Hey guys, I should be able to settle a new town tomorrow morning. What resource is the most valuable (wine, marble, or crystal)?

Marble, I think.

ditto, marble seems to be where its at

I sent 600 wood - and 300 of all others to Banzai.. so if you are going to send a welcoming package wait a bit til he can build a warehouse

Can someone please confirm whether or not the workshop improvements are now working in V2.3

What do I need to sign a military alliance with a guy? this should allow me to help him defend right?

I think I have one of these with TUbby but with the AO guy needing help I thought I would try.

Is there a few pointers to help out a noob....

Here is what I have so far:
Academy lvl 3
Town Hall lvl 3
Trading post lvl 1
Warehouse lvl 1
Barracks lvl 1
Trading Port lvl 1

You need a shipyard and at least one ship in it, else you are inviting looters.

Build a tavern as soon you've researched the tech. This will help to let your town grow faster.

So how do I find people to trade with.. no one is responding to the post I put up in the forums..
I'm pretty much stuck at this point until I get some crystal and stone.

The first line of trading comes from your Trading Post. For every second expansion you make of it it allows you to see trades available from other people.

Second (if not a close first) is to expand to the point to where you can colonize a second or third island. This comes from researching expansion and building up your palace to be able to colonize.