|
Title: Tropico 3 on sale for $7.50 Post by: Ginaz on May 15, 2010, 02:00:55 PM I bought this game a few months ago because I played the 1st one and really enjoyed it. This one is a nice little city building type sim where you start off as a newly "appointed" dictator of a small island and you build up your country from there. I find it to be a fairly entertaining time waster and $7.50 is an excellent price seeing as how its normally $29.99 on Steam and still sells for $40-$50 in stores.
Title: Re: Tropico 3 on sale for $7.50 Post by: Trippy on May 15, 2010, 03:29:00 PM I'm playing it right now. I bought it after I saw schild bought it and saw that it was on sale.
Title: Re: Tropico 3 on sale for $7.50 Post by: Pennilenko on May 15, 2010, 04:38:13 PM Is it more sim city or more rts like?
Title: Re: Tropico 3 on sale for $7.50 Post by: rk47 on May 15, 2010, 04:50:33 PM sim city. its pretty nice with the factions you have to watch forand ways to please them before election.
Of course, you can always declare martial law and ban elections until 'the emergency is resolved' Title: Re: Tropico 3 on sale for $7.50 Post by: Strazos on May 15, 2010, 05:08:34 PM I bought this...just because I remember the first one being an amusing idea, and it's cheap. :awesome_for_real:
Title: Re: Tropico 3 on sale for $7.50 Post by: Trippy on May 15, 2010, 05:37:33 PM Game just crashed on me. Don't rely on the autosave to save your progress -- i.e. save manually regularly.
Title: Re: Tropico 3 on sale for $7.50 Post by: Tannhauser on May 16, 2010, 11:48:32 AM Thanks for this post, downloading T3 now. I enjoyed the first one and this price is a no-brainer.
Title: Re: Tropico 3 on sale for $7.50 Post by: Fabricated on May 16, 2010, 09:27:37 PM I decided to buy it, and I guess they ran out of keys. Ha. Gotta wait until tomorrow/today/whatever I guess to see if they fix it.
Title: Re: Tropico 3 on sale for $7.50 Post by: stu on May 16, 2010, 09:32:41 PM Maybe try again? Mine's downloading now.
edit: Doh. nvm. I figured I could play if the service would let me download. Anyways, after seeing the UI screens I decided to get this. The ones on Steam don't seem to do the game justice. Title: Re: Tropico 3 on sale for $7.50 Post by: Tannhauser on May 17, 2010, 03:25:03 AM I have built a worker's paradise with schools, papaya farms and electricity. I have no industry on the island, but have a thriving tourist industry, thanks to my low pollution. I just wish those peasants would stop building shanty towns beside my luxury hotels on the beach! So what if they have no liberty, they can trust in me, their glorious people's leader!
Title: Re: Tropico 3 on sale for $7.50 Post by: Azazel on May 17, 2010, 04:34:29 AM Fuck.
Your post just sold me on this. Title: Re: Tropico 3 on sale for $7.50 Post by: Ginaz on May 17, 2010, 08:43:01 AM I have built a worker's paradise with schools, papaya farms and electricity. I have no industry on the island, but have a thriving tourist industry, thanks to my low pollution. I just wish those peasants would stop building shanty towns beside my luxury hotels on the beach! So what if they have no liberty, they can trust in me, their glorious people's leader! My El Presidente, Jesus De Jesus, prefers the finer things in life so he kisses America's ass while building an industrial base with sweat shop labour. Viva El Presidente!!! Title: Re: Tropico 3 on sale for $7.50 Post by: Fabricated on May 17, 2010, 06:46:36 PM I have discovered I am really bad at this game, like I am at all sim-things. It's awesome how you get a crackerbox for an island but every job-giving building practically requires a tenement house just for it. Also farms just kinda expand whereever the hell they want.
Title: Re: Tropico 3 on sale for $7.50 Post by: Trippy on May 17, 2010, 07:57:58 PM The feedback about what's going on in the game is pretty poor.
