Any tips on early game pacing?

[djr5899]

I'm a new player, and early on, I really struggled getting things setup properly, figuring out what is more important to build very early in the game, etc, etc.

I feel like I've gotten a little bit better at some of the initial setup, but also feel like I'm "moving too fast." Constantly researching and trying to build new things. Feels like I should slow down and stockpile a bunch of L1 and L2 construction parts for awhile instead of chasing new mines, or oil/gas, etc.

Any recommendations on build X, Y, Z as main priority, stockpile X good/resource for a certain amount of time, before moving onto next phase?

[Drunken Eagle]

You cant really move too fast in this game, look at your buildings tab and see what buildings you are missing currently. Aim to get self sustaining concrete production, copper and iron smelters, and very basic distilling plant. Dont make my mistake by stockpiling several pumping jacks just to waste consctruction materials, youll only need one until you reach advanced disttiling.

[manfred.stabentheiner]

start and look at the tips at tutoriel

1 resaerch lab is best for new players.. so you have time and dont get to fast new things
never look on the years or the counter you have unlimit time in this game

when you understand the system and reach tier 2 you can make 2 resaerch labs

[click]

+1 for a solid concrete strategy. Its the most complex early game item and will usually be the cause for most supply chain interruptions. Only build a couple excavators and trucks and always try to do more with less. My build order is usually white cons > mechanical parts > diesel and rubber > concrete > electronics > yellow cons > cement. Get all that out of the way early and youre set.

[SamuraiProgrammer]

All of this is IMO and in my experience. I don't mean to blatantly contradict others. There is more than one way to 'skin the cat'.

I agree with the importance of a solid concrete slab production. It is certainly a cornerstone of construction production.

In fact, I believe that the game is a matter of steadily raising production on key items to make sure you have enough. Gross overproducing likely means that you are spending those resources to construct the wrong things.

Some items need to be stockpiled in case of a problem - namely fuel, mechanical parts, and electronics. Not having these when there is a hitch (and there will be) can end your game or set you back far enough you will just want to start over.

Construction parts need to be available but are not as crucial as those mentioned in the last paragraph.

I would also emphasize getting a trading dock as soon as you can so you can trade for concrete and then copper. It is likely that you will need to boost your supplies of those before you can get production running for them.

I would add that the more I play, the more excavators I use. I am of the opinion (without having kept notes) that I build 1 excavator for every 2 or 3 pickups for quite a while. Don't be afraid - you WILL need them when your ore consumption ramps up and you don't have a 'clean' patch to dig in.

I usually go something like this (as research allows - also, the further into the list, the less the order matters):

Set up your waste disposal area. Think ahead about where you are going to place your trading dock and clean up the shore there FIRST. Then clean up the shore where you intend to put your first cargo dock.

2 research labs (yes, 1 is ok-ish if you are a new player, but you also don't want to get in the habit of watching and waiting for things to happen... maintenance is happening and your limited supply of diesel is slowly leaking away.)

temporary iron smelter near communication station - 1 blast furnace, 2 metal casters (you can get by with 1 metal caster)

2 assemblies for construction parts

1 assembly for mechanical parts

1 assembly for electronics (not needed until your communication station is almost out)

vehicle depot

coal mining

iron ore mining / iron smelter (you want this before your communication station runs out of iron scrap)

trading dock as soon as possible

generator

maintenance depot

2 farms

beacon (use it to keep available workers to 30 or so - expanding settlement as needed)

basic diesel production

concrete slabs

rubber production

copper

construction II

switch to efficient concrete (sand)

Think about repairing the shipyard, and ship, and start exploring.

That should get you started.

As a bonus, here is a list of the techs in the order I have been researching them. Again, the further into the list, the less important the exact order is. Also note that some of these are situational. For example, you can't research the Cargo Depot until you have discovered a cargo ship.

Enjoy!

Construction
Vehicles and Mining
Basic Farming
Trading Dock
Power and Maintenance
Beacon
Concrete Production
Basic Diesel
Storage
Ramp For Vehicle
Synthetic Rubber
Copper Refinement
Ship Dock Repair
Construction II
Efficient Concrete
Conveyor Belts
Fuel Station
Transports Balancing
Groundwater Pump
Irrigated Farms
Crop Rotation
Vegetables Farming
Settlement Water
Vehicles Management
Retaining Walls
Captain's Office
Housing II
Edicts
Smart Conveyor Routing
Research Lab II
Basic Desalination
Cargo Depot
Power Generation II
Pipes II
Advanced Diesel
Gas Combustion
Vehicles Management II
Advanced Logistics Control
Maintenance Depot II
Burner
Settlement Power
Wheat Farming & Processing
Storage II
Ship Weapons
Ship Armor
Steel Smelting
Construction III
Conveyor Belts II
Recycling
Cargo Depot II
Food Market II
Deconstruction Efficiency
Biofuel
Large Vehicles
Edicts II
Edicts III
Sulfur Processing
Mechanical Power Storage
Water Recovery
Corn Farming
Organic Fertilizer
Soybean Farming
Chemical & Plant Fertilizer
Fuel Station II
Tree Harvester II
Copper Refinement II
Research Lab III
Naptha Processing
Power Generation III
Naptha Reforming
Salt Production
Electrolysis
Glass Making
Vehicles Management III
Wastewater Treatment
Exhaust Filtration
Pipes III
Fertilizer II
Chicken Farm
Trucks Overloading Edict
Ship Bridge
Ship Engine II
Housing III
Storage (Large) I
Plastic
Snacks
Fermentation
Hospital
Thermal Desalination
Editcs IV
Recycling Edicts
Research Lab IV
Household Goods
Biodiesel
Recycling Increase
Rotary Kiln (Gas)
Deconstruction Efficiency II
Advanced Smelting
Settlement Recycling
Vehicles Management IV
Power Generation IV
Ship Weapons II
Mega Vehicles
Food Packing
Greenhouse
Uranium Enrichment
Nuclear Reactor
Chemical Plant II

[Le'Stranger Wuv'Bottom]

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2854609122 *barely into mid game at this point. I am sure many commenting on this thread will attempt to help my setup, whether it is harsh or gentle criticism lol it is welcome.

Spacing is everything. I am still learning after almost triple digits of hours playing this game.

For myself... having to/wanting to restart several times before/while getting a good grasp on all of the games functions is not only enjoyable but also refines your understanding of those functions. Think I have started about 5-6 new maps over a few dozen hours, getting further and further every time but ended up running into some logistics or placement issue I wasn't aware of. Moving too fast without knowledge of how things work together can set you back quite a bit in this game.

Take it slow. The end game is extremely satisfying and worth the pacing.

P.s. I have actually found the Curland map to be easier in the long run rather than the default map when it comes to early-mid game progression(that massive oil deposit in the ocean really helps with early-mid game transitioning, just have to dump and create land to the deposit).

[Peter34]

There's a really good argument for just going "Beep this! I'll do ONE Lab!"

The slow research pace means you have time to explore each new do-able as you unlock it, and time to explore and learn the Tech Tree.

Some things you'll need to set up are, and not in this exact order:

Lab(s), Food, more Housing, Iron, Maintenance, Diesel, Rubber, Concrete, Copper, Cement.

[djr5899]

Thanks everyone. Great feedback!

[spastic]

One other point, you can consider tackling the resources that will become constraining and need to be either brought in from cargo ships or dealt with by teching up. In my experience that’s oil, then maybe water, coal, and then uranium sulfur, and/or quartz depending on details. Setting up your import docks provides clear objectives as you scale up your colony and helps make sure you don’t run out without an import solution ready to go.

[Le'Stranger Wuv'Bottom]

Originally posted by spastic:

One other point, you can consider tackling the resources that will become constraining and need to be either brought in from cargo ships or dealt with by teching up. In my experience that’s oil, then maybe water, coal, and then uranium sulfur, and/or quartz depending on details. Setting up your import docks provides clear objectives as you scale up your colony and helps make sure you don’t run out without an import solution ready to go.

Quality advice, I tend to setup oil then coal imports asap

[CrazedTrucker]

Originally posted by spastic:

One other point, you can consider tackling the resources that will become constraining and need to be either brought in from cargo ships or dealt with by teching up. In my experience that’s oil, then maybe water, coal, and then uranium sulfur, and/or quartz depending on details. Setting up your import docks provides clear objectives as you scale up your colony and helps make sure you don’t run out without an import solution ready to go.

I'd argue if you setup you're water supply correctly you should never need to import water , just saying. with enough water catchers put inline with the pumps and some 4 ways with the catchers set as prio, I've never ran out out of ground water and i'm running a huge farm setup , 20 farms..again , just saying.

[Tregon]

Originally posted by CrazedTrucker:

Originally posted by spastic:

One other point, you can consider tackling the resources that will become constraining and need to be either brought in from cargo ships or dealt with by teching up. In my experience that’s oil, then maybe water, coal, and then uranium sulfur, and/or quartz depending on details. Setting up your import docks provides clear objectives as you scale up your colony and helps make sure you don’t run out without an import solution ready to go.

I'd argue if you setup you're water supply correctly you should never need to import water , just saying. with enough water catchers put inline with the pumps and some 4 ways with the catchers set as prio, I've never ran out out of ground water and i'm running a huge farm setup , 20 farms..again , just saying.

Requires lots of space though. And depending on situation space can be limited, so import can serve as means to provide goods with low surface imprint.

[spastic]

I mentioned tech or importing, I didn’t get too much into details. The first map I played I used water importing for a lot of irrigation, second map I tapped more groundwater sources and teched up to large cooling towers to solve the problem combined with thermal desalination for brine using depleted steam and a lot of fertilizer in greenhouses, so I agree you don’t need to import water but it is an option.

[Peter34]

Don't forget Wood import. At least on the first island, you'll fairly quickly harvest all available Trees.

[Stryk9]

Once I have a solid foundation laid down, then I'll look at my core processing areas and redo them to make them more compact and efficient. Don't be afraid to tear down and rebuild; however, you can't afford the resources until you have a good foundation.