In the city screen, you see your city which is contained within walls and a region just outside the walls. Gray squares or rectangles show the sites where you can build. Clicking on one brings up a list of the types of buildings that you can put in that spot.
The types of buildings available are based upon your city level. For levels one through five, the game forces you to build things that advance your city’s level, such as farms, oil wells, troop training sites, etc. As you continue to level up, it will be up to you to determine the mix and location for your buildings.
Your buildings and your resource plots outside the walls can only be leveled up to the level of your city. Among your quests are those asking you to increase the level of a specific type of building or to build more of that type. When you succeed, you receive rewards through the Quests menu.
Increasing the level of any building or plot requires a certain amount of resources. If you are short, the game will off you the chance to purchase some with diamonds. An up level can also be done immediately by paying the stated number of diamonds shown on the level up screen.
The basic game allows on structure to be built at any one time. The package of items that can currently be purchased through the blimp for $24.99 US will allow you a second ability to build. Unless you use a speedup or purchase the up level with diamonds, the construction takes time.
Speedup, found in your briefcase and accessed through the speedup button on the up level screen, will move the construction along. The game begins with the final five minutes of construction as free. An indicator will appear over a building under construction saying “Free”. Clicking on it will complete the construction.
Through the VIP process, that free construction time increases. You may be able to shorten the time without using a speedup by as much as 20 minutes. Keep in mind, however, that some construction at higher levels may take days. A combination of speedups, lowering the time downward to the level gained through VIP, and then the VIP buff, works well.
Try not to use more speedups than you need and overlap the VIP buff. That is just a waste of an item that you will have to replace.