Brought to you by Fred.
This is merely a basic overview of how Structures work in Dygamic. What they need to operate efficiently. How they tie in to our Territories mechanic and some tips and tricks along the way to maximize your structures effectiveness.
If you have played a season before this may not be a lot of use to you. If you have struggled in the past or if you are new to our server this will likely go a long way to helping you make a strong start.
Overall there are 3 available structure types. All of these structures interact with Territories in the same way. A Main Base and an Outpost will both capture the same territory, no matter the size. Remember this when laying out your Empire to maximize your territory holdings while not risking more valuable structures.
-Main Base: Your main base is your most valuable structure. It will provide you the most resources per tick. Has the highest block count and the most weapon points. This structure will be the heart of your Empire. Make sure its placement and its defenses are as potent as possible. If destroyed the loss of this structure may end your season.
-Forts: Forts are versatile and strong structures. Forts provide a “Good Amount” of resources. You should be able to replace combat loses from the materials provided. This can be very useful when trying to project power far from your Main Base. The block counts and weapons points provided make it a strong structure but it wont stand much of a chance if not supplemented with Ships and Air assets. Forts are no able to stand alone if attacked.
-Outposts: Outposts are the weakest of all structures. With a minimal Block count and limited weapons points they wont stand long if sieged. Outposts are also the cheapest of all structures. Their loss is not that big of a deal. Outposts are useful for providing safe harbor while traveling the oceans or providing inland airbases. Outposts are handy for providing a launching point to KOTH or other Points of Interest. Outposts wont provide much in the way of territorial defense so they are better used in an offensive capacity.
All structures require specific blocks. These blocks can be placed in whatever way you like but they must or at least should be present.
-Gridcore: This is your structures “Health” in a way. When in a siege/war scenario this block determines if you win or lose. If destroyed you will lose the war and the territory as a result. You should put a lot of thought into protecting this block at all costs. Spaced armor layers will provide better protection vs stacked armor blocks but will take up more space. Protect this block, your life depends on it. Gridcore also acts as a block limiter. If you put too many of specific blocks in it will flag the grid and turn it off, hampering your production. If you are having problems with your structure check your Gridcore block first. It may be a simple issue of too many blocks.
-Resource Core: You are allowed 1 per Territory. This is a tad different than a per structure limit. This needs to be noted because you can place multiple structures on a Territory. The Resource Core provides you with materials on each tick. You need this in order to build. Make sure its properly conveyored into your production network.
-Fuel Block Refinery: You are allowed one of these per structure. This block will proved “Fuelblocks” to power your fleets and ships. There are alternative forms of power so this isn't exactly “required” but this will be your most efficient power source. I would reccomend finding a way to get this on all of your structures. Running out of fuel is bad for the war business.
-Shipyard: I will likely try to make a “Shipyards Guide” at a later date to go over in depth on how these blocks work. For now, if your base is located somewhere near the water I would reccomend Building one of these on your docks. The Shipyard blocks are an extremely efficient way to construct ships. If built well you can build a Battleship in 20 minutes. Shipyard can also be utilized for building SG planes and tanks as well. You can build up to 2 Shipyards per structure. Make your plan and use them well.
-Refineries and Assemblers: I would reccomend using the XL Refineries and Assemblers to be the heart of your production. Vanilla refineries and assemblers count the same but have nowhere near the capacity. You are only allowed 5 Refineries and 5 assemblers per stucture. Outpost Resource Cores provide completed components. You'll only need assemblers to assemble/disassemble.
-H2 Generators: You are allowed 1 per structure. While Large Grid ships recquire fuelblocks SG tanks and planes still use H2 tanks and engines. You are allowed only 1 so I reccomend using the largest one just because. Also be sure to place some Hydrogen storage tanks for added refueling capacity.
-Collectors: You are only allowed 5. Be sure this is placed in water to collect ice. Ice is the basic fuel source needed to power your creations. Ice will be taken by the H2 Generator and Fuel Block refinery to create H2 gas and Fuelblocks. I highly recommend using a sorter and creating a dam. This isolates Ice to specific areas of your structure. If not dammed you run the risk of overloading your base cargo with ice and losing production.
-Welders: Limited to 5. Welders on bases are mostly used to reload PMWs on planes (During Modern Warfare seasons). You cannot use a welder to repair your core automatically. other than that you can use welders for whatever you like as long as its outside of combat.
