Some questions

[Markus Ramikin]

Can someone help me figure out some stuff that's confusing the hell out of me?

1. In my current savegame Quantum Mechanics (under Physics) takes 62 turns to research with 1 lab, or 37 with 2 labs. In a previous game this tested as 50 and 25 respectively. Any ideas on what could cause this difference?

To be sure: I am not missing any resources; in fact I have a MPG surplus that would cover it if I did miss any, and I had the lab window open every turn and it was never "idle". The only real difference is this time I'm starting the research on turn 41, whereas in the game where it took 50 or 25 turns I started much later, IIRC on turn 115.

2. OK, first of all, the game says that you can interrupt cutscenes with control + break or alt + f4. Neither of these do anything. I'm playing the emulator version. Is there any way I can interrupt cutscenes?

3. What does the Life Support you pack with the starship do? Does it matter? I've tried playing with max and with none and it didn't seem to make a difference...

4. Are improved storage tanks better somehow? Capacity remains at 1000, power requirement at 1, what changed?

5. How to make manual trucking work? I created a route from the nearest mine to the smelter, assigned trucks, and nothing is happening even after many turns...

Thanks.

[lordpalandus]

I've not played the game, so I can't really provide you with useful suggestions. Leeor_net, is making a remake of the game, so if anyone knows how to help, its him. Could always pm him. Anyway, some responses:

1. You've angered the Chaos Gods. They are screwing with the RNG.

2. If you can't interrupt cutscenes, then you could walk away from the machine, grab a cup of coffee and come back when its done.

3. I know that Outpost was somewhat rushed to release. Its possible that Life Support is bugged.

4. Do the storage tanks have a colonist/person requirement to run them?

5. I recall reading something somewhere, that if you don't have enough of a certain structure, your units stop obeying commands.

[Markus Ramikin]

I now believe the slower research may be related to morale. This is a guess based on the fact that the later I start, the better the research rate, and I got the best rate once I was getting "the people love you, commander".

[Hooman]

I was going to guess morale.

I don't really know how Outpost 1 works, but in Outpost 2 morale has a significant impact on research and production speeds.

[leeor_net]

Morale has a direct effect on Research and Production values:

Morale Level	Effect
0 - 249	-50%
250 - 449	-25%
450 - 549	0%
550 - 749	+25%
750 - 1000	+50%

It's been a long time since I bothered watching the cut-scenes -- I tried it now and you're right, it doesn't appear to work as stated. Will investigate this.

According to the "official strategy guide":

You must take a minimum of 1 unit of life support, to be used in case of emergency after you've landed on the new planet. Each unit of life support has a weight value of 1 and a cost of 3. If your explorer robots don't find enough mines right away, or if your mines aren't producing enough life support materials, or if your miner robots disappear beneath the surface of a methane ocean, the amount you buy now might keep people alive a little longer.

Mouth full that doesn't really say a lot but basically life support is the life support materials used by the CHAP. Don't recall if other structures use it but basically this is important in the early game while your mines are getting started.

4.) /me shrugs. No idea. This is a broken game after all... will also have to investigate this as I'm curious now.

Manual trucking is pretty broken. It has to work in straight lines and you need to include way points. In addition you need to also have warehouses and robot command centers before trucks become active. Basically, leave automatic trucking on or you end up with a colony collapse.

[SpaceBase22]

1. Newer labs and newer university help. It depends on how many scientist you have and what your education level is. A university lose it's boost on education after 100 turns or that's the way the game is supposed help. Also if you place under ground chaps near labs it will boost there level because it creates a resurch park.


2. Not sure!

3. Life support was designed to be resources that were need to keep people alive until you land on your planet I'm not sure what is does in actual game I assume on difficult level things change.   

4. I'm not sure if building newer storage tanks help I always build about 8 tanks and that seams to be enough to win until you can get nano technology.

5. All trucks do work. I amuse after 200 turn they brake down. Although they are hidden in the back ground so you won't see anything going on. I think you can put 10 trucks per mine. I always find it easy to not deal with trucking. I just start about 3 mine sites with 8 storage tanks and two smelters. Also make a dirt path to the mines bye bulldogging the ground later on you can build roads and monorails amusing you have the right version of outpost.