The Low "Net" Maintenance Cost of Orbitals
Oct 29, 2015 9:54:32 GMT -5
tenbsmith and Fourth Horseman like this
Post by elwoodps on Oct 29, 2015 9:54:32 GMT -5
I believe that the maintenance costs of most orbitals are very reasonable when you consider their additional benefits (EP, TP, Defence..) compared to ground based installations. Especially when you factor in the cash from extra Trade Points (TP) that most of them produce as an offset to their maintenance costs. In most cases, the only net advantage that ground-based structures have, is lower cost to build.
Compare Orbital Platforms to standard Habs. The Hab 5 and the OP4 both cost $50/turn to maintain and house 5pop, but the OP 4 gives you +2 EP (Espionage Points) and +3 TP. During normal politics (no agreements or conflicts), those TP pay you $15 credits/turn each. So when you subtract the $45 for the +3 TP from the $50 maintenance cost, the net cost to maintain the OP 4 is just $5/turn and the +2 EP cost you nothing. What's not to like?
Consider the Orbital Military Base 1, one of the few orbitals that produces no TP. A Hab 2 houses 2pop and costs $20/turn, and a Factory 1 produces 2CP (Construction Points) and costs $10/turn. An OMB1 houses 2pop, and produces 2CP for the same $30/turn, and defends 14 Upgrade Levels at no additional cost. This one's a must-have on Low Q systems, until you've researched Terraforming.
Most Orbital Factories produce the same or greater TP vs their standard counterpart and cost $5/turn less to maintain; the one exception being the Factory 4 vs OF2, which is equal in all respects.
Mines are probably the shakiest case: Ground based Mines 4 and higher, get +1RP, where their orbital counterparts get one or two more TP, but no RP. Early on I build Mine 4's wherever Quality permits in order to maximize RP, but once Research is no longer a priority, I favor Orbital Mines and Mine 3's to hold down net maintenance costs. When you're more interested in credits than RP, the OM5 is the real hero; compared to the Mine 6 it exploits the same number of Minerals, produces 2 more TP, and costs $5/turn less to maintain.
Compare Orbital Platforms to standard Habs. The Hab 5 and the OP4 both cost $50/turn to maintain and house 5pop, but the OP 4 gives you +2 EP (Espionage Points) and +3 TP. During normal politics (no agreements or conflicts), those TP pay you $15 credits/turn each. So when you subtract the $45 for the +3 TP from the $50 maintenance cost, the net cost to maintain the OP 4 is just $5/turn and the +2 EP cost you nothing. What's not to like?
Consider the Orbital Military Base 1, one of the few orbitals that produces no TP. A Hab 2 houses 2pop and costs $20/turn, and a Factory 1 produces 2CP (Construction Points) and costs $10/turn. An OMB1 houses 2pop, and produces 2CP for the same $30/turn, and defends 14 Upgrade Levels at no additional cost. This one's a must-have on Low Q systems, until you've researched Terraforming.
Most Orbital Factories produce the same or greater TP vs their standard counterpart and cost $5/turn less to maintain; the one exception being the Factory 4 vs OF2, which is equal in all respects.
Mines are probably the shakiest case: Ground based Mines 4 and higher, get +1RP, where their orbital counterparts get one or two more TP, but no RP. Early on I build Mine 4's wherever Quality permits in order to maximize RP, but once Research is no longer a priority, I favor Orbital Mines and Mine 3's to hold down net maintenance costs. When you're more interested in credits than RP, the OM5 is the real hero; compared to the Mine 6 it exploits the same number of Minerals, produces 2 more TP, and costs $5/turn less to maintain.
