...under development...
FIRST TURN QUESTIONS
Q. What do the acronyms on my 1st page Lifeform Modifiers chart stand for?
- SCM - Space Combat Modifier
- RM - Research Modifier
- GCM - Ground Combat Modifier
- EXM - Exploration Modifier
- ESM - Special Modifier (used in exploration/diplomacy situations)
- DIP - Diplomacy Modifier
- DEF - Defensive Modifier
- COL - Colonization Modifier
- CCM - Close Combat Modifier
OPERATIONS QUESTIONS
Q. How much cargo space should I have available in an exploration fleet when doing EXPL orders?
The guideline is 25,000 tons available cargo capacity. The majority of finds will be less than this (the larger finds being either rare or dealt with in other ways) so you can get by with less but if you want to pretty much eliminate the chance of losing something (due to insufficient cargo space) - keep 25,000 tons free cargo space.
PRODUCTION QUESTIONS
Q. What sequence does production occur in?
Installations operate at the end of the turn in a predefined sequence which is as follows:
Power Generation
Shipyards
Fuel Refineries
Resource Extraction
Stripmining Complexes
Industrial Complexes
Other
Shipyards run immediately after power generation so that they are virtually guaranteed to have power available for their operation (Note: Shipyards do not use items that might be produced by your Industrial Complexes that turn in any event - ships placed into Shipyards are paid for during the execution of the Build Ship [SHIP] order). Resource Extraction installations include such things as Iron Mines, Hydroponic Gardens and so forth; they are more efficient than Stripmining Complexes and therefore gain earlier access to potentially limited power supplies. The order within Resource Extraction is alphabetical. Stripmining Complexes run just before Industrial Complexes to ensure a greater supply of raw materials. Industrial Complexes consume no power themselves and run towards the end of the sequence - producing items from all the mined resources and raw materials (and from previously stockpiled materials) available to them. "Other" represents a variety of unusual installations which generally do not exist in large quantities and come last in the power use hierarchy.
Q. What is the power generation formula for Hydroelectric and Geothermal power plants?
The power output of these installations is
Power Output = ((Yield / 50) +1) * 1000
Example
If your Hydroelectric potential (yield) is 200 then a Hydroelectric power plant would produce ((200 / 50) +1) * 1000 or 5,000 power
Q. When I issue a Build Ship (SHIP) command do I need all of the components available to assemble it or can they be finished during production and still be SHIP'ed in the same turn?
You must have the components available at the time the SHIP order is issued. When the SHIP order executes - it checks the stockpiles in the Population Group and, if sufficient, deletes them and places the ship(s) ordered into the local shipyards. Component production occurs at the end of the turn so your ship component production will always be a case of producing components this turn that you plan to use the following turn.
Q. Do industries or shipyards require power consumption?
Industrial complexes do not require power. Shipyards do require power (100 Power per shipyard) while Shipyard Slips do not. Shipyard Slips dictate how many ships may be worked on in a given turn by a Population Group's shipyards. The number of Shipyards dictate how much total ship tonnage can be completed by that Population Group. (i.e. A Population Group has 2 Shipyard Slips and 50 Shipyards - that population group can complete up to 500,000 tons of shipping [starships, orbital installations, surface installations] in a given turn and can work on as many as 2 units per turn. Power consumption would 5,000 Power).
Q. I see a number of people listed on my homeworld. Is this my total population?
The Population Qty figure that is listed for each Population Group is the number of available POP not the total POP of that group. If you see a figure of, say, 8,000 POP that means that you have 8,000 POP that you can draw on new installations and/or colonist/trooper construction.
Q. What use is the Build Priority number?
The Build Priority number is important since it allows you to sequence your production so that everything occurs in the proper order. Steel, for example, requires Iron to produce (3 units of Iron for every unit of Steel) so you would want to ensure that your industrial complexes produce Iron (from Raw Materials) before attempting to produce Steel (assuming you have no built up stockpiles of Iron sitting around).
Example
Priority, Quantity, Item
500, 30,000, Iron
520, 10,000, Steel
This example show a correct sequence - Iron is produced first (from Raw Materials) then Steel is produced from the Iron.
Q. Why shouldn't I just put all my production to the same priority level?
There are two reasons to avoid this.
1) Using the same priority number is dangerous in that you can easily make a sequence error that causes problems on the production lines. Using unique priority numbers for every production queue item ensures that the production sequence goes exactly as planned.
2) You will also discover that your production queue(s) (the majority of which will be tooled builds) will still need to be adjusted on a fairly regular basis. You may need to increase Steel production, for example, which would also require an adjustment in Iron production. The Edit Build (EB) order will be used frequently as a result and you'll find that the EB order is much more versatile and powerful if you have used unique build priority numbers in your production queue(s).
Q. How do I determine the number of industrial complexes required for a given production queue job?
The Industrial Complex that you have initially can convert 250 tons of materials per turn into new products.
Examples
You have a production queue job for 50,000 tons of Iron.
Producing Iron with Industrial Complexes means that you are converting Raw Materials into Iron and since the conversion rate of raw materials into resources is 10:1 that means that your industrial complexes will be processing 500,000 tons of raw materials to get the 50,000 tons of Iron you've ordered. Accordingly - this production queue job would require 2,000 Industrial Complexes (500,000 / 250 = 2,000 ).
You have a production queue job for 50,000 tons of Steel.
Steel is produced from Iron (not raw materials) and the ratio is 3 tons of Iron for every ton of Steel. 50,000 tons of Steel therefore is going to require 150,000 tons of Iron to produce. Accordingly - this production queue job would require 600 Industrial Complexes (150,000 / 250 = 600 ).