Your usage of structures, their placement, build and about 100,000 other variables apply to how you will lay out your structures and your empire. You should 100% build and play to your strengths be it air or sea power. Tanks should be taken into consideration but are typically not a big factor. When you plan your structure you should be thinking about defend-ability. Even if its more of an “offensive” structure sometimes wars don't go to plan and you find yourself defending. Placing bases in coves, rivers and against cliff faces will add to the structures ability to defend itself. Starting from there will eliminate a lot of areas in the territory you wish to capture. When planning keep in mind you can place more than one structure in a territory. If you place your Main at the end of a long river you can place a Fort at the river mouth to provide an extra layer of defense for your main. You are also risking 2 structures in a territory so keep that in mind. You will also only gain resources at one of these structures. The added protection comes at a cost.
Once you have a place in mind its time to plan your structure. Your choice in layout is entirely up to you. Just keep in mind the larger the structure the harder it will hit SIM. We all want good SIM and Water Mod makes that hard. Some of the largest SIM eaters are poorly designed bases. If you want to build a larger more sprawling compound that's fine just try to keep its overall area a reasonable size. If your pushing 1km in area your going to be causing some issues. I prefer to build smaller and more heavily armored structures with a long runway. This helps minimize the physics hits while providing adequate protection for the core. Another way to ensure a good SIM friendly base is to make sure you do not create any conveyor “loops” and to minimize the exposed faces on your conveyor network. Do not Junction spam. This hits SIM hard because of the extra calculations. You will be noticed and asked to fix it. Another way to build a SIM friendly base is to minimize the size of your conveyor network. This means your cargo, Production, Resource core should all be located closely together. I would also recommend your Docks and Airfield connectors also be as close as possible to your main production area. Minimizing the overall size of your conveyor network helps SIM and Minimizes your block count too.
As for what structure I would use in a specific scenario it depends on your needs. Overall I would place my Main base in a highly defend-able area above all else. Deep in a harbor/river possibly even many kilometers inland. Your Main is the heart and soul of your empire, protect it at all costs. I would accept losses in terms of resources if it meant my Main was in a stronger position. The only resources the Resource core doesn't produce is Oil, Platinum, and Uranium. Oil is the only resource you can get in a Core but its a territory bonus. I wouldn't want my main in an Oil territory due to the likely-hood of it getting attacked.
Forts are primarily Defensive structures but can be used offensively. Surrounding your Main with Forts is a great idea. You will limit or hinder your enemies routes of attack and keep your main production structures close together meaning added wealth. Forts can be built offensively though if you are planning to attack a foe and victory isn't so certain. Forts provide enough to offset potential losses in combat and are sturdy enough to defend in dire times. Personally I use 3 forts by my Main base for production and logistics and save one for somewhere for far away where I need to project power. Your needs may be different.
Outposts aren't really going to do much. They make great spring points near KOTH and other Points of Interest. Possibly as a staging area for an attack. These structures will need shipments from your Forts and Main Bases in order to be effective. They will not sustain a war effort alone either. Outposts only provide basic comps and most unfortunately no Magnesium for ammo. Outposts should be considered expendable. If you find yourself in an unwinnable fight, evacuation of assets and resources may be the prudent option. If placed in an area of little interest though they can be just as effective as a Fort in projecting power.
I would be doing a dis-service by not explaining Logistics in here. Logistics is 100% what you make of it. Not all territories are created equal. You will find yourself short on any given resource in any given area. It is up to you and your faction members to coordinate and move materials around your bases as needed. There are many ways to do this but Ship based transport is best in my opinion. Utilize Civilian grid rules to maximize the capabilities of your support vessels to move whatever is needed. You can also move higher value cargo more easily via plane but you can only move so much. Use the proper resources to be as efficient as possible. You can move 1000 gold ingots faster via a plane than a ship but to ship 1 mil Iron ingots your gonna want a boat. Check on your bases frequently to ensure they are properly supplied. A War declaration will really limit any preparations you want to make and you may also face enemy patrols in the lead up to war. In International Waters, Anything goes.
When planning your grand strategy it is helpful to think of Dygamic as a game of Risk (thanks Bizmark, wonderful analogy). Each Territory gives you “Troops” (resources) that you use to defend your holdings. Loss of a high production territory could spell disaster.
I have been rather vague but there's a lot of ways you can plan and layout your structures. I hope this brief guide will help you figure out whats important to you and what you prioritize as you progress during a season. If you feel I've overlooked anything shoot me a DM in discord and maybe I edit this. Best of luck on the high seas.
Thank you for coming to my Fred-Talk.