Space Age Mars questions....

[Nefariousjack]

I'm chillin' at the end of the Virtual Future, stocking up and prepping for the move to Space Age Mars and I'm wondering about a few things...

Firstly, I'm aware that to get boosts for Mars goods and ore, one must battle through the Mars continent map. That said, I'm already almost through the first map and of course my ore is still locked up. I'm thinking that when I finally clear the first SAM tech tree point, the ore will unlock and be available in one lump sum. Is this correct?

Secondly, throughout the game thus far, 4 out of five goods boosts are usually available for the unlocking. Is this also the case with SAM?

Thirdly, I have read that, following the Virtual Future, older goods are no longer required, except for building new GB's and obtaining Promethium and Orichalcum. Is this correct?

Lastly, is there a point at which I will no longer need Promethium and Orichalcum..both of which I have stockpiled to around 4-5K?

Sorry to bring these questions to the forum, but I could find little info regarding these specifics by search.

Thank you for your time.

 

[Pickleweasel]

I can't answer the first bit, as I entered SAM at the same time as advancing to the SAM stage of the map. As for being available in a lump sum though, it doesn't work like that. Each site is an opportunity to negotiate or attack for a certain quantity of ore (larger values of ore the larger the image of the rock is . . . but it is also on a longer refresh timer 4/8/24 hours).

Two goods boosts were what I saw on my map, but I haven't unlocked the last few provinces so not totally sure there. Doesn't matter much to me though, I have never built any of the goods buildings and don't plan to do so (I have three techs left to unlock . . . but I get way more than enough goods from special buildings).

As far as goods/special goods are concerned. Open your technology window. In the upper-left corner is a button with three vertical lines (looks like a bar graph); click that. In that pop-up you can scroll with the arrows provided to see the total amount of goods/special goods you need for all future eras that exist as of now, which in your question/example, all require more goods and special goods.

 

[Ebeondi Asi]

You really really want to be completely finished with the Mars Continent Map before entering Mars Era. The Continental map fo Mars after entering Mars Era is where you get the Mars Ore. and you want to be able to have all of it open to get. at... not part of it. Yes it is all open the moment you enter SAM Era f you have completed the entire Map.
You only get two Goods types to make. (which is the standard not 4 as the op wrote?)

True: You do not need any previous Era goods to make the SAM goods. You need Mars Ore to make SAM Era Goods. and need Mars Ore for Research, and for later Eras. So you have to be working the Continental SAM Map right from the start ... all the time. There are multiple 4hr multiple 8hr and 24 hr areas to mine. I strongly suggest being able to fight for them (you must fight each time you collect) Negotiating* all of them is a fools quest in SAM to collect Mars Ore.

The need for Promithium 7K and Orichalcum 8K continues through Venus Era. You'll need about 19K extra Mars ore to do all SAM SAAB SAV plus what you may (or may not) need to produce Goods. in SAM ((The may or may not is because some have enough Event buildings to make the goods for SAM, or use CF to make goods. There is zero requirement from the game to make Goods on the Mars Colony)) Later Eras have "synthesizers" you can add to your city to make most of the Space things. They are not as efficient. so try to make all you need in SAM.

What you must make in the Mars colony is Credits. You must have the credits to mine the Mars Ore in the Continental Mars Map. You cannot function in SAM without making the credits in the Mars Colony. As soon as you enter SAM and can build "Drop Pods" in the Colony fill the Colony full of all Drop Pods. These will start making Credits immediately. You can let the making of Goods slide, but Credits you need as soon as possible. (you can change out the Pods after you finish the Tech tree if you can get through the tree without having the use the Colony to make Goods. . Then all the various things are open all the expansions. etc. If you never plan on making goods you do not have to do much. if you want to make goods then you need to re-plan the Colony with Life support in it.(or have tons of Coins and supplies more..Life support reduces those costs up to 75% well worth the effort) and use the Colony Expansions. I have ten Goods buildings and 75% life support plus extra Credits from housing to make it all go and still make extra Mars Ore in addition to that needed to run the Goods buildings in the Colony (all on a lark. I have no need to make any Goods in the Colony) (added: I dropped down to 8 Goods buildings to boost the Mars Ore being saved. Once I have enough Mars Ore for later Eras I can go back to ten)
Use the Credits to mine the Mars Ore as soon as possible. YOU need Mars Ore for lots of SAM Research stuff too.

If you have a Space Carrier, you should remember SC makes mostly Promithium, Even when you are in SAAB or SAM or SAV.. So yo can figure to stop running the ship with that in mind too. (*and the space carrier Negotiation tries can also be uses for the Continental Mars Ore instead of fighting if you wish)

 

[Nefariousjack]

You really really want to be completely finished with the Mars Continent Map before entering Mars Era. The Continental map fo Mars after entering Mars Era is where you get the Mars Ore. and you want to be able to have all of it open to get. at... not part of it. Yes it is all open the moment you enter SAM Era f you have completed the entire Map.
You only get two Goods types to make. (which is the standard not 4 as the op wrote?)

True: You do not need any previous Era goods to make the SAM goods. You need Mars Ore to make SAM Era Goods. sand need Mars Ore for Research, and for later Eras. So you have to be working the Continental SAM Map right from the start ... all the time. There are multiple 4hr multiple 8hr and 24 hr areas to mine. I strongly suggest being able to fight for them (you must fight each time you collect) Negotiating* all of them is a fools quest in SAM to collect Mars Ore.

