Gilgamesh
Pleb

posted 03-22-01 17:23 ET (US) 76 / 186

Legend

This is my last elite housing block. i've been trying to come up with a nice looking stable elite block for weeks that isn't linear. i really like the way these look in the corners of my main intersection. 3 of these will give 42 elite houses, and in the other quarter of the intersection, i'll put the palace, stadium, and maybe a small temple. however, in my last game, where i first tried this out, i found that one of these blocks was having problems with philospher access. only one of the three blocks had this problem, even tho they were exactly the same, so it's got something to do with orientation. i'm going to work on it some more for my next city. i aslo like to put a large statue in where the second monument is, the one with the parks around it.

[This message has been edited by Gilgamesh (edited 03-22-2001 @ 05:27 PM).]

Gilgamesh
Pleb

posted 03-27-01 20:18 ET (US) 77 / 186

Legend

this is a block i'm going to try out in my next city. the boulevard goes all the way around, but won't fit in glyphy. i've test run it in a saved game and it seems to work fine. it's actually 4 blocks, each with 31 houses. in my test all went to townhouses with no problems. there's a total of five olive presses, which is a bit more than the houses will consume. one college serves four podiums, hopefully with no problems. i ran some tests on how many podiums a college can fill, and i'm pretty sure it can do 4 easy if they're close enough. both storage yards are accepting oil, getting 10 olives and 10 fleece (each). i'll need a supply of fleece and olives nearby tho, because the entire block will need near 30 units of oil/fleece per year.

[This message has been edited by Gilgamesh (edited 03-27-2001 @ 08:26 PM).]

Mds
Pleb

posted 04-03-01 03:59 ET (US) 78 / 186

Very good block Gilgamesh. Though I think it could be modified somehow. Why isn't there any theatres? Looks like I'm one of the few who uses gyms, podiums & theatres in each housing block. It's really good to have all three if you really want to be good at the games. Oops sorry if I'm violating one of SenetEr's rules. I guess I now have to post the housing block i'm using.

[This message has been edited by Mds (edited 04-03-2001 @ 04:03 AM).]

MarvL
Pleb

posted 04-06-01 18:40 ET (US) 79 / 186

Meager Resources

Resources are tightly constrained in many Zeus episodes, especially the earlier episodes in an Adventure, and almost always in Colony Episodes. In Athena Through the Ages, for example, neither Avenues nor Boulevards are available in the earlier episodes, and the only Appeal Elements in a couple of episodes are either Parks or Gazebos.

To make matters worse you have to import all of your Fleece and can't get Olive Oil at all until several episodes into the Adventures. Did I mention that drachmas are pretty hard to come by?? You have to be exceedingly parsimonious, especially if you're playing at Olympian level where everything costs about twice as much.

Press F5 Refresh if the image is scattered.

Legend

In this article we will focus on squeezing the most out of the structures that you have to use anyway, for other purposes, with a view towards spending as few drachmas as possible to achieve the necessary level of Housing Development. In particular, we'll be squeezing the maximum benefit out of the Palace, rather than buying extra Appeal Elements, and we'll run some of the numbers on the Benefit per Drachma for Parks, Avenues, Boulevards, Flower Gardens, Gazebos, and Monuments.

Common Housing Requirements

Three elements control the development level of common housing: Commodities, Culture, and Appeal. The Number of Occupants and Tax Rate both climb as the development level increases. We've included Elite Housing, just to make the table more useful.

Housing Level	Commodity	Culture	Appeal	Occupants, Tax Rate
Hut	Self Supporting	00	low-0	08, 1 Drachma/p
Shack	Food	00	-2-10	16
Hovel	Water	15	same	24
Homestead	Fleece	15	5-20	32, 2 Drachma/p
Tenement	Same	35	15-30	40
Apartment	Oil	35	25-40	48
Townhouse	Same	45	35-high	60
Devolved	none	00	low-55	01 Watchman, 0 D/p
Residence	200 food 100 fleece and oil	50	50-65	06 Noblemen, 12 D/p
Mansion	2 Armor	60	60-75	10 with 2 Hoplites
Manor	Wine, 2 more Armor	70	70-85	16 with 4 Hoplites
Estate	Horses	80	80-high	20 with 4 Horsemen

Commodity Requirements

The remainder of this article is available at Meager Resources.

