The Let's Play Archive

Total War: Shogun 2 - Rise of the Samurai

by shalcar

Part 35: Economic Breakdown 2

It's been quiet. Time for an update!

Non-Farm economic buildings - What are my returns?

Welcome back to the second bonus economic update of my Rise of the Samurai LP. In this update I will be discussing all the economic buildings that are not part of the farming food chain (The pastures chain, despite providing some wealth, is a building chain that is a capacity increase, not an economic building) and the nature of their benefits to your economy.

Economic buildings consist of three types, food providing (Global growth buildings), local wealth (town growth and town wealth boosts) and trade buildings (Closely related to the second category).

Food providing buildings (The most common being farms) are those which increase your global food supply, providing additional wealth growth to every province you control and so require a different approach to measure the economic effectiveness of them. This methodology is covered in the sister post to this, Empire size and food growth - What are my returns? I posted earlier in the thread. Farms were covered extensively in that, the only other building chain that produces food is the Granary chain, which will be covered in this post.

Local Wealth buildings are the most common economic building in Shogun 2: Rise of the Samurai, providing either a boost to the base wealth of the province, a boost to the wealth growth of the province, increasing the tax rate of the province or some combination of the previous.

Trade buildings provide not only base wealth or wealth growth, but also produce trade goods. Trade goods are sold to other clans through Trade Agreements, proportional to the size of the clan you are trading with. Any trade goods not sold in this way are instead locally consumed at half their value. While this makes them very similar to the Local Wealth buildings, they can not be included in the same category as external situations (War declaration, clan elimination, cancelled agreements) impact their level of profitability and so they must be assessed in a different way.

Some buildings can be upgraded into two possible chains, only those which are economic will be considered in this update (Examples of buildings that will not be considered are Military Ports, Pastures, Trails or Fletchers)

As we are interested in what each individual building gets us, we look only at the difference between two buildings in the upgrade chain to determine our returns. As Trade Buildings are province specialities and are always present in the province, only their upgrades will be looked at in this update.

As in my previous economic post, the values are calculated by:

quote:

The amount of income added to your empire on a given turn from the upgrade is calculated as:
(Building Wealth bonus+(Building growth bonus x Turns since built)+(Food Bonus x Empire Size x Turns Since Built)) x Tax Rate

For the mathematically inclined, it would look like this:
(a+(b+(f*e))x)t

Where a is building wealth, b is building growth, f is the food bonus, e is empire size, t is the tax rate and x is the number of turns since construction.

Since each building adds only a single food and no additional town growth, we simplify it to:
(a+ex)t

Which can also be represented as:
at+etx

This is not the whole story however, as the tax rate can vary from province to province. Instead, we elect to have 2 tax rates, one for the local province and one for the empire. While all the local bonuses are affected by the (usually higher) local tax rate, your empire wide tax rate (which is what generates wealth from your empire growth) is likely to be significantly lower and is inversely impacted as your empire increases in size. Indeed, as your empire grows, your administrative cost will increase, reducing your empire tax rate from it's base of 30%.

We will call the empire tax rate m and now our formula looks like this:
at+emx

However, we are interested not in the income added on a single turn, but instead the total income that upgrade has given us up until our selected point. To find that, we must integrate our above formulae with respect to the turn.

This gives us the following result:
atx+(emx^2)/2 + c

Where c is a constant. As we will only be taking the integral between two values of x (0 and turns since upgrade), the value of c will cancel out. In addition, at x=0, the result is 0 and so we will just calculate for x is turns since upgrade to get our result.