The need for Promithium 7K and Orichalcum 8K continues through Venus Era. You'll need about 19K extra Mars ore to do all SAM SAAB SAV plus what you may (or may not) need to produce Goods. in SAM ((The may or may not is because some have enough Event buildings to make the goods for SAM, or use CF to make goods. There is zero requirement from the game to make Goods on the Mars Colony)) Later Eras have "synthesizers" you can add to your city to make most of the Space things. They are not as efficient. so try to make all you need in SAM.

What you must make in the Mars colony is Credits. You must have the credits to mine the Mars Ore in the Continental Mars Map. You cannot function in SAM without making the credits in the Mars Colony. As soon as you enter SAM and can build "Drop Pods" in the Colony fill the Colony full of all Drop Pods. These will start making Credits immediately. Yo can let the making of Goods slide, but Credits you need as soon as possible. (you can change out the Pods after you finish the Tech tree if you can get through the tree without having the use the Colony to make Goods. . Then all the various things are open all the expansions. etc. If you never plan on making goods you do not have to do much. if you want to make goods then you need to re-plan the Colony with Life support in it.(or have tons of Coins and supplies more..Life support reduces those costs up to 75% well worth the effort) and use the Colony Expansions. I have ten Goods buildings and 75% life support plus extra Credits from housing to make it all go and still make extra Mars Ore in addition to that needed to run the Goods buildings in the Colony (all on a lark. I have no need to make any Goods in the Colony)
Use the Credits to mine the Mars Ore as soon as possible. YOU need Mars Ore for lots of SAM Research stuff too.

If you have a Space Carrier, you should remember SC makes mostly Promithium, Even when you are in SAAB or SAM or SAV.. So yo can figure to stop running the ship with that in mind too. (*and the space carrier Negotiation tries can also be uses for the Continental Mars Ore instead of fighting if you wish)

Exactly what I was looking for! Thanks! Finishing the map before entering SAM was absolutely my intention, I was just trying to make sure I wasn't forfeiting ore or something by not doing something in the correct order. Bottom line, SAM looks like it's a bit of a handful, as the game tends to give you more to wrestle with as it goes on...so I'm trying to minimize the juggling as much as possible so I can concentrate on the new stuff, like credits and life support. So I'll be here in VF for a while, stacking up special goods & forge point packages, leveling up what I can and getting the map out of the way, etc. Again, thanks for the info!

 

[Sharmon the Impaler]

I am in SAV and a good rule of thumb is have 22k of the special goods before moving on. You will need less and less but promethium is needed in SAV at least and maybe even Jupiter. Special buildings , CF and HC should provide you with all the goods you need. Try to have enough to open up the one killer unit before moving into an era so you can relax and build up once there. SAM = Sentinels (no rogues) , SAAB = Nail Storms (no rogues) , SAV = Energy Cannons (ok) , Power Dragons (best) Rogues become useful again in SAV. Power Fists are annoying garbage and should be deleted for faster access to Power Dragons in GbG

 

[Asander 296 the Spider]

Very good information about SAM. I just started SAM and filled the colony grid with Drop Pods. Thanks for input.

 

[matr]

Drop Pods 76 credits per tile every 8hrs, Simple Shelter 224 credits/tile/8hrs. Suggest building 5 or 6 Simple Shelters as soon as you can. They will provide most of the credits required for Mars Ore mining. You need Mod Homes to have enough population for a stack of goods buildings. I have 16 goods buildings on 24 hour production, 960 goods per day. Requires 450 mars ore and about 40,000 credits, 10M coin, 10M supplies daily. 6 Simple shelters make 30K credits per day. Rest comes from Mod homes. Mod homes do not require roads for pop. Spent the last few months making Ore with limited goods production, now have 9.5M credits and enough ore for all the current space eras (about 25,000) so turning to goods production. Ore sites can produce about 680 per day total collecting all as soon as they complete. There are 4- 4 hour, 4- 8hr and 3- 24 hour sites. I tried building life support but it requires too much space and too many LS buildings to do anything. You need 75% of the required life support to reach the 1st level of reduction. The reduction only reduces coin and supplies, NOT m-ore required. Better to use the space for goods building IMO. If you are short on supplies or want to save more Mars Ore, you can always skip starting goods production. I'm still adding about 230 m-ore per day to my pile if I keep up with collections. I I don't I just won't start new goods production. The colony produce a ton of goods this way.

 

[jaynutB]

other than the fact that producing SAM goods does not require space in your main city, I don't get the point of using the colony for goods production - between sleigh builders, event buildings, and mad scientist labs I'm collecting over 600 goods/day (various ages, but all can be aged up)

 

[jaynutB]

also how many credits are needed to do what is needed when I finally (if ever) get to the SAM continent map

 

[Ebeondi Asi]

Mars Ore for research: 16,400 to get through SAM SAAB SAV and SAJM No telling how many needed for the next not yet released Era Saturn.
To make teh Mars ore, hundreds to thousands of credits each time to mine between 2 to about 180 Mars ore per shot. The number of Mars Ore acquired vary with each collection. There are 2hr 4hr 8hr and 24hr runs. each needs credits.
I do not remember how many. Guessing at least 8 million credits needed. minimum. if you make extra.. twice as many credits. The more active maker of credits are the 2x3 size and if you fill the Colony (using all expansions for Colony) can make a couple hundred thou every four hours.