sigh...
The only other structure on my base set to high priority (besides the control center) is the factory where the spare making machines are. there are 37 plastic, 32 metal in storage.
Can you guess what i just ran out of?

I got around this problem by having 4 consoles - usually had one manned at any time. I also don't know what I do differently to you - because my factory constantly puts out spares - How many spare making machines do you have?

Thanks for the tips.
I have only two consoles, one for each telescope. Ill build a couple more to see if it helps.

As for the spares machines, i have 4. None of them manned. :(
Some of the wind turbines had orange icons, and i was only saved by the trade ship (again).

Now that i bought spares, the turbines are being fixed, by BOTS! Those engineers... there not at control center, not at factoy making spares, not making bots, not repairing anything, im really gonna try to see just what exactly are they doing. "idle" is most likely hehe.

Well, one telescope only cover 60% of the meteors, if the console is also manned. the 2nd telescop covers 60% of the missing meteors.

Also the lasers have a reach distance. So you have to set up multiple lasers at huge bases.

here a table:


to the spare: you should set your spareworkshop at high priority.

引用自 Benzin：

Thanks for the tips.
I have only two consoles, one for each telescope. Ill build a couple more to see if it helps.

Yes, that's definitely the way to go. I always build a large control center in a dead end position and line the walls with telescope consoles, then I get surplus engineers until the telescopes stop going offline (at least for longer than a few seconds).

As for spares production, it seems to be a headache for many first time players, probably because there are quite a number of fail conditions. I wouldn't prioritize the factory, no need for that. Be aware that other activities, like robot production, manning telescope consoles, maintaining and building new structures compete with spares production. Also the engineers need to eat and sleep (and possibly increase morale). You need to investigate where the bottleneck is.

There are a number of things you can do to improve the efficiency and coverage of your lasers as your base grows -

- Range is not unlimited, so scatter them around your base, not all in one place. Don't forget to cover the external (power & water) areas too, especially where these spread out into the distance...

- Try not to build them all on the extreme edges of your base, because that way you're 'wasting' at least half of their range coverage (mountains and empty ground) and they're more often shooting at meteors which are no actual danger to you. Where possible, put some "inside" your base - i.e. where you build all around them but still allow repair access to that area via an open area or airlock. A cluster of three or four fairly central to your base can be extremely effective.

- It takes time for a laser to recharge itself after firing (see the point above about shooting at non-dangerous meteors) so where possible build them in clusters of two or three. Many of the meteors which get through and cause damage do so because all lasers in range have recently fired and are still recharging.

- Aim to eventually build at least five or six telescopes (no range limit to these, so they can be anywhere, singles or in groups) for maximum coverage. Aim to ultimately have at least 2-3 lasers for every telescope, if you really want to make meteor hits a thing of the past.

- Aim for about 1.5 control consoles for every telescope, not just one each. When a console engineer ends his work it can take time for another to arrive and take his seat, reducing protection for a while unless you have more manned control consoles than are strictly needed.

- Place the telescope control dome as near as possible to other major engineering domes (factories, robotics), so all of your engineers tend to work in the same area of the base, with sleeping quarters and canteen as close as possible. This can reduce the time it takes for a replacement console operator to take an empty seat.

- Avoid having telescope operators working in (e.g.) the security office near the landing pads, as that places them in danger from trigger-happy infiltrators, which can result in more meteors getting through for a while after and ultimately resulting in more damage than the infiltrators themselves cause.

- Avoid having enough beds for everyone. If everyone can go to sleep around the same time, unmanned telescope consoles becomes a major problem at night, even with High Priority assigned to that dome. Ideally, at least 20% of your engineers should always be awake at any time around the clock, for essential repairs and the most important jobs - and the only way to be certain of that is to have beds available for no more than 50-60% of your total base personnel.

Korac summed it up. The thing is, even with a hugely efficient laser and telescope system, it never reaches 100% efficiency so there will always be a chance of a meteor getting through. Ultimately I think 3 or 4 telescopes with 1 console each is enough to reliably defend your base. It won't stop all meteors but it will make them rare enough that it shouldn't be a huge issue.

引用自 Smeg-head 5000：

The thing is, even with a hugely efficient laser and telescope system, it never reaches 100% efficiency so there will always be a chance of a meteor getting through. Ultimately I think 3 or 4 telescopes with 1 console each is enough to reliably defend your base. It won't stop all meteors but it will make them rare enough that it shouldn't be a huge issue.

You can play any way you want, of course.

In my setup with 6 telescopes and a room full of consoles and plenty of lasers, there's virtually no incidents. And even if one gets through it doesn't necessarily hit colonists, so the actual protection is higher than 99 %.

Now, you could argue that having a meteorite land on your biodome and killing six biologists isn't a big deal, you just get a few more biologists, but it depends on how you roleplay the game. If you accept responsibility for the safety of the colonists then why skimp on a few telescopes and consoles? Especially towards the end game when you can easily afford it.

Think I have 8 telescopes in total and many more laser than that.

Thank you guys for all the detailed information! I din't know the lasers had limited range.

I know about the chance to intercept rising with each telescope, what upset me was that in the incident when i lost 7 people, it wasnt because of those chances, it was because the telescomes were not manned when it happened, even when i specified hight priority on the control center.

My base is quite big now, i have 298 people (had 310 but i just lost 12 to a very bad shootout with infiltrators). And i now have 4 lasers and 3 telescopes.
I did make the mistake of building the lasers on the edges of the base, dint think of the correct point korac mentioned about wasting half their range.
I think im just gonna build the monolith and then move on to the second planet, and this time i will make sure i place my lasers more efficiently.

thanks again!

I tought id share a screenshot of my base, i cant get it all in the screenshot! lol
[IMG]http://images.akamai.steamusercontent.com/ugc/357276427376732784/68A904BFD59270D39CDCF18B5601B7637A97F8C0/[/img]

EDIT: hmm, not sure you guys can see it? i dont know how to put screenshots on this forum.

Top left of Steam, click 'view', then click 'screenshots'.
In the popup box click 'view online library'.
Click on the screenshot you want to show off and copy/paste the url into the forums.
It should show up in the fourms then so we can click like on it :)

thanks! :)

http://psteamcommunity.yuanyoumao.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=609216234

I see 1 laser and no telescopes. That would definitely explain why meteors are getting through.

They are out of picture, but trust me. They are there :)