Starting off with a dome destroyed any endgame. Game needs 3 modes Story, sandbox, and Scenarios. So I would make serious changes. Here are my thoughts. Free to use as you desire. You could hire me...no joke. Seriously! I have a deep respect for game builders really. Understand my assumption is due to the tech you used in the game you bsed this somewhat off the real world.
So we have chosen a sponsor and we have chosen our field of study ( I would tweak that too fyi) I don't think you should scan the planet before landing. Once you pick a landing spot you do an initial scan from space and it can guide you (based on difficulty) to 1-2 suggested starting points. So you pick a spot and prepare for landing. based on difficulty you might encounter a problem this might work to your advantage or not. Such as caught in a dust storm blown off course. Well now your drop pod (a whole shuttle is not landing YET!) Your pod is meant to sustain you for a short time. based on difficulty and the starting budget whatever you supplied your ship with it will have to drop it from orbit. A Sponsor is not going to risk a spaceship it is so expensive ya know. So think carefully.
So your HAB landed pretty decently. This HAB is a self building module. It doesn't have everything. It is basic. You now have your landing pod and the HAB. You need to secure the HAB. So you get the rest of your stuff off the ship in orbit and the ship lets you know they can stay in orbit for a few days before they have to return to Earth. They will let you know if anything happens from space. They are also leaving behind a Satellite for communications in orbit.
So click the ties for the HAB the they will shoot into the ground securing the HAB to the location. You will need to detach the O2 converter from the pod and attach it to the section in the HAB. You will need to take the [power source] from the pod and connect it to the HAB. ( Simple clicks nothing hard). Next you will need to open your pod with all the stuff from Earth and take out the water tank, O2 tank and place them in the HAB. The HAB has all the necessary equipment for a limited water and air supply. You also have a standard 1yr supply of water and food packets and a "spacesuit" which also generates its own air supply and has attachments for water and liquid foods. It also reporcesses your pee. If things go BAD!
So now the HAB is all set up and you can start exploring, researching, and getting the planet ready for colonization. You get a departing message on your laptop that is linked to the satellite (use an UI icon). Based on difficulty your Earth pod has an assistant that will keep you company and "might" do some light things...
So down to business.
You unpack the drones and other stuff and direct them to scout the area and scavenge. You do this by clicking or ctrl click for all and hit keybind or click scan area the area by default is 5 Hex and a basic drone will take a few minutes. You can set drones to auto explore but you risk losing them. You can later connect them to the satellite and do long range scanning and tracking. Drones collected scrap metal and you can salvage the landing pod as well if you want. The makeup of Mars is close to Earth same metals is to be expected might be a few surprises.
So you set up the immediate area and your build drone is standing by. The build drone has some pre designed buildings and items as well as allowing you to input new ones ( you will get all that later). For now you need a basic hydroponics bay added on to the HAB. You click on the drone and select what you want and done. The drone already knows the default locations. later you can decide it on your own. It will take time. The build drone has an internal battery as do most drones so you will want to set up power soon. The build drone has lots of things it can build just supply the resources. Some unknown resources could have good or bad effects. Like this Green quartz like stuff you found... just use it anyway right. so the transparent green wall looks odd, but hey you found out it generates heat when light hits it... instant heater...
You will need to start setting up other services later in the game.
Now you have your basic needs met and you received a communication from Earth that the first people are preparing for liftoff. The journey from Earth to Mars takes about 300 days. Every two years Mars is at its closest point, only 55 million km from Earth, and it's the ideal time to send a spacecraft. Now you have a timer. They are sending support staff and a handful of pioneers. You also get a "care package" full of random goodies every time a spaceship comes from Earth. Based on difficulty you can call for an emergency ship , but it will take sometime and the amount of times your sponsor is willing to bail you out is limited. So you know you have 12 people on the way and they will be here in 300 days. You are not expected to build an entire city by yourself that is crazy. Your goal is to set an LZ with a beacon so the drop pod will hit the right coordinates. Then provide a basic structure to house, feed, and provide basic human needs. just select the room shape and click it into place and the droid will build it . Since this structure is separate from your HAB you will have to set the entrance hatch, the internal walls and so on. You need a sleeping area, eating area, and a hygiene area. Looks more like a penal colony than a resort at this point lol. We do have potatoes dipped in vicodin ...ran out of ketchup!
