oh-edo-towns
I noticed in my second game, where I'm doing much better than the first, I seem to be unlocking new building research options sooner. However, it's unclear to me what actually causes them to unlock.
Does it require certain amounts of yield, particular buildings or combos, or something else?
Here is a translated document of the combo moves...
Combo Name Facility Facility Facility Yield Price Total Cost
Snack Udon Shop Soba Shop Stew Cart 15％ 10％ 240G
Flower Dumpling S. Cherry Tree Pond 18％ 5％ 460G
Sweets Bun Shop Bean Soup Dumpling Sh 15％ 10％ 210G
Plum Pub Rice Shop Plum Tree 20％ 10％ 350G
Kamakura Daibutsu Bun Shop Hydrangeas 24％ 16％ 890G
Lunch Rice Shop Tempura Sh. Greengrocer 20％ 8％ 340G
Noodle Udon Shop Soba Shop Tempura Sh. 10％ 5％ 300G
Refresh Public Bath Bucket Shop Nature* 10％ 6％ 210G+Nature
Cart Stew Cart Merchant C. Nature* 10％ 5％ 160G+Nature
Medicine School Medicine S. Nature* 15％ 10％ 420G+Nature
Jizo Jizo Statue Straw Hat Nature* 10％ 10％ 340G+Nature
Rice Rice Shop Bun Shop Nature* 5％ 10％ 170G+Nature
Lucky Kimono Shop Cat Statue Nature* 10％ 15％ 700G+Nature
Mountain Dumpling S. Jizo Statue Nature* 8％ 8％ 320G+Nature
Hangover Stew Cart Pub Nature* 10％ 5％ 230G+Nature
Study School Library Nature* 10％ 10％ 450G+Nature
Warrior Samurai Ho. 5-Rf Tower Nature* 10％ 5％ 2600G+Nature
Hairpin General St. Kimono Shop Nature* 10％ 12％ 400G+Nature
Archive Jizo Statue Library Nature* 15％ 5％ 410G+Nature
Beauty Public Bath Bucket Shop General St. 15％ 10％ 310G
Sunny Park Jizo Statue Fire Alarm 12％ 10％ 470G
Shipping General St. Greengrocer Medicine Sh 12％ 10％ 300G
Fried Tempura Sh. Bun Shop Udon Shop 12％ 10％ 270G
Fiery Fire Stati. Fire Alarm Well 25％ - 880G
Fun Zoo Kabuki The. 5-Rf Tower 20％ 5％ 3400G
Scholar School Samurai Ho. Library 25％ 5％ 1650G
Literary Library Library Ukiyoe Shop 15％ 10％ 900G
Training Weapon Shop Dojo Notice Boa. 20％ 10％ 1080G
Edomae Sushi Shop Fireworks Tempura Sh. 20％ 12％ 550G
Steamy Pine Tree Hot Spring Boulder 25％ 10％ 1930G
Import Elekiter Camera Shop Zoo 25％ 25％ 2800G
Fortune Cat Statue Case Shop Shrine 25％ 10％ 1300G
Komon Case Shop Sandal Shop Straw Hat 20％ - 680G
Kyoto Samurai Ho. 5-Rf Tower Kimono Shop 20％ 15％ 2950G
Gambler Gambling S. Pawn Shop Pub 5％ 25％ 550G
Corrupt Magistrate Fancy Rest. Bun Shop 10％ 10％ 2050G
Ghost Well Willow Tree Wooden Path 15％ - 295G
Healthy Greengrocer Merchant C. Medicine S. 15％ 10％ 280G
Traveler Sandal Shop Straw Hat Carriage S. 25％ 15％ 680G
Battle Turret Cannon Weapon Sh. 30％ 10％ 850G**
Playboy Gambling S. Kimono Shop Kabuki The. 20％ 20％ 1400G
Vehicle Stables Handcart S. Carriage S. 20％ 25％ 1700G
Clothes Kimono Shop Large Store Fancy Rest. 16％ 15％ 1550G
Princess Carriage S. Kimono Sho Fancy Rest. 21％ 15％ 1850G
Samurai Magistrate Castle Samurai Ho. 25％ 15％ 5200G***
Karosft Kairo Statu Banana Tree Scarecrow 35％ 35％ 4476G
*Like trees, boulders, the fire alarm, or scarecrow.
**Most cost-effective combo for high yield!
***Most expensive combo for its yield.
If you're looking for tips on combo stacking/chaining, check out http://kairospot.net/community/threads/10x-combo-on-castle.1414/ (The thread is entitled 10x Combo On Castle.)
How do you unlock more tour groups?
The best answer I could find is from this blog and seems to have been copy-pasted all over the web. However, the author admits that these may not be completely accurate.
What do they need to accomplish their task?
My experience has been that their percentage complete rises over time as the group visits shops and spends money.
I found one guide that claimed "Having crafts and combos through building placements will attract more visitors," but it's not clear how they arrived at that conclusion, so I'd take it with a grain of salt.
Best Answer
The in-game documentation states that the Intelligence parameter on residents "aids in discovering new buildings." So although there doesn't seem to be any visible indicator of your progress in researching new buildings, the game is using the total Intelligence of all your town's residents to determine how quickly you progress.
Based on this, the best way to unlock new buildings would be to maximize resident Intelligence. There are three ways to do this:
Job Intelligence, from lowest to highest: