There's a few rules that every die2nite player knows (regardless of how many actually obey them), like building a tent but not a hovel, constructing a workshop first, etc. After that point, construction order seems like more of an art than a science. I'd like to get some sense of an optimal construction order up to day 5 or 6, at least.
Assume you've got 15 citizens who spend AP on construction per day (225 ap/day), keep defenses within logical limits (to combat daily increased zombie counts) and while you can be optimistic about raw materials, don't be unrealistic. Use day 1 as a non-zombie day and split your daily AP and raw material pull by 50% to simulate a town that isn't full yet.
Requirements (based on some real life numbers):
- 100 defense by day 2
- 400 defense by day 5
- 1,600 defense by day 15
Best Answer
8/10/2011 Update: Unfortunately the game has changed significantly enough now where the below is no longer useful. You may want to check out How should our town decide what to build next? for advice on how to make the best decisions based on your situation.
OK, I'll start by taking a shot, and then we'll see what optimizations other people can make. This is roughly the order used in my current town, with corrections made where we think we made a mistake.
Assumptions:
Final Defense on day 5: 382 plus defensive objects.
Day 1
Project of the day: Watchtower Total AP Used: 137
Defense: 5+3+(30 tents) = 38 (plus defensive items)
Required: 18 Planks, 15 Wrought Iron, 1 Concrete block, 10 Rotten logs, 10 Scrap metal and 3 Nuts& Bolts
Day 2
Project of the day: Watchtower
Total AP Used: 227
Defense: 38 + 109 = 147 (plus defensive items)
Required: 8 Scrap metal, 17 Planks, 34 rotten logs, 2 wrought iron
Day 3
Project of the day: Pit
Total AP Used: 247
Defense: 147 + 45 + 13 = 205 (plus defensive items)
Required: 2 Copper pipe, 1 wrought iron, 10 planks, 30 rotten logs, 12 scrap metal
Day 4
Project of the day: Pit
Total AP Used: 209
Defense: 205 + 30 + 21 = 256 (plus defensive items)
Required: 8 scrap metal, 28 rotten logs
Day 5
Note that by this day, you have to start building to what materials you have. For example, if you don't have cement, but you have nuts & bolts, you might want to go for ramparts instead.
Upgrade: Pit
Total AP Used: 214
Defense: 256 + 94 + 32 = 382 (plus defensive items)
Required: 62 rotten logs, 28 scrap metal
Other thoughts: