So you want to build cannons. Or do you?
Now that I've reached a point in the game where I can build cannons and cook cannoneers I decided to do just that. This was plainly uncharted waters to me and it wasn't until after I built the "I gotta have that" cannon forge that I could finally sit down and do the math. Here's what I found out and want to share...
You'll need 4 expensive expert buildings in the cannon production line...
Wheelmaker: 3 exotic logs and 6 iron bars (24 iron ore + 36 coal) per wheel. 18 minute production time.
Carpenter: 6 exotic wood planks and 4 wheels (12 exotic logs + 96 iron ore + 144 coal) per carriage. 36 minute production time.
Powderhut: 6 saltpetre per gunpowder. 20 minute production time.
Cannon Forge: 6 gunpowder and 5 carriages per cannon. 60 minute production time.
That's a per cannon cost of 60 exotic logs, 30 exotic wood planks, 120 iron bars (480 iron ore + 720 coal), and 36 saltpetre.
Now go ahead and multiply all that by 10 for the per cannoneer resource requirement.
All this is unbuffed production numbers but even when buffed it's quite a lot of resources.
So I'm asking myself if I really want to build cannons.