You can see the service area of a building even before you erect it. Before construction this area is framed in yellow. After a building has been built, you can see the service area by going into the info mode and clicking the building. The service area is now shown as the bright area around the building. The size and function of this area varies with the type of building. The service areas of the warehouse and the marketplaces are most important, as they define the total service area of your settlement. You can always enlarge the service area of your colony by building new marketplaces. A large service area is important, as you can only build houses within this area. The service area of a building is also crucial to the transportation of goods.

The service areas of the buildings in a chain of production are extremely crucial. The buildings producing raw materials must be within the service area of the building which then processes them.Only then can the transportation of the various materials between them be guaranteed. A farm produces grain. This grain can only be ground into flour when the farm lies within the service area of a windmill. In order for the flour to be processed into bread, the windmill, in turn, has to be within the service area of a bakery. The most important link in the chain, however, is the warehouse or the marketplace. All buildings have to be within the service area of one of these, or the goods can neither be distributed to the population, nor used in trade.

Each business, and each farm, has an individual service area that can be displayed by clicking the building while in the info mode. This building only services this area. For example, cotton planted outside the service area of a cotton plantation cannot be harvested. In order to ensure the most efficient operation of your buildings, always watch your service areas carefully. The connections between the different buildings in a chain of production are shown in appendix B. Defensive structures, namely castles, also have supplies that have to be either stored or produced within their service areas. This means that weapons for your soldiers have to be either stored in a warehouse within the service area of your castle(s), or your cannon foundry, sword smith, and the musket maker all have to be within its service area. The same applies to shipyards. Wood and cloth have to be available within the service area of the shipyard. You can also find the exact relationships between different buildings same information in appendix B of this handbook. You can find more information on defensive structures in chapter 9.