This is no longer entirely accurate, as the buildings that do not produce food have a simplified integral that looks like:
atx+(btx^2)/2 + c

Where b represents the town growth generated by the building. If the building produces both food and growth, the integral would look like:
atx+((bt+em)x^2)/2 + c

Of the four locally produced trade goods, they have the following value:
Silk - 18, Iron - 22, Crafts - 40, Wood - 20

Now that we have determined our methodology for calculating the benefits of the building upgrades, we need to identify what benefits are provided by an individual building.

code:
Food Producing:
Food Stores     2000 +0   wealth +5  town growth +1 food
Granary         3000 +0   wealth +5  town growth +1 food
Grain Warehouse 7500 +200 wealth +15 town growth +1 food
Time to Break Even - 2 provinces : Empire tax Rate : 30%
code:
Province Tax Rate:              20%    25%    30%    35%    40%    45%    50%    55%    60%
Food Stores     2000            50     47     44     42     40     38     36     35     34
Granary         3000            62     57     54     51     49     46     44     43     41
Grain Warehouse 7500            55     49     44     41     38     35     33     31     29
Time to Double - 2 provinces : Empire tax Rate : 30%
code:
Province Tax Rate:              20%    25%    30%    35%    40%    45%    50%    55%    60%
Food Stores     4000            71     66     62     59     56     53     51     49     48
Granary         6000            87     81     76     72     68     65     63     60     58
Grain Warehouse 15000           81     73     66     61     57     53     50     48     45
Time to Triple - 2 provinces : Empire tax Rate : 30%
code:
Province Tax Rate:              20%    25%    30%    35%    40%    45%    50%    55%    60%
Food Stores     6000            87     81     76     72     68     65     63     60     58
Granary         9000            107    99     93     88     84     80     77     74     71
Grain Warehouse 22500           102    91     83     77     72     67     64     60     58
Analysis: At this small empire size, the additional growth generated by the food is small, only representing 28% of the total growth generated by the first two buildings and a mere 11% of the Grain Warehouse. As such, the provincial tax rate has the highest impact on your returns, making it similar to the sister buildings, the Market chain. In fact, it's a full 11 turns slower to generate triple it's cost than the equivalent Merchant Guild in a 60% tax rate province, with both taking equally long at the 30% tax rate. Obviously under such situations, the front loaded wealth of the Market chain would be markedly superior to the back loaded wealth of the Granary chain (Time to break even at 30% is 44 turns for the Grain Warehouse, but a mere 33 turns for Merchant Guild, a 25% faster return rate for no loss in time to triple.)

Time to Break Even - 5 provinces : Empire tax Rate : 27%
code:
Province Tax Rate:              20%    25%    30%    35%    40%    45%    50%    55%    60%
Food Stores     2000            42     40     38     36     35     34     33     32     31
Granary         3000            51     49     46     44     43     41     40     39     38
Grain Warehouse 7500            51     46     42     39     36     34     32     30     29
Time to Double - 5 provinces : Empire tax Rate : 27%
code:
Province Tax Rate:              20%    25%    30%    35%    40%    45%    50%    55%    60%
Food Stores     4000            59     56     53     51     49     48     46     45     43
Granary         6000            72     68     65     63     60     58     56     55     53
Grain Warehouse 15000           75     68     63     58     54     51     49     46     44
Time to Triple - 5 provinces : Empire tax Rate : 27%
code:
Province Tax Rate:              20%    25%    30%    35%    40%    45%    50%    55%    60%
Food Stores     6000            72     68     65     63     60     58     56     55     53
Granary         9000            88     84     80     77     74     71     69     67     65
Grain Warehouse 22500           93     85     79     73     69     65     61     58     56
Analysis: The slightly greater empire size generates more growth, tightening up the top end slightly, while significantly improving the performance at the low end. Already, we can start to see the niche for the Granary chain, providing solid value for koku in lower tax provinces for larger empires. It is, however, still outclassed by the Market chain almost across the board.

