Settlement Rules

[TLS]

Settled vs. Frontier Areas
At game start there is a very clear delineation between the areas of these united states that are settled and those that are firmly on the frontier. A good approximation for the line between settled/unsettled is the Proclamation Line along the Appalachians, though the war with Britain has shifted it slightly to the west as land-hungry Americans seek the apparent riches over the mountains. Beyond that line is the frontier, a vast land under poor control and disputed between various states and Indian tribes. Frontier areas have three defining characteristics:

1. Poor governance. People living in a frontier zone live at the furthest reaches of civilization. Even if they were not dependent on subsistence agriculture and gathering, they didn't go west because they really wanted to stay and pay more taxes. This means that frontier areas do not provide taxation income, nor do they count towards troop totals/provide militia (though frontiersmen can and will form militias outside of central direction for self-defense, if necessary).
   
2. Vulnerability to attack. The likelihood of an Iroquois army sailing down the Hudson to attack New York City has disappeared, and settled areas are largely free from the specter of Indian attack. However, the frontier exists, at best, in an uneasy state of peace. As such, areas in the frontier are susceptible to Indian raids.
   
3. Disputed ownership. Even if there are not disputes over which state owns a particular parcel of land, there are certainly Indian tribes or other groups that do not see things the same way. Therefore, frontier areas are no barrier to building forts or sending military units. Virginia can't build a fort in North Carolina proper, but either state could build a fort in the other's "claimed" territory over the Appalachians. Likewise, the British or Spanish could build a fort deep within New York or Georgia's claim--not to mention the risk of the settlers deciding to shrug off the imperiousness of the lazy coast-dwellers.
   

Encouraging Settlement

Because settling the frontier is going to a key mechanic for this game, its important to re-evaluate the way this is represented. A lot of this mechanic will simply be the mod directing the flow of migrants; just like the British government couldn't really control the flow of colonists over the Appalachians, neither can you. However, there are ways that an enterprising state can encourage settlement. There are now three main ways to encourage settlement: build forts, build trading posts, and subsidize settlement. Forts, as outlined in the ground units thread, provide control over an area and give a semblance of protection to settlers; they are more likely to settle somewhere that they feel won't be overrun by angry savages. Settlement subsidies are not tied to a direct value; that is, there is no universal "1 point = 10,000 settlers" mechanic, because different areas take more or less money to incentivize settling. However, the mod will take these into account when factoring in settlement.

Additionally, trading posts can be built for 2 points, and they generate .2 in income. Trading posts are limited to one per RL US state. To further complicate matters, this is a total limit, not just a by-country limit. If there is more than one trading posts in a given state, they generate .1 to represent the fact that traders can now drive prices down by bidding between two posts, though the trading posts will still encourage more settlement. If there are three posts in a state, they all generate no income. The trading post attracts natives, trappers, and other entrepreneurs, potentially encouraging greater settlement. A trading post can be stacked with a fort, to create the ideal nexus for both safety and wealth--though, be warned, this also makes these locations particularly attractive targets.  Eventually, settlement in the frontier region will result in sufficient economic activity that the region will become settled and some sort of resource will be extracted. At that time, any trading post will disappear and be subsumed into the general value of the region. There is no 1-to-1 correlation between region population and economic activity, but it will require at least a few tens of thousands of settlers in a given area.