BEGINNEREASY

Foundation: Organic City Layout & Supply Chain Guide

Zone planning for organic growth, complete supply chain reference, monument building workflow, and trade economy mastery for a thriving medieval city.

18 min read4,200 words2025-10-15

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Foundation is a gridless, organic city-builder where villagers build their own paths and houses. Traditional grid-based planning does not work here. Instead, you paint zones, manage supply chains, and let the city grow organically. This guide covers zone planning, production chains, monument building, and the trade economy that turns a village into a thriving medieval city.

🗺️ Zone Planning: The Organic Approach

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Residential Zones

Paint near workplaces. Villagers walk to work — if the walk exceeds 150m, they build a new house closer. Never paint residential zones in one giant block — scatter them in 3-4 clusters near different industries.

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Industrial Zones

Place near resource nodes. Lumber camps near forests. Mines near stone/iron deposits. Wheat farms on flat, open land. Keep noisy industries (blacksmith, stonemason) 50m+ from residential — noise reduces desirability.

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Market Zones

The center of your city. Place the Market building first, then paint a large market zone around it. Stall vendors set up automatically. Luxury stalls (jewelry, clothing) generate the most tax income. Every house must be within 100m of a market.

The Golden Rule of Foundation

Paint zones, don't place buildings. Unlike other city builders, Foundation lets villagers build their own houses, workshops, and paths within zones you designate. Your job is zone placement and supply chain management — not micro-managing every building. The more you micromanage, the slower your city grows.

📦 Complete Supply Chain Reference

End Product	Input Chain	Required Buildings	Villager Tier
Bread	Wheat Farm → Windmill (Flour) → Bakery	3 buildings	Serf
Beer	Wheat Farm → Brewery + Hop Farm → Brewery	3 buildings	Commoner
Clothing	Sheep Farm (Wool) → Weaver (Cloth) → Tailor	3 buildings	Commoner
Tools	Iron Mine → Smelter (Iron Bars) → Blacksmith	3 buildings	Commoner
Jewelry	Gold Mine → Goldsmith + Gem Mine → Gem Cutter → Jeweler	4 buildings	Citizen
Weapons	Iron Bars + Coal Mine (Charcoal) → Weaponsmith	3 buildings	Citizen
Stained Glass	Sand Pit → Glassmaker + Quartz Mine → Glass Workshop	3 buildings	Citizen

Promotion Requirements

Villagers promote when all their needs are met. Serf → Commoner: needs food variety (2+ types) + basic clothing. Commoner → Citizen: needs luxury food (beer, meat) + tools + decorated housing (tier 2 house + decorations). Commoners consume 3× more goods than serfs— don't promote too many until your production chains can support it.

🏛️ Monument Building Guide

Monument	Resources Required	Workers	Benefit
⛪ Village Church	100 Stone, 50 Planks	8 builders	Faith need satisfied. Unlocks Monastery (tier 2). Prevents mass emigration during hardship events.
🏰 Lord's Manor	200 Stone, 100 Planks, 50 Iron Bars	12 builders	Unlocks taxation. Generates 5 gold/month per citizen. Required for Citizen tier promotion.
⛲ Grand Fountain	150 Stone, 50 Marble	10 builders	Massive desirability boost in 50m radius. Houses near fountains promote 40% faster.
🏛️ Cathedral	500 Stone, 200 Marble, 100 Stained Glass, 50 Gold	20 builders	Endgame monument. Max faith. Attracts pilgrims (+20 population). Required for ultimate city achievement.

Monument Construction Workflow

1. Build the monument's resource depot FIRST (next to the construction site).
2. Set all resource depots to "Fill" priority for the monument materials.
3. Assign 2 dedicated builders and prevent them from doing other jobs.
4. Build in spring — winter slows construction by 40%.
A Cathedral takes ~45 in-game days with optimized logistics. Without planning: 90+ days.

📊 Trade Economy & Mastery

Export Good	Buyer	Price	Strategy
Surplus Bread	Northburgh (city)	8-12 Gold/unit	Best early-game export. Bread has a 3:1 wheat-to-bread ratio. 3 wheat farms feed 1 windmill + bakery + surplus for export.
Iron Tools	All trading partners	18-25 Gold/unit	Best value-to-weight export. 1 iron ore → 1 tool. Tools stack to 10. One trading cart of tools = 250 gold.
Jewelry	Kallio (distant city)	35-50 Gold/unit	Highest single-item value. But requires citizen-tier workers + 4-step chain. Build this industry last.
Stained Glass	Kallio, Monasteries	40-55 Gold/unit	Best late-game export. Sand pit is unlimited resource. With 3 sand pits + 2 quartz mines = continuous production.

Trade Mastery Perk System

Each trade route has a Mastery level (1-10). Higher mastery = better prices + faster carts. Max out bread mastery first (it's your primary export for 50+ years). Never diversify trade routes before mastery level 5 on your primary good — spreading thin means no mastery bonus for decades.

FAQ

Why aren't my villagers building houses?+

Check three things: (1) Residential zone is painted — without it, no houses. (2) Zone is within 150m of workplaces. (3) Desirability is above 0. Add a well and decorate with trees (+2 desirability each).

How do I promote more villagers to Commoner?+

You need: (1) At least 2 food types in the market. (2) Clothing available in a market stall. (3) Church built and staffed. (4) Their house is within 100m of a market. Then click the house and press Promote.

Best monument to build first?+

Village Church. It unlocks faith needs and prevents the 'Mass Exodus' event. Second: Lord's Manor for taxation income. Third: Grand Fountain for the desirability boost that speeds all future promotions.