Food Management Guide

Food is the most critical resource in CivIdleCli, as it's essential for maintaining your population. This guide explains the food mechanics and offers strategies for effective food management.

Food Sources and Management

In CivIdleCli, food is an aggregate resource that comes from multiple sources:

1. Foraging: The primary source of food early in the game

   • Villagers assigned to foraging gather food at base rate

2. Hunting: An additional food source

   • Provides both hunting resources and a bonus food production
   • 40% of hunting collection is converted to food automatically

Future updates may add more food sources like fishing, herding, etc.

How Food Works Internally

The game treats food as a unified resource pool from multiple sources:

• When spending food (for recruiting or upkeep), it draws proportionally from all food sources
• The total food available is the sum of all food sources (foraging, hunting, etc.)
• Food consumption for villager upkeep is automatically deducted each tick

UI Display for Food

Food is displayed in the UI as an aggregate resource:

• "FOOD SUPPLY" shows the total food from all sources combined
• Individual food sources (foraging, hunting) are shown with an arrow (↳) prefix
• Each food source shows its percentage contribution to the total food supply
• Food status shows current consumption rate and net food balance (gain/loss per tick)
• Warning indicators appear when food levels are critically low

Food Production and Consumption

Food Production

Food is gathered through multiple means:

1. Foraging:

   • Base collection rate: 1.0 food per villager
   • Primary food source in the early game

2. Hunting:

   • Produces hunting resources at base rate of 1.8
   • Additionally produces 40% of that as bonus food (0.72 food per villager)

3. Farm Production (when unlocked):

   • Each farm directly produces 3.0 food per tick
   • Farms also provide bonuses to villager food gathering efficiency

Food Consumption

Food is consumed by your population:

• Regular villagers consume 1.5 food per tick
• Scholars consume 4.5 food per tick (they're much hungrier!)

Food Balance Examples

Starting Balance (1 Villager on Foraging):

• Production: 1 villager × 1.0 = 1.0 food per tick
• Consumption: 1 villager × 1.5 = 1.5 food per tick
• Net change: -0.5 food per tick (deficit)

With Hunting (1 Villager):

• Production: 1 villager × 1.8 × 0.4 = 0.72 food per tick plus hunting resources
• Consumption: 1 villager × 1.5 = 1.5 food per tick
• Net change: -0.78 food per tick (deficit)

With First Farm (1 Villager):

• Farm production: 3.0 food per tick
• Villager gathering (if assigned to foraging): 1.0 food per tick
• Total production: 4.0 food per tick
• Consumption: 1.5 food per tick
• Net gain: +2.5 food per tick (surplus)

Early Game Food Strategy

1. Balanced Approach: Start with villagers assigned to both foraging and hunting

   • This provides food diversity and better resource gathering

2. First Buildings: Prioritize a farm as soon as possible

   • This will significantly improve your food situation
   • Requirements typically include wood and stone resources

3. Food Buffer: Always keep enough food for at least one new villager

   • This ensures you can grow your population when needed

4. Resource Balance: Once food is stable, assign villagers to other resources:

   • Wood and stone for construction
   • Knowledge for research advancement
   • Continue to monitor food levels

Mid-Game Food Management

1. Farm-to-Villager Ratio: Aim for at least 1 farm per 2-3 villagers

   • Adjust based on how many villagers are assigned to food gathering

2. Food Reserves: Maintain a buffer of at least 30 × [number of villagers] food

   • This protects against temporary shortages and allows for expansion

3. UI Monitoring: The game UI shows:

   • Total food (combined from all sources)
   • Food consumption rate
   • Net food balance (gain or loss per tick)

4. Scholar Impact: Remember that scholars consume three times the food of regular villagers

   • Each scholar requires more food infrastructure

Food Crisis Management

If you find yourself in a food shortage:

1. Emergency Reassignment: Immediately reassign villagers to foraging

   • Command: assign villager foraging [count]
   • Also consider hunting for additional food

2. Priority Building: Build additional farms as quickly as possible

3. Consumption Reduction: Consider not recruiting new villagers until your food economy stabilizes

   • In extreme cases, you might need to let some villagers go

4. Recovery Strategy: Once your food rate becomes positive again, gradually reassign villagers back to other resources

Advanced Tips

1. Food Source Diversity: Maintain multiple food sources (foraging, hunting) for stability

   • If one source is depleted, others can compensate

2. Economic Planning: Before expanding your population, ensure your food production can handle the increased consumption

   • The UI shows food balance to help with this planning

3. Research Priorities: Look for research options that improve food gathering efficiency

   • Technologies like Agriculture can significantly boost food production

4. Age Advancement: Food requirements often increase with age advancement, so plan accordingly

   • Always expand food production before advancing to the next age

Understanding the Food UI

The game interface provides valuable information about your food situation:

• Total Food: Shows the combined amount from all food sources
• Upkeep/Tick: Displays how much food is consumed each tick
• Food Balance: Shows whether you're gaining or losing food (net rate)