Before we get to the main topic, we have some exciting news: The demo will become public on the 1st of June! It's been a lot of work and we couldn't have done it without the help of our community for which we're very grateful. Shoutout to you guys, you rock! (or do you regolith?)
Now, with the demo being less than a week away, I thought I'd go over the first day in RDC and set you up for success.
Touchdown
Once the lander settled and everyone got up from their seats, it's time to make some room and at the same time get some extra resources. Since we're not going to be leaving Mars anytime soon, both the rocket engines and the landing seats can and should be deconstructed.
At the same time we need to place down a Stockpile for storing the bulky resources like Hull pieces, Iron Plates and soon, Regolith and Ores.
The initial lander is pretty small and won't fit that much, but luckily, it's made out of carefully engineered Hull blocks, which adapt as more expansions are built, always keeping the inside pressurised. About 35-40 tiles should be enough to start with. I personally also like to fill in the corners where the Rocket Engines used to be.
Living Quarters
Sleeping on the floor isn't a great experience, so before the sun sets, we should make sure that everyone has a place to lay their heads. Bunk Beds or Single Beds, the choice is yours, just maybe think of keeping anyone who snores further away from the others.
Colonists also need somewhere to, *ahem*, relieve themselves, so let's place down a Toilet as well. Otherwise they'll soil themselves and the embarrassment (along with the smell) will linger on. Make sure to separate the Toilet with walls and a door in order to avoid any awkwardness.
Since the base doesn't have any windows yet, a few lights make a pretty big difference, so let's go ahead and place some Wall Mounted Lights down. Don't forget to wire them up, though. They don't run on good intentions.
Nobody likes sleeping with the lights on, and neither do the colonists. Don't worry though, if the beds are in what looks like a bedroom, the lights will just go off when they're sleeping.
If the day still allows
The Life Support Machine provides a little bit of power but can't really handle the load of the soon-to-be-constructed industry machines, so placing a few Solar Panels will hold for a bit.
Things are different on the red planet, so we'll need to learn and adapt. A few books, a notepad, a pencil and a desk are enough to get started on new schematics, so let's place down a Research Table and allow our colonists to nerd out in their new home.
We can't really build things out of thin air, and the initial supplies will soon start to dwindle, so let's get started on a little mining operation. Regolith, Ice and Ores are all precious after they get processed.
This should be plenty for the first day, so let's allow our colonists to get some much-needed rest. The coming days won't be any easier.
Don't worry if you don't cross out everything mentioned above. Every location is different and some colonists might work faster than others. The important thing is just to press on.
This is all for today. Tune in next time to hear all about why oxygen generation might make overexpansion a deadly mistake.