PrUn Log - Stardate 2022-06-14

At a rapid pace I am approaching the point in time where my first base on Verdant uses up all of the 500 area I have. I already use 434 of that area, and with the 21k of net profit I make per day, I can fill up the rest rather quickly. Now in theory I have the choice between spending a base permit to add another 250 area on Verdant, or spending a base permit to add a second base with 500 area. Now if you remember my last post, I was talking about the incredible growth rate of my economy, 26 million % annualized. This growth rate takes a hit whenever I arrive at a cap that prevents me from further expanding my bases. At some point I will need to acquire more base permits, and that requires upgrading my HQ, which is basically a money sink. Expanding my base by 250 is the "quick fix", but I will more quickly hit the area cap again, and then base permits are the ultimate obstacle to further growth. So, building a new base is probably the better option. I will just need to decide where and what.

When I first looked at the profitability of my Verdant base with all 500 area used, I thought I would end up with a base that made over 30k net profit per day. Today that looks a bit too optimistic, 25k is more like it. The main reason for this is that my main product is drinking water, and the price of drinking water dropped from over 80 NCC to under 60 NCC. Thus the interest of making a range of products instead of concentrating on just one. Besides drinking water I am selling basic rations, carbon, oxygen, raw water, and occasionally prefabs, when I don't need them for my own buildings.

That brings me to my side project, the second account on which I am testing different starting packages and options in which way to grow a base. That second base on Montem is currently my test case for a base that is producing in different production lines that don't have synergy. I have 2 extractors, 1 smelter (need another one), 2 refineries, and 2 prefab plants. The extractors, smelter, and prefab plant are in one part of the tech tree of the game, while the refinery is in a completely different part of that tech tree. And the refinery needs settlers, which need different consumables. The result is that on my Verdant base I only need 5 goods which I import regularly; on the Montem base I need to import 16 different goods regularly. That is interesting, but it turns out that it isn't actually more profitable, and the logistics are a lot more complicated. For a beginner, a start that concentrates on just one part of the economy, and is partially self-sufficient (like my Victualler start on Verdant) is a lot easier.