Reading the map
Each world generates its own biomes, and with them its own shortages. A run where timber is three weeks away plays nothing like one where it is across the bay, and the port is where that difference turns into money or into a problem.
district_03
All five districts
fig. 04
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Trade Port
Everything leaves by water
The port is the hinge the rest of the city turns on. Ore and parts come down the freight line from the industrial district, wait a shift in the yards, and sail on the first ship with room for them.
Routes are generated per run. Biomes, distances and whatever diplomacy you have signed decide what is worth shipping this season — and who is still willing to buy it.
- Trade routes
- Procedural lanes across biomes, re-priced as the world map changes.
- Diplomacy
- Tariffs, treaties and embargoes that quietly open or close a lane.
- Logistics
- Warehouse slots, crane throughput and the schedule you hand the harbour.
- Risk
- Weather and distance leave a late ship's cargo at the mercy of the market.
how it plays
Inside the district
Agreements
Diplomacy is handled as standing agreements rather than one-off deals: tariffs, quotas and exclusivity that hold until someone renegotiates. Signing the wrong one early is survivable; signing three of them is usually what ends a run.
Throughput
Warehouses hold a fixed number of slots, cranes move a fixed number of containers per shift, and ships do not wait politely. Most port upgrades buy throughput rather than capacity, because a full warehouse is only a problem if the quay cannot empty it.
the other four
Keep reading
01
Industrial District
Smelters, silos and the freight line that keeps every other district supplied.
02
Research District
Laboratories and lecture halls where the tech tree opens up era by era.
04
Leisure District
Parks, stadiums and the night-time economy of a city that never quite powers down.
05
International Casino District
Slot machines, roulette and blackjack running as a leisure and economy mechanic.