Now that the new people are settled you have some extra labor and new skills. You will need to restrict certain areas from civilians so only scientist and other needed personnel can access these areas. Since you have a Geologist and a Lab assistant go ahead and click on them and click on the science lab so they can get to work. A Geologist is a Specialized Colonist and only works in that field. A Lab Assistant is an Educated Worker with indoor office/lab preferences. Some Educated workers prefer different things and will seek out their optimal positions first even displacing uneducated workers, but can't displace Specialized Workers. If there are 10 slots in a factory you can select the number of positions for Educated and Uneducated workers as each building can only have 1 Specialized worker. The better education they have the more efficient use of materials and higher grade products. Uneducated workers can over time can get an apprenticeship standing that boost their productivity slightly. Educated workers can train to be Specialized workers, but they do not work while going to college. An uneducated worker must go to school first to become educated then go to college. You can make school for kids mandatory or not, you can also allow homeschooling as well.
So Uneducated, Apprenticeship, Educated, Specialized Education.
Now you need to look at production.
Raw Materials are Gathered by Basic Drones they collect everything in the area and bring it back to the depot. Where it is sorted and stacked and cut into manageable pieces.
Refining Process - Some items can be refined increasing a variable of stats pending on the resource. You can place people and drones or just people or just drones in these buildings. Note: health hazards working in a refining plant.
Parts and Supplies - Some items require parts like wire, rubber, latex, palmer and some items have been placed in supply packs for easy use like a kit.
Consumers want things as well. Some prefer high end goods of Superior Quality others are fine with a metal folding chair.
Consumer Goods - While some goods can be ordered from Earth it is expensive.
You can have a high end item like a computer, but it be of low quality. Just think about a bunch of village idiots in a Dell factory making you a computer... yeah not so good!
So you are gonna want to prioritize the Educated labor in the more expensive buildings. without having a micromanaging nightmare. While you can select each slot and decide Educated or not, you can simply select the building and set it to prioritize Educated first. Then if there are any slots open uneducated can fill them. Educated people do not like working in Space Bars or Dinners, but they will work there vs jobless. I am sure they will tell you about how this lowbie job is beneath them. Specialized workers will actually leave and go back to Earth if you can not provide adequate jobs.
You will eventually have to deal with the press and tourist as well as criminals and other undesirables. At first you will want to lock them in a dome and kill them off. Adding a political side slightly to the game prevents this. I mean you can do it, but the fallout might be worse. Based on several factors people react to your choices. Well we have to add choices to the game. Like NO BABIES ALLOWED might make certain people mad maybe or they may just move to another dome so they can breed like rabbits. NO SMOKING it clogs up the O2 recyclers go outside to smoke... Forced Resettlement is always a good one to piss off the locals. Everyone OUT of the dome NOW! There are other choices as well like all the gluttons love Double food day. The Smashing of the Rover Day lowers hostility.
If you do something so ethically wrong such as lock a lot of people in a dome and kill them off it will be marked as Massacre Day and it can lower productivity every time it rolls around. on the other hand there are positives as well.
So you managed to live and you are doing great there are POSH Celebrities and even POTUS is coming for a visit. What is the end game? Where do you go from here. Clearly if you are expecting POTUS you will need a Grand Dome and it has to look pretty. But what is the end game?
Tired of living in domes your scientist have discovered ways to slowly transform the outside environment. This would trigger an end game event where the day to day no longer matter. Resources are plenty we have food replicators and no child is left behind (that's a joke lol) So you and your scientist work to examine in close detail the the planet and start samples growing using advanced tech. Eventually creating an almost like Earth environment.
Alt end game : Things are not all that great and you at odds with Earth's oversight always meddling. Clearly NO TAXATION WITHOUT REPRESENTATION! You declare your colony a Free and Independent State. This unlocks Government Domes, Buildings, even some defensive measures because them Earthlings will invade us and force us from our homes.
