Does Biome Engineering tech apply to Hydroponic Farms?

[Gubernaut]

It says it works with Farms but does that also include the hydroponics or just the regular big farm?

[Nea]

Only farms, the big ones. They stack, actually.

[Gubernaut]

You mean you stack them one on top of the other when you build? I'll try it when i get a chance

[cap-boulanger]

I think they meant the bonus stacks on top of itself if you have multiple farms. Not the farms being physically stackable (they're not).

[Gubernaut]

Oh ok I get it now I guess i'lll get to replacing the hydroponics with the farms if there's no advantage to having hydroponics after a point

[Ericus1]

There's actually never an advantage to having hydroponics. They are basically about the most inefficient way to produce food from every perspective - output, manpower, upkeep, construction costs. You'd be better off importing the food from Earth than building and running the hydroponics.

Their only upside is that they can be quickly switched over to producing enough O2 to run a dome in a disaster, but you only need that if you failed to plan ahead and build sufficient O2 storage tanks.

[YertyL]

You may want to check out the "Rebalanced Food Production" mod which not only makes fungal and hydroponic farms competitive with regular farms but also makes biome engineering apply to hydroponic farms -- albeit with a smaller bonus.

[chic.aeon]

If you are trying to be REALISTIC -- the hydroponic towers grow different crops than the farms so if you have the room etc it is "nice" to give your colonists a larger choice of fresh produce. Also check out the agridome mod which has four farms in a small dome that it OUTSIDE. It employs a lot of folks and also lets you have room inside the dome for housing and services. It produces a TON of food for later in the game.

[Gubernaut]

I'll check out them mods thanks for the answers

[Ericus1]

The outdoor agridome is just game breaking, even worse so than open farms. It's basically just easy mode.

And there is literally no distinguishing of food sources. It would be cool if there was, and I'd really like to see an expanded resource system in an eventual DLC, but there isn't. So you are purely shooting yourself in the foot by building hydroponics.

[cap-boulanger]

Originally posted by Ericus1:

There's actually never an advantage to having hydroponics. They are basically about the most inefficient way to produce food from every perspective - output, manpower, upkeep, construction costs. You'd be better off importing the food from Earth than building and running the hydroponics.

Their only upside is that they can be quickly switched over to producing enough O2 to run a dome in a disaster, but you only need that if you failed to plan ahead and build sufficient O2 storage tanks.

That, and they do not require any tech, so if you are building very early and/or have a sponsor with very low sponsor tech, they may be the only available option...

..other than, as you said, importing.

[Ericus1]

Ah, I assume most people have the Lakita DLC, which introduces the significantly superior indoor ranch building for post-founder phase food production before you can research farms.

Me personally, sans that DLC (or Space Race and trading for food) and given a choice between importing food or needing to build and operate hydroponics, I'd import and put my limited manpower and resources towards more productive uses, like rares mining.

[socratessoul]

Hydroponics are also very useful in two other instances. Firstly they're only three hexes meaning you can fit them into a dome if you don't have space for a farm. Secondly, if you have randomized technology, then you need hydroponics if farms is lower down on the tech tree.