Optimal solution for quick start?

[John]

I seem to have a hard time starting a colony, till i make it self-sufficient. I always choose several rules to make my game easier too. I have to clarify, i'm not experienced in this game. So please check my way and feel free to give any advice possible:

• Choosing a landing site with rare metals
  
• Building a basic dome, with a rare metals extractor, a polymer factory, a machine parts factory and an electronics factory, because the initial resources are minimal
  
• Bring in 8 geologists for the extractor, and 4 engineers for the factories
  
• When the 10 sols go by, i build a hydroponic farm, to have some food (which again is not enough) and i try to fill the factories with engineers asap, to keep the resources going
  
• After that, i build a second dome, which is the education dome, so i can have martianborn specialists, if i'm lucky and i haven't lost already, because all my first colonists have become earthsick and left Mars (generally every single person i bring from Earth will become earthsick at some point, so i try to be as fast with education as possible, but it's difficult, because some education parts are too low on the research tree and too expensive for a colony with no scientists that only relies on outsourcing)
  
• Then it's time for the third dome, which is the science dome, and it is as the name implies

Making it from one step to the other, needs a lot of luck, and a lot of retries, loading previous saves again and again, to avoid having all my colony return to Earth, or dying from starvation, or suffocation, due to luck of resources for maintenance. The difficulty is of course at 100%.

[Tremualin]

I don't want to overwhelm you with advice, but there's a lot to learn. Here are a couple of suggestions.

1. Don't start with engineers; do botanists instead and produce food.
2. Export rare metals to get the materials you don't produce yet.
3. Build services. An Amphitheater and a Grocer are good for up to 38 colonists. People become Earthsick because they lack comfort; services provide comfort.
4. Build an Infirmary. Geologists need to recover sanity from working outside and will want to visit the Infirmary. Infirmary also lowers the requirements for births, and having a baby will end the founders phase immediately, so you don't have to wait 10 sols.
5. Use heavy workload on the botanists. It will produce 20% more food. They will want to visit the Infirmary when you do, so make sure you have one. Don't use it on buildings outside the dome; they will lose too much sanity. It's not worth using in Grocers. Don't use heavy workload on night shifts.
6. Don't build Apartments until you know what you are doing. Use Living Complexes instead. They provide less living space, but more comfort.
7. Playgrounds help children develop positive traits. Don't forget to build them where you have children.
8. Don't use all your money on science. You can often wait to research new stuff, even more so at 100% difficulty.

With that advice, here's what you should try:
1. Start the game with 4 geologists (Rare Metal Extractor), 3 botanists (Hydroponics or better yet, a regular Farm), 2 medics (Infirmay), 3 non-specialized (Grocer). This first dome should do Rare Metals, Food and Polymers.
2. Once the founder phase ends, bring in more 4 more geologists, 3 botanists, 2 medics, and 3 engineers. Make a Polymer Factory.
3. Keep going until your Polymer Factory is staffed in both early and afternoon shifts. Ignore the night shift. Make sure the Infirmary is fully staffed, because both Geologists and Engineers working outside will want to visit it. Your goal is to make sure you no longer need to import Polymers.
4. Build your 2nd dome. Don't forget the Ampitheater, Grocer and Infirmary. Build a Machine Parts factory. Make sure everything is fully staffed. Your goal is to no longer import Machine Parts.
5. Build another Farm in the 1st Dome. Make sure it's fully staffed.
6. Make the Electronics Factory. Remember to build an Ampitheater and Grocer for every 38 colonists. Also build an Infirmary if you use the heavy workload to produce more. You no longer want to import Electronics.
7. Now you can build the Education Dome, and you have the production and food to maintain it.
8. Consider making a botany Dome before a Science Dome, with a Water Recycling facility. You need to feed those Scientists. A Medium Dome is great for this.

Hope that works. If everything fails, try watching some youtube videos of people playing.

[John]

Originally posted by Tremualin:

I don't want to overwhelm you with advice, but there's a lot to learn. Here are a couple of suggestions.