Extend your grasp of the Empire at Serpentineum

[This message has been edited by MarvL (edited 04-06-2001 @ 06:50 PM).]

aegius
Pleb

posted 04-11-01 19:05 ET (US) 80 / 186

This is my newest block. I would like to credit SenteEr for making his similar 40 house block. I got the idea from there.

Legend

All houses should evolve to estate (I did not have appeal calculated) except the ones on top and bottom unless you add some more high appeal (like commemoratives). You should place grainaries and horse ranches on your own. If stadium is on the bottom, flip agoras and gyms. I did not test it yet, but I am sure that it will work. It should give you 600 commoners and 240 noblemen. It is not made to give you a lot of companies (just 6), but I like the idea of self-sufficient block (I mean workers). Actually, you do not need theater and podium as long as competitors that spawn from gyms follow the roads on the inside. Or you can leave the podium and make competitors follow outside roads to stadium (make sure that actors follow outside roads).

Aegius the Athenian

Klik on the link abov 2 corrext my spellin

hawaiianborn
Pleb

posted 05-16-01 05:10 ET (US) 81 / 186

Legend

Hello all......This my basic housing block. It contains 40 houses and is basicly a SenetEr block revamped and with things moved around a little bit. The outer boulevard isn't necessary, but I like to layout my housing in grids so it works for me and it looks nice too. You could eliminate the outer road altogether, but you would need gazebos in the corners to replace the houses.

hawaiianborn

MarvL
Pleb

posted 05-28-01 13:16 ET (US) 82 / 186

Low Bid Common Housing

Stadiums allow you to do some interesting things. In particular, careful design will allow you to fully meet the Culture Requirements for Townhouses with just Gymnasiums and a Stadium.

You need a Palace anyway, to collect taxes and enable military units, and you can save on other appeal elements by placing the Palace in the middle of your initial housing block.

Legend

There are some interesting technical features here, that you might overlook if I didn't mention them.

The treatment of the Stadium is the major innovation. I noticed on the Athlete Diagnostic, for the Stadium, that it was composed of two 5x5 elements, and that got me wondering. You'll notice that the Gymnasiums are symmetrical. If you do it EXACTLY this way, and carefully extend the roadway to the TOP CORNERS of the Stadium, you'll have complete Competitor Coverage of your block, and of course you'll have Athlete Coverage.

There are two fountains. You can sneak by with just one, but a labor shortage will kill you. Two fountains is cheap insurance.

The Tax Office and the Watchtower both have negative appeal, with a range of 2. The Infirmary has negative appeal with a range of 4. Careful placement of these elements protects the houses in the outer row, as they aren't effected at all by the Tax Office, Watchtower, or Infirmary, because of the careful spacing.

The tricky little jog there by the corner of the Palace gets the Maintenance Officer close enough to protect the Palace from damage. The connecting road that enables taxes and the military is actually roadblocked.

The Avenues are only there for aesthetics and connectivity, not appeal, and if you're in a colony without Avenues, or if you're tight on cash, a double wide roadway is equally effective. Just use a roadblock (to force the Maintenance Officer near enough to the Palace, and two sections of roadway to stabilize the outer houses. Note that these two sections of roadway can actually be isolated on the outside of the block, if you prefer that aesthetic.

You'll get a Population Monument when you crack 1000. Use it on either side, 7 tiles from the far edge of the last house. Monumemts actually have an appeal range of only 6, but a Common House takes the appeal value of it's highest tile, so you don't need to cover the entire house.

A Hero's Hall (down at the bottom, shown as a Park) is an excellent way to bump up the appeal of the houses on the end. There's an excellent chance that your Stadium will allow you to win an Athletic Monument. Use it on the other side of your housing block. If the second Monument is not available, a row of Gazebos is your next best appeal investment.

The Maintenance Offices on each end of the housing rows aren't really part of the Housing Block. They serve very nicely, however, to protect other nearby facilities, while providing a gentle reminder that storage facilities and most industries have negative appeal with a range of 4.

