Town to City Production Chain Guide

What Is a Production Chain?

A production chain is the sequence of buildings that transforms raw materials into finished goods. In Town to City, inefficient production chains are the single largest source of wasted resources. A farm producing wheat that rots because the mill is too far away — that is a broken chain. A steel mill waiting for iron ore because the mine is understaffed — broken chain. This guide shows you how to build chains that never break.

Four Core Production Chains

Food Supply Chain

Raw Materials: Wheat, Vegetables, Livestock (from farms and ranches)

Storage: Refrigerated Warehouse (prevents spoilage). Silo (grain storage)

Processing Steps: Wheat → Flour (Mill) → Bread (Bakery). Vegetables → Canned Goods (Cannery). Livestock → Meat (Slaughterhouse) → Processed Meat (Butcher)

Transport: High — food spoils. Dedicated delivery trucks recommended.

Efficiency Tip: Place Mill and Bakery adjacent to Wheat farms. Every tile of transport distance adds processing delay. A farm-mill-bakery triangle reduces production time by 30 percent versus a spread-out layout.

Construction Materials Chain

Raw Materials: Timber (Logging Camp), Stone (Quarry), Iron Ore (Mine), Sand (River Dredge)

Storage: Open-air Yard (planks/stone). Covered Warehouse (steel/glass)

Processing Steps: Timber → Planks (Sawmill). Stone → Cut Stone (Stonemason). Iron Ore → Iron Ingots (Smelter) → Steel (Steel Mill). Sand → Glass (Glassworks)

Transport: Medium — does not spoil. Can use slower, higher-capacity transport.

Efficiency Tip: Cluster all heavy industry (Smelter, Steel Mill, Stonemason) in one industrial zone. Shared power, shared worker pool, and reduced transport between processing steps.

Consumer Goods Chain

Raw Materials: Cotton (Farm), Wool (Ranch), Leather (Ranch), Wood (Logging Camp)

Storage: Warehouse (all weather-protected)

Processing Steps: Cotton → Cloth (Textile Mill) → Clothing (Garment Factory). Wool → Yarn (Spinner) → Textiles (Weaver). Leather → Finished Leather (Tannery) → Shoes/Bags (Leatherworks). Wood → Furniture (Carpenter)

Transport: Low — non-perishable. Ship in bulk when warehouse fills.

Efficiency Tip: Consumer goods are low-margin, high-volume. Efficiency comes from scale: run factories at 80 percent capacity or higher to amortize building maintenance costs across more units.

Technology Chain

Raw Materials: Rare Metals (Deep Mine), Crystals (Crystal Quarry), Electronics Components (import or Factory)

Storage: Climate-controlled Vault (high-value, sensitive to moisture)

Processing Steps: Rare Metals → Refined Metals (Refinery). Crystals → Polished Crystals (Crystal Cutter). Components + Refined Metals → Electronics (Electronics Factory)

Transport: Highest security — high-value theft target. Use guarded convoys.

Efficiency Tip: This is your highest-value chain. A single truck of electronics is worth more than ten trucks of consumer goods. Invest in the fastest transport and most secure storage first for this chain.

Factory Placement Rules

Building	Best Neighbor	Worst Neighbor	Reason
Sawmill	Logging Camp + Furniture Factory	Residential Zone	Produces noise pollution. Place with other industrial buildings, not near homes.
Smelter / Steel Mill	Mine + Stonemason	Farm / Residential	Produces air pollution. Must be downwind of residential areas. Pollution reduces farm yield.
Bakery / Cannery	Farm + Warehouse	Smelter / Heavy Industry	Food facilities are pollution-sensitive. Contamination risk if adjacent to heavy industry.
Textile Mill / Garment Factory	Cotton Farm + Warehouse	None (clean industry)	Light industry with minimal pollution. Can be placed near residential with a one-tile buffer.
Electronics Factory	Refinery + Research Center	Water source / Farm	Uses chemical processes. Wastewater must be treated before release. Do not place near drinking water intake.

FAQ

How do I know if my production chain is bottlenecked?

Click any factory and check its efficiency percentage. Below 80 percent indicates a bottleneck. Trace backwards: is the factory waiting for input materials (upstream bottleneck — increase raw material production)? Or is its output storage full (downstream bottleneck — build more storage or add the next processing step)? Most bottlenecks are upstream — players underestimate how much raw material they need. A single Bakery running at full capacity consumes the output of 2-3 Wheat farms.

Should I build multiple small factories or one large one?

One large factory is almost always more efficient. Large factories benefit from economies of scale — fixed costs (building maintenance, worker base salary) are spread across more units of output. A single Large Bakery producing 500 bread per day costs less per loaf than five Small Bakeries producing 100 each. The only reason to build multiple small factories is geographic necessity — if your farms are spread across the map and transport costs exceed the scale efficiency gain.

When should I upgrade to automated production lines?

Automation upgrades are expensive but transformative. The break-even point is roughly when your factory employs 20+ workers — the automation upgrade cost equals about 15 worker salaries over one year. If your factory consistently runs above 80 percent capacity and employs 20+ workers, automate it. The freed workers can staff a new factory, expanding your production without increasing your population. Automate your highest-volume chains (Food, Construction) first.

Last updated: July 1, 2026.