Hi all,
This time, we are talking about services and colonists. This is a major change with big implications for how you build your domes and structure your colony.
Service impact
Service buildings now affect colonist stats across the whole dome, and every colonist to whom a service applies is affected equally. Each service building has a service type and a service capacity. Buildings of the same service type (for example, the Spacebar and the Small Spacebar) are combined into a single pool that affects the entire dome. The service impact from all categories adds up to determine the total impact of the services on the colonists.
When a category has less service capacity than the dome population, the stat gain is reduced proportionally. To get the full bonus, add buildings until their combined service capacity covers the dome population.
Some services are meant for a specific group: Playgrounds are for children, bars are for adults, and so on. All colonists a category applies to get the same impact - there are no "lucky" and "unlucky" colonists.
A new "Services" section in the dome infopanel shows how each service category impacts colonists and whether there is sufficient capacity. These numbers do not change unless the dome population or the provided services change, allowing you to build dome layouts with predictable service impact.
An Example
In a dome with 20 adults and a single Open Air Gym, the "Gyms" category will provide +10 Health and +10 Comfort to all adults in the dome, since the Open Air Gym has a service capacity of 30.
If that same dome has only one medium-sized Garden, the "Parks" category will contribute just +5 Sanity and +5 Comfort, because the Garden has a service capacity of 9. Only 9 of the 20 colonists receive the full +10 Sanity and +10 Comfort; the rest get nothing, dragging down the average.
Service workplaces
Services that are also workplaces have two specifics.
First, their service capacity is based on the number of open work shifts. For example, an Infirmary can service 10 colonists on one shift or 30 on three shifts. This lets you match service capacity and worker count to your plans.
Second, the service impact scales with building performance. If all workers are highly motivated and reach 150% workshift performance, the Infirmary provides +15 Health and +15 Sanity instead of the base +10 Health and +10 Sanity. If, on the other hand, the building performance is only 50%, the Infirmary provides just +5 Health and +5 Sanity. So it pays to fully staff open workshifts and keep colonists' productivity high.
All of this information can be seen in the building infopanel.
Sharing Between Domes
Service buildings now serve their own dome first. Any spare capacity can be used by connected domes with no penalty.
With the addition of Passage Hubs, which can connect multiple domes, this opens up new, interesting strategies for your dome layouts.
A More Complex Example
Take a dome with 40 adults, an Electronics Store (+30 Comfort, 8 service capacity per shift, 2 open shifts) and a Small Art Store (+20 Comfort, 3 service capacity per shift, 3 open shifts), both running at 100% performance. The "Stores" category will give +17 Comfort (rounded from 16.5): the Electronics Store services 16 colonists, the Small Art Store an additional 9, and the remaining 15 colonists get no service.
Here is the impact breakdown of the "Stores" category:
Electronics Store +30 Comfort * 16
Small Art Store +20 Comfort * 9
No service 0 Comfort * 15
Average: +17, which is (30 * 16 + 20 * 9 + 0 * 15) / 40 rounded.
Comfort and Morale
Comfort and Morale now have a target value for each colonist. Service buildings and other modifiers affect the target rather than the stat itself, and at each rest the colonist’s actual stat moves gradually toward the target. This gives you time to react before colonists become Earthsick or turn Renegade.
The Daily Grind
As a counterweight to the stats gained from services, most workplaces now drain some of their workers' stats every day. A researcher loses Sanity, a miner loses Health - workshops are the exception, giving a small boost instead. The amenities a dome needs therefore depend greatly on the workplaces its colonists are assigned to.
Key ideas
You do not need to provide services in all categories. As long as you are happy with your colonists' stats, there is no obligation to provide everything - the design intentionally lets you choose which services to provide, enabling different setups with different impacts.
Checking a dome's "Services" rollover gives you the full picture - the service contribution per category, which categories need more capacity, and so on.
While services impact everyone they apply to equally, colonists do not all end up with the same stats - residences, workplaces, traits, and many other effects still differ between them.
How It Feels
This is a big change, and at first I felt like I had to unlearn a lot of old habits in how I built my domes. Once I got used to the new system, I found myself experimenting more, trying dome setups I would not have considered before.
I also have a much clearer idea of why my colonists feel the way they do and how to improve that. In the old system, I always felt unfairly penalized for not having every interest serviced in every dome.
Final Words
This is a change we have wanted to make for a very long time. When the next update drops, you will experience a very different game from the one you are used to and, hopefully, one that you will enjoy much more.
Keep your colonists safe and your colonies growing!
The Haemimont Team