Mankind has finally decided to colonolise the Moon.

The plan is ro produce a thriving colony on the lunar surface and eventually establish it as a starport from which mankind can launch missions to further explore the solar system.

Your mission is to establish this colony. However, you must be careful as once rival nations become aware of our plans they are bound to try and intevene. They may even try to take over the colony by hostile action.

Project Goals
- Reach a population of 500.
- Achieve a prestige rating of 1,000
- Establish a budject of 100,000 credits.

https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=870224569
This is a workshop challenge created by Vas

I've already made a start. but thought it might be interesting to document my progress as I work thorugh it. I'm assuming at this point that the Moon environment will be reasonably stable with little or no wind so I'm expecting to ise mostly solar power to provide energy.

Day 1: Lunar Landing Achieved.
https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1159686618
We safely landed on the Lunar surface and a quick scout around reveals plenty of space for expansion.

Initial Build Priorities

1. A Large Power Collector
   
2. A Large Solar Panel. This ensures that we can start storing power as early as possible, and will give us a good start.
   
3. A Water Collector. We can now make oxygen as soon as we need it.
   
4. 2 x Airlocks plus an O2 Generator. I tend to build two airlocks at the start now as otherwise you get really bad bottlenecks trying to get in and out of the base at the start of a new build. These airlocks will also provide quick access to the starports later in the mission.
   
5. A Control Room. This may seem like a waste but it will eventually become the security control for the base, and even when empty it provides access to the F6 Alarm System that avoids early exposure to sandstorms or solar flares etc.
   
6. A Canteen. A small canteen which will eventually become an eating area once the meal making dome is built, However, first priority is a water fountain as colonists get thirsty quickly.
   
7. A Dormitory Dome. Next priority is to provide somewhere for the human colonists to sleep. Just six beds at this stage (one bed between two) to conserve bioplastic.
   
8. A BioDome. I build a large biodome, but only filled it with 6 x plants (2 x Tomato 4 x Wheat) as we only have 3 x Biologists. The plant mix will produce Pasta which will avoid the risk of Fork Disease.

Twelve hours into the mission and survival status has been achieved.
https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1159706105
Once the first food and starch has been produced in the Biodome.
a. Added a Meal Maker to the canteen.
b. Created a small Processiing Dome and built a Bioplastic Processor.

NOTE: The Lunar Module has not been dismantled yet, as we don't have a storage dome, and so it will act as temporary storage until we can provide somewhere else to store our materials. They will deteriorate if we leave them laying around on the lunar surface, and we don't want to risk losing anything.

Metal Aquisition.
Our next priority will be the acquisition of more metal as we are down to 2 x Metal in the mission inventory. We are just waiting for a trade ship to arrive with a decent deal on metal or ore.

https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1159727179
Twenty-One hours into the mission and we have constructed a Landing Pad and Storage Dome.

Consequently the Lunar Module has been dismantled and the materials are being transfered from the lunar surface into the base. Half of our initial medikits have already been traded for a shipment of Metal Ore to boost our metal stock.

The additional processing machines have made it necessary to double our power storage capacity as it was running low overnight.

https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1159732041
It is now Day 8 of the mission and several further trade deals have been struck to purchase metal ore allowing us to expand our base to include:

1. A dedicated meal processing dome, so the small original canteen is now just an eating area.
2. A small biodome has been added for growing medicinal plants.
3. A small laboratory has been constructed to create MediKits for future trade.
4. An additonal Solar Panel, Power Storage and Water Extractors have been built to meet the increased demand of the base for power and water.

https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1159738646
We have taken on more staff.

+5 Biologists to maintain the extra plant pads and the medicinal plant dome.
+2 Engineers to speed construction and bot repair
+2 Medic's to increase the production of MediKits.

On the negative side most of our initial Carrier Bots have become unservicable, so we are reduced to manual effort for carrying most of our materials.

We need to purchase more Bots and work towards being able to produce our own. The good news is that our drug manufacture is going well and we have plenty of Medikits to trade.

https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1159789787
Day 10 and we have finally got around to building a medical bay. It means that once we can acquire some Drilling Bots or recruit three more Workers we can build a mine and begin to manufacture metal from our own ore.

However, for the time being it's main function will be to provide storage for the Medikits we are producing until we are ready to trade them and for that reason it has been built directly off the Security Control Centre just inside the main airlocks.

This location will also ensure that later on there will be medical support close on hand if any of our guards are injured defending the base. In the interim it means that the medikits are stored close to the landing pad to speed the trading process.

