Questions re: Planet Tiles

[claptrap22]

Greetings

I'm a bit confused about how planet tiles work. So I understand that they allow you to build buildings that generate resources, like Research. But here are two things I'm unclear about

1. Some planets don't have many tiles. Can the number of tiles on a planet be increased some way?

2. Fumbling about the game systems yesterday, I build a university (I believe or some other structure to) generate research. It required 4 squares but on the planet I built it on, there were no 4 square lots available. To see what would happen I build it with half the building falling within 2 squares and half outside of it. I was surprised I was allowed to build this way. I was even more surprised when I began to accumulate Research. Can someone explain how this was possible/woks?

Much appreciated in advance. I'm sure I'll be back with more questios - great game.

[kerzain]

I don't have an answer for #1, because I haven't been playing long enough, but I suspect the number of tiles available goes up as you raise the planet's level. (Also, pay attention to whether the planet has moons or not, if it has moons you can build moon bases for a bunch of extra tiles)

As for #2, you'll notice that when you build a research facility half-in and half-out of available tiles, you will only receive the research bonus for those parts of the facility within the valid tiles. So, for example, if the facility is supposed to give 1 research per turn, but you only have 1/4 of the building in a valid tile, you will only get 0.25 research per turn until those other tiles flip to valid at some point after the planet levels up.

That has been my experience anyway, I'm still new myself.

[claptrap22]

Originally posted by kerzain:

I don't have an answer for #1, because I haven't been playing long enough, but I suspect the number of tiles available goes up as you raise the planets level.

As for #2, you'll notice that when you build a research facility half-in and half-out of available tiles, you will only receive the research bonus for those parts of the facility within the valid tiles. So, for example, if the facility is supposed to give 1 research per turn, but you only have 1/4 of the building in a valid tile, you will only get 0.25 research per turn until those other tiles flip to valid at some point after the planet levels up.

That has been my experience anyway, I'm still new myself.

Ahh, your response to the second question is much appreciated. I suppose that makes sense mathematically - i guess I was thinking too literally: "You can't build half a research facility and it still function!" lol

Also, a separate question: I've come to understand that pressure on a planet makes the civilians construct the appropriate structures to handle the pressure. Does it follow then that at one moment you will have space to develop structures on a building and then maybe a bunch of turns later those spaces are occupied? Or, rather, are their actions abstract, by which I mean, they build the infrascture but this is represented simply mathematically thereby allowing you the concrete space as represented by tiles?

[kerzain]

They'll occupy the tiles. And seemingly randomly, messily, and inefficiently at that. My kingdom for clear-cut 4x4 swathes of land.

[claptrap22]

Originally posted by kerzain:

They'll occupy the tiles. And seemingly randomly, messily, and inefficiently at that. My kingdom for clear-cut 4x4 swathes of land.

Thanks, again!

[MiKye200]

The population on a planet gradually develop tiles for placement of buildings at reduced cost and maintenance.
You can place buildings on undeveloped tiles but it wil cost extra at placement and I believe also costs extra in maintenance(not 100% sure about extra maintenance costs).

The Metropolis and Megacity buildings concentrate a lot of population in smaller areas if there are not a lot of tiles developed for building placement.

Some planets have moons that can be developed.

Also, the Floating Contient artifact is very handy for providing a large area of developed tiles.

[claptrap22]

Originally posted by MiKye200:

The population on a planet gradually develop tiles for placement of buildings at reduced cost and maintenance.
You can place buildings on undeveloped tiles but it wil cost extra at placement and I believe also costs extra in maintenance(not 100% sure about extra maintenance costs).

The Metropolis and Megacity buildings concentrate a lot of population in smaller areas if there are not a lot of tiles developed for building placement.

Some planets have moons that can be developed.

Also, the Floating Contient artifact is very handy for providing a large area of developed tiles.

Very helpful, much appreciated!

[way2co0l_2003]

Also so you know as I didn't see it mentioned, you can build over civilian buildings and they will rebuild them to match pressure again. Be careful that you don't fill a planet up too much so there aren't enough tiles for your people to build pressure buildings as they will start producing less effecient buildings than what they would if they had room for normal buildings.

Not all planets are equal regarding the number of surface hexes. I've seen some level 0's with less than 100 hexes and others that are around 200. You can double click on a planet before colonizing and the size of the picture for land inside the black box, the more hexes that specific planet will have for use. As was mentioned before, keep an eye out for planets with moons as well as you can build moon bases on them to have even more construction room and some planets can become quite large.

[Dalo Lorn]

Originally posted by claptrap22:

Ahh, your response to the second question is much appreciated. I suppose that makes sense mathematically - i guess I was thinking too literally: "You can't build half a research facility and it still function!" lol

Also, a separate question: I've come to understand that pressure on a planet makes the civilians construct the appropriate structures to handle the pressure. Does it follow then that at one moment you will have space to develop structures on a building and then maybe a bunch of turns later those spaces are occupied? Or, rather, are their actions abstract, by which I mean, they build the infrascture but this is represented simply mathematically thereby allowing you the concrete space as represented by tiles?

Kerzain is wrong on both counts.

1. You can increase the amount of tiles on a planet by building moon bases or using Floating Continent artifacts. (Artificial Planetoids can construct surface extensions for themselves, though.) In ABEM, you can also build a single Orbital Habitation Ring to add some more tiles. In each of these cases, the tiles are all developed immediately as they are added.

This should not be confused with developing, which simply allows for the construction of civilian structures in a tile and makes imperial structures cost less to build and maintain. Tile development takes place gradually over time - there may be a correlation between the planet's level and/or population, and the development rate, but I'm not sure.

2. Building on undeveloped tiles does not decrease the effectiveness of a structure - it merely reduces the build and maintenance costs of the structure. Some structures have 'affinities' for different tile types; such tiles act as developed when you try to build (and/or maintain, in the case of some structures) on them, but only for those structure types.

3. As has been previously noted by other posters, civilians eat up developed tiles to consume the planet's population cap (cities) and pressure (everything else). While Megacities and Metropolii can be constructed to reduce the amount of city tiles, you have no such luxury with pressure, and should either export the pressure-producing resources elsewhere or try to avoid building too many buildings.