Want to find new place for main base

[Vlad.Greenheart]

Hello, fellow scientists! Me and my wife just got to Hydroplant, but all this time we were living in security booth in cafeteria right at start of game. Now we ran into problem that, after trying to expand our storage, we basically run out of space.
So, I want to ask for help in finding good place to build, that would be spacious and have water source nearby. Thank you in advance for suggestions!

[ModdyMop]

Funnily enough, I would recommend setting up in the waterfall residences further into that area. It'll take a good couple of workbenches to keep totally safe but is otherwise super spacious and has plenty of water around. There's a working kitchen with tons of spots to cook upon, bathrooms, individual rooms, loads of stuff. It's great.

[MechWarden]

Yeah, our co-op group got the Waterfall Apartments secured with 3 crafting benches and we have tons of space for all 6 of us.

The only problem is raids spawning inside the building so you might want to be setup for that.

A smaller but still spacious place is the Submarine dock (which has a break room with a stove). Nothing really spawns there so you can place your Crafting Bench practically anywhere there.

[Doctor Darling]

I too personally live in the Apartments in Hydroplant. Just block off the stairs leading up to the hallway and the three rooms. Enemies can spawn during assaults infront of one of the apartment rooms, but that can be remedied by just building a barricaded pen for them to spawn inside, filled with delights like choppers and shock pads, and maybe a laser turret for giggles. The hallway also has a large open window, so you can use a rope plant to easily leave or re-enter your base, bypassing your defenses. There's also a fountain by the cafeteria below the apartment rooms, making it easy to get dirty water to clean, plus the bonus of alot of stoves to cook a large amount of food at once.

Another great place, just for excess storage, is the top of the Furniture Store portal world. I use this world specifically for storing things I don't use, but want to collect. Use a bench and teleporter so you can easily come and go, without needing to piss around with the elevator, or your undead neighbors.

If you really want some empty space, and I mean alot, you can always revisit the top of the giant elevator level in Cascade Labs. There's a high level door up there you can unlock that leads to The Mirror World portal entrance. It's a nice open field where you can build to your heart's content, great for storage, or makeshift rooms you make yourself. I personally use it for a huge farm of every crop. Do note there is no water available in the Mirror World. Just set up a bench and a teleporter to it, and it's easy to come and go.

[Crochwhisle purple]

Colonize the starting zone where the elevator you walked out of at the start of the game is.

[Jartym]

Most places you find will be less cramped than the cafeteria security office.

Another good, unmentioned base location in Hydroplant is in the building under the transmission tower, after you clear out all the desks in it. It has a teleporting water flow in it to get around the sector and generally looks like an important control center which I think is neat.

I also like to build a crafting bench (with battery) in the room underneath the front sniper at the front of the electrical station, and what it does is make the entire roadway leading up to there a safe zone. Consider building there on the road after making the sniper's nest safe: a large, "outdoor" space with SUV access and connections to all the teleporting water streams in Hydroplant.

[Natjur]

A small pocket universes with water and power would be a nice thing to add to the game

[ganthritor42]

Currently living above the aquarium in Cascade/Wildlife as our main base, but I think the Apartments in Hydroplant, when we get there, will be where we probably end up, Depends on the look/vibe. I like being able to just jump over/in to the aquarium to get water when we need it, and it's large enough to have all kinds of space and easily enough set up for defense.

[Nerevar]

once you get to hydro water sources nearby simply arent needed anymore (just spam moisture teleporters and water becomes a passive automated thing). so security office on level 2 just wins again as that was its only real weakness.

[Yaridovich]

If you just need lots of space - the World in the Mirror is perfect. No need to worry about defenses, even. Although I personally find it to be a kinda boring location for a base.

The vehicle testing area in the Security Sector is perfect, too, although the terrain there can be a bit uneven, but there is still a lot of even ground to build on.

In the Hydroplant itself... You could maybe build close to the submarine. (actually, I'm doing a double-take on this and this is probably not a good idea due to the alarm constantly blaring nearby)

EDIT: Also, you might not even need to move at all or at least not too far - you can move into the plaza. Just as long as you don't have anything on the Robot's path, you're good to go. You can build close to Warren or in the "long corridor" (not an actual corridor, it's the long space with the two blast doors you can open) that's just between Warren and the door to the cafeteria. I often build a base here since there are a lot of advantages: lots of space, can use traps to farm the Robot nearby, water source close by for boiling/filtering, multiple wall sockets, easy to defend.

[Vlad.Greenheart]

Thank you everyone for your answers! We will check out places you suggested

[Covert Cactus]

The security office in the office sector is probably the most popular spot. It has a built in charger, coffee machine, tons of plugs and space, and the security shutters keep everything the except the layak out. The only downside is you have to go to the pool or the fountain for water.

You can try building a base on the submarine dock. It has a stove, plenty of room, and 3 plugs. It's close to the water, the reactors, and nothing spawns there. It is noisy though. I made a base in the hidden room in hydro dam and it's nice and cozy. Getting in and out can be a mild annoyance though. It's bigger than the security booth and with good use of plug boards, batteries, routing, and good organization it will probably fit your needs even though it only has one plug. Downside is that getting in requires a jet pack and if you're looking to set up a garden it may be a little too small for that.

Finally you can try building in the mechanic shop in manufacturing. Yes there are a tons of things spawning nearby but you can close the garage doors and keep everything out. The room behind the shop has shutters to help keep it secure. I haven't tried it yet but I think you can probably put a bunch of storage crates in hollow area under the floor and use the distribution pad to help make storage easier and the item transporter on the crafting bench should reach your crates. The main shop and office each have a plug. You also have water nearby and in the hollow area under the floor there is a path that leads to the area flooded with radioactive waste. There is a plug there so you could set a neutrino emitter there to control radiation and you can fish for radfish in the waste. Also you'll be close to the blacksmith for trading. Downside is that there is an opening you would probably need to set up defenses to protect.

[Ext.]

my last base was in front of the server area where it's pretty cold. Big open area with only 2 fronts to cover

[Khloros]

So funny enough, wanna know one of the best places to build a base that is useful no matter what part of the game you are in?

The cafeteria and kitchen in there. It is such a good spot for a base because you have the big shutter door you can lock from the inside, its got loads of room in the kitchen area and the back louge/security room you can block off.

Its got perfect centeral access to everything you need, bathroom is close by, right next to the tram and hub its honestly a solid spot.

That said, with the portal networks coming up soon, it wont be much of an issue.

[ChewedPencil]

The Atrium, around the central fountain, is where i like to make my main base while progressing through the game as it gives you easy access to water, plenty of space and plugs, and the trams that will give you easy access to head back to the other areas of the facility.

The other place i like to build is the small break room by the Hydroplant Submarine as it has a stove. Upstairs in there is a metal shelving bit that fit 6 LARGE storage boxes. Since i make it so stacks are set to max, i can fit a TON of resources, even though i have never gotten to a max stack on the resources yet lmao. If you place down one of those item sorter pads, it will also transfer items to the floor below so you can keep your fridges by the stove for the aesthetics.

[Unstable WiFI/No Mic/English]

I've moved from security near cafeteria to the room with shutters as #13 has said.