Ok... these aren't really rules, as you can buld your cities to suite your needs, and to your own styles...
However... this is a good idea to use as a basic, all-round, city for if you are just starting the game, or just want a nice city for everything:
The Twelve Barrack System:
Ok, i learned this in the original game, and so far it has served me well for everyday use:
Basically, you need to have twelve barracks... and eight cottages...
The rest of the squares can then be filled with one of each building...
When you have your twelve barracks, concentrate on one of them, and getting it to level nine... this way you can quickly amass smaller troops, whilst still getting your ballistae and transports for farming NPC's...
After this, you can then focus on getting your other barracks to match this level (whlst building up the cottages as and when you feel the need too)
Later on in the game, when you have researched everything... you can begin to dismantle unused buildings (i.e. the stable) to make room for more barracks and cottages...
This is because once you have all research, these buildings are no longer of any use, and therefore a waste of space within the city which could be put to better use...
Don't worry about losing prestige or anything, as demolishing buildings actually adds to your prestige...
*** DON'T FORGET!!! When you are building troops, make sure you use the "SPLIT TO ALL BARRACKS" button, as this will divide the amount to time taken to build them by however many barracks you have!!! It is also important to remember that if you are buildng higher level units, that you need to set them building first, otherwise the lower levelled ones will still be queued in the higher level barracks, which will need to be completed before the next units are created!!!***