Title: Re: Tropico 3 on sale for $7.50 Post by: bhodi on May 17, 2010, 08:10:52 PM The feedback about what's going on in the game is pretty poor. I noticed this as well, and I figured I was just missing something.As far as I can tell, there's no easy way to tell: Unemployment / Worker Utilization Food consumption / starvation / restaurant needs How many garages you need / Garage Placement Building / Road placement and requirements - It's not simcity, buildings don't have to be on a road apparently, but how about next to each other? Seems like roads are analogous to sim city subways, and garages are the different stations. Building queues, and where your workers are going next Building Radii, how close to tenants have to be to the farms for the people, how close do garages have to be to buildings to be useful I love the atmosphere, the music, the sounds, and the gameplay. I just wish there was some hidden summary menu and overlay that I'm missing. The overlays for crops are useful, the overlays for building usage / profitability seem pretty useless. Title: Re: Tropico 3 on sale for $7.50 Post by: Trippy on May 17, 2010, 11:23:16 PM Unemployment / Worker Utilization That's actually one of the things you can get useful information about, though it takes some digging. In the Almanac under Lists -> Residents - Jobs you can see the number of unemployed workers there.Title: Re: Tropico 3 on sale for $7.50 Post by: Sjofn on May 17, 2010, 11:36:51 PM Last I played this, I was pretty much a terrible dictator, because liberty levels were really high! I kicked ass in my elections, though, so clearly it paid off. The only real problem was the radio announcer guy kept insisting I was a dude. I should've had him killed. >:(
Title: Re: Tropico 3 on sale for $7.50 Post by: Tannhauser on May 18, 2010, 03:35:41 AM Started on the campaign game, determined to be a good Soviet client. Can't build tenements fast enough, so I closed down all immigration. I have two clinics and two churches so they are pretty happy there. But I have no industry and the capitalists are so upset they have started a rebellion. Ha! I'll deal with my rebel friends soon enough.
Liberty is almost non-existent but crime is very low. I'm so sick of the huddled masses yearning to be free! I did get re-elected so I must be doing something right. My Swiss account is very low though and my country's income is anemic. So glad Comrade Khrushchev is subsidizing the Revolution! Oh and roads are a pain to create. Also, I like to click on a person and click the thought bubble to see what needs are/aren't being met, helps me plan my next construction. Seems to work well for me although I don't know how I learned to read minds. Really enjoy the game, remember to save games comrades! Title: Re: Tropico 3 on sale for $7.50 Post by: NiX on May 18, 2010, 07:29:17 AM Building queues, and where your workers are going next Building Radii, how close to tenants have to be to the farms for the people, how close do garages have to be to buildings to be useful The queue is on the Construction office. Click on it and you'll see "Projects", it also shows you which building they're currently working on by highlighting the workers. Tenants seem to reside in any building with occupancy, I built 1 tenement and even the people furthest away were moving into it. Title: Re: Tropico 3 on sale for $7.50 Post by: bhodi on May 18, 2010, 09:03:46 AM The queue is on the Construction office. Click on it and you'll see "Projects", it also shows you which building they're currently working on by highlighting the workers. Doesn't work so well; workers wander on and off projects seemingly at random. I want a forced labor button, they aren't allowed to go anywhere until that building's complete! El Presidente has better things to do than sit at a half completed building while you tend to your infants or whatever.Title: Re: Tropico 3 on sale for $7.50 Post by: Trippy on May 18, 2010, 11:14:15 AM You can set the construction priority of each building under construction. Doesn't really help all that much, though. Buildings get constructed on "Island" time which means not everybody with a construction job is working all the time.
