Economy
Population groups, production chains, budget and debt – and every factory shows its limiting factor.
Every factory knows its bottleneck.
Buildings stand in levels in the regions. Their output is set by the scarcest factor: missing inputs, missing workers, infrastructure and stability. The detail panel names it.
- Modernise, do not replace. Production methods turn the same steel mill into a digitalised plant over the decades – unlocked by research.
- A labour market per region. New buildings lower unemployment until the workforce is used up – after that, workers are missing.
- 43 building types, 31 goods. From farms and refineries to semiconductor fabs.
Taxes, spending, debt.
One tax rate and seven budget categories – administration, education, health, infrastructure, military, research, pensions & welfare. When the treasury runs dry, the state borrows; the interest follows its creditworthiness.
- Business and credit cycle. Private debt, asset prices and the output gap move every month. Banking crises happen when debt has actually built up – not by the calendar.
- Stability with causes. Needs coverage, unemployment, tax burden and wars visibly feed into stability.
- What people need. Basic, comfort and luxury needs grow with prosperity; shortages slow growth and satisfaction.
Depth without busywork.
The game concept defines three tools against micromanagement. They arrive step by step with the milestones.
Ministries
Economy, trade and defence get priorities and budgets, propose projects or carry them out themselves.
Trade rules
“Buy oil when stock < 300 and price < X” – thresholds instead of constant checking.
Building templates
A complex of mine, mill, power plant and rail station in one click.
What matters in 2000 – and in 2075.
| Good | Importance in 2000 | Development until 2075 |
|---|---|---|
| Crude oil | key resource | declines in transport, stays important for chemicals and the military |
| Natural gas | growing, pipelines = geopolitics | bridge fuel, later competing with hydrogen |
| Silicon → semiconductors | growing | key good from epoch VII, a question of sovereignty |
| Lithium, cobalt, nickel | niche | mass market for batteries from around 2015 |
| Hydrogen | not available | energy carrier from epoch VIII (speculative) |
From the game concept (§6.2). Developments from 2027 are speculative and depend on research and politics in your game.