Early power

[The_YellowBacon]

im on cycle 25 and my operator is spending almost all of his time on the manual generator and i was wondering if there was an efficient generator i should use instead.

[Kheben]

When i started out, my colonies died at about cycle 20 or 30. I always went for coal gen. Now i play with 2 hamster wheels until cycle 120. It not only works at far away places to produce some oxygen at the current exploration zone, it also trains the dupes for operating and moving, which is just perfect. The nat. gas + fertilizer is too big and complicated for me (alway some pipes will blockade and such). just not worth the effort for me atm. I only switched to more complicated ways, when i dug into oil biome and started plastics.

[Friends with Benedicts]

You guys are scientists. My colonies are always a mess and struggle between poisonous air and oxygen problems everywhere. I would enjoy if you guys could post a print here of your best and most efficient bases.

[MaebeKnot]

Use the manual generator as long as possible. Even when you phase it out you will want a few still build into the system in case there are power failures and you need to jump-start the system.

Manual generator = power that only cost dup time and a little heat.

Coal will be your likely next power source unless you purposefully skip. Even then I wouldn't recommend switching 100% to coal power. You will often just run out and be busy mining more or have a complete base failure because you suddenly are without power.

Coal as a way to supplement other power systems works best in my experience. Makes it really easy to meet your coal depends, especially early on you won't have to go out of your way to get more coal. You also won't have to waste time and resources on setting up a hatch ranch.

I recommend just adding a coal generator or two to help get you started on a more complex power system. They won't be the backbone of your system for long and won't stay your main power source.

My power build order is normally...

1. One manual generator and 2 small batteries.

Probably only powering your O2 generation but can also add research station

2. Second manual generator and 4 total small batteries.

Can now afford the power needs of basic food and advance science station.

3. Replace 4 small batteries with 2 large batteries

Research the large batteries asap. The above step doubles power reserves and divides the heat generated in half. Since this power system is likely in the middle of your base, reducing the heat generation as early as possible is important for mid-late game.

4. Repeat steps 1-3 for any extra power systems if you HAVE to. Better to keep your power needs under 1k and research what you need for advanced power regulations.

You might need to power some fridges, massage tables, etc etc. Ideally you would focus on a bigger system instead of multiple small ones. Yet sometimes small systems are the correct answer in the moment.

When you are ready to break past that 1k power limit we move on to step 5.

5. Rebuild your power system in an ideal location.

Which really breaks down into multiple steps.

5a. Still, use two manual generators. Worst case you never use them, best case you need them to reboot your power grid. Have them in a livable place which often means an auxiliary room connected to the rest of the system.

5b. 1-2 goal generators to get you started on breaking the 1k power supply limit.

Not too many though because you just waste power, to much CO2 build up and you will run out of coal sooner.

5c. 6 large batteries for each goal generator.

5d. converting down from heavy watt wire to regular that runs in your base and all the things that need power.

This system should be easy enough/have enough room to easily expand as needed. You should also be figuring out a natural gas system, how to burn up any H you have floating around, or other power sources you haven't already made use of. Before that, you need to address the CO2 you are now producing in large volume.

6. If you haven't already started scrubbing CO2 out of the air via water, then filtering the water and reusing in a closed loop, do it. Ideally, this system will scrub the CO2 from your dups and your coal generators. It will also become key in your natural gas system. One scrubber is usually powerful enough to last a while doing both (or all three).

This build order/path should easily take you to several hundred days. You really only need more power beyond this when you have large populations and/or are trying to do more temperature manipulation.

[Yrame IV, a true I of the dragon]

I usually keep manual power until I can start using transformers and get a central power supply. Really, you don't need much power. I admit, I usually need more than strictly necessary because I like getting plumbing/toilets up by cycle 10, but what do you really need at first?

Algae deoxidizers, Research stations, supercomputer, and a massage table if you are bad with stress. Maybe a meal musher or grill, if you want to make your dupes happy that way. All this can be on one circuit, and because most don't work constantly, you can often have just one generator.

Once you got plumbing, it is a bit more complicated, cus you start having pumps and carbon scrubbers and water sieves, but it only needs one more generator. MAYBE use coal generator for it if you need to, but it wastes sooo much power (unless you have a massive battery bank, which is it's own issue)

[Friends with Benedicts]

Well, I tried something different that worked greatly: Run for Hydrogen. I created a room with electrolizers and hydro generators. Gas pumps to pump out o2, and filters to send Hydrogen into the generator. Didn't worked as a charm as I thought, but it worked. A little crazy solution, but this game is sure hell creative. I've got a little fed up with how hard the game is, so I'm taking a break.

[SKull]

The simplest thing to do is plop down a coal generator on the existing circuit. It will produce about 60% of the energy you need, more if you keep the wattage low. Remember that jus because you can run 1000KW through a circuit doesn't mean you should. The more power, the more fuel/running on wheels you will need. So in other words, another solution to your problem is to simply use less power until you are ready to expand and build a second circuit.