This is a sweet little housing block that's cheap to build and easy to remember. Fully evolved, 39 houses will yield a population of 2340, and you can easily reduce that number simply by trimming one of the outside rows.

This Low Bid Common Housing block can be used in any orientation. It can be readily adapted for a Serpentine Layout, by simply opening up any one of the corners.

Using a Stadium might seem like an expensive approach, but don't forget that it will service all of the OTHER housing blocks in your city, as well, and you'll only need one Gymnasium at the far end of each double-sided housing row to completely satisfy your Townhouse Culture requirements.

Extend your grasp of the Empire at Serpentineum

[This message has been edited by MarvL (edited 05-28-2001 @ 04:06 PM).]

pharaohchris
Pleb

posted 07-05-01 22:14 ET (US) 83 / 186

Here's my Block

Legend

It is an altered SenetEr block made to work with the Agora Neighborhood

aussie, aussie, aussie, oi, oi, oi

Kiranth
Pleb

posted 07-09-01 23:29 ET (US) 84 / 186

Here is my first post. Its the standard elite housing block I use whenever I can. Basically it houses 10 elite houses. A second block of 10 fits in perfectly in reverse of the first block. The monuments can be replaced by fishponds and hedge mazes, but with three monuments you get virtually the entire block with the most appeal. If you want to max out your military just build 4 of this block and youre done. Tell me what you think.

Legend

Kiranth
Pleb

posted 07-15-01 00:36 ET (US) 85 / 186

Here is my edited elite housing block. Thanks to MarvL for pointing out that I didnt need the infirmary. Also I dropped alot of extra stuff but i kept the abundance of hedges because I like for my blocks to look decent. This block will work if you have a theatre and a podium anywhere else in your city. Once again 4 of these and your military is maxed out.

Legend

Yagermeister
Pleb

posted 12-25-01 13:20 ET (US) 86 / 186

Here is my food block i did little testing of it as i modded it while i copyed it here but it should hold massive food and all you can think off:

Legend

the 2 open spaces on top and bottom between the farm and store can be filled but i dont think they are needed in the start.

the only thing that is not added is fleece with sheep as they walk freely around the map i hope it works

Yagermeister
Pleb

posted 12-25-01 13:41 ET (US) 87 / 186

here is again a modded one this time you have sheep for fleece in it

Legend

best place for the sheep are the 2 open spaces in the map the 2 carding sheds should be the buildings where the sheperds are coming from (not sure which they where)

Yagermeister
Pleb

posted 12-25-01 14:06 ET (US) 88 / 186

here is my food block combined with the block SenetEr posted in post #2

[JPEG, (153KB)]

[JPEG, (161KB)]

as you can see i added the palace and lots of Hedgemaze which you can replace with monuments if you have them.

this is not tested only a minor version of it is tested and that one worked fine so i dont think this will be any diff.

PS: the food block underwent a little cosmetic change because i thought the maintance ppl would get into trouble if the had crossings in it.

[EDIT]
i tested a smaller version of it with only 24 farms and it held enough food for 6144 ppl so more farms are not needed.
[/EDIT]

[This message has been edited by Yagermeister (edited 12-25-2001 @ 05:40 PM).]

MarvL
Pleb

posted 12-25-01 16:15 ET (US) 89 / 186

The wheat farm deliverymen have an entire year to make one 8 unit delivery, so there's no need for nearby Granaries.

The Carding Sheds, on the other hand, will be a bit more effiecient if they're between the sheep and the Storehouse. The Carding Sheds will only produce 8 units per year, so one Storehouse would be more than enough for 4 Carding Sheds.

I agree that keeping the sheep confined in a small area is a nice approach, and I typically use Olive Trees, Orange Trees, or Grapevines for that purpose. If you have meadow space to burn, then the various buildings are quite effective, but you have to be careful that they extend entirely across the meadow. The various animals can graze just fine on a dirt road and, more to the point, they'll wander down the road and excape from your pen.

If you're interested in production dynamics, you'll enjoy reading Meager Resources.