Alt Alt End game: You discover a device on Mars that raises some questions as if we have been on Mars before. Could it be that humans terraformed Earth? Is everything we know been a lie? This unlocks the Origin end game event
So we have chosen a sponsor and we have chosen our field of study ( I would tweak that too fyi) I don't think you should scan the planet before landing. Once you pick a landing spot you do an initial scan from space and it can guide you (based on difficulty) to 1-2 suggested starting points. So you pick a spot and prepare for landing. based on difficulty you might encounter a problem this might work to your advantage or not. Such as caught in a dust storm blown off course. Well now your drop pod (a whole shuttle is not landing YET!) Your pod is meant to sustain you for a short time. based on difficulty and the starting budget whatever you supplied your ship with it will have to drop it from orbit. A Sponsor is not going to risk a spaceship it is so expensive ya know. So think carefully.
So your HAB landed pretty decently. This HAB is a self building module. It doesn't have everything. It is basic. You now have your landing pod and the HAB. You need to secure the HAB. So you get the rest of your stuff off the ship in orbit and the ship lets you know they can stay in orbit for a few days before they have to return to Earth. They will let you know if anything happens from space. They are also leaving behind a Satellite for communications in orbit.
So click the ties for the HAB the they will shoot into the ground securing the HAB to the location. You will need to detach the O2 converter from the pod and attach it to the section in the HAB. You will need to take the [power source] from the pod and connect it to the HAB. ( Simple clicks nothing hard). Next you will need to open your pod with all the stuff from Earth and take out the water tank, O2 tank and place them in the HAB. The HAB has all the necessary equipment for a limited water and air supply. You also have a standard 1yr supply of water and food packets and a "spacesuit" which also generates its own air supply and has attachments for water and liquid foods. It also reporcesses your pee. If things go BAD!
So now the HAB is all set up and you can start exploring, researching, and getting the planet ready for colonization. You get a departing message on your laptop that is linked to the satellite (use an UI icon). Based on difficulty your Earth pod has an assistant that will keep you company and "might" do some light things...
So down to business.
You unpack the drones and other stuff and direct them to scout the area and scavenge. You do this by clicking or ctrl click for all and hit keybind or click scan area the area by default is 5 Hex and a basic drone will take a few minutes. You can set drones to auto explore but you risk losing them. You can later connect them to the satellite and do long range scanning and tracking. Drones collected scrap metal and you can salvage the landing pod as well if you want. The makeup of Mars is close to Earth same metals is to be expected might be a few surprises.
So you set up the immediate area and your build drone is standing by. The build drone has some pre designed buildings and items as well as allowing you to input new ones ( you will get all that later). For now you need a basic hydroponics bay added on to the HAB. You click on the drone and select what you want and done. The drone already knows the default locations. later you can decide it on your own. It will take time. The build drone has an internal battery as do most drones so you will want to set up power soon. The build drone has lots of things it can build just supply the resources. Some unknown resources could have good or bad effects. Like this Green quartz like stuff you found... just use it anyway right. so the transparent green wall looks odd, but hey you found out it generates heat when light hits it... instant heater...
You will need to start setting up other services later in the game.
Now you have your basic needs met and you received a communication from Earth that the first people are preparing for liftoff. The journey from Earth to Mars takes about 300 days. Every two years Mars is at its closest point, only 55 million km from Earth, and it's the ideal time to send a spacecraft. Now you have a timer. They are sending support staff and a handful of pioneers. You also get a "care package" full of random goodies every time a spaceship comes from Earth. Based on difficulty you can call for an emergency ship , but it will take sometime and the amount of times your sponsor is willing to bail you out is limited. So you know you have 12 people on the way and they will be here in 300 days. You are not expected to build an entire city by yourself that is crazy. Your goal is to set an LZ with a beacon so the drop pod will hit the right coordinates. Then provide a basic structure to house, feed, and provide basic human needs. just select the room shape and click it into place and the droid will build it . Since this structure is separate from your HAB you will have to set the entrance hatch, the internal walls and so on. You need a sleeping area, eating area, and a hygiene area. Looks more like a penal colony than a resort at this point lol. We do have potatoes dipped in vicodin ...ran out of ketchup!
