Improved Silo layout in Sector 1

Hi Settlers,

Today we're ready to start looking at Improved Silos, especially now that they aren't going to be for a limited time only.

As previously discussed, the improved silo has been marketed to us as producing 3 times as quickly as a regular silo, but unfortunately since the walk time isn't/can't be slashed, our little guys needing to make 3 trips ends up making them not quite as good as 3 silos.

They come in at 2.66 times the price of a regular silo in gems though, so certainly if you're just starting your silo journey they're a comparable way to go.

Fexno (of Sandycove) has done up some maths for a 5 Improved Silo : 14 Farm layout that looks like it maps out rather nicely. Initially I'm only able to squeeze it into Sector 1 in front of the mayors house, but we're looking into Sector 3 as a potential secondary location.

I've created the layout over on my Ares server account for your viewing. First, the picture, explanation will go below:

Click to enlarge

The numbers are the respective walk distances from those locations.
Yellow squares are where you will place improved silos.
Blue squares are where you will place farms.
The white squares are a location you will need to place a farm. you only need to place a farm in 1 of the locations though. The other 2 can be ignored.
This primary layout (with the flexible 64 second squares) will be checked to see if it can fit anywhere else. At this stage, it's possible that it can't be.

To assist in drawing out the map with roads, I've placed the pink arrow to help get started. Start drawing from the front left corner of your mayors house as shown in the picture. You can extend the lines across the front and side of the house to help get the location just right.

Here's the maths Fexno provided to go along with the diagram:

The average walk time for the farms is 50.29 seconds. A little over the 48 seconds I tend to prefer, but not so much that it becomes anything less than a nice layout.

This might be the biggest layout presentable with the improved silos, but there will be some other smaller ones that can fit in more locations, probably with a 3 imp silo to 8 farm ratio in the future.

Happy Settling.

Improved Silo now live

The Improved Silo has now made it over to live, but in a surprising move, it's only going to be available in the store for 2 weeks (going away on the 13th March). (No longer true)

I can't imagine that this will be the end of it, this 2 weeks and then never ever seeing it again. Too much work will have gone into it for that. No, I'm sure it will come up again for a future event, or maybe in the guild shop, but there's no way to know how long away that will be.

If you really want them, you should make sure you pick them up quickly.
If you don't really want them, but do have some gems, this may be a fantastic time to forge a profit. Some of the more established players are going to need a *lot* of these, and suddenly being pushed into a two week window of availability is going to limit their ability to get them on their own via conventional means. They are already going up for disturbing prices, and there's no reason you couldn't make some funds here if you have that many gems laying about.

I'm still not fully convinced of their value, but we'll still make up some layouts for them that work nicely.


** Edit **
After high levels of player agitation, BB have decided to *not* only have it available for a limited time. It will be available permanently, which should help prices stabilise and allow better planning. Yay.

Completed Mayor's Layout

Hi Everyone,

I've finished off the layout in front of the mayors house on my live account initially discussed here, so it now looks like the below.

There's also 4 possible squares that will go to the field on the right hand side for a walk time of 68 seconds that you could place 2 farms and 2 silos in if you wanted. I'm not a fan of going over 60 seconds for the walk time, but if you really wanted to cram in as much as you could walking to the single farm your island certainly won't explode if you went with it.

On my main island I'm now running this complete setup and a layout in Sector 9, and I'm quite happy with the efficiency of the end result.

Random update

Hi Everyone,
Been a few weeks since my last post, was having a bit of a Settler's slump, but I think we're coming out of the other side of that.

Anyway, a week or so ago my gem pits churned out enough gems to pay for their fifth friend. Look at him there, being all gem pit-like. My smallest pit has been reduced to 6930 at this point, so he'll still be around by the time I hit 20k again, but will drain out before the following time.

Little torn as to whether I go the second endless copper mine the next time I hit 20k or pop a new pit to help maintain 5 active running at a time. Still a few weeks to make that decision though (3 and a bit weeks at a guess), but I'm leaning towards copper number 2. They have a lot of value, and the second one is going to look great in sector 2.

Other than that, I found myself spending a few gems to pick up 3x Silos, which were needed to try to finish off my Mayor's house layout. I can't think of a sensible reason for the sky-rocketing silo prices (on Sandycove anyway), but it was hard to justify coughing up for them otherwise.
Those are all levelling up at the moment, and I'll show how the finalish product looks when they finish.

Other than that, there's not a lot going on at the moment.
I'm looking forward to delving into improved silo layouts if and when they go live, we have Easter on the horizon which should be nice, everyone could use another Veteren General, and of course at some random time we'll have science running for generals and the overall island we'll also look at.

I might try looking at some positions involving improved storehouses, but they're just so fiddly, I don't anticipate finding a lot that lives up to the standards in my head.

I'd also like to throw out there that if anyone of you would like, feel free to submit your own layouts if you have something different going on that may interest others. If this corner of the internet becomes a general place for layout ideas I'd be happy with that, and credit your alongside any of your ideas. It's easier for me to do up a post for if you include travel times (I like to see and show everyone how close to equal travel times are for layouts), but it's not essential.

Until next time, happy Settling.