Extend your grasp of the Empire at Serpentineum

mattizme
Pleb

posted 12-31-01 12:40 ET (US) 90 / 186

ok, 2 blocks here for you..

i've done quite minimal testing, so i can give you minimal testing details:

Block 1 - Concentric

only tested when orientated top right corner as north

fountain walkers only go all the way round if they go left. probably some way to sort this.

healers are probably the same as fountain walkers, forgot to watch them.

33 houses, needs 79 workers, gives 1980 people

Concentric block, uses the 'back door' technique for the agora

all walkers except those explained above go all the way round

Legend

Block 2 - Non-Concentric Version

only tested when orientated top right corner as north

fountain walkers go halfway left, come back, then go halfway right. all houses get watered anyhow.

healers are probably the same as fountain walkers, forgot to watch them.

39 houses, needs 57 workers, gives 2340 people

all walkers except those explained above go all the way round

Legend

billgus
Pleb

posted 01-15-02 18:14 ET (US) 91 / 186

Gus's Rabble Block

Legend

This is a rabble block I have been using for some time. I started with a block I saw on the Web before Poseidon came out, but found that half that block collapsed from random water losses. I found the problem - the block was bigger than some of the random walkers (e.g., water).

Last minute testing has shown that this block is on the edge. The water carriers and healer go the full loop counterclockwise, but 'bounce' half-way when walking clockwise. I also noticed that they like to go CCW. Sounds like a double bug situation (yes, I'm a programmer).

The block can trade width and heigth. I tend to use the 3x9 shown and 4x8 a bit as well. In the wider versions, move the fountain next to the podium - in the 3x9 the end house never fully evolves. And a single monument in the middle does all the appeal.

I used a couple principles:
1) The 3 big items (Infirmary, Theater, and Gym) go in the corners.
2) Non-houses go next to the Infirmary - with the Tax Col. adjacent to it.
3) The Healer and Waterers limit the size of the block.

billgus
Pleb

posted 01-17-02 19:53 ET (US) 92 / 186

Gus's Zeus Elite Block

Legend

This is my Elite block. Again, limited to the walkers.

I didn't draw any appeal around it. For Zeus, I usually use alternating Mazes and Fishponds. The house between the Gyms has the most problem. I usually stick a monument above one of the gyms.

JRFisher
Pleb

posted 02-15-02 19:44 ET (US) 93 / 186

JRF's Standard Zeus Common Housing block (42 townhouses, ~2500 pop)

Roadblocks etc. used assume UL corner is north.

A stadium and a college somewhere nearby will mean there's enough culture to evolve townhouses.

Fountain will stabilize with walkers making full loop CCW (because of its weird exit & entrance rule).

Through traffic can enter any corner and leave any corner, flowing through with little impedance.

Large buildings (infirmary and gym) hang off of corners. Theater is not needed.

Appeal considerations:

* Tax is sandwiched between infirmary and maintenance on the outside where it is hidden.

* Infirmary is covered on that side. If I rearranged things slightly, I could cover the other side by putting the gym across the road from it.

* Fountain, podium and agora are on the inside with their positive appeal.

* Granary and store are just far enough away to not affect houses.

Legend

JRFisher
Pleb

posted 02-17-02 19:18 ET (US) 94 / 186

JRF's Elite Housing Block (24 Estates, 12 horse companies)

* One grand agora provides a little of everything. An extra "common" agora provides extra armor and horses for rapid re-arming.

* The road decending from between the agoras can be lined with horse ranches on both sides. I recommend 6 ranches for initial supply and during heavy fighting.

* The horizontal road is just far enough below the houses that ugly items like the granary, storage yard, and horse ranches can be placed on the far side without upsetting the noble residents.

* In this version, the cultural ends are closed so that destination walkers are forced through the block from one end to the other. As a variation, one of those ends can be opened (by moving a maintenance office) and connected to the rest of the city. Extreme care must be taken if both ends are openned; cultural destination walkers may "short circuit", avoiding the boulevards.

Legend

-- Jeff Fisher, Vancouver WA

[This message has been edited by JRFisher (edited 02-18-2002 @ 03:41 PM).]