Now that the new people are settled you have some extra labor and new skills. You will need to restrict certain areas from civilians so only scientist and other needed personnel can access these areas. Since you have a Geologist and a Lab assistant go ahead and click on them and click on the science lab so they can get to work. A Geologist is a Specialized Colonist and only works in that field. A Lab Assistant is an Educated Worker with indoor office/lab preferences. Some Educated workers prefer different things and will seek out their optimal positions first even displacing uneducated workers, but can't displace Specialized Workers. If there are 10 slots in a factory you can select the number of positions for Educated and Uneducated workers as each building can only have 1 Specialized worker. The better education they have the more efficient use of materials and higher grade products. Uneducated workers can over time can get an apprenticeship standing that boost their productivity slightly. Educated workers can train to be Specialized workers, but they do not work while going to college. An uneducated worker must go to school first to become educated then go to college. You can make school for kids mandatory or not, you can also allow homeschooling as well.
So Uneducated, Apprenticeship, Educated, Specialized Education.
Now you need to look at production.
Raw Materials are Gathered by Basic Drones they collect everything in the area and bring it back to the depot. Where it is sorted and stacked and cut into manageable pieces.
Refining Process - Some items can be refined increasing a variable of stats pending on the resource. You can place people and drones or just people or just drones in these buildings. Note: health hazards working in a refining plant.
Parts and Supplies - Some items require parts like wire, rubber, latex, palmer and some items have been placed in supply packs for easy use like a kit.
Consumers want things as well. Some prefer high end goods of Superior Quality others are fine with a metal folding chair.
Consumer Goods - While some goods can be ordered from Earth it is expensive.
You can have a high end item like a computer, but it be of low quality. Just think about a bunch of village idiots in a Dell factory making you a computer... yeah not so good!
So you are gonna want to prioritize the Educated labor in the more expensive buildings. without having a micromanaging nightmare. While you can select each slot and decide Educated or not, you can simply select the building and set it to prioritize Educated first. Then if there are any slots open uneducated can fill them. Educated people do not like working in Space Bars or Dinners, but they will work there vs jobless. I am sure they will tell you about how this lowbie job is beneath them. Specialized workers will actually leave and go back to Earth if you can not provide adequate jobs.
You will eventually have to deal with the press and tourist as well as criminals and other undesirables. At first you will want to lock them in a dome and kill them off. Adding a political side slightly to the game prevents this. I mean you can do it, but the fallout might be worse. Based on several factors people react to your choices. Well we have to add choices to the game. Like NO BABIES ALLOWED might make certain people mad maybe or they may just move to another dome so they can breed like rabbits. NO SMOKING it clogs up the O2 recyclers go outside to smoke... Forced Resettlement is always a good one to piss off the locals. Everyone OUT of the dome NOW! There are other choices as well like all the gluttons love Double food day. The Smashing of the Rover Day lowers hostility.
If you do something so ethically wrong such as lock a lot of people in a dome and kill them off it will be marked as Massacre Day and it can lower productivity every time it rolls around. on the other hand there are positives as well.
So you managed to live and you are doing great there are POSH Celebrities and even POTUS is coming for a visit. What is the end game? Where do you go from here. Clearly if you are expecting POTUS you will need a Grand Dome and it has to look pretty. But what is the end game?
Tired of living in domes your scientist have discovered ways to slowly transform the outside environment. This would trigger an end game event where the day to day no longer matter. Resources are plenty we have food replicators and no child is left behind (that's a joke lol) So you and your scientist work to examine in close detail the the planet and start samples growing using advanced tech. Eventually creating an almost like Earth environment.
Alt end game : Things are not all that great and you at odds with Earth's oversight always meddling. Clearly NO TAXATION WITHOUT REPRESENTATION! You declare your colony a Free and Independent State. This unlocks Government Domes, Buildings, even some defensive measures because them Earthlings will invade us and force us from our homes.
Alt Alt End game: You discover a device on Mars that raises some questions as if we have been on Mars before. Could it be that humans terraformed Earth? Is everything we know been a lie? This unlocks the Origin end game event
