Overview
- Residences stay empty until needs are met, with goods and services granting population buffs that depend on island-wide or area-based effects.
- Food like sardines or eels adds +1 population per residence island-wide, while services such as a market boost only homes within range.
- Fully meeting needs unlocks upgrades to higher residential tiers, which support more residents by stacking additional population buffs.
- Workforce is separate from population, with inherent sources like the trading post supplying +25 tier‑1 workers and only a portion of each tier converting (50% tier 1, 30% tier 2, 20% tier 3).
- Understaffed buildings show a hammer‑and‑pick icon and run slower, so early outputs such as porridge or bread in Latium and cheese in Albion, plus Ceres devotion and Specialist buffs, help sustain growth.