If I linked you to the How to play section, you wouldn`t read it, of course
So, I citate from the manual
http://www38.imperiaonline.org/imperia/game_v5/game/help/?page=economy&race=1Turning into a vassal
At least one level of Centralization is required. Each Centralization level opens access to turning 2 provinces into vassals. The province has to be conquered first after a successful Fortress siege with the necessary army for the Fortress level and its garrison there.
Turning an independent province into a vassal gives the player the right to exact taxes from them vassal population. Tax level is controlled by the sovereign, and the sum received depends on the population number not on the number of workers (like it works for annexed provinces). The available tax levels as well as the respective Happiness losses for vassals are the same as those for annexed provinces and capital.
In a vassal province buildings cannot be constructed.
A province cannot be a paying taxes vassal forever – giving a regular profit to the Empire depends on the population Happiness. If the Happiness is below 50%, there is a chance, progressively increasing by 2%, for a riot leading to tax exacting block until happiness is increased again. Vassal Happiness can be increased by starting Festivals.
Army cannot be sent to a vassal province.
Annexing
To annex an independent province a level of Centralization is needed. A province is annexed after a conquest with a successful Fortress siege and the necessary army according to the Fortress level and garrison there or after transforming a vassal province into an annexed one, which is possible when there is an available free Centralization level and maximum Happiness value in the respective vassal province.
Annexing a province assures you all building levels as they are, except the fortress level which drops by 1, but not the garrisoned troops and available resources which exist just by the time of the conquest.
Annexing gives the sovereign all rights over the province: building construction, research discovery, army recruitment, tax exacting, production of the three types of resources – wood, iron and stone.
Province efficiency – Every following annexed province produces 10% less resource compared with the previous one, that’s why, without Bureaucracy effect, the 11th annexed province has efficiency 0% (without considering province circle Bureaucracy Modifier), and every single province annexed after it is 10% less efficient compared with its respective previous one. Each Bureaucracy level raises the production efficiency by 5% without getting it above 100%.
Boxing a province - А province is boxed when all provinces, with which it has a border, are annexed. After the boxing, the middle province is considered an inner and causes 20 points drop in morale to the army of any invader who attacks that inner province.
It takes 10 minutes to move army from one province to another.
Resource transportation between the imperial provinces is executed using the depot station with basic carrying capacity 2000. Each level of the Building Depot station increases the capacity by 50% towards the previous one. The maximum level is 14. Transportation takes 20 minutes, existing the options for unloading right the way via instant transportation, which, however, is not available while the province is being under attack.
Colonies
Global map – on the map are located some spots – crucial for Alliances and individual players. Part of them is aimed for colonies, being divided into terrains, which lay on a special resource with various bonuses, and common ones – with no bonuses.
Special resource terrains – Situated randomly all over the Global map, the special resources are not destined for usage, but for control, as they give the player the opportunity to benefit from a certain type of bonus with effect on the entire Empire (annexed provinces, vassals and colonies):
Wood – 5% Wood production bonus
Rich Wood Field - 10% Wood production bonus
Iron – 5% Iron production bonus
Rich Iron Field - 10% Iron production bonus
Stone – 5% Stone production bonus
Rich Stone Field - 10% Stone production bonus
Gold – generates 5 additional percents to the exacted tax level
Rich Gold Field - generates 10 additional percents to the exacted tax level
Diamonds - generate 5 additional percents to amount of purchased diamonds
Rich Diamond Field - generates 10 additional percents to amount of purchased diamonds
Gems – Happiness bonus 10 in all Empire’s territories
Wine - Happiness bonus 5 in all Empire’s territories
Ivory – increases the Happiness maximum level by 5 in all Empire’s territories.
Silk – increases the Happiness maximum level by 10
Ancient Temple – 5 Morale points bonus
Sacred Ancient Temple - 10 Morale points bonus
Horseshoe – 5% cavalry attack and charge bonus
Heavy horseshoe – 10% cavalry attack and charge bonus
Yew – 5% Range attack bonus
Rich Yew Field - 10% Range attack bonus
Coal – 5% Infantry attack bonus
Rich Coal Field - 10% Infantry attack bonus
Granite – 5% Fortress hit points bonus
Rich Granite Field - 10% Fortress hit points bonus
Hemp – 5% Construction time bonus
Rich Hemp Field – 10% Construction time bonus
Papyrus – 5% Research time bonus
Parchment – 10% Research time bonus
Rice – 5% Farm bonus
Rich Rice Field – 10% Farm bonus
Wheat – 5% Farm bonus
Rich Wheat Field – 10% Farm bonus
Spices – 5% lower fixed commission
Rich Spices Field - 10% lower fixed commission
Horses – decrease army movement time, while on a mission, by 5%
Heavy Horses - decrease army movement time, while on a mission, by 10%
Wool – decreases army upkeep by 5%
Rich Wool Field – decreases army upkeep by 10%
Cotton – decreases army upkeep by 5%
Rich Cotton Field – decreases army upkeep by 10%
Marble – if an Alliance member has a colony founded on Marble, then the Temple in the Alliance Castle is constructed for 5% less time.
Rich Marble Field - if an Alliance member has a colony founded
on Marble, then the Temple in the Alliance Castle is constructed for 10% less time.