Time to Break Even - 10 provinces : Empire tax Rate : 24%
code:
Province Tax Rate:              20%    25%    30%    35%    40%    45%    50%    55%    60%
Food Stores     2000            35     34     33     32     31     30     29     28     28
Granary         3000            43     41     40     39     37     36     35     35     34
Grain Warehouse 7500            46     42     39     37     34     32     31     29     28
Time to Double - 10 provinces : Empire tax Rate : 24%
code:
Province Tax Rate:              20%    25%    30%    35%    40%    45%    50%    55%    60%
Food Stores     4000            49     47     46     44     43     42     41     40     39
Granary         6000            60     58     56     54     53     51     50     49     48
Grain Warehouse 15000           68     63     58     55     51     49     46     44     42
Time to Triple - 10 provinces : Empire tax Rate : 24%
code:
Province Tax Rate:              20%    25%    30%    35%    40%    45%    50%    55%    60%
Food Stores     6000            60     58     56     54     53     51     50     49     48
Granary         9000            73     71     68     66     64     63     61     60     58
Grain Warehouse 22500           85     78     73     69     65     61     59     56     54
Analysis: At 10 provinces, we see a further tightening of the spread in the tax rates. At this point in time, the crossover point for tripling has become 35% tax rate for the Market chain compared to the 30% tax rate required in the Granary chain, with the Granary chain starting to give you more, quicker. The frontloading of the Markets still make them a better choice for your valued provinces. Even in the high value provinces, however, both chains are approaching their triple point quite closely.

Time to Break Even - 15 provinces : Empire tax Rate : 21%
code:
Province Tax Rate:              20%    25%    30%    35%    40%    45%    50%    55%    60%
Food Stores     2000            32     31     30     29     28     28     27     27     26
Granary         3000            39     37     36     35     35     34     33     32     32
Grain Warehouse 7500            44     40     38     35     33     31     30     28     27
Time to Double - 15 provinces : Empire tax Rate : 21%
code:
Province Tax Rate:              20%    25%    30%    35%    40%    45%    50%    55%    60%
Food Stores     4000            44     43     42     41     40     39     38     37     37
Granary         6000            54     53     51     50     49     48     47     46     45
Grain Warehouse 15000           64     60     56     53     50     47     45     43     41
Time to Triple - 15 provinces : Empire tax Rate : 21%
code:
Province Tax Rate:              20%    25%    30%    35%    40%    45%    50%    55%    60%
Food Stores     6000            54     53     51     50     49     48     47     46     45
Granary         9000            66     64     63     61     60     58     57     56     55
Grain Warehouse 22500           80     74     70     66     62     59     57     54     52
Analysis: At this size the spread of our tax rates is becoming increasingly compressed, with returns, while still tax rate dependant, beginning to decouple from the resident tax rate and the Granary chain starting to look like a solid choice compared to the Market chain.

Time to Break Even - 20 provinces : Empire tax Rate : 19%
code:
Province Tax Rate:              20%    25%    30%    35%    40%    45%    50%    55%    60%
Food Stores     2000            29     29     28     27     27     26     26     25     25
Granary         3000            36     35     34     33     33     32     31     31     30
Grain Warehouse 7500            42     39     36     34     32     31     29     28     27
Time to Double - 20 provinces : Empire tax Rate : 19%
code:
Province Tax Rate:              20%    25%    30%    35%    40%    45%    50%    55%    60%
Food Stores     4000            41     40     39     38     38     37     36     35     35
Granary         6000            50     49     48     47     46     45     44     43     43
Grain Warehouse 15000           61     57     54     51     48     46     44     42     40
Time to Triple - 20 provinces : Empire tax Rate : 19%
code:
Province Tax Rate:              20%    25%    30%    35%    40%    45%    50%    55%    60%
Food Stores     6000            50     49     48     47     46     45     44     43     43
Granary         9000            62     60     59     57     56     55     54     53     52
Grain Warehouse 22500           76     71     67     64     61     58     55     53     51
Analysis: At a full 20 provinces large, the returns of the Granary chain become incredibly useful, overtaking the triple rate of the Market chain handily. Unfortunately, the time to break even is still rather poor compared to the Market chain (and most other economic buildings), making this a long term investment only. At this point in time, it is important to realistically assess how much time is left in the game to benefit from the incredible growth potential of the Granary chain.