So, our next priority will be to build a mine, but first we need to expand the base towards the mountains and build yet another storage dome ready to recieve our mined ore.

https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1161523510
We have not made a lot of progress in the last 24 hours, which is a bit frustrating.

As you can see the medics have been busy and have created quite an impressive stock of 21 x Medikits (just over 500 credits worth) ready to be traded for ore or metal, so that we can begin to expand our base towards the mountains and build our first mine.

Unfortunately, the traders that have visited the base over the past 24 hours have been demanding commissions in excess of 50%, and as a matter of principle we won't trade with them. All we are doing at the moment is off-loading our excess food on these greedy individuals (10 x Food at a time) and either taking the credits or trading for additional spares.

We are trading food simply because at the moment our Biodome is over producing, and so we need to get rid of the excess to prevent our Storage Dome backing up and interfering with more important production.

Once we hire more colonist food usage will increase and the issue will resolve itself. However, at the moment dumping 10xFood on every greedy trader that visits is a good way of managing the issue, and we get a token boost of credits or spares in return.

The long run of expensive traders simply means things have been a bit slow, but hopefully a reasonable trader will visit soon, and we will be able to get on with the expansion plan.

https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1161616679
Whilst not perfect by any means a trader has finally arrived willing to accept less than 50% commission.

Only 1 x Metal, but we managed to pick up a Drilling Bot and a replacement Carrier Bot. Hopefully, we will now see a run of reasonable traders turn up.

The initial sxpansion plan is as follows:
https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1161633882
Expanding to the west of the base away from the landing pad we plan to build a large processiing dome which will become the main metal processing plant.

A new O2 generator and two airlocks to give direct access the the mountainous region behind the base where we will build our main mining facilties.

The production cost will be 16 x Metal and 13 x Bioplastic, and work will begin as soon as these materials are available.

https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1161665772
Today we took delivery of the last metal needed to complete the planned Mining Expansion and work can now begin.

We also managed to acquire an additional 6 x Spares which were solely needed as we ran out yesterday.

https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1161692317
The mine expnasion has been completed according to plan and we are now able to produce our own metal ore.

These initial structures will soon be supplemented by a local storage dome to hold the mined ore until it can be processed (its planned location can be seen by the dark area just south of the new O2 generator)

We will then add a Factory Dome to begin manufacture of our own spares.

We have also decided to hire a further 4 x Workers to operate the additional processing machines and work in the mine until more driller bots can be acquired.

The long term goal will be to build a total of four mines, but these will not be built until we have the Driller Bots required to operate them.

Mining Operation Planned Establishment

• 4 x Mines
  
• 12 x Driller Bots
  
• 8 x Metal Processors
  
• 8 x Workers

However, the next priority is to establish a fully functional Manufacturing Operation.

https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1162406197
The goal will be to complete the Manufacturing Circle already partially constructed in the centre of the base. The Manufacturing Circle is the most efficient arrangement for the manufacturing operation with all the processing and manufacturing dome clustered around a central storage dome which receives processed materials and issues raw materials via a direct connection.

https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1162530930
The factory and Autobot Facility are now up and running.

We have begun manufacuring our own spares and semi-conductors. We are also repairing our own bots and building our own Carrier Bots. This manufacture will be increased as more mines are brought into operation.

At the moment we only have two Drilling Bots and still need to acquire another 10 to meet our manufacturing target. So, production is limited by the amount of ore being mined.

We have also needed to expand our power network by another Large Solar Panel and Power Collector to cope with the increased power demands.

https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1162578590
A dedicated Autobot Repair Dome has been added to the mining complex today. This will provide maintenance to our growing bot fleet close to the mining airlock so that Mining Bots can access routine maintenance quickly and with minimum disruption to the mining operation.

We now have 3 x Drilling Bot's and will soon be in a position to construct a second mine.

We have also secured a Super Extractor Patent meaning that we can upgrade our water extraction plant as soon as time and materials allow.

https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1162966901
We managed to acquire the Construction Bot Patent and 2 x Drilling Bots today at only 40% co9mmission. It used up almost our stock of Medikits and pur remaining credits, but will mean we can go ahead and build a second mine and increase our production accordingly.

https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1163007115
Following yesterdays deal for the Construction Bot Patent, we managed to do another similar deal today for the Colossal Solar Panel Patent.

This will enable us to replace our existing Large solar Panels with much more efficient colossal versions that will need less maintenance,

https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1163503964
Things are beginning to move faster now that we have two mine in operation and 5 x Driller Bots.

