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OriginalRafiki

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Jan 14, 2003
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Since it's a question that rises at regular intervals, I figured I'd take a shot at making the "ultimate" Machine Parts mini-tutorial. All details here apply to 1.03, but to a lesser extent also to previous patches. Please comment so I can make it better and at some point include it in a FAQ or something :)
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Machine Parts are an important good for the wannabe industrializer, and since they also can be in short supply, especially at the start of the GC, you'll need to plan ahead so you can cover your needs as much as possible.

The simplest is to purchase it from the World Market. However, because of it's short supply, you'll need to be high on the prestige ranking, if not at the top, to even have a chance at getting some machine parts.

If you wish to make your own machine parts, you'll need a Machine Parts factory. It requires 5 machine parts, 10 iron, 10 cement and 20000 £ to build it, and the raw materials it needs are steel and coal.

To be able to build the factory, you'll need the Precision Work-invention. At the start of the game, the only nation to have this invention is the UK, which is why machineparts are in short supply. Theoretically, you can get the Precision Work-invention as early as Jan 1st 1840, but due to the research needed to get it, most civilized countries won't be able to get it till sometime later in the 1840s at the earliest.

Precision Work is triggered by Interchangeable Parts.

Interchangeable Parts depends on a set of other technologies, which in turn have their dependencies. The whole list of technologies preceding Interchangeable Parts is:
If you wish to get a Machine Parts factory at the earliest possible opportunity, you'll need to select your research among these techs whenever possible. Note that some nations start with a few of these techs already researched.

Some of these techs have the added benefit of providing you with some machine parts "for free" along the way:
  • Publishing Industry - +5 machine parts
  • Mechanical Production - +5 machine parts
  • Interchangeable Parts - +10 machine parts
  • Precision Work - +10 machine parts
:) Rafiki
 
Nice work. Some nice culture are very helpful to get MP on the WM :)

In my latest game I didn´t seem to get 5 MP when I had researched "Mechanical Production". Maybe I was tired and didn´t see them :)
 
Judge said:
Nice work. Some nice culture are very helpful to get MP on the WM :)
Thanks :) I didn't go into details about how to get a high prestige-rating, since I considered it outside the scope of this.
Judge said:
In my latest game I didn´t seem to get 5 MP when I had researched "Mechanical Production". Maybe I was tired and didn´t see them :)
Hehe, they should've been there; perhaps the computer embezzled them from you ;)

:) Rafiki
 
rafiki said:
Thanks :) I didn't go into details about how to get a high prestige-rating, since I considered it outside the scope of this.

Hehe, they should've been there; perhaps the computer embezzled them from you ;)

:) Rafiki

Perhaps I had a sell order in (don´t know why but late at night you do weird things). Luckily I had reserched a lot of culture techs so there was plenty to buy on the market. I seldom build a MP factory these days though they seem to be more profitable now than in 1,02 :)
 
That is probably a worthwhile discsussion; if you rank high in prestige, is it worth it to build a machine parts factory? Do you get what you need if you don't?

I prefer building my own, that way, I know I'll have what I need, when I need it. It's happened a few too many times in my games that I've been unable to build the factories I'd like due to lack of machine parts. ;)

:) Rafiki
 
If you are big and rich the answer is -build. But when playing a poor small country like Greece the answer is less obvious. I decided against building. Besides later on in the game it is much easier to find the little buggers since more countries are producing them :)
 
Judge said:
If you are big and rich the answer is -build. But when playing a poor small country like Greece the answer is less obvious. I decided against building. Besides later on in the game it is much easier to find the little buggers since more countries are producing them :)

If you're willing to wait on it it isn't too bad an idea not to build and just get from the WM--but it means you spend a number of years just sitting on your hands. Luckily, however, steel only takes 1 MP and it's ALWAYS a very profitable good in 1.03. I think this is great--steel SHOULD be a big moneymaker in the industrial era, all the way through!
 
You really have to build your own MPs late in the game, since some of the more advanced factories require MPs to run. Also, I see MPs selling for £200+ a lot so they can be a good profit maker if steal isn't too highly priced.
 
Maybe my results are atypical, since I generally only play a few countries (France, Prussia, Russia) but I've NEVER taken a loss on a machine parts factory.
 
If you are an uncivilized country, I feel that the surest path to gaining civilized status is to get Interchangeable Parts via a tech block trade (get Freedom of Trade in the same trade) in the 1840's. Then use the machine parts gained to build a steel and MP factory. From there you can industrialize at will.
 
dmshewchuk said:
Maybe my results are atypical, since I generally only play a few countries (France, Prussia, Russia) but I've NEVER taken a loss on a machine parts factory.

In 1,02 I have always made a loss on my invested money but in 1,03 so far i have made a small profit :)
 
Russia and no Parts

First off, I'd like to thank Paradox for a great game though I have lost a lot of sleep in the process.

Playing Russia, why is it that en after research the appropriate tech I can not research the tech (interchangable parts) ?? Is this a restriction on Russia or something else? :wacko:
 
techs don't always come in the order you want them to. Just because you have mechanical production doesn't mean you'll be able to jump right into interchangeable parts or precision work. It'll take some jingling of the tech tree to get them out, by which I mean you just have to research othet techs until the ones you want come up.
 
Memnon said:
techs don't always come in the order you want them to. Just because you have mechanical production doesn't mean you'll be able to jump right into interchangeable parts or precision work. It'll take some jingling of the tech tree to get them out, by which I mean you just have to research othet techs until the ones you want come up.
When you stick with the Traditional Academic Circle, then the progress through the tech tree is completely predictable. This predictability is quite important, if you want the prerequisite techs as quickly as possible.

Take a look here: http://www.europa-universalis.com/forum/showthread.php?t=142545

Jan Peter
 
aprof said:
Good job rafiki.
Thanks :)
aprof said:
One suggestion: list the factories' needs for machine parts. Playing a small country means you often want to budget the +5 or +10 free machine parts you get among certain necessary factories.
It's already listed in the industrial overview at Camp Victoria, is it something like that you had in mind?

:) Rafiki
 
To go back to building your own MP factory. Does anyone not sell the machine parts on the world market and instead simply stockpile them? I've tried this thinking it might slow down the industrialization of my competitor nations, but I would be interested to hear if anyone knows if this wil have any impact in the long run.
 
Not selling MPs might slow down the industrialisation of other countries by a few years, but in my experience it is not long before they start building their own MP factories. The AI countries usually sell their surplus MPs onto the WM, so even those countries unable to build their own MP factory will start getting them. When you see the price of MPs dive well below £100 you know that the AI countries are selling them.