Title: Re: Tropico 3 on sale for $7.50 Post by: Strazos on May 31, 2010, 08:14:11 AM Game is great...just wish some concepts were better-explained:
Tourism - Spending Limit: Is this on a per-attraction basis, or total trip overall? Does it include accommodations? Garages - WTF Housing - How much do you really need? The portraits - do they represent renters, or just folks actually in the building at that moment? House selection - Is there any rhyme or reason? I don't want people with actual jobs living in shacks. Best I've figured out is you just keep demolishing them for free...hopefully they eventually move into a house? Education - double-edged sword? It's nice to get high school or college-educated, however eventually you have a lot of educated people with not enough higher-end jobs. It's my impression that there are just not that many jobs that require an education, and NONE of them actually create money; they're all service support like schools, churches, newspapers, etc...I guess the cannery makes cash, and maybe the botanical gardens, but that's it. Rent and salary - Anyone find sweet spots for this? I tend to give increases out randomly, on an education-level basis. Not really sure if people get made with stagnant pay. Also, seems people don't like to pay much for housing, even luxury apts. Still like the game though; been messing with the scenarios. Title: Re: Tropico 3 on sale for $7.50 Post by: Tannhauser on May 31, 2010, 09:38:16 AM Game is great...just wish some concepts were better-explained: Tourism - Spending Limit: Is this on a per-attraction basis, or total trip overall? Does it include accommodations? Garages - WTF Garages let your workers drive to their worksite, say an airport away from the city, and lets them drive back. Otherwise they walk, which slows down your airport construction. So put one downtown and one in a far off production zone, crops, mines etc. They can get overloaded though. Housing - How much do you really need? The portraits - do they represent renters, or just folks actually in the building at that moment? Portraits represent who is renting, they don't have to be there. Ideally, every citizen should live in at least a tenement, this also boots the Communism faction. House selection - Is there any rhyme or reason? I don't want people with actual jobs living in shacks. Best I've figured out is you just keep demolishing them for free...hopefully they eventually move into a house? If you build a mansion, almost any citizen will move in. I've had to evict them to make room for professors and other professionals. Education - double-edged sword? It's nice to get high school or college-educated, however eventually you have a lot of educated people with not enough higher-end jobs. It's my impression that there are just not that many jobs that require an education, and NONE of them actually create money; they're all service support like schools, churches, newspapers, etc...I guess the cannery makes cash, and maybe the botanical gardens, but that's it. Not totally sure on this, but I think schools dry up with new students. Often seen my HS with no students. Rent and salary - Anyone find sweet spots for this? I tend to give increases out randomly, on an education-level basis. Not really sure if people get made with stagnant pay. Also, seems people don't like to pay much for housing, even luxury apts. The Communists hate wealth disparity, so I pay uneducated $1 above Caribbean average and add about $5 for HS education and $5 or so more for college grads. Still like the game though; been messing with the scenarios. Played the hell out of this game, great gaming value, but it's a bit easy so I've wandered off to Red Dead Redemption. Title: Re: Tropico 3 on sale for $7.50 Post by: Sjofn on May 31, 2010, 11:15:51 AM Education - double-edged sword? It's nice to get high school or college-educated, however eventually you have a lot of educated people with not enough higher-end jobs. It's my impression that there are just not that many jobs that require an education, and NONE of them actually create money; they're all service support like schools, churches, newspapers, etc...I guess the cannery makes cash, and maybe the botanical gardens, but that's it. Factories, my good man, factories! They all use high school educated people. I believe a fair amount of the touristy shit wants high school or college as well (I haven't played in a while). Title: Re: Tropico 3 on sale for $7.50 Post by: Strazos on June 01, 2010, 12:05:07 AM Ah, I'm playing scenarios, so I guess I don't have the full building menu to select from.
Title: Re: Tropico 3 on sale for $7.50 Post by: Tannhauser on June 01, 2010, 03:39:05 AM If there is a building you want to keep fully staffed, offer a slightly higher wage than jobs of similar education level. Tobacco farms and factories can bring in a nice amount of pesos!
Title: Re: Tropico 3 on sale for $7.50 Post by: Strazos on July 01, 2010, 06:29:41 PM Been chugging through the scenarios....shit is great! I can generally make an economic powerhouse with ease; I tend to default to farming either Coffee or Tobacco. Sometimes mining or oil. Jewelery is nice, but Expensive to set up.
But ffs, I cannot really get tourism to work right. Sure, I can get hotels filled, and maybe a gourmet restaurant, but...I can't seem to get much use or cash out of attractions, such as casinos. They start low, but my tourists spending limits are high, so I jack the price up a bit....can't get anyone to go...even at $7-10. Same for Spa, beachsite... Also, keeping people fed seems kind of vague. Not sure when marketplaces are actually needed...a lot of times, I only build one, and it goes unused. Still fun. :grin: Title: Re: Tropico 3 on sale for $7.50 Post by: Paelos on July 01, 2010, 07:48:41 PM Key point about marketplaces: they should be built right next to the garage that's closest to your large housing area. That way when people drop off their cars, they go to get food.
