Part 4

Learn how to effectively manage resources, establish trade routes, and build up your colonies in Civilization: Beyond Earth. Part 4 covers essential economic and expansion strategies.

Alright, let's dive into Part 4 of our guide for Civilization: Beyond Earth. This section is all about laying the groundwork for a strong empire, focusing on how you build things up and manage your resources. It's a bit different from the original Civ 4, so pay close attention!

First off, when you're setting up a new colony, remember you're limited to harvesting resources from only 9 tiles around your city, no matter how much culture you have. Culture mainly just expands your borders. The real game-changer here is how you gather resources. Unlike Civ 4, you don't assign people to tiles directly. Instead, you use specific 'resource collectors' – think of them as specialized workers. Servants and criminals aren't the most efficient, but your regular colonists are decent all-rounders. Converted natives are better at harvesting resources out in the field but less effective in manufacturing buildings. Then you have your Experts; they're amazing at their specific job, pulling in double the output of a colonist, but if you put them in a job they're not an expert in, they'll just act like a regular colonist.

You'll also be building structures where colonists can refine raw materials. Every turn, your tiles will produce resources based on what your colonists can harvest. So, if a colonist can produce 5 tobacco, you get 5 tobacco added to your stockpile. There are tons of buildings that take these raw materials and turn them into more valuable goods that fetch a better price back in Europe. For example, raw Iron Ore can be turned into Tools, which your colonies need, and those Tools can then be used to make Muskets. It really pays off to settle your colonies near areas that give a bonus to a specific resource. Seeing a resource on the map gives a significant boost to harvesting it, meaning more money in your pocket. You'll want to build new structures, and the very first one you should aim for is the Warehouse to increase how many resources you can store.

After that, depending on what resources you have available, you'll want to build more efficient processing buildings. This means upgrading to a bigger Lumber Mill or a more advanced Coats Factory. These buildings don't just use up more raw resources (meaning less waste), but they also transform more raw materials into those final, high-value manufactured goods.

Import/Export: Making That Early Cash

Starting out, you'll probably be short on cash, but you need money to buy Experts and, more importantly, military gear from your mother country. It's a bit funny how they don't seem to notice you buying up tons of Dragoons, horses, and muskets! To get this money, you'll need to buy and sell goods with your home country. First, you need a colony, and with the limited starting funds, you'll definitely need to export something to get by. This is why settling near resource sources is so crucial – it lets you harvest those resources and sell them raw back to Europe for some much-needed income.

When you load items onto your ship, remember it has to be in port to load up. Sending it back to Europe might take a while depending on the map, but it's a good chunk of time to build up your resource stockpile. Keep an eye on the prices of the goods you can sell. Basic stuff like Food, Lumber, Horses, Tools, and Muskets usually go for less than 5 gold each. Unprocessed goods like Tobacco, Cotton, Fur, Sugar, and Ore will get you a bit over 5 gold. Processed goods such as Rum, Coats, and Cigars are worth about 10 gold, and the rarest item, Silver, can fetch nearly 20 gold early on.

The game uses a supply and demand system. Over time, the price of goods will climb as demand increases. However, if you flood the mother country with too many of your goods, the price will drop. Still, you'll always be able to sell them for some amount. As you send more goods back, you'll need more ships as your colonies grow. You've got two main options: Ships of the Line are pretty good, offering 4 cargo slots and 4 movement points. Galleons have slightly more carrying capacity but less movement. Finding a balance between the two types is usually a smart move.

Building Your Inland Empire

As you expand, you'll need to establish more and more colonies. You can't just stick to the coast; eventually, you'll have to venture inland. If you do decide to build inland, there are a couple of key things you'll need. First, you'll need Pioneers to build roads, which speeds up travel significantly. Why? Because you'll want to use wagon trains to transport goods to your port cities. This is super important for getting your resources to market efficiently.