Consumption Control

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The Consumption Control Panel

Overview

Consumption Control is available to unlock via the Obsidian Archive level 3 upgrade. It is one of the most important upgrades in the game, enabling Viceroys to control how and when their villagers consume Goods and Services during breaks. Services a species doesn't enjoy cannot be Consumption Controlled.

The Consumption Control button can be found in the top right portion of the screen.

Resolve Penalties

Rationing and Unfair Rationing

Consumption Control allows you to control access villagers have to storage when they go on break, at the cost of a Resolve penalty. There are 2 possible penalties: Rationing and Unfair Rationing. You can always get a summary of these Resolve effects by hovering over the negative effects breakdown in the Species Panel.

The penalties only apply during breaks, when goods would otherwise be consumed, if you have at least 1 unit of the Consumption Controlled good and the species likes it. Additionally, Consumption Controlling Services will only result in a penalty if there is a Service building constructed somewhere in the settlement that allows for the Consumption Controlled Service to be fulfilled. The Service building does not need to be stocked or have any workers assigned to it in this case.

Rationing is applied if there is a blanket ban on consumption of a particular good (the good's checkbox is blank).

Unfair Rationing has a greater Resolve penalty and is applied when:

1. A species is singled out for Consumption Control.
2. The species affected by Consumption Control likes the Consumption Controlled item.
3. One or both of the other species are free to consume the goods.

When Unfair Rationing, the need's checkbox is always going to have a dash instead of a checkmark or being blank.

Some possible Consumption Control scenarios are described below:

• There is 0 Jerky in storage. Jerky is being Consumption Controlled. Lizards like Jerky, but do not suffer any penalties.
• There is 10 Jerky in storage. Jerky is being Consumption Controlled with a blanket ban. Harpies like Jerky, so they suffer -1 Resolve penalty from Rationing.
• There is 10 Jerky in storage. Jerky is being Consumption Controlled with a blanket ban. Humans don't like Jerky, so they suffer no penalties.
• There is 20 Pickled Goods in storage. Humans and Beavers are not allowed to eat Pickled Goods. While Foxes enjoy +8 Resolve and Humans don't suffer any penalties, Beavers get a -4 Unfair Rationing Resolve penalty.
• There is 50 Wine in storage.  Luxury is under a blanket ban. There are no Service buildings constructed in the settlement to satisfy the need for Luxury. Neither Beavers nor Frogs suffer from Rationing.
• There is 50 Tea in storage. Foxes are being singled out for  Treatment Consumption Control. A Market has been constructed somewhere in the settlement, but it's not staffed and or stocked. Harpies don't get a boost, while Foxes suffer from a -6 penalty — Unfair Rationing.
• There is 50 Tea in storage. Foxes are being singled out for  Treatment Consumption Control. A Market has been constructed somewhere in the settlement and is being staffed. Harpies enjoy a +10 Resolve boost, while Foxes suffer from a -6 penalty — Unfair Rationing.

Rationing Resolve penalty values

Species	Complex Foods							Clothing		Services
				-1		-2		-1		-3			-3	-3
		-1	-1			-2			-1			-3			-3
		-1			-1		-1		-1		-3	-3		-3
	-1						-1	-1	-1				-3		-3
		-1		-1	-1			-1		-3		-3
	-1		-1		-1	-2			-1		-3

(Transposed table)

Species
Complex Foods					-1		-1
			-1	-1		-1
			-1				-1
		-1				-1
				-1		-1	-1
		-2	-2				-2
				-1	-1
Clothing		-1			-1	-1
			-1	-1	-1		-1
Services		-3				-3
				-3			-3
			-3	-3		-3
		-3			-3
		-3		-3
			-3		-3

Unfair Rationing Resolve penalty values

Species	Complex Foods							Clothing		Services
				-3		-4		-3		-5			-6	-6
		-2	-3			-4			-3			-5			-6
		-2			-3		-3		-3		-5	-5		-6
	-2						-3	-3	-3				-6		-6
		-2		-3	-3			-3		-5		-5
	-2		-3		-3	-4			-3		-5

(Transposed table)

Species
Complex Foods					-2		-2
			-2	-2		-2
			-3				-3
		-3				-3
				-3		-3	-3
		-4	-4				-4
				-3	-3
Clothing		-3			-3	-3
			-3	-3	-3		-3
Services		-5				-5
				-5			-5
			-5	-5		-5
		-6			-6
		-6		-6
			-6		-6

World Modifiers influencing Consumption Control

World modifier	Description
Monastery of the Holy Flame	The Monks of the Holy Flame are a fanatically egalitarian order. You cannot forbid consumption, or favor any species.

Strategy

• If you wish to maximize the effect of Complex Foods and Services, consider only permitting your villagers to consume them when consumption would help them reach the Resolve Threshold.

• Villagers will go hungry if you Consumption Control them out of all available food types. Starving villagers can save some food.

• Saving your Complex Food and Services, and enabling consumption at the end for a "Resolve party" to close out a settlement is a very effective strategy.

• Turning off all Complex Foods, Clothing, and Services upon the start of the settlement is a good idea. Select a Raw Food for your villagers to eat, and turn off all others, for example, turn off Eggs, Vegetables and Meat to make Pack of Provisions and Skewers or Paste later in the game, or earlier if you have the Field Kitchen.