code:
Local Wealth:
Clan Estate      700 +0   wealth +0 town growth +5% tax
Shinden         1520 +0   wealth +0 town growth +5% tax
Mandokoro       3600 +0   wealth +0 town growth +5% tax
Clan Palace     6800 +0   wealth +0 town growth +5% tax -20% admin cost
Barter Exchange  800 +200 wealth +5 town growth
Market          1800 +300 wealth +0 town growth
Goods Exchange  3300 +300 wealth +0 town growth
Merchant Guild  7600 +700 wealth +5 town growth
Harbour          900 +100 wealth +2 town growth +1 trade route +80 export value
Trading Port    2530 +200 wealth +7 town growth +1 trade route +80 export value
Time to Break Even
code:
                            10% Admin/20% Admin/40% Admin
Province Wealth:        1000         1500        2000       2500      3000      3500
Clan Estate    700  15/18/23     11/12/16     8/9/12     7/7/10    6/6/8     5/5/7
Shinden       1520  34/38/51     23/26/34    17/19/26   14/16/21  12/13/17  10/11/15
Mandokoro     3600  80/90/120    54/60/80    40/45/60   32/36/48  27/30/40  23/26/35
Taira Palace* 6800 152/170/227  101/114/152  76/85/114  61/68/91  51/57/76  44/49/65
* The reduction in Administrative Cost is not factored in here. However, given that it gives a simple to calculate return, deciding on if you should build one is easily accomplished by the player. As an example, an empire that has an income of 14000 koku and an Administrative Cost of 40% would work it out as follows (A little napkin maths):

Base Income Percentage: Income / (100 - Admin Cost)
= 14000 / 60
= 233.33 Koku per percentage

Percentage reduction in Admin Cost: Base Admin Cost * Admin Reduction%
= 40 * 20%
= 8%

Koku gained: Percentage * Koku per percent
= 8% * 233.33
= 1866.64 Koku per turn

Which in this case, just by itself it would pay for the Palace in 3 turns even without the tax boost provided by the palace, an absolutely amazing economic deal!

Note that the same mathematics can be used to calculate the value of the Administrative Cost reducing arts (Direct Land Tax and Police Office). Note that all reductions to the Administrative Cost are additive and apply to the base Administrative Cost of your empire. Having both arts would reduce your administrative cost by 40%. This means that the maths is a little more complicated if you want to find out the value of the second reducing art, but your base rate can be easily derived by: Current Admin Rate / (100% - Admin Reduction%)

This will only impact your amount of admin cost reduction, the calculation for koku per percent remains calculated in exactly the same way.

code:
Province Tax Rate:              20%    25%    30%    35%    40%    45%    50%    55%    60%            
Barter Exchange  800            17     14     12     11     9      9      8      7      7
Market          1800            30     24     20     18     15     14     12     11     10
Goods Exchange  3300            55     44     37     32     28     25     22     20     19
Merchant Guild  7600            47     39     33     29     25     23     21     19     18
Harbour*         900            34     29     25     22     19     18     16     15     14
Trading Port*   2530            38     33     29     26     23     21     19     18     17
Harbours and Trading Ports add an additional sea trade route to your empire, with each trade route worth, at a minimum, 150 koku per turn. Obviously this brings the break even point on Harbour down to 4 turns, making it incredibly valuable if you can find a trading partner. In addition, any trade goods that are sent through the Harbour sell for their value +80 koku each, making each humble silk sold worth 100 koku. The Trading Port further increases this to value +160 koku, making trading incredibly lucrative. Despite the incredible riches that are available, there are risks as well. The AI will maximise the value of the goods it sells and try to send all your goods by sea, if able. While this maximises profit, it is also important to note that blockaded ports do not re-route trade goods to other trading partners or other available ports. Instead, you receive 0 koku for the entire trade route! In addition, your trade routes will not survive past Realm Divide, so you should take special care to not become over-reliant on sea trade.

Time to Double
code:
                            10% Admin/20% Admin/40% Admin
Province Wealth:        1000        1500         2000        2500        3000       3500
Clan Estate    1400  32/35/47     21/24/32     16/18/24    13/14/19    11/12/16    9/10/14
Shinden        3040  68/76/102    46/51/68     34/38/51    28/31/41    23/26/34   20/22/29
Mandokoro      7200 160/180/240  107/120/160   80/90/120   64/72/96    54/60/80   46/52/69
Taira Palace* 13600 303/340/454  202/227/303  152/170/227 121/136/182 101/114/152 87/98/130
code:
Province Tax Rate:              20%    25%    30%    35%    40%    45%    50%    55%    60%        
Barter Exchange 1600            30     25     22     19     17     15     14     13     12
Market          3600            60     48     40     35     30     27     24     22     20
Goods Exchange  6600            110    88     74     63     55     49     44     40     37
Merchant Guild  15200           84     70     60     53     47     42     39     36     33
Harbour         1800            58     49     43     38     34     31     29     26     25
Trading Port    5060            62     53     47     42     38     35     33     31     29
Time to Triple
code:
                            10% Admin/20% Admin/40% Admin
Province Wealth:       1000        1500        2000        2500        3000       3500
Clan Estate    2100  47/53/70    32/35/47    24/27/35    19/21/28    16/18/24    14/15/20
Shinden        4560 102/114/152  68/76/102   51/57/76    41/46/61    34/38/51    29/33/44
Mandokoro     10800 240/270/360 160/180/240 120/135/180  96/108/144  80/90/120   69/78/103
Taira Palace* 20400 454/510/680 303/340/454 227/255/340 182/204/272 152/170/227 130/146/195
code:
Province Tax Rate:              20%    25%    30%    35%    40%    45%    50%    55%    60%          
Barter Exchange 2400            40     34     30     26     24     22     20     18     17
Market          5400            90     72     60     52     45     40     36     33     30
Goods Exchange  9900            165    132    110    95     83     74     66     60     55
Merchant Guild 22800            116    97     84     74     66     60     55     51     47
Harbour         2700            77     66     58     52     47     43     39     37     34
Trading Port    7590            80     69     62     56     51     47     44     41     38
Analysis: Barter Exchanges represent absurdly good value, blowing everything else out of the water, on par with Dry Field Agriculture in Fertile fields! Upgrading into the Market or Granary chain will be a choice based on your current situation and your expected need for koku, although for the first third of the game, in almost every situation the Market chain will serve your needs better. Harbours are on par with Barter Exchanges, but only if you can use the trade route, otherwise they are a poor investment. Remember that you must protect your sea trade routes and that will have a cost that will consume a fair amount of value, but sea power brings it's own benefits.

code:
Trade Building:
Silk Spinner        2050 +200 wealth +0 town growth +10 silk
Master Silk Spinner 3800 +200 wealth +0 town growth +10 silk
Lumberyard          1350 +160 wealth +0 town growth +10 wood
Saw Mills           2000 +170 wealth +0 town growth +10 wood
Small Iron Mine     1400 +150 wealth +0 town growth +10 iron
Iron Mine           2400 +150 wealth +0 town growth +10 iron
Washi Mills         1350 +150 wealth +0 town growth +15 crafts
Lacquerware Works   3750 +300 wealth +0 town growth +25 crafts
Gold Lodes          2400 +500 wealth +0 town growth
Gold Mine           5000 +500 wealth +0 town growth
The first value is representative of all trade goods sold and the second value is if no trade goods are sold externally.