* Bonuses of the same type cannot be accumulated. If there are 2 bonuses of the same type, only the bigger one is accounted.
Colonization
50 000 people of the Empires population are sent to a free spot on the Global map or to a spot, laying on a special resource. At the moment of foundation, a certain amount and type of buildings, necessary for the sent population’s comfort, are constructed:
Farms – level 10
Houses – level 16
Temple – level 1
Town Square – level 1
Fortress – level 4
The price for founding a colony is equal to the construction price of these buildings - a total sum of 9 085 887 wood, 901 214 iron and 2 395 562 stone. The necessary resource is automatically extracted from the Empire and is transported to the colony along with the 50 000 villagers. Their speed is the same as the supply wagons’ speed – 80 IM/h.
Founding a colony and annexing it to the imperial territories gives a single time Happiness bonus +20 with effect on the entire Empire. Losing a colony takes 5 Happiness away.
Colony Structure
The construction of barracks, mines, lumber mills and stone quarries is not possible. The player can neither recruit soldiers nor hire workers.
* Construction of Houses and Farms is allowed, so the player could raise his population, as well as Fortress construction, so the player could enhance the defense.
Colony's population pays taxes - determined by the Sovereign, paid in one of the four resources and equal to one of the six tax rates:
- Tax free rate - gives bonus Happiness +5.
- Very low tax rate - equal to 2 wood / 0,4 iron / 1 stone / 1 gold per hour for every 100 villagers; it takes 5 Happiness away.
- Low tax rate - equal to 4 wood / 0,8 iron / 2 stone / 2 gold per hour for every 100 villagers; it takes 15 Happiness away.
- Medium tax rate - equal to 6 wood / 1,2 iron / 3 stone / 3 gold per hour for every 100 villagers; it takes 30 Happiness away.
- High tax rate - equal to 8 wood / 1,6 iron / 4 stone / 4 gold per hour for every 100 villagers; it takes 50 Happiness away.
- Very high tax rate - equal to 10 wood / 2 iron / 5 stone / 5 gold per hour for every 100 villagers; it takes 75 Happiness away.
Тhe player can change the tax rate at any time and each change is immediately accounted. Both, tax and happiness losses, are distributed proportionally and received or subtracted every minute. The resource portions are given, accounting always the current amount of population, not the amount of population at the moment when the tax rate was set.
The colony has Happiness that depends in a regressive way on the distance to the Empire. The more distant one colony is, the bigger Happiness losses will be, as this correlation is divided in 6 quadrants: from 0 to 20 IM – minus 20 Happiness; from 21 to 50 IM – minus 25; from 51 to 100 IM – minus 35; from 101 to 200 IM – minus 45; from 201 to 500 – minus 55; and from 501 afterwords – minus 70. If the Happiness gets below 50, there is a chance, progressively increasing by 2%, for a riot, leading to a temporary tax exacting block for at least 24 hours until happiness is increased again. If the Happiness gets below 20, there is a chance, increasing progressively by 2%, for a rebellion, which could lead to a temporary lack of access to the colony for at least 24 hours until the happiness is raised agaian, which means no tax, no building construction, just organization of festivals allowed. Both the riot and the rebellion imply a temporary special resource bonus suspension.
Each colony disposes of a special building – Logistic base. Its levels determine how many ally armies are allowed to join the colony army in relief, while the colony is under attack. Each Logistic base level allows one more ally army in relief. Maximum level - 5.
The upkeep of all troops in a colony is x1.5.
Retreat - It's valid for all type of attacks but affects just the army of the colony's owner, any army in relief will still fight regardless the activated option.
Destroying a colony
A colony cannot be attacked, while all buildings, required for its foundation, are still under construction.
A colony is destroyed when it’s found to be without a Fortress. Every attack reduces the Fortress levels by 1. *When it turns out the colony has Fortress level 0, it automatically disappears from the Global map, releasing 50% of the population and 90% of the army deployed in the colony that go directly back to the Metropolis. In case of an army traveling from the Empire to the colony, this army returns as well.
Attacks upon colonies founded on Special resource terrains have no limits for net worth points range and, consequently, no kind of penalty applied to the attacker, which isn't valid for those founded on common, non-bonus, terrains - the attacks out of range x5 are not possible, and those out of range x2 cause morale, honor and attack parameter losses to the attacker, following the exact same rules of any normal attack.
* Colony Fortresses cannot be repaired!
Resource transportation
The resource, generated as a tax, is not automatically stashed in the centralized Empire treasury, but has to be transported to the capital. Colony’s available resources cannot be used for the Empire’s benefit if not previously transported to the Metropolis.
Colony – Metropolis transportation is not executed via depot station, which works within the confines of the Imperial map. The colony transports by supply wagons, ready to go after recruitment similar to the army’s one. The supply wagons have upkeep and speed just like any other military unit. Their carrying capacity is 1000.
Travelling
Its time is not prefixed like it is within the imperial provinces, but it is just the same as any other travelling through the Global map. The distance is measured in Imperial miles. The speed of the travelling units and/or supply wagons is equal to the speed of the slowest sent unit (for example: Battering rams – 40 IM/h).
Cartography decreases the travelling time.
