research

[Ramstein030]

in early game what research order do you start with?

[Haildodger]

It depends on the scenario.

[Bobywan]

In normal difficulty, order doesn't really matter.
Just don't waste research time on multiple tech for the same ressource:
Pick hunters or hothouse, not both
Pick thumpers or mine
Get walldrill asap instead of sawmill because the ressource is limited
Get steamhubs rather than range increase

And get multiple workshop running !
1 workshop = 100% speed
2 workshops = 130%
3 workshops = 150%
+10 % for every subsequent workshops.

[Hat8]

Originally posted by Ramstein030:

in early game what research order do you start with?

Depends on the scenario.

I think should start research as fast as possible, and often times that means just getting faster gathering. Day 1 research still means lots of piles and not much to build with so it works. However, going right into tier 1 and hot houses is ideal for A New Home.

For Last Autumn I recommended getting some scouts out so that you can feed everybody followed by saw mills to rush out housing and getting planks produced.

[General Idea]

It depends on the scenario and the game difficulty you have chosen.

If you are playing on easy level then research goes by quicker than medium level and a lot quicker than hard level and at light speed compared to extreme level. On easy level you'll breeze through all the research options and on extreme level you'll probably struggle to complete any of the research trees in full, unless of course you've experimented and managed to work out a specific path to victory.

For the Last Autumn I recommend building fishing docks because those people working at the docks are at your base and can be reassigned to other jobs if necessary, whereas foragers are away from your base doing what scouts do and also setting up camps that effectively do the same as the docks bringing in raw food. 10 people per dock or 15 people away from your base unable to switch between jobs as a forager team.

[Nikas Zekeval]

Originally posted by Bobywan:

In normal difficulty, order doesn't really matter.
Just don't waste research time on multiple tech for the same ressource:
Pick hunters or hothouse, not both
Pick thumpers or mine
Get walldrill asap instead of sawmill because the ressource is limited
Get steamhubs rather than range increase

Sawmills get up faster, and for the New Home map? I can plop a pair down in spots that give 1875 and 1500 wood. Even with going all the way to Steam Sawmills and the production rate upgrade that is a week of production, with extended shifts. If anyone can point me to the map that shows where the north end of that crater is, I can better describe it. If you extend the road on one side of your stockpile building? Then if you orient the map with the generator at the bottom the 1500 spot will be to the left of the road, right where the steel scrap pile is. The 1875 will be up to the right.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2872809631

And those two spots can pick up more wood with extended range. Realistically they won't chew through the wood till the second week of the scenario, especially if you extend their range.

A wall drill rush requires two researches, drawing boards then the wall drill. The first of which requires 50 wood be available when the first workshop is completed. Much harder to insure than the 10 for a sawmill, particularly since I find it best to set up gathering posts as well as a workshop during the first workday. So it is likely the wall drill would be your third thing researched, since you'd need time to get enough wood gathered for drawing boards to unlock the research for wall drills.

The sawmill I can slap up the first night, if I 24hr shift my first workshop.

Edit: The Wall Drill rush is an opportunity cost issue. It requires a significant amount of wood up front, 70 between getting Drawing Boards and then Wall Drill. Which is a huge amount if you are starting your research like this. Sawmills make a good interim tech even if you go no deeper than the basic tech. And while you are assigning more workers for the same wood output? That opens up using a steam core for other uses. For example all the workers you save on wood could easily be taken up, or more, by food.

One Hothouse can produce 3 raw food/wh (worker-hour). Or fully staffed 10 people can produce 30 raw food with a regular shift, or 42 on an extended one.

Meanwhile a Hunter Hut, since they removed the exploit of pulling people out of them for other jobs? Is one raw food per worker, or 15 for a fully staffed hut of 15. With improved gear that will take you to 20 per hut. Or about half of what you can get from a Hothouse for 2/3s the workers.

Let's equalize things, with one Steam Core? Either a Wall Drill and two Hunter Huts with their gear upgraded. Or two Sawmills and a Hothouse.

Research is a net wash, both require a basic tech (Hunter Gear or Sawmill) and two Tier I techs (Drawing Boards to unlock the Tier and either the Wall Drill or Hothouse).

Fully staffed both deliver the same wood (16/hr) and food (42 on extended shift vs 40 from a pair of upgraded huts).

Manpower wise? The Wall Drill-Hunter Hut combo requires 40 people, at least 30 of them workers (10 for the Drill, 15 workers for each Hut). The Sawmills-Hothouse combo only requires 30 people, 10 for each sawmill and 10 more for the Hothouse.

Other minor costs are the Wall Drill and two Hunter's Huts require 20 more wood to build than the Hothouse and two Sawmills. OTOH the Hothouse at least needs to be on extended shift to match the food collection of the Hunter huts, and the Hothouse-Sawmills combo is three extended shifts to one for the Wall Drill-Hunter Huts if maximizing stable production.

[Hat8]

Using Steamcores on hot houses seems better than using them on a drill. Wood is just so plentiful and using a hot houses saves you from the possibility of a death spiral where people eat all of the food the hunters just brought in before it was cooked.

[General Idea]

Originally posted by Hat8:

Using Steamcores on hot houses seems better than using them on a drill. Wood is just so plentiful and using a hot houses saves you from the possibility of a death spiral where people eat all of the food the hunters just brought in before it was cooked.

There are many paths to victory and you are mentioning just one as an option. With enough hunters you can ignore the Hothouse path and utilise the steam cores for wood and coal that are just as important. In fact I never use steam cores for hothouses in A New Home or The Fall of Winterhome instead preferring their use in Coal Mines and Wood Drills.

For the Refugees and The Arks that's a different matter as they lend themselves to the use of Hothouses for lack of workers in the Arks and the Canning factory in the Refugees. When there is no Canning Factory then hunters or hothouses are essential and the choice is yours.

[Shelt]

If you have access to a wall drill early, go for charcoal kilns. Amazing buildings.

[Hat8]

Originally posted by Shelt:

If you have access to a wall drill early, go for charcoal kilns. Amazing buildings. :isitcoffee:

The charcoal only achievement is a fun one to get.