Astro Space Efficiency Study

 

Assumptions

My analysis makes the following assumptions. This analysis assumes a moderately advanced account, which I believe helps newer accounts plan what they will need for space planning a few months out.

• Energy-20 (i.e., double energy output)
• Free account limitations (Five of the following: Terraform, Fusion Plants, Antimatter Plants, Nanite Factories, Android Factories.)
• Good defenses comprise Pring-15, Pshield-10, and CC-5.

Following these assumptions, we know:

• Astro area is increased by 25 for the Terraforms.
• Advanced Plants consume 10 spaces and berths, and provide 200 energy
• Advanced Factories consume 10 spaces and berths, and 60 energy
• Good defenses consume 7 spaces, 10 berths, and 109 energy
• Net difference is -2 spaces, -30 berths and +31 energy

Why does this matter? Beyond these “constants,” we have to consider Spaceports, Shipyards, Labs and construction infrastructure. Small Fleet encourages 12 to 16 Shipyards per base (you'll need Dreads for base defense, which is 20 Shipyards and an Orbital Shipyard).

Terms Used

• Slot is the orbit of an astro.
• Berth is a unit of population consumed.
• Space is a unit of astro area consumed.

Space Available

The tables below show the amount of space available after applying the assumptions above. Two spaces have been removed due to less space. The bonus in energy and loss in berths are assumed to balance out…so I'm leaving them out. In reality, the energy bonus benefits Slot-2 astros across the board by mitigating the difference in lost solar power.

The “U” shows the number of Urbans required. The “P” shows the number of Solar (or Gas) Plants. The fourth column (Slot-2,3(F)) denotes only fusion plants, which is available to Upgraded players in sufficient numbers and conveys the benefit of increased fertility without the loss of Solar.

Planets

Type	Slot-1 (U/P)	Slot-2 (U/P)	Slot-2,3(F) (U/P)	Slot-4,5 (U/P)
Arid, Tundra	63 (23/7)	64 (18/11)	67 (18/8)
Gaia	64 (17/7)	63 (14/11)	66 (14/8)
Earthy	60 (16/7)	60 (13/10)	63 (13/7)
Rocky	57 (20/6)	57 (16/10)	60 (16/7)
Metalic	50 (27/6)	54 (20/9)	57 (20/6)
Craters	50 (27/6)	54 (20/9)	57 (20/6)
Toxic				53 (29/6)
Volcanic, Magma				53 (19/6)
Crystalline	47 (26/5)	51 (19/8)	53 (19/6)
Asteroids	38 (21/4)	41 (15/7)	43 (15/5)

[url=http://espacesociety.org/AstroEmpires.AdvancedBaseGuide-Analysis#moons]#moons [/url]

Moons

Type	Slot-1 (U/P)	Slot-2 (U/P)	Slot-2,3(F) (U/P)	Slot-4,5 (U/P)
Arid, Tundra	55 (20/6)	56 (16/9)	58 (16/7)
Gaia	56 (15/6)	56 (12/9)	58 (12/7)
Earthy	53 (14/6)	52 (12/9)	55 (12/6)
Rocky	50 (18/5)	51 (14/8)	53 (14/6)
Toxic				47 (25/5)
Metalic	44 (24/5)	47 (18/8)	50 (18/5)
Craters	44 (24/5)	47 (18/8)	50 (18/5)
Volcanic, Magma				47 (17/5)
Crystalline	42 (23/4)	45 (17/7)	47 (17/5)
Asteroids	38 (21/4)	41 (15/7)	43 (15/5)

Space Available

The charts below show the remaining available space for each astro type. Available space is calculated by the total space minus the space required for Urban Structures and Fusion/Gas/Solar Plants. The first chart shows the moon space available.

We have two considerations to make. Upgraded players are advised to build on moons because the smaller size makes building P-Rings and P-Shields (i.e., Pringles) cheaper. Generally speaking, the difference between a Moon and Planet in usable space is within two Terraform levels, which is significantly less expensive than the difference in Pringle costs.

Moons

The general advice has been to take a Slot 1 over Slot 2 moon. This is because of the increased Energy of the Slot 1. However, the table reveals the difference to be slight to non-existant. In the case of Metal-3 astros, the preference should be Slot-2.

If you eventually replace all Solar Plants with Fusion, you will only gain two spaces, limiting the value of Fusion Plants when considered with their cost. Because the Fusion Plant column assumes unlimited upgrades, the value of an all-Fusion planet is not available to free players. This is an issue for Moons and Planets.

Arid and Tundras are generally preferred as research bases, and they are slightly larger than Gaias. This means Gaias are not the holy grail that is widely touted. Toxic Moons compete with Earthly, which means they should be considered when in Slot 4 and 5.