I found tourism to be largely worthless unless the scenario demands it. Title: Re: Tropico 3 on sale for $7.50 Post by: bhodi on July 08, 2010, 07:57:07 AM Regarding marketplaces; you need to have an abundance of food for them to be used, since the food has to still be there on the farm when the teamster car arrives. Also, you'll want to build your farms near roads for easy teamster access.
Food is a tricky thing, but it's roughly 1 farm per 50 population, double that with the food for the people edict. Humanitarian aid and USSR aid is extremely powerful early on and really lets you get your island up to speed. That's why I always take the trait that lets me build a embassy early. That's the first building I create, then I immediately do USSR aid, and humanitarian aid directly after. That way, I don't have to worry about clinics or food, I get increasing amounts of financial aid yearly, and can build apartment blocks for tenement prices. Make sure you get a church up before you start building housing or you'll take a religious hit. The expansion is worth it just for smaller garages. Title: Re: Tropico 3 on sale for $7.50 Post by: Teleku on July 08, 2010, 09:09:27 AM Is there any difference between taking USSR aid and taking US aid?
Title: Re: Tropico 3 on sale for $7.50 Post by: Ard on July 08, 2010, 10:11:02 AM Why are you so ready to ally with the Red Menace, Citizen?
(and yes, there are, it comes down to what they'll subsidize building and what they frown up on you building, go check a faq) Title: Re: Tropico 3 on sale for $7.50 Post by: bhodi on July 08, 2010, 10:17:19 AM Or you could even mouse over it.
USSR = housing (apartment blocks + something else you'll never use) USA = Power plant + hospital(?) It's just a flat discount for life for an up-front fee. The 'frowning upon' or whatever doesn't impact the gameplay and you can have both at the same time. Basically: Embassy <USSR Aid> Restaurant Apartment Block Church House (for embassy) House (for church) Garage <Humanitarian Aid> Demolish farms Garage in farm area Farm (tobacco/sugar/pineapple) for profitssss Farm (tobacco/sugar/pineapple) for profitssss Apartment block in farm area Something like that is generally my start. Eventually I aim for a wind farm, gormet restaurant and a hospital as the humanitarian aid ends, and I squeeze a high school in there somewhere too. Then a tv station with the learning channel. Remember El Presidente increases service quality of all places he visits as well as speeding up building, so send him around to your nice service areas and make sure to keep him rotating in the embassy for maximum dough each year. Title: Re: Tropico 3 on sale for $7.50 Post by: Ard on July 08, 2010, 10:26:39 AM I thought that if you built stuff they disagreed with, they'd eventually yank the alliance and/or invade? It's been a while since I've played though.
Title: Re: Tropico 3 on sale for $7.50 Post by: bhodi on July 08, 2010, 10:27:08 AM Nope. I've never had that happen. Don't go in debt, ever, and your relations with both superpowers can remain very high.
Title: Re: Tropico 3 on sale for $7.50 Post by: Ard on July 08, 2010, 10:40:05 AM None of this explains why Teleku is so willing to side with the Commie-scum though. Are you a dirty Red or just a filthy stinking hippie?
Title: Re: Tropico 3 on sale for $7.50 Post by: Teleku on July 08, 2010, 11:10:19 AM None of this explains why Teleku is so willing to side with the Commie-scum though. Are you a dirty Red or just a filthy stinking hippie? You got it wrong, I want to make a glorious capitalist dictator. But Bhodi was going off about using USSR aid all the time, and I was wondering if there was any actual difference between USSR and US aid.I've already messed around with the game a bit, and will enjoy further adventures in executing communist. Title: Re: Tropico 3 on sale for $7.50 Post by: Paelos on July 08, 2010, 12:06:40 PM I always went with the Reds, because I love sticking my people in apartments. Also, I like farming and mining, which the US apparently hates.
