Gears

Gears are an intermediate manufactured good used in multiple production chains and constructions. They appear as a crafted component that converts processed materials into mechanical parts needed for advanced buildings and machinery. In-game, gears are produced in workshops (or equivalent production buildings) by processing raw or intermediate materials according to the recipe chains available on a given map and difficulty.

Gears sit between basic processing outputs and higher-tier constructions: raw materials are first harvested and chopped into processed inputs, those inputs are then refined or assembled into parts, and gears are one of the resulting components used to create the final products. They are therefore a bottleneck in any economy that relies on mechanical production or upgrades; ensuring steady supply requires reliable input processing and sufficient workshop capacity.

Practical notes for managing gear production:

• Place gear-producing workshops close to their input sources (sawmills, metalworks, or other processors) to minimize transport time and worker travel.
• Balance inputs by tracking upstream production: shortages in earlier processing steps quickly halt gear output. Use storage buildings to buffer fluctuations.
• Prioritize gears when planning expansion that requires mechanical parts; build additional workshops proactively rather than reactively.
• During adverse seasonal or event conditions that disrupt resource flows, maintain reserves of processed inputs so gear production can continue briefly even if harvesting slows.
• Optimize workforce assignment so skilled workers are available at manufacturing sites during peak demand; idle workshops indicate either input shortfall or insufficient labor.
• Where possible, lay out production chains in compact clusters (inputs → processors → gear workshops → assembly) to reduce logistic overhead and increase throughput.