Timber - What's the point?

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NephilimNexus
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Timber - What's the point?

Post by NephilimNexus »

Not to sound negative, but honestly even though I try to keep up timber production to meet demand, I often wonder what the point is beyond the minuscule profit from selling it (domestic & export).

I've seen nothing in the game mechanics to indicate that it is actually used to, y'know, make anything. Every other resource seems to have direct effects: Water & agriculture seem to effect population growth, while coal & oil get used to make industrial goods and industrial goods are needed to make dang near everythying else in the game.

Yet you don't need timber to build facilities, nor is it used as a prerequisite to make anything else. All of your factories, farms, power plants et al can keep chugging right along without so much as a single toothpick to feed into them.

Does it affect domestic approval? Urban growth rates? Environment rating? I get the feeling that timber is, pardon the pun, an unfinished branch of the production process. Did the developers originally intend it to actually be a more required resource?

I've had times when my economy had a timber surplus and other times when we couldn't even meet half the demand, and yet at no point did I ever feel like this was really affecting anything either way.

So I have to ask - is there really any point to trying to keep up with timber demand beyond the chump change you get for selling it back to your own people? Seriously, in my current game timber is selling domestic at $70 per unit, while water is well over $1000 per unit. When I factor in the cost of the industrial goods to build the thing it looks like it would take a timber facility over about a thousand years to even just pay for itself. That being the case, I'm tempted to just ignore it altogether from now on.
GIJoe597
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Re: Timber - What's the point?

Post by GIJoe597 »

I had noticed, or thought I had, that timber requirements go up when I place facility build orders. Now I usually build massively, say 10 full hexes of a particular structure at once and maybe it is more noticeable in such large qtys.

I freely admit I could be imaging it, but I always chalk it up to new contruction needs more timber (wood/2x4's etc)
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Balthagor
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Re: Timber - What's the point?

Post by Balthagor »

The population use timber. It's like water or consumer goods. Ppl get upset if they don't have enough.
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NephilimNexus
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Re: Timber - What's the point?

Post by NephilimNexus »

So it affects domestic approval, then?
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Balthagor
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Re: Timber - What's the point?

Post by Balthagor »

yes
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georgios
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Re: Timber - What's the point?

Post by georgios »

To be more realistic I have modded timber to be used as a row material for industry goods and I put domestic demand to zero.

It is not clear how these 11 resources represented in game have been chosen. Why timber and not natural gas for example?
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Re: Timber - What's the point?

Post by GIJoe597 »

*I realize this is a 6 year old topic.*

Natural gas is represented via Petroleum, just as Metal Ore represents several "ores". Timber is for people to build.. homes, fences, etc..., that is why there is a civilian demand.
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georgios
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Re: Timber - What's the point?

Post by georgios »

Natural gas has not the same uses with liquid petroleum. It can 't be used in the engines of most units. It is not extracted from the same places too. It could be a separate resource.

As for metal ore we know that the 95% of global production is iron ore, so it is realistic to neglect the others.

Furniture and other wooden objects are consumer goods. Timber is an industrial input, few people buy their own timber to construct anything.
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Re: Timber - What's the point?

Post by GIJoe597 »

Not sure where you live, but here, people buy lumber daily, and in mass quantities. I live in a small town (30K), and we have 4 large lumber yards/stores that sell lumber and they have a brisk trade. I myself have purchased lumber/Rail Road ties and such for numerous projects. Essentially, I have no issues with Timber being a resource. I see you have modded it, so all should be well.

I agree with you about natural gas, but, again, I have no issue with it. Since we are typing about SR2020, it is a moot point as development has stopped on it and BG will change nothing with it.

My post was to address your question regarding Timber instead of Natural Gas, simply to type Natural Gas is in game. 07
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