Title: Re: Tropico 3 on sale for $7.50 Post by: Ard on July 08, 2010, 12:16:34 PM Citizen, what do you have against the US Tobacco industry? Why do you feel the need to compete with our clearly superior products? Bask in the glow of menthols, and light one up with your friends today.
Title: Re: Tropico 3 on sale for $7.50 Post by: Paelos on July 08, 2010, 12:23:07 PM I'll stick with my hand-rolled Cigars as I stroke my beard and chuckle about those pitiful capitalist whiners I just had shot on my front lawn for asking for a cannery and oil refinery.
Title: Re: Tropico 3 on sale for $7.50 Post by: Ard on July 08, 2010, 02:30:53 PM Wait, you have oil? Let me get back to you in a few minutes., I need to call the milit... presid...... congr...... my mom.
Seriously though, I need to stop mucking around with rollercoasters, and get back to some serious dictating. I bought the expansion during the sale for a reason dammit. Title: Re: Tropico 3 on sale for $7.50 Post by: NiX on July 09, 2010, 09:08:22 AM Ard brings up a good point, we need more rollercoaster/theme park sims.
Title: Re: Tropico 3 on sale for $7.50 Post by: Ard on July 09, 2010, 10:05:51 AM Or maybe we just need the ability to execute unruly park goers. The good old fashioned Disney way.
Title: Re: Tropico 3 on sale for $7.50 Post by: Paelos on July 09, 2010, 10:10:47 AM If Pirates of the Caribbean breaks down, the pirates don't eat the tourists.
Title: Re: Tropico 3 on sale for $7.50 Post by: Strazos on July 09, 2010, 08:17:03 PM I was never great at the rollercoaster games...but I was 9.
Still liked them. Title: Re: Tropico 3 on sale for $7.50 Post by: Ard on July 09, 2010, 11:26:01 PM If Pirates of the Caribbean breaks down, the pirates don't eat the tourists. Of course not. That would be cannibalism. They're merely hung. We're not completely uncivilized here. Title: Re: Tropico 3 on sale for $7.50 Post by: bhodi on July 10, 2010, 07:04:48 AM Why don't we just remake bullfrog productions? please? I just made the mistake of looking at the wikipedia list of their titles.
* Fusion (1988) * Populous (1989) * Flood (1990) * Powermonger (1990) * Populous II (1991) * Syndicate (1993) * Magic Carpet (1994) * Theme Park (1994) * Syndicate: American Revolt (1994) * Tube (1994) * Hi-Octane (1995) * Magic Carpet 2 (1995) * Genewars (1996) * Syndicate Wars (1996) * Dungeon Keeper (1997) * Theme Hospital (1997) * Populous: The Beginning (1998) * Theme Aquarium (1998) * Dungeon Keeper 2 (1999) * Theme Park World (SimTheme Park in the US) (1999) * Theme Park Inc (SimCoaster in the US) (2001) In August 2009, Electronics Arts was considering revising some of Bullfrog's games for modern-day systems. (http://www.bit-tech.net/news/gaming/2009/08/11/ea-looking-to-revive-classic-bullfrog-games/1) That would be nice. Look at all of the hits. So much of my time, wasted. Title: Re: Tropico 3 on sale for $7.50 Post by: Tannhauser on July 10, 2010, 11:31:32 AM Dungeon Keeper was tha bomb yo.
Title: Re: Tropico 3 on sale for $7.50 Post by: Azazel on July 10, 2010, 08:42:11 PM I'd really love a new version of Syndicate.
Though, I'm slightly apprehensive that it'd end up being a first person shooter/racing hybrid set in downtown Seattle during the 1990's Title: Re: Tropico 3 on sale for $7.50 Post by: Sky on July 12, 2010, 07:45:35 AM I'd really love a new version of Syndicate. The escort missions always made me stabby. As they have in every game since. Nothing like babysitting shitty AI as it walks into a hail of bullets.Definitely would like a DK3, though. Title: Re: Tropico 3 on sale for $7.50 Post by: NiX on July 14, 2010, 08:59:58 AM Theme Hospital :heart: That game stole so much of my time it's disgusting. Same with Theme Park.
|