[url=http://espacesociety.org/AstroEmpires.AdvancedBaseGuide-Analysis#moons]#moons [/url]

Astro Type	Slot 1	Slot 2	Fusion	Slot 4,5
Arid, Tundra	81	82	84
Gaia	81	80	82
Earthly	78	77	80
Toxic				77
Rocky	76	76	78
Radioactive				76
Metallic	72	76	76
Craters	72	74	76
Volcanic, Magma				74
Crystalline	70	70	72
Asteroid	65	66	68

Planets

Free players should select Planets because of the added space. I suggest spending a bit of money to upgrade your account for one month and building two extra Terraforms on Moons instead, which will give you the general low cost of a Free account with the cost advantage of moons and the space of planets.

As with Moons, the available space difference between Slot 1 and Slot 2 is again slight; but Slot 2 is preferred. As with Moons, Metallic astros bear the greatest difference. This is due largely to their normal Fertility and size.

Astro Type	Slot 1	Slot 2	Fusion	Slot 4,5
Arid, Tundra	90	91	93
Gaia	90	89	91
Earthly	86	85	88
Toxic				85
Rocky	83	84	86
Radioactive				83
Metallic	80	83	83
Craters	80	81	83
Volcanic, Magma				81
Crystalline	76	77	80
Asteroid	65	66	68

Defenses

Good Astro Defense includes:

3 x Planetary Rings
2 x Planetary Shields

Because Rings do not take up space on the astro, this consumes 2 slots. As (:abbr prings Planetary Rings:) require 24 energy, and (:abbr pshield Planetary Shields:) require 16 energy, these defenses require 104 Energy, which requires six Antimatter Plants. Therefore, we have 11 structures requiring population. So, when determining what you put on a base, consider the impact of defenses. (+16 energy, -11 slots)

Add to that a 10 recommended Command Centers (-10 energy, -10 slots). The actual number of Command Centers depends on your situation. Combined Astro Defenses and Command Centers (+6 energy, -21 slots).

The following is the impact of the Good Astro Defense with Command Centers on planetary slots.

Astro Type	Slot 1	Slot 2	Fusion	Slot 4,5
Arid, Tundra	69	70	72
Gaia	69	68	70
Earthly	65	64	67
Toxic				64
Rocky	62	63	65
Radioactive				62
Metallic	59	62	41
Craters	59	60	41
Volcanic, Magma				60
Crystalline	49	56	59
Asteroid	44	45	47

The following is the impact of the Good Astro Defense with Command Centers on moon slots.

Astro Type	Slot 1	Slot 2	Fusion	Slot 4,5
Arid, Tundra	60	61	63
Gaia	60	59	61
Earthly	55	56	59
Toxic				56
Rocky	55	55	57
Radioactive				55
Metallic	51	55	55
Craters	51	53	55
Volcanic, Magma				53
Crystalline	49	49	51
Asteroid	44	45	47

Spaceports

Fifteen spaceports on a Planet.

Astro Type	Slot 1	Slot 2	Fusion	Slot 4,5
Arid, Tundra	54	55	72
Gaia	54	53	70
Earthly	50	64	67
Toxic				64
Rocky	47	63	65
Radioactive				62
Metallic	44	62	41
Craters	44	60	41
Volcanic, Magma				60
Crystalline	34	56	59
Asteroid	29	30	47

Fifteen spaceports on a Moon.

Astro Type	Slot 1	Slot 2	Fusion	Slot 4,5
Arid, Tundra	60	61	63
Gaia	60	59	61
Earthly	55	56	59
Toxic				56
Rocky	55	55	57
Radioactive				55
Metallic	51	55	55
Craters	51	53	55
Volcanic, Magma				53
Crystalline	49	49	51
Asteroid	44	45	47

Astro Type	Slot 1	Slot 2	Fusion	Slot 4,5
Arid, Tundra	53	44	46
Gaia	53	67	54
Earthly	49	63	66
Toxic				63
Rocky	61	62	49
Radioactive				61
Metallic	58	61	61
Craters	58	59	61
Volcanic, Magma				59
Crystalline	54	55	58
Asteroid	43	44	46

Astro Type	Slot 1	Slot 2	Fusion	Slot 4,5
Arid, Tundra	59	60	62
Gaia	59	58	60
Earthly	56	55	58
Toxic				55
Rocky	54	54	56
Radioactive				53
Metallic	50	54	54
Craters	50	52	54
Volcanic, Magma				22
Crystalline	48	48	50

Shipyards

Astro Type	Slot 1	Slot 2	Fusion	Slot 4,5

The above table assumes the astro is optimized for Production. Following the Efficient Fleet model, we would only build 12 Shipyards. However, for those who want to build Dreads, we include that calculation as well.

• 4 energy.

Astro Type	Slot 1	Slot 2	Fusion	Slot 4,5

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