What's the Cheapest Way to Build a Road?

[Obz3hL33t]

By "cheapest" I mean in terms of building count.

If I build a new lander it needs a bunch of buildings because it can't transfer resources from the main base. If I build a string of buildings to get to where I need to go that, too, costs a bunch of buildings.

I could experiment with optimal strings of buildings, but you guys probably already have it all figured out, so I thought I'd ask.

[cswiger]

One of the first questions asked in story mode is how to build a path of buildings.
The answer is worker hubs, mostly.

PS: You'll need some power buildings and maintenance hubs also, to provide coverage.

[Obz3hL33t]

If I skip the maintenance and power and just let the hubs decay will the roads remain?

[cswiger]

Yep. But you really want to connect your power grids, even if you are willing to skip on the maintenance hub coverage.

[Bobucles]

Both answers in the tutorial are valid. However, keep in mind that worker hubs are incredibly feeble compared to the sheer amount of goods that require moving. Aim to have 1/4 - 1/3 of everything as worker hubs.

Solid chains of worker hubs are good for reaching new resource deposits. Upgrade the roads as the colony grows, and place some priority on getting hypertubes online.

[Obz3hL33t]

The tutorial does imply that I could build a string of unpowered hubs to a distant location then drop power and maintenance at the job site.

Only one way to find out if the tutorial gave good advice. I'll just build a long string of throwaway hubs to sector A-9 and see what happens.

[Bobucles]

Nothing works without power, so kinda setting yourself up for that one.
The two major options are to build solid chains of worker hubs with power/maintenance on the side, or to mix everything up along the way. There are reasons to do both, but plan to use more worker hubs in heavy traffic areas.

[Obz3hL33t]

Hmm. No cheap way to build a road, then. There's a crossover point where building a new hub is better than running a stringer of buildings. What's the minimum number of buildings that would allow a new hub to support a research site?

Do the underground tubes allow bases to share resources? A second question in that case would be what the minimum number of buildings would be to get a tube station built?

[cswiger]

When you create a new colony hub, you ought to build the complete infrastructure of all buildings or you will have problems.

Hypertubes allow distant bases to share resources rapidly, but they have throughput limits as well. You cannot build one central base / storage and supply all of Mars from that one site.