1. Don't start with engineers; do botanists instead and produce food.
2. Export rare metals to get the materials you don't produce yet.
3. Build services. An Amphitheater and a Grocer are good for up to 38 colonists. People become Earthsick because they lack comfort; services provide comfort.
4. Build an Infirmary. Geologists need to recover sanity from working outside and will want to visit the Infirmary. Infirmary also lowers the requirements for births, and having a baby will end the founders phase immediately, so you don't have to wait 10 sols.
5. Use heavy workload on the botanists. It will produce 20% more food. They will want to visit the Infirmary when you do, so make sure you have one. Don't use it on buildings outside the dome; they will lose too much sanity. It's not worth using in Grocers. Don't use heavy workload on night shifts.
6. Don't build Apartments until you know what you are doing. Use Living Complexes instead. They provide less living space, but more comfort.
7. Playgrounds help children develop positive traits. Don't forget to build them where you have children.
8. Don't use all your money on science. You can often wait to research new stuff, even more so at 100% difficulty.

With that advice, here's what you should try:
1. Start the game with 4 geologists (Rare Metal Extractor), 3 botanists (Hydroponics or better yet, a regular Farm), 2 medics (Infirmay), 3 non-specialized (Grocer). This first dome should do Rare Metals, Food and Polymers.
2. Once the founder phase ends, bring in more 4 more geologists, 3 botanists, 2 medics, and 3 engineers. Make a Polymer Factory.
3. Keep going until your Polymer Factory is staffed in both early and afternoon shifts. Ignore the night shift. Make sure the Infirmary is fully staffed, because both Geologists and Engineers working outside will want to visit it. Your goal is to make sure you no longer need to import Polymers.
4. Build your 2nd dome. Don't forget the Ampitheater, Grocer and Infirmary. Build a Machine Parts factory. Make sure everything is fully staffed. Your goal is to no longer import Machine Parts.
5. Build another Farm in the 1st Dome. Make sure it's fully staffed.
6. Make the Electronics Factory. Remember to build an Ampitheater and Grocer for every 38 colonists. Also build an Infirmary if you use the heavy workload to produce more. You no longer want to import Electronics.
7. Now you can build the Education Dome, and you have the production and food to maintain it.
8. Consider making a botany Dome before a Science Dome, with a Water Recycling facility. You need to feed those Scientists. A Medium Dome is great for this.

Hope that works. If everything fails, try watching some youtube videos of people playing.

Man, this has nothing to do with what i've been doing. I've never used heavy workload, cause i was afraid everyone would leave immediately and i only used infirmaries in medium domes or bigger. I always used medical posts in basic domes, to save space, and because i thought there weren't too many people in it, so i didn't need something bigger. Thanks for all the info. I'll try to start a new game, following what you said, to see how it goes.

[cap-boulanger]

I usually start with the following for colonists:
- 2 (or if I can find suitable) 3 medics
- 6 male 6 female
- remainder of colonists Geologist, Engineer, or Non-Specialist
- try to get as many as possible with Enthusiast and/or Sexy and/or Workaholic traits

First dome gets 3 living complexes, an Infirmary, a Grocer, and an Amphitheater to start with. (You can really do with one complex to start with, but concrete is not usually a problem and you'll need them later on.)

Add extractors and factories (or even a farm, as per above) to taste (you'll have two wedges left over). Sometimes I'll do a second service wedge with a small bar, diner, etc.

(the idea here is to rush the approval - then you can bring two more rockets full and fill the dome almost to capacity).

I don't outsource research ever, if I can avoid it, and if I have to I only do it once. You're better off buying an explorer rover and hunting down the beaker spots on the surface.

If you have the "Space Race" DLC, build a trade pad and set it to trade concrete for food. You'll usually get some takers starting around Sol 20. Should carry you over until you get big enough to support botanists and/or ranches and/or outdoor ranches (note that ranches and outdoor ranches use non-specs)