Rebuild or Plan Ahead (and other questions added in thread)

[Monoxide]

This is a post looking for what people think of a situation.

Im used to games like this (ill reference RimWorld specifically). Though with similar games, I often build off of my starting area. IE - ill build a small shack, then convert it into a barracks, then make crafting areas around it. Essentially always building up instead of starting a base over.

However, I am struggling with that in ONI. I am curious, do most of you build off of the start, or do you completely disassemble everything and rebuild? IIRC you are refunded all resources when deconstructing, but how do you move everything around easily without the whole base going to ♥♥♥♥?

Looking for people's thoughts on expanding into late game. This is a somewhat minor thing, but the way I play these games, its causing a lot of frustration (I like things to be placed logically, efficient, and symmetrical).

[Ragnaman]

I usually stick to the following design:
- each floor is at least 4 high (because dupes dont dig higher and most buildings are 4 high max)
- vertical travel tunnels are 4 wide (1 for ladder, 1 for sliding pipe, 2 airflow blocks for misc things like storage or ventilation)
- some exceptions like farms and barracks, they can have odd height so more stuff can be stuffed inside the room with inner ladders, etc.

On start i build whatever wherever, with some common sense (like research next to portal for free light, toilets with only one entry with sinks on way out). Once i need to redesign something, all i need to destroy are buildings, but not the floors (because i stick to the width and height of each floor design). I usually have 3 columns of rooms with above design.
The biome i spawn in is in general like this, the outside of the whole block is sprinkled with vents, my oxygen is released at top in the middle, the CO2 is pushed down through airflow blocks that are placed on sides on each floor.

basically i make a boring commie block but with better ventilation system than those rotten piles of ♥♥♥♥

[Joman]

I expand my base when i proceed in the game. Some parts have to be removed and rebuild at other places in the map.

Removing everything at the same time and then rebuild it somewhere else would doom the base. The duplcants (people in the game) need life support systems to survive. Rebuilding them all at once would mean to much time consuming work for the duplicants.

[fluxtorrent]

Both most of the time. You plan ahead as much as possible but the vagaries of the map often mean rebuilding.

You can't control where geyser X spawns but you need to put systems B beside it, that makes putting system X, F and G closer to it makes more sense so you move those. well now you need dupes to operate those machines so build an apartment there...

now I have unused apartments back at the core and dupes keep running to use that toilet instead of the closer one, time to knock out some walls... The nightmare never ends :P

[zOldBulldog]

Funny you post this thread. I was about to make a similar one to ask for advice.

I also prefer to build up rebuild, but I am around cycle 40, parts of my base have already passed 30 degrees (like dorms and research station, which worries me) and I don't know if I can reach the cold biome before my base falls apart due to heat.

Should I give it a try and continue anyway, or start over and insulate better on the second time around?

[Joman]

When your machinery is responsible for the heat production, insulation would kill you base. Just be carefull that you food plants are cold an chilly and go on.

[zOldBulldog]

Originally posted by Joman:

When your machinery is responsible for the heat production, insulation would kill you base. Just be carefull that you food plants are cold an chilly and go on.

The plants are still fine. It is the duplicants that worry me if I can't get wheezeworts fast.

[Joman]

Dupes are more robust than plants.

[Jarcionek]

I am on cycle 1250, and it's not the first time I came that far (before getting bored). When I started playing ONI, I lost my first few games. 40 cycles is not that much to just give up and restart. It really depends on how bad it is, e.g. if you run out of algae before building electrolyzer, it might be difficult to recover from that.

To answer the original question, rebuilding is not really possible. You cannot dismantle your water cooling system and build a new one in its place - because that could be a few cycles without water supply. I usually build something in the new place, and once it's ready I connect it to the main system and only then dismantle the old version. For critical systems such as aquatuners for water cooling, electrolyzers or petroleum generators with cooling system I cannot see any other way.

You have to plan well at the beginning. Know how to structure your base and insulate it from the rest of the map. If possible, you should place industrial (heat generating) machinery beyond where you are planning to build insulated tiles, however if we are talking about 1-2 coal generators, it's not that difficult to move them and place wheezewort where they used to be.

[fractalgem]

Things like bedrooms are easy enough to move and redo, but more intricate systems-like cooling systems and shower+bathroom+seive loops-are much more difficult to redo.

[Monoxide]

Would it be wise, or not, to have a transformer at the start of each "floor" to pre-emptively handle overloading? Overloading is an issue I have had lately (but transformers didnt exist the last time I played).

[ForwarD]

Originally posted by Monoxide:

Would it be wise, or not, to have a transformer at the start of each "floor" to pre-emptively handle overloading? Overloading is an issue I have had lately (but transformers didnt exist the last time I played).

Yes, it would be wise to reserve place for future transformers and heavy-watt wires, isolated and hidden from dupes eyes. With cooling in mind.

[Jarcionek]

Originally posted by Monoxide:

Would it be wise, or not, to have a transformer at the start of each "floor" to pre-emptively handle overloading? Overloading is an issue I have had lately (but transformers didnt exist the last time I played).

I have "maintenance tunnels" in the base, with the airlocks so that negative decor doesn't get through:

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1833776339

Although, to be honest, I don't really like having transformers there and I am planning to move them outside of base. They are a bit problematic with maintaining temperature - my flowers need over 20C, while bristle blossom need below 30C, so I try to maintain temperature in the base in that range. If transformers become to hot, I place a wheezewort nearby, but it cools far more than the heat transformer produces...

[Ragnaman]

Whoa, nice base, reinforces my choices for 4 wide travel tunnels.
I wonder, why no travel tubes inside the base? By the looks of it, the travel distance is huge by foot in that huge thing.

[Monoxide]

Originally posted by Jarcionek:

I have "maintenance tunnels" in the base, with the airlocks so that negative decor doesn't get through:

Is there a reason you use two airlock doors on a floor instead of two tiles and a single door? Looks? Or an actual reason?

[Jarcionek]

Originally posted by Ragnaman:

Whoa, nice base, reinforces my choices for 4 wide travel tunnels.

It's much easier to distribute oxygen that way. At the top and bottom of vertical shafts I have automated system to throw out non-oxygen.

Originally posted by Ragnaman:

I wonder, why no travel tubes inside the base? By the looks of it, the travel distance is huge by foot in that huge thing.

On the exits from the base I have atmo suit checkpoints so my dupes travel via tubes only between areas beyond those checkpoints, always wearing an atmo suit. I am not quite sure whether it would be possible to design it otherwise. It is actually my first adventure with the transport tubes - I have never used them before because they melt at 160C and I used to play on much hotter asteroids. On this one, I don't even have magma (I chose frozen core for a change) beyond one magma volcano.