Zhao Yu
Pleb

posted 04-19-02 19:44 ET (US) 95 / 186

Zhao Yu's 40 House Block

Legend

This is my first time posting blocks on the net. I own the Trial Version of the game and I'll get the Full Version in April 19. I have been looking at the forum and all the blocks sure seems great.
This is a block that I have created during school day. It was the best I can think of right now and I hope I can atleast think of new ones during the future. (-.-)

Zhao Yu's Culture Block

Legend

This is a Culture Block. It is sure to win any Pan-Helling (or something like that) Games hosted... well not really but it's still a good Culture Block. I ain't got much to say so I'll just tell you some notes:

The Plazas, they are a space for another Theatre or maybe a Hero's Hall.

The area blank area at the top are the road to Greece, however, you can cover it up with a different building if you have a Hero's Hall at the southern area (plaze).

[This message has been edited by Zhao Yu (edited 04-19-2002 @ 08:02 PM).]

mattizme
Pleb

posted 05-04-02 09:04 ET (US) 96 / 186

Legend

Top right is north.

i've only tested this with top right at north, and i haven't a clue how it would respond.

anyways, here's the vital statistics:

57 workers
26 houses(not the biggest)
Infirmary inside
Gazebo can be removed for an extra house

i got bored of having to constantly surround the block i usually use with infirmaries, so i decided to include one. i've taken note of the entry and exit points of fountains and made use of it. the fountain walkers will always go all the way round. this is the reason i'm not too sure about other orientations.

the infirmary walker is slightly strange though. when you first build the block,. the infirmary walker will set off from part of the Avenue Road, and will go clockwise. they will only get halfway, then will turn round and go back. although, from then on, they will always go Counter-Clockwise. very strange.

if anyone knows if this block will work on other orientations, then please feel free to tell me.

kluelos
Pleb

posted 07-05-02 00:25 ET (US) 97 / 186

A problem with all the common blocks I've seen so far, is that they are not very, um... bendable. If you have to fit one around odd terrain, there's not much choice available.

So I created one that was already bent, an L-shape, thus:

Legend

The olive trees are not needed, they are used as spacers to help you in laying out the block. In other words, an empty space goes there, they are placeholders to assist with the symmetry when you're building. You can also substitute any 1x1 available, just for aesthetics.

All the benches are optional, you can use parks, or nothing at all. This layout appears to be stable in the sandbox, with adequate coverage and no degeneration. If it proves otherwise, I'll amend.

You could, maybe, squeeze in one more house on the northwest, by moving the roadblock one tile west and adding the house above it, but that would be tempting fate. I haven't run into the Fates in any adventure yet, but I'm sure they're around somewhere.

You can compress the layout easily (which is the way it actually started) by doing without avenues. It is an attempt to do SenetEr's standard common block in a bent configuration, without losing too many houses.

[This message has been edited by Kluelos (edited 07-05-2002 @ 00:57 AM).]

MarvL
Pleb

posted 07-05-02 20:13 ET (US) 98 / 186

In message #97 Kluelos wrote:

A problem with all the common blocks I've seen so far, is that they are not very, um... bendable. If you have to fit one around odd terrain, there's not much choice available.

~~~~~~

Take a look at ZigZag Cities. Mt. Ida uses a circular city, that's wrapped onto the third terrace of the mountain. Definitely crooked.

Extend your grasp of the Empire at Serpentineum

kluelos
Pleb

posted 07-07-02 05:04 ET (US) 99 / 186

MarvL wrote:

> Take a look at ZigZag Cities. Mt. Ida uses a circular city,
> that's wrapped onto the third terrace of the mountain.
> Definitely crooked.

Hey, I tried, but you have the second slowest server I've ever seen. Maybe it's just me connecting to you, but ZZZZZZZZ! Might be good, but I don't have the hours and hours to wait for your pages to slowly load.

Nimlot Persson
Pharaolympics 2000 Competitor

posted 07-09-02 03:27 ET (US) 100 / 186

LOL,

MarvL's page DOES take forever to load

But it's worth the wait