Church
Base Construction Cost:
$6,000
Upkeep:
$20
Additional Costs:
None
Work Modes:
None
Worker Requirements:
Male, High School
Maximum Workers:
4 Priests
Available Upgrades:
None
The Church is the least expensive way to satisfy the religious needs of your citizens.
The Church is an essential investment in the early stages of your island’s development, but these non-profit service buildings can place a heavy burden on a struggling economy.
A fully-staffed Church can service up to 12 visitors at a time, so make sure you fill all open positions before you build multiple Churches in a single area.
Accessibility is important, so be certain to either place the Church with easy road access, or near housing. Churches are also your low cost solution for providing far flung outposts with religious satisfaction.
Clinic
Base Construction Cost:
$3,000
Upkeep:
$10
Additional Costs:
None
Work Modes:
Preventive Medicine (patients visit 20 percent less often); Obstetric (female patients are 50 percent more likely to become pregnant); Gerontology (Increases the lifespan of visitors by 1 year per visit to a maximum of 5 years)
Worker Requirements:
Male, College
Maximum Workers:
2 Doctors
Available Upgrades:
None
The Clinic provides basic healthcare to your citizens. The Clinic generates no profits, but it does meet one of your island’s essential needs.
As with the Church, it’s best to establish a Clinic in the early stages of each mission. A fully-staffed clinic can only service eight visitors at a time, so you may need to establish additional Clinics fairly quickly.
As with the Church, Clinics act as low cost solutions to the medical needs of outposts established far away from your starting location.
Cathedral
Base Construction Cost:
$20,000
Upkeep:
$66
Additional Costs:
None
Work Modes:
None
Worker Requirements:
Male, College
Maximum Workers:
4 Bishops
Available Upgrades:
None
The Cathedral is a significant improvement over the humble Church. Its high construction and upkeep costs require a well-developed economy, but the Cathedral satisfies one of the primary demands of the Religious faction.
A fully-staffed Cathedral can service 16 visitors at a time, which makes this building particularly useful in highly populated areas.
The sheer size of the Cathedral presents a challenge of placing it so it can service the most people, try to consider well in advance where you want to place one for maximum effectiveness, and set that land aside.
Hospital
Base Construction Cost:
$12,000
Upkeep:
$40
Additional Costs:
Electricity (15MW)
Work Modes:
Preventive Medicine (patients visit 20 percent less often); Obstetric (female patients are 50 percent more likely to become pregnant); Gerontology (Increases the lifespan of visitors by 1 year per visit to a maximum of 5 years)
Worker Requirements:
Male, College
Maximum Workers:
4 Doctors
Available Upgrades:
None
The Hospital provides excellent healthcare to all of its visitors. This advanced facility must be connected to your Electrical grid, but the Hospital represents a significant improvement over the Clinic.
A fully-staffed Hospital can service up to 12 visitors at a time, so make sure you fill all open positions before you construct additional facilities.
Between its high Service Quality and useful work modes, the Hospital is an essential investment in any developed economy.
Shopping Mall
Base Construction Cost:
$9,000
Upkeep:
$30
Additional Costs:
Electricity (20MW)
Work Modes:
Normal Store (default parameters); People’s Store (tourists do not use the Shopping Mall); Outlet Store (profits double and Service Quality is increased by 20, but only females use the Shopping Mall)
Worker Requirements:
Female, High School
Maximum Workers:
4 Shopkeepers
Available Upgrades:
None
The Shopping Mall can be an effective distraction for Tropicans and tourists alike, which makes this building a viable part of any economy. Importing luxury goods can be costly, but the potential profits make the Shopping Mall a worthy investment.
A fully-staffed Shopping Mall can service up to 12 visitors at a time. Like the Cathedral, this structure dwarf most others, meaning you may not be able to set it conveniently close to your major city.
You can help alleviate travel from the Shopping Mall by placing a Garage near it.
Bank
Base Construction Cost:
$8,000
Upkeep:
$26
Additional Costs:
None
Work Modes:
Urban Development (decreases construction costs by up to 20 percent—additional Banks increase the effect); Offshore Banking (charges tourist visitors based on worker’s skill); Presidential Slush Fund (siphons money from the treasury to your Swiss bank account)
Worker Requirements:
Male, College
Maximum Workers:
5 Bankers
Available Upgrades:
None
The Bank is a surprisingly versatile building, and you may wish to construct many of them on a single island. When set to Urban Development, your Banks can save you massive amounts of money as you develop your cities.
If you set a Bank to the Offshore Banking work mode, it becomes a profitable Tourist attraction. In the Presidential Slush Fund work mode, a Bank becomes the most effective way to siphon money into your Swiss bank account.
While it is tempting to try and establish at least one Bank at the start of a mission, the required college educated workers makes staffing it an expensive prospect.
Customs Office
Base Construction Cost:
$10,000
Upkeep:
$15
Additional Costs:
None
Work Modes:
Stimulate Exports (increases export revenue); Free Economic Zone (decreases import costs); Tourist Fees (all tourists pay a percent of their spending limit upon their arrival); Customs Duty Evasion (a percentage of ex-port profits is siphoned into your Swiss bank account, Custom Officers’ minimum wage is set to 25)
Worker Requirements:
Male, High School
Maximum Workers:
5 Customs Officers
Available Upgrades:
None
The Customs Office allows you enhance different elements of your economy. If your island depends on trade, the Stimulate Exports work mode provides a significant boost to your income.
During unexpected shortages, the Free Economic Zone reduces the burden of emergency imports. Remaining work modes can improve the profitability of the tourism industry, or siphon additional funds into your Swiss bank account.
Stock Exchange
Base Construction Cost:
$10,000
Upkeep:
$20
Additional Costs:
None
Work Modes:
None
Worker Requirements:
Male, College
Maximum Workers:
5 Stock Brokers
Available Upgrades:
None
The Stock Exchange offers potentially profitable arrangements from foreign investors. A friendly nation may wish to provide your island with additional housing or jobs in exchange for any profits generated from the new building.
You have no control over foreign owned buildings, but these private structures can provide valuable services. The specifics of each arrangement will vary, so don’t be afraid to turn down any offer that doesn’t benefit your island.
Keep in mind, private structures still require the resources and support of your island infrastructure. Without it, they will fail early and you lose their rent.
Weather Station
Base Construction Cost:
$8,000
Upkeep:
$50
Additional Costs:
None
Work Modes:
Truthful Reports (default parameters); Always Sunny (Tourism Rating increased by 5, 2 extra immigrants arrive on each ship); Always Rainy (Tourism Rating decreased by 5, 2 less immigrants arrive on each ship)
Worker Requirements:
Male, College
Maximum Workers:
2 Professors
Available Upgrades:
Seismic Detector ($5,000) predicts earthquakes and volcanic eruptions; Tsunami Early Warning System ($10,000 5MW) predicts tsunami; Storm Detection ($7,500) predicts tornadoes and hurricanes
In its basic form, the Weather Station allows you to influence the popularity of your island among tourists and immigrants.
A fully upgraded Weather Station allows you to predict most natural disasters, giving you the chance to minimize damage to your buildings and population.
Since accidental deaths will lower your Tourism Rating, an upgraded Weather Station is particularly important for any island that depends on foreign visitors.
Most importantly, preventing civilian casualties during a disaster stops you from losing skilled workers in the aftermath. Buildings can be rebuilt, but to replace talent takes far longer.