Chapter Layout guide

A simple layout guide that contains various tips about how to get to the last chapter with 4 core sectors, last 2 will be built depending on endings.
This guide aims to be efficient and avoid redesign, only need to add more buildings as you progress.
I recommend beating the game at least once to familiarize yourself with the game mechanic and avoid me spoiling the story.
This guide is updated for version 1.0.5.8 suitable for normal difficulty.

Prologue - The Tiqqun

Chapter 0 serves as a tutorial and pretty straightforward, you only need to lay down the foundation for later, as for research I recommend EVA > Probe > Insect farm > Cryonic Center.

Note: Building the Probe Launcher is optional for a hidden achievement but I won't cover it here since it's not an achievement guide.

Chapter 1 - Dead Earth

The goal of this chapter is to set up 2 more sectors to secure our food and steel income. The first thing to do is finish Cryonic Center > Steel Mill with research points from Earth so you can open new sector and get more workers. Below is the layout before opening food sector:


Next is to keep the Mill off, transfer all the available workers that just woke up to food sector as you spam the first few Insect Farms:


Make sure to have 30 workers for the Steel Mill after the steel from Earth run out, turn off Tech Lab if you have to. Keep at least 1 Cryonic running, fill your farm sector with Insect Farms and workers then near end of the chapter open the Industry sector as soon as you have 40 workers to spare. Build 2 Mills to secure steel and at the end 2 Polymer factories to prepare for next chapter:


Finally, at the end of chapter 1 you should aim for this:

Sector 1 - Tier 1 Space
Resources in sector: steel, food, cryopod, polymer, electronic, Fe


Sector 2 - Tier 1 Food
Resources in sector: steel, food, electronic


Sector 6 - Industry
Resources in sector: steel, food, polymer, electronic, Fe, C

Chapter 2 - The Protagoras

On this chapter we focus on completing our opened sectors, get enough resources for us and the Protagoras and build our first housing sector.

At this point, Sector 1 should be tier 2 Space so we can get the bonus for the EVAs
New resource type: waste, ice (optional, can be skipped till next chapter)

Farm sector


Industrial sector
Why bother with Fire Station you ask? In my playthrough when moving through the space storm to reach the Protagoras (actually it was the space storm in the next chapter) I got hit by lightning, my EVA and Cell housing caught fire and then spread so I decided to build them just in case, with sector 1 and 2 you can just build them to put out the fire then scrap them right after.
New resource type: Si, waste

Sector 5 for housing, recycling and colonist training
You only need 1 Cell and 1 Waste running for electronics, other housings and wastes can be paused and built when you have enough resources but I recommend building then turn off the Waste Center so you get the tier 1 recycling bonus. You should have Nihei protocol (housing produce waste tech) unlocked by now.
Resources in sector: steel, food, electronic, waste

Chapter 3 - The Etemenanki

In this chapter we upgrade our food supply, stock up batteries and build the 2nd housing sector.

Originally posted by Boikinov:

In Sector 2, I suggest moving the Fusion Station close to the stockpile
With early logistic tech, the cargo drone won't be efficient stocking the Fusion Station in corner with enough ice to keep it working uninterrupted
It can't support even 8 algae plantations (8x4 = 32 water each cycle, less than 40 water output in Fusion Station, if it works at 100%)

First thing we do is to complete our food supply ASAP, this will feed ~5000 people in the Tiqqun with normal food policy and always have 2 full large stockpiles.
New resource type: waste


In order to stock up batteries, we need to complete our industrial sector.


Tier 2 space sector, the overkill EVAs can be turn off, will need later.
New resource type: H


Our first housing will be complete around the time you pass the storm, this can prepare you for one of the endings too.
New resource type: H


If you play correctly with my layout you should swim in resources by now, so the 2nd housing is easy, I use this sector for preparing to speedrun next chapter (the big stockpile is for polymer)
Resources in sector: steel, polymer, food, electronic, waste

Chapter 4 - The Piranesi

We're here to play cat and mouse with the Piranesi while collecting research points to improve the Tiqqun QoL. The building part is done in the previous chapter so there's only a few notes left:

- Take time to explore and finish what you haven't, build up full polymer in the 2nd housing sector.
- When you ready change the probe launcher into missile launcher, 1 is enough but I always have 2 at the ready just in case, then connect to the Piranesi.
- Probe can pass through this chapter storm safely, haven't tested with the ships, need confirms.

Chapter 5 - A New Home

One of the endings requires you to build this, I left a space in 2nd housing for it.

If you choose the other ending then just upgrade Colony Training Center and cycle between non-workers and colonist in and out.

Patch 1.0.5.8 brought combat into chapter 5 however your Probe launcher in sector 1 can take care of it easily.

