Jayhawk’s Valentia Walkthrough

Summer Holiday in Valentia

Valentia, a wonderfully lush green landscape after the harshness of the Syrian Desert near Tarsus. This land seems to offer all, clay, lumber, olives, vines, the riches of Croesses.

There’s land and sea trade…and the occasonial band of visiting Etruscan warriors.

After taking a good long look at the map, I decided to start this city in the South East, near the Northern lake. I placed a 9×9 block, some temples, farms a granary and a Market. Ceres’ blessing was almost instantaneous.

I gave them enough ammenities to develop into small casa and stared the olive oil industry, for trade with Carthago Nova, the only land route. As I was a bit short of people I started a second block somewhat North of the first and used the bailout to open the trade route.

Pottery industry was started to the South of the lake area and I sold a little grain that had spilled into my oil warehouse.

A festival to Mars gained me his blessing and I found out clay pits are prone to flooding in this mission.

After a request from Caesar I started a small furniture industry just South of the first block.

The Horn sounded and a small group of Etrustcan sword and spearmen entered the map only to be annihilated by Mars’ spirit. I started saving for a fortress, which I placed Just NE of the first block, next to the lake. Barracks and an academy followed soon after as did 2 towers for back up.

Money was not really overflowing from my coffers even though I maximised trade in oil, so I started a small coastal settlement, which I fed with fish and where I set up a serious pottery industry (some 8 units). As trade picked up, the southernm settlement eveolved to large casa.

The second invasion aforce arrived and was quickly and bloodlessly (on my side that is) dispatched.

I opened the third trade route and imported some marble to build oracles, which briefly put me into debt again. Of course it didn’t help that I had just added a cavalry fort in the North.

Amphitheaters were opened in the Southern Settlement, lets call it…Valentia al Bosco, and housing quickly evovled to large insulae once a barber was added to this mix.

A third invasion showed up, where my javelins baited the swordsmen and the cavalry shattered the spearmen.
Quite effective, I dare say.

The price of pottery droped and Caesar keeps asking for more furniture, so I added some more workshops. Belatedly I realised I did have vinyards, so I added a few in V-a-B.

Not wanting to loose my pretty insulae (I had started some vegetable farms) to drunken patricians, I decided to shift the wine industry to the Norhtern settlement, Valentia la Playa? I think I’ll keep the populace here on a single food source, fish so the housing should be safe There’s some three thousand happy peopel living here now, only 7000 to go.

I added a colloseum and spent the next 15 minutes hunting gladiators that all of a sudden decided they wanted to revolt…not enough lions, or something silly like that.

Apart from that I added two more 9x9s, one to each village and had Caesar ask for wine. Must be because of all the stuff he spilled while throwing goblets around. I increased my olive oil and pottery production and provided the Northern vilalge with furniture and, just recently, oil.

Most housing in the South is up to grand insulae, the Northern ones are slowly going toward large insulae.

(Things got worse…)

In order to open up a bit more farmland I build a small (almost 6×6) block on the narrow stretch of land just south of the plateau. I added a few towers towards the neck of land and enough ameneties to get them up to large insulae (eventually).

In the mean time I add another fort of cavalry in the West corner of the map.

Two more 9×9 blocks were build in the Southern village. Another invasion came along and Caesar keeps asking for wine. Oil drops in price, but is still a nice add-on to my income that grows steadily.

Then Caesar requests troops to counter an average force and I send off all 4 of my legions. More support is added to the 2 large blocks and with the occasional fire (and those darned flooding claypits) the price of marble goes up. Luckily I had enough left in storage for a few more oracles.

A battle warning sounds and I begin to doubt the wisdom of sending all four of my legions.

Soon after the warning, my legions are victorious and the Old Man sends some marble for an arch.

The arch is placed between the Northern most block of the Southern village and a new one I add just North of it.
It looks pretty.

I run into some food distribution problems and realise I’m running low on food….oops! A few more famrs can be squeezed in there. Some olive and vineyards replaced with wheat.

Still it’s not enough and I add a small hamlet to the plateau that gives access to another 8 or so wheat farms. I swap some lower-lying wheat farms for vegeatble farms as I seem to be running out of vegetables as well.

Population hits 10,000.

Several houses are stuck at large insulae because of a single food source and prosperity is crawling upwards…ever so slowly…61…62…63…64…and stops.

Panic!
Should I just build a few villas? I know I can do without but I need to evolve the large insulae. I decide to stop exporting wine and set a single yard to accept and stockpile, you never know when Caesar wonts more…

I make a silly decision and decide lets import some fruit in the Northern block and start importing. Soon a warehouse is overflowing with apples, or oranges? but the two granaries set to get are still empty. With murderous slowness one after the next the insulae evolve. (Of course I should have conected the two blocks and started mingling fish and grain as the easy solution…)

Caesar makes another request…furniture. Well, I only have 324 pieces left, so he can have his 30, no problem.

Another bunch of Etruscans come visiting, but are beaten off by my troops.

Prosperity raises again…64…falls to 62 and I see some areas are still having food trouble and nobody’s distributing pottery.

Up again…63…64…64…should I build those silly villas?….64…66!

Promotion strikes and I’m off to watch the desert in Caesarea, where I will build a villa or two, or three…

Final score after 30 years of work

  • Culture – 100
  • Prosperity – 66!
  • Peace – 100
  • Favour – 99
  • Population – 10,077
  • Denarii – 11,359

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