Game Guide - 1. Interface Tropico 5 Guide
Last update: 11 May 2016
Basic information about the island and time � On the top, you can view the time that is left to the end of your cadence as governor, when in the Colonial Era. After the time ends and you enter the World Wars era, a usual date appears here, starting from January 1914. Next to the date you can see time control options.
Below, there is information about your finances - you can still spend money only up to the 10.000$ limit. Next to it there is the number of citizens and the level of support.
Minimap � On the minimap, you can see the whole island. White spots mark elements visible through the fog of war. The fog of war covers the whole island and at the beginning (until inventing the compass), you can see only the territory that has been uncovered by your soldiers during expeditions. On the map, there is also the name of the era that you are currently in.
Action icons � Those eight icons lead to all the important screens of the interface. There is the building menu, island and dynasty overview, edict issuing and constitution options and the list of information about your island - the almanac.
Missions � Various people will often have some kind of missions for you to complete. By doing so, you can earn money, gain support or obtain valuable rewards.
View � This window appears when something important happens on the island, like for example destroying an old mine or oil well. Additionally, you can see all the statistics of cargo ships - how much you pay for import, how much you get from export and how many people arrived.
The interface of the game is quite complex and getting familiar with it may take you some time. Information about your island is grouped in many various lists and tabs. The all consist of signs and references.
Action icons
This action bar contains island control and management options.
Starting from the left, the icons are: Build Menu, Almanac, Dynasty Members, Research, Edicts, Constitution, Trade, Overlays.
Build Menu is available also on right-click, which is more convenient. It is divided to various categories, like: Infrastructure, Raw Resources, Industry, Residential, Entertainment, etc.
Almanac contains all statistical, demographic and economic information about the island. Here you will find censuses, according to age, education, assets or employment. There are also economic data and balance-sheets.
Dynasty Members, a new feature in the game, contains information about your family members. They possess various abilities and can be helpful in increasing the effectiveness of some buildings as managers. Additionally, they can interchange with El Presidente, which is useful when he loses popularity.
Research, another novelty, allow you to invent the sickle, paper, the wheel and other useful technologies. It will enable building new objects and advancing on the development ladder. Not all of them are available from the beginning.
Edicts are documents that affect the whole of the island and are permanent elements of life and your dictat... presidency. They can make the life of your people either easier or more difficult, can facilitate your control over the island, or even "free" the money from the embrace of capitalism and make them "safe" on your Swiss bank account.
Constitution is the document in which all the most important elements of the system of Tropico island are stated. In every era, you can add three elements, if you discover them first, and change the regulations in various time spans.
Trade enables you to exchange goods with other nations. It is another novelty in the game. At the beginning of the game, you buy a trading license, which enables you to send trade ships. Every new port adds one ship. The list of trade routes changes with every era and you have to mark out new ones.
Overlays allow you to check on such things as fertility of soil, security level or power supply.