Time to Break Even
code:
Province Tax Rate:              20%    25%    30%    35%    40%    45%    50%    55%    60%
Silk Spinner        2050        10/16  9/15   9/14   9/13   8/13   8/12   8/11   8/11   7/10
Master Silk Spinner 3800        18/30 17/28  16/26  16/24  15/23  15/22  14/20  14/19  13/19
Lumberyard          1350         6/11  6/10   6/10   6/9    6/9    5/8    5/8    5/8    5/7
Saw Mills           2000         9/15  9/15   8/14   8/13   8/12   8/12   8/11   7/11   7/10
Small Iron Mine     1400         6/10  6/10   6/10   6/9    5/9    5/8    5/8    5/8    5/7
Iron Mine           2400        10/18 10/17  10/16   9/15   9/15   9/14   9/13   8/13   8/12
Washi Mills         1350         3/5   3/4    3/4    3/4    3/4    3/4    2/4    2/4    2/4
Lacquerware Works   3750         4/7   4/7    4/7    4/7    4/7    4/6    4/6    4/6    4/6
Gold Lodes          2400         24     20     16     14     12     11     10     9      8
Gold Mine           5000         50     40     34     29     25     23     20     19     17
Time to Double
code:
Province Tax Rate:              20%    25%    30%    35%    40%    45%    50%    55%    60%
Silk Spinner        4100        19/32  18/30  18/28  17/26  16/25  16/23  15/22  15/21  14/20
Master Silk Spinner 7600        35/59  34/55  32/51  31/48  30/45  29/43  28/40  27/38  26/37
Lumberyard          2700        12/21  12/20  11/19  11/18  11/17  10/16  10/15  10/15  10/14
Saw Mills           4000        18/30  17/29  16/27  16/26  15/24  15/23  15/22  14/21  14/20
Small Iron Mine     2800        12/20  11/19  11/19  11/18  10/17  10/16  10/16  10/15  10/14
Iron Mine           4800        20/35  19/33  19/31  18/30  18/29  17/28  17/26  16/25  16/24
Washi Mills         2700         5/9    5/8    5/8    5/8    5/8    5/8    4/8    4/8    4/7
Lacquerware Works   7500         8/12   7/14   7/13   7/13   7/13   7/12   7/12   7/12   7/12
Gold Lodes          4800         48     39     32     28     24     22     20     18     16
Gold Mine          10000         100    80     67     58     50     45     40     37     34
Time to Triple
code:
Province Tax Rate:              20%    25%    30%    35%    40%    45%    50%    55%    60%
Silk Spinner         6150       28/48  27/44  26/41  25/39  24/37  23/35  22/33  22/31  21/30
Master Silk Spinner 11400       52/88  50/82  48/76  46/72  44/68  43/64  41/60  40/57  38/55
Lumberyard           4050       18/31  17/29  17/28  16/26  16/25  15/24  15/23  15/22  14/21
Saw Mills            6000       26/45  25/43  24/40  24/38  23/36  22/34  22/33  21/32  20/30
Small Iron Mine      4200       17/30  17/29  16/28  16/26  15/25  15/24  15/23  14/22  14/21
Iron Mine            7200       29/52  28/49  28/47  27/45  26/43  26/41  25/39  24/38  24/36
Washi Mills          4050        7/13   7/12   7/12   7/12   7/12   7/12   6/11   6/11   6/11
Lacquerware Works   11250       11/21  11/20  11/20  11/19  11/19  10/18  10/18  10/17  10/17
Gold Lodes           7200        72     58     48     42     36     32     29     27     24
Gold Mine           15000        150    120    100    86     75     67     60     55     50
Analysis: The clear stand out here is Crafts, making everything else look absolutely terrible. In almost every situation you will want to prioritise improving the Crafts chain or work out how to conquer one! Gold is deceptively poor value, as despite providing a large amount of wealth, the cost makes it a poor koku to return ratio. Wood and Iron are both equally good value, providing returns better than most of the other economic buildings, even if you can't sell the resulting trade goods. Silk, however, is only useful if you can sell it all and even then, it's a poor comparison with other economic buildings. If you have sea trade capacity however, all trade goods, even silk can be incredibly lucrative. If you are lacking in sea trade, silk is a poor investment.

Coming up next, the third and final post in our economic analysis: How to build the perfect province

Where I will answer the all important question "These numbers are great and all Shalcar, but how do I actually use them?"