Getting Started with Utopia
Getting Started with Utopia
To start yourself off on the right foot, you should take you time in choosing a Race and Personality that matches the style you wish to play. Once you can establish what kind of things you're looking to do, it would be a good idea to scope out the other parts of the Province Affairs section in the Advanced Guide, to get a better understanding of how your province works. It's very important to know and understand the different ways to improve your province; everything from Building your land to the Arts & Sciences. You'll find that even small bonuses build up over time.
Buildings are a rather important thing to understand. Depending on your playing preference or style, some buildings can be counter-productive. For example, let's say you wanted to play the role of an Attacker. You might find some buildings like Training Grounds and Barracks to be helpful, but there will be some buildings, such as Thieves' Dens that can be skipped, or used in moderation depending on your goals. Some players prefer a hybrid tactic, choosing to play both Attacker and Thief, for example, and use Thieves' Dens to reduce their overall losses. I assure you the tactics range to include a number of things, but it's generally a good idea to build your land in a manner that's productive to how you want to play. For one final example, you will find Libraries to be of zero benefit if you have not yet researched any fields of science.
Arts & Sciences are a long term method of investment, designed to allow players to gradually build their own choice of bonuses. While this field may not give a very large instant reward, you will find that given time, it's a benefit worth having. A small amount of bonuses, after all, is better than not having a bonus at all, is it not? Feel free to take your time and explore this option; you may find it useful in the long run.
Throughout your time in Utopia, you will find that your Military will become exactly what you want it to be. Like a majority of the choices given, you will find that there is some risk in the various options you may pursue. Drafting too low, or not paying your troops enough, might result in not being able to properly defend your land, or fight against some others, however, draft too high and you'll find your peasants may not be able to effectively run your buildings. This balance you will have to take some time with, although I am sure neighboring provinces may be able to offer you some help.
You will find, over time, that there are more options available, and that communicating with the neighboring provinces within your kingdom is a good foot to start on.