The really good news being that we have just acquired the Driller Bot Patent and so we can now manufacture our own mining robots and so control the growth of our mining operation directly. The immeditate priority being to expand our fleet of Diller Bots to 12 so that we can operate 4 x Mines at full capacity.

https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1163509689
At the same time, following the acquisition of the Colossal Panel Patent, work has already begun on the restructuring of our power network.

The orginal grid was built at the front of the base as it was convenient to use the initial airlocks for maintenance access. However, the plan is to move the entire network to the rear of the base and thus free up the available land at the front of the base for future expansion of the Starport, and the construction of a Visitors Centre and Entertainment Facility for customers and guests.

3 x Massive Solar Panels have already been constructed in the Mining Area and the old Large Solar Panels at the front of the base are in the process of being dismantled as soon as we confirm that they are no longer needed.

The long line of Large Power Collectors will remain until we can acquire the Mega Collector Patent, and then they too will be dismantled, as will the Landing Pad which will be moved to make room for the main Sign Post.

https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1163515914
This is probably a good point to mention prestige as its the reason we won't be building a Signpost for the base immediately. The Signpost adds +5 to the bases Prestige, and at the moment we are doing our best to keep our prestige as low as possible.

It's currently 119 and eventually we need to boost it to the maximum of 1,000. However, we are assuming that as our prestige increases the visibility and interest that rival nations will take in our activities will increase and so we are deliberately keeping it as low until we have a fully functional base security force in situ to deal with any threats.

At the very minimum we would like 5 x (Armed) Guards in place before the first attacks occur, and the eventual aim will be to have at least 10 x Guards on duty in the security centre at all times.

https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1163574871
Progress is now accelerating as we build our third mine, having just added a 7th Driller Bot to our fleet.

The new Massive Solar Panels are in place and the old ones have been dismantled.

We have also replaced the old Water Extraction facility with a new one based upon Mega Water Extraction towers.

We have begun manufacturing the guns we need to defend the base, and have increased the number of Engineers employed to cope with the extra workload.

The total base population now consists of 36 x Colonists and 21 x Bots and our stock of raw food has fallen to under 100 units, which means we need to consider adding another biodome.

https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1163611855
Magnolia Richard has been hired as the first of five Base Security Officers.

A second Large biodome has been built to maintain our stock of raw food which has begun to drop as the base population has increased. Three additional Biologists have been hired to tend to the six additional plant pads. More will be added as necessary.

https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1163626575
Magnolia's Base Security Team (6 x Armed Guards) is now in place and manning the Security Control Centre. We can now begin to expand the StarPort and start improving the prestige of the base.

https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1163640280
We have finished the initial mining facilty consisting of 4 x Mines operated by 10 x Diller Bots. We still need two more Driller Bots to operate at full efficiency but we already have an excess of Metal in stock.

https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1163643315
We have finally managed to acquire the Mega Collector Patent, which means that we can complete the restructure of our power network.

The existing Large Power Collectors built in front of the base will now be replaced by new Mega Collectors built to the north extending into the broken ground beyond the new Water Extraction facility. This will free up the land in front of the base for the planned Star Port and move the power storage out of the way into an area with little other potential.

https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1163671840
The re-structuring of the power grid began last night with well over half of the original Large Power Collectors being replaced and dismantled.

The new Mega Power Collectors can be seen stretching off to the north of the base along a narrow canyon that cannot serve any other useful purpose. Only three of the original collectors remain in the foreground and they should be drained and dismantled tonight.
https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1163692954
The only mishap during this project was a sudden Solar Flare which caught the team by surprise when a number of bots were along way from an airlock. This destroyed three bots which will now need to be replaced.

However, it highlights the need to build three telescopes and a Telescope Control Centre to provide the base with more warning on approaching solar activity.

Having completed the Power Grid Restructure Project we have turned our intention to improvement of the existing facilties for manufacture and human habitation.
https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1163770695
The original small Bioplastic Processing Facility has been repleced with a larger ome capab;e of processing the increased volume of starch being produced by our Biodomes.
https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1163774377
We have also built a Bar and Entertainment Dome for the relaxation of the human workforce.
https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1163777331
Work is also underway on the Telescope Control Centre, which will provide the base with a advanced warning of approaching solar flares.

Originally posted by author:

Ok! Slight change of plan as it turns out that Telescopes are disabled for this challenge. Not sure why, but it means I'll just have to accept consequences of the occassional unexplected Solar Flare.

https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1163811925
The new habitat ring has been completed. Individual bed space for 24 colonists with local O2 supply and nearby bar and entertainment facilities.