There still lots of spaces left to spam batteries, you can open the last sector for it too if you want, you don't need a guide for it.

Enjoy the game!

Tech goal for each chapter

Only in the last chapter will you swim in 999 research points, the amount of point you get in each chapter is finite therefore I made a list of high priority techs you will need in early chapters, make sure to grab these.

Since the 1.0.3.6 update story deadlock is no longer a concern giving players more rooms for errors however this list is still usable.

• Chapter 0: it only gives you little more than enough for all these techs so no variety here
  - EVA airlock
  - Probe launcher
  - Insect farm
  
  
• Chapter 1:
  - Cryonic center: this my first tech into chapter 1 since I want to open farm sector asap
  - Steel mill: next after cryonic center, how can you live without it?
  - Battery tier 1
  - Tech lab > Assistant promotion: increase passive point the lab generates
  - Insect farm > Accelerated growth: this tech is recommended since it gives you more breathing room until you unlock Algae farm
  
  
• Chapter 2:
  - DLS center: its intense propaganda helps a lot because my build use lots of Cell housings
  - Insect farm > Organized by ants: same like previous
  - Science ship > Exoskeletons and Deep dive apparatus: must have if you want to fully explore
  - Crew quarters > Optimized quarters: you probably already had it unlocked in the previous chapter but now it's a must for the population spike
  - Cell housing: my build need this
  
  
• Chapter 3:
  - Algae farm
  - Battery > Battery tier 2 & 3
  The 2 above are must with this build, they address the most important needs in the begin of chapter 3: food for thousands of people and power to travel 5+ cycles long
  - Crew quarters & Cell housing > Nihei protocol: you should have these unlocked earlier but now it's too good to pass
  - Tech lab > all upgrades: the sooner you have it the more free research points you will accumulate
  
  
• Chapter 4:
  - Exo-fighting dome: my build want this combine with Train station since cell housing build has stability problem
  - Train station
  From this point forward you spend points on whatever you think you want the most
  
  
• Chapter 5:
  999+ research points territory

Afterthoughts

- This build is somewhat viable on challenge difficulty but need lots of micromanaging and stability problem in early chapter is very troublesome therefore try it at your own risk.
- In early chapters homelessness is acceptable as long as you keep their number below 25% of sector pop.
- Never get stuck in transfer resources by setting the wanted amount 10 units below max (since the introduction of simplified UI this trick only applied to the advanced sector transer UI)
- This build only uses 2 Polymer factories which may bottleneck your economy while you rush the Solar Panels.
- I only need 3 mining ships and 8 cargo ships in the entire playthrough, the rest are science ships.
- This build with 1 Water Treatment will use up all the wastes in the Tiqqun if left unchecked I recommend only turn it on from time to time, it requires too many power (100 then 50 with upgrade) but it is needed since 1 Fusion Station can not keep up with 3 Algae Farms. optimized.
- Tier 2 food, industrial and recycling are all trash.
- Let's pretend population tier never exists.
- Exo Dome and Health Center along with Train Station are the last and can be built only when you already completed other needs.

Any feedback or issue you encounter during your play with this build feel free to let me know so I can improve this guide.

Credit

Credit to V.Marceline for their planner tool[ixion.info] so this guide is possible.

Credit to Water is Deadly for their valuable info in Sector Specialisation Guide.

[Mossflower]

@akooma, I see now, you have algae farm, then field. I thought those were all farms.

Thank you!!

[Akooma]

@Mossflower try to place the main building (algae farm) in the middle first, then place the fields around it. It allows connection to the fields iirc, been a while.

[Mossflower]

How are you stacking your 2nd row of algea farms without a road connecting to it?

[Akooma]

@Argakyan I'm glad it helped you!

[Argakyan]

I've been using this guide and it works well. Only thing I did different was opening up Sector 4 instead of 3 at the end, make Sector 4 into an insect farming space with docking ports - this guarantees food security & eliminates need for water so that ships focus only on minerals. Without this adjustment I ran out of water 1 time during chapter 3 and had to reload an earlier savegame.

[Syzzle]

Ah, you're supposed to build roads, then build them and then remove the roads.

[Syzzle]

On sector 6, the top right Crew Quarter beside the Docking Bay can't be placed because it says all entry points are obstructed, was it a change after the guide was made?

[La Pertuisane]

Hi, no question, I just wanted to thank you for the time and the hard work that you put for the community.
Merci !

[GMsPlaSh]

for space sector/sector 1. you can have 3 eva 2 probe and 1 bay + tech lab and get the space level 2. thats how i have my space sector. also think having 2 electronics factory is bit waste of space, waste for electronics is better imo.

[Akooma]

@Baggins yea I've been waiting since they drop the first trailer, but guide, no promises lol