. A disaffected soldier will ultimately find other employment if allowed. He will also be more likely to join a coup if kept on the job unwillingly. New price is $500.

New Edicts

Scholarship Edict: Immediately sends citizen to high school or college, depending on existing education level, regardless of any other activity or job they are performing. Does not function on college educated workers. Cost $500. Permanent.

Promote Worker: Fires worker from existing job and instantly zeros skill experience in jobs that are less than current education level to encourage worker to take job corresponding with current education level. Cost $100. Permanent.

Planned Parenthood: Mirror opposite of the Contraception Ban. Birthrate decreases by 30%. Decreases religious respect by 30%. Increases intellectual respect by 10%. Cost $500. Permanent until cancelled.

Deport: Citizen heads for the dock and leaves island. A policeman delivers the edict. Strongly decreases respect for you by target’s immediate family only. Theoretically you could deport the whole family with no repercussions other than cost. Cost $500. Permanent.

Bible BBQ: Opposite of Book BBQ. Decreases size of religious faction by 50%. Increases need for church visits by 50%. Cost $500. Permanent until cancelled.

Immunization Drive: Reduces need for medical visits by 30% for entire population. Costs $2 per citizen per year. Cost $500. Permanent until canceled.

Assassinate: Same as Eliminate but has no bystander fallout. Target’s family still feels the same about you. It is assumed that the killing was done out of the public eye. Cost $1000. Permanent.

Key to the City: Personal edict that is greater than a bribe. Strongly increases target’s respect as well as strongly increases respect from target’s family. Declining effect over 5 years. Cost $2000.

Hunt Rebels: All visible rebels are actively hunted no matter the rebel’s intent. Crime rate drops 20%. Liberty drops 20%. Permanent until canceled. Cost $3000.

Pan American Summit: Island hosts a political summit. Respect rises 30% for 3 years. Increases US and USSR goodwill for 3 years. Intellectual respect rises 30% for 3 years. Increases all other factions respect 10% for 3 years. Tourism rating rises 20% for 3 years. One time only. Cost $10,000.

Tropico Festival: Patriotic holiday edict. Increases tourism rating by 10%. Increases local entertainment 20%. Increases military faction respect 10%. No increased crime. Duration of 3 years. Cost $3000.

Military Parade: Faction holiday. Increases respect 10%. Increases military faction respect 50%. Slightly decreases chance of citizen uprising. Duration of 2 years. Cost $3000.

Fourth of July Notice: Foreign policy edict in sympathy of US patriotic holiday. Operates the same as the Praise US edict plus increases capitalist faction respect 20%. Duration of 2 years. Cost $1000.

May Day Notice: Foreign policy edict in sympathy of USSR patriotic holiday. Operates the same as the Praise USSR edict plus increases communist faction respect 20%. Duration of 2 years. Cost $1000.

Master Edict List

People: Arrest; Bribe; Heretic; Eliminate; Conscription; Deport; Assassinate; Key to the City; Scholarship Edict; Promote Worker.

Foreign Policy: Praise US; Praise USSR; Trade Delegation to US; Trade Delegation to USSR; US Development Aid; USSR Development Aid; Alliance with US; Alliance with USSR; Fourth of July Notice; May Day Notice.

Economic: Industry Ad Campaign; Air Quality Standards; Tourism Ad Campaign; The Headliner; Special Building Permit; Pan Caribbean Games; Spring Break Package; World Geographic Special; Military Modernization Edict; Pan American Summit.

Political/Factions: Mardi Gras; Amnesty; Early Election; Book BBQ; Papal Visit; Martial Law; Bible BBQ; Hunt Rebels; Tropico Festival; Military Parade.

Social: Prohibition; Literacy Campaign; Contraception Ban; Anti-Litter Edict; Sensitivity Edict; Food for the People; Tax Cut; Social Security; Planned Parenthood; Immunization Drive.


Final Comment

As I stated before, I have liberally used other members’ ideas in this manifesto. It is merely a composite of my thoughts for a good updated Tropico game would be like. Anyone who wishes to declare “ownership” of an idea here may freely post it after this document. Should you do so, you should be prepared to prove it due to my next comment.

I’m hoping that some industrious company takes up the cause for an updated Tropico game based on the original one. I am encouraging them to borrow freely from the ideas here. I would only ask that you acknowledge any person in the game manual that declares creative ownership of an idea that I used here. A freebee game for me sure would be a great gesture as well. I hope you make the game and get wealthy beyond your wildest dreams. The rest of us will be happy with a by-line and the joy of playing a good product. I hold no manufacturer responsible for using this manifesto’s entirety. Use what you like and ignore what you don’t. I only tried to balance the game and bring in sensible elements desired by many players. I also tried not to stretch the original game engine too much in case an update used the original engine as a base for the product.

I’ve stated before that all opinions are welcome. Just don’t expect me to alter my document except if an obvious hole in my logic is seen. I will be happy to explain anything that leaves you confused. If you don’t see your favored pet addition in the mix, I can’t help you. I looked at all of the ideas going back to the opening of the Café. I went for a balance and tried to create many new dynamics without harming the old ones. I went for an expanded idea of the old game and not a new game.

Thank you for taking a bit of your time to read the entirety of this rather lengthy document.

May all your Swiss Bank accounts fatten like a Tropican goat, my fellow Presidentes.

[Che]

Joe, Pop-Top has already broken ground with buildings that require two different types of characters.

Why not for farming, mining and industry... require Bureaucrats and Workers.

Probably the best way to simulate a propertied class and a middle-class. Not prefect, but better than anything else.

Plus, your comments on eliminating the gender-bias in the game.

[Baron]

I think the ranch still needs more change.

The options should be to raise either chickens or cows. The function of farmers would be to encourage the growth of the herd, rather than process meat. When a cow or chicken reaches its time, it walks into the ranch and dies, immediately producing meat. Also, the more cows or chickens you have, the more eggs of fresh milk you produce. Fresh milk and eggs can be sent to the market to feed the people, or fresh milk can be sent to the bottling plant to make pasteurized milk.

[DrJoshuaFalken]

Eliminating should serve more purpose than lowering your electoral support and pissing everybody off (and fun of course).

Like if I off Pedro, head of the communists. Russia and the commies on the island should hate me for it, and then the Capitalists would rejoice. And round we go. Also, it should make the target faction curb their demands for a while.
And if I decide to eliminate masses of people in the same faction, membership shouldnt be replaced as quickly, reflecting the people's assumption that you dont like that faction and its not a good idea to associatted with them.