The old dormitory dome will now be dismantled and replaced by a similar facilty close to the Security Control Centre for use by the Base Security Officers. So, that they are on hand if there is a security alert.

https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1163933100
We have just built 2 x Large Canteens in the north-eastern quadrant of the base which are intended to provide a threshold for further expliotation of the large open plain which exists in that direction.

One of these canteens has been filled with Meal Makers, and the other has been established as a second communal eating area. We now have enough ready meals to support over 100 colonists and can begin to recruit more personnel.

The Base Security Team has already been increased to 11 x (Armed) Guards.
https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1163946006
Prestige has now risen to 299, and its reasonable to assume that we will attract some attention shortly.

Time to take stock and decide on the goals for the next phase of the mission.

Starch Shortage
We have an obvious shortage of Starch, and consequently Bioplastic. This is quite unusual as Starch is often the cause of clogged Storage Domes, and has occured despite building 2 x Wheat Pads for every 1 x Tomato Pad. However, we have plenty of products available for trade and can afford to buy in additional starch to supplement our own production.

Excess Metal
The good news is that we have plenty of Metal and can even afford to trade it for Starch if necessary. This means that we have no problem resourcing additional power structures and can afford to be generous is planning our power grid.

Ore Surplus
We have slightly more unprocessed ore than I consider idea, and so as soon as we have enough Bioplastic I intend to build another Large Processing Dome and fill it with 8 x Metal Processors. Recruiting another 8 x Workers will enable us to process the excess Ore and keep pace with output from the mining operation. That will obviously increase the excess of Metal we have in storage, and we need to do something to put all this metal to practical use.

The best option will be to increase our production of an end product such as Guns, but to achieve that we need to solve the Starch shortage.
https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1163978911
Trading Guns for Starch would seem to be the obvious solution, and to facilitate that and make best use of the excess Metal production available we have completed an initial expansion of the Starport to increase our trading potential..

https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1164428384
The planned new Armaments Production Facility is now operational providing dedicated factory domes for the processing of metal, manufacture of semi-conductors and assembly of guns.

Most of the guns produced will be sold as they are probably the most valuable commodity we can produce and will help meet the 100,000 credit target set by the challenge. However, some will be used to arm the Base Security Team if it needs further expansion.

https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1164432275
Ore and Metal Production
The additional metal processing facility has clearer the backlog of mined ore, and as we now have 15 x Driller Bots available we could even build another mine. However, before doing so we want to add at least one airlock to the provide faster access to and from the mines.

Starch and Bioplastic
We are still not self-sufficient in the production of Starch. However, the strategy of trading Guns and Drugs for Starch seems to be working and we currently have plenty of raw starch to keep Bioplastic Processing busy.

Food and Meals
Food production remains steady and our stock of raw vetetables is stable at between 100-200 units. The number ready Meals remains constant at around 100, which is more than enough for the current base population.

Base Population
We have been recruiting quite steadily to provide manpower for the New Armament Production Facility. Base population is now 86 x Colonists and 51 x Bots. However, we are close to reaching the threshold set by the available ready meals and will need to consider expanding our food production, canteen and sleeping facilites before the next expansion.

Prestige
The base now has a Signpost, but even without the +5 x Prestige it provides our prestige has risen to 345. We are anticipating some interest from our rivals at any time, and will review our security accordingly.

https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1164447345
As a general rule we never trade more than 10 units of anything with one trader.

The reason for this is that the delivery of goods to a trader is a high priority task that disrupts the normal routine of the base. So, if you trade a large quantity of goods with one trader you can easily create a major crisis in your own base by distracting colonists and bots from their normal duties. This can easily be tested simply by watch the number of ready meals drop during a period when a trader is being serviced.

However, in this particular instance the deal was too good to miss, and so we have broken our own rule and taken the risk of trading as much as necessary to secure the GM Tomato Patent and purchase all the Traders available Starch and credit.

This will disrupt our base for a short time, but we do have a large fleet of carrier bots, and so it should not have a significant impact.
https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1164453613
In fact, we monitored the impact and as you can see the number of available ready meals did drop to under 100, but the reduction was insignificant and soon resolved once the Trader had left.

https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1164510140
We have just sufferred the first attack on pur base. Only four intruders and they were dealt with effectively by our Security Team with only minor injuries.

Base Prestige is currently 323.

However, it might be wise to instal a few more beds in the Medical Facility in anticipation of future attacks.

https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1164520177
The stock of raw food has dropped below 100, and so a decision was made to build another Large Biodome (4 x GM Tomato + 12 x Wheat) and hire 6 x Biologists to increase the stock. The meal count remains stable at 100 ready meals but even with the small stock of Meat provided by the small Laboratory we need to keep a food reserve.

https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1165483903
Two new food complexes have been constructed. One to the North and this one to the South, which together have increased the number of ready meals available to 200.

