So...do you use underground bases?

[YertyL]

So far, my two games with the new expansion went something like this:

• First game: Oh yeah, let's go. Collected hundreds of exotic metals. But elevator access is really far away from my start, and I need a lot of tech and rovers to do anything...In the end, I built a single dome after the game was mostly over
• Second game: OK, this time I will get an earlier underground base. Started near an elevator access specifically for that. But then I did not have a rare metal depot at the start and lost my first explorer behind a cave-in I could not clear, so I had to focus on getting my economy running first, and with a harder sponsor (church)...in the end, I never built a base underground, and even ignored the exotic mineral deposits on asteroids to focus on polymers and rare metals, which are just more useful

Limited water supply and constant sanity damage already makes establishing a larger base very unattractive, and otherwise the main incentives were some depots which can be easier accessed on the surface and a research spot that was worse than my usual dedicated research domes (2+ anomalies for 35%+ bonus). Very late game I found (minor spoiler) an opportunity to have a pretty big morale bonus, but investing hundreds of resources and tens of thousands of tech points to get maybe 2 basic domes with higher morale is really not worth it.

Has your experience so far been similar? I am honestly curious if I am overlooking something...

 

[Rhodes 3]

Well, I am playing the Below & Beyond DLC at the moment and I tried setting up a dome over at the bottomless pit but immediately abandoned it because there was really nothing to do and half of my colonists died instantly because they tried walking from the elevator to the dome instead of taking the shuttles.
So I had a single dome only half staffed with really depressed people all for a science building that in my eyes isn't really worth it.

For me to set up a true underground base Paradox would have to make the underground more enticing to explore and utilise. I would like it if there was some actual story down there and something that actually has an impact on the surface as well as a better connection between the surface and the underground.
Also speaking of connections, it would be practical if there was some other form of transportation down there or even just the functionality that colonists can sit at the elevator and wait for shuttles to pick them up because I had to build a whole new dome at the elevator just so my colonists don't die.

 

[TruePunk80]

I think we need an event like Armageddon. A massive bombardment by meteoroids and the only chance is to wait out below. But! It is much faster to change the atmosphere and avoid it. A balance is needed for the construction below to become relevant.

upd1:
As I think the best option. This is the ability to lower buildings underground. What do we need? Clear the area. Strengthen. Create massive elevators. When problems begin, we lower the base underground. Why is there no "strong solar radiation" event? Which can last quite a long time. All buildings above will be radioactive. Recycling is needed. And we can survive it downstairs.
upd2:
In general, make sure that not all buildings have to be lowered. You can do this function for a part of buildings. But! Build infrastructure that is more affordable in terms of resources. What is a dungeon for? Salvation, shelter. More resources?
News has emerged that the creation of farms on the surface of Mars will fail. Building isolated farms below the surface is a good way to keep your dungeon up to date. Protecting the farm from solar radiation.

 

[YertyL]

The obvious uses for underground bases would be mining and research -- but both need to be in some way substantially better than the same thing on the surface to compensate for the much higher difficulty in setting up a base below.

A personally am not a huge fan of scripted events as a central gameplay element as they are harder to balance and can get old very quickly after the first playthrought.

 

[TruePunk80]

The first problem is that the dungeon shouldn't be a late game. It shouldn't be tied to asteroids. It must be closely related to surface development. This gives a lot of depth to the layout of the base. Some of the equipment is really more profitable to store underground. It is necessary to reconsider a number of things and establish a relationship between them.

 

[Mauer]

Same tbh, I started a game with minimal expansion on the surface to make use of the underground but it's Sol 200 and I've barely explored a third of it.

Managing a self-sufficient colony, terraforming, asteroid exploitation and underground expansion is definitely too much to do all four effectively; maybe focusing on two at the same time and choosing an easier sponsor so there's resources to spare down there.