The current human population of the base is 104 x Colonists, so we are now poised for another massive expansion. The current plan is to build a Communication Centre in the South, which will concentrate on offering services and emergency assistance to passing space traffic. It is hoped that this will boost both the income and prestige of the base.

We will also be looking to add another manufacturing circle to the North with the aim of increasing the number of Guns we have available for trade.
https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1165514708
The communications Centre is operation and when fully manned provides a 94% chance of picking up incoming distress calls.
https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1165516585

https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1165536197
A new Emergency Medical Centre has been constructed as close to the Starports as possible to provide the fastest possible treatment for critical radiation victims.

We now aim to recruit an additional 4 x Medic's to provide better cover.

Also visible on the Landing Pad is the bases very first visitors ship. A small vessel seeking fod and shelter for its starving crew of four. (And willing to pay 20 credits per man for our help)

https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1166452017
Whilst not really vital to this challenge we did finally acquite the GM Onion Patent today, which means we now have every technical innovation available to us.

https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1167453149
Our base prestige has reached 517/1000. Just of 51% of the goal set. This has been achieved without any major investment in prestige buildings and is largely down to growth and the excellent work of our Emergency Medical Centre which has already provided high quality medical care to a number of starships.

Base population continues to grow as new production facilities are added. We now have three manufacturing circles in operation all of which are dedicated to the production of Guns. However, the base is already capable of supporting a population of 250, based on the number of ready meals in storage, and so further recruitment will not be an issue for the time being.

Capital earned from goods and services still has a long way to go. However, we have ample goods available for trade. We currently have 64 x Guns in stock, with a market value of about 5,000 credits, subject to commission. However, we may need to build more starports in order to increase the frequency of trade ships landing at the base.

https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1170156257
We are a third of the way to achieving the population target set by this challenge. However, we have been careful to control recruitment and not to flood the base with useless or idle bodies, so growth has been phased to meet the bases skill needs.

We currently have more raw Food than we need and more than enough ready Meals. so, there should be no problem in expanding the base population to the 500 target when we are ready to do so.

Base prestige is now well over halfway to achieving the target set despite nothing specific being done to boost it. The current prestige is merely the result of the welfare and groth of the base and the efficiency with which it is providing emergency services to fellow space travellers.

If we do need to artificially boost this figure later we can always build a few Pyramids or additoinal Signposts.

By far the slowest progression is in achieving the target of 100k credit.

The current hope is that if we increase the number of Starports and Radio Antenna then we can attract more business to the base and speed up the growth of our capital balance. It will be expensive in both materials and power but we do have more than enough Guns and Medi Kits available to cope with an increased demand.

More Radio Masts
https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1170239320
Two Additional Radio Antenna gving a 98% chance of picking up distress calls when manned. Each additional mast now only adds 1%, so a definite diminishing return on further investment.

An Additonal StarPort constructed
https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1170244475
We have built another Starport, although I'm not completely convinced that the frequency of trader visits is affected by the number of Starports built. So, we are being cautious about it as they are expensive. If we see a marked increase in trade as a result we may build more.

Another emergency adds to our prestige.
https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1170249802
No sooner were the new Radio masts installed than yet another distress call was received.

https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1176618365
The mission is progressing steadily towards its goals. The base remains stable and production is high. In fact, a few days ago the decision was made to add two further Starports to the base in the hope of boosting trade as the number of guns and medikits available had risen to a point where more trade was needed. This seems to have worked and stock is now steady at about 120 guns and 50 medikits.
We are almost half way to achieving the population target set by this challenge. The base remains stable although we have begun to notice a drop in ready meals available and in the stock of raw food in storage. To counter this we have just built another Farm Dome and recruited 12 x Biologists to boost food production.

Base prestige continues to rise despite the fact that we have yet to build any prestige buildings, pther than the single signpost marking the entrance to the base.

Quite a sizeable increase in income over the past ten days. Due partly to the increase in trade produced by the two aditional Starports, and partly due to further investment in base communications which means we can now intercept 100% of distress calls,

https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1178051824
The new Farm Dome has boosted our stock of raw food to a more stable level.

However, we have now noticed that our stock of Bioplastic has fallen and is beggining to interfere with production. So, the decision has been made to add a third Bioplastic Processing Dome to the base and to recruit another 8 x Workers to operate the machines.

As the base continues to grow a number of issues have been noted that need to be addressed.

Issues identified

1. The stock of guns available for trade has continued to fall despite building additional Arms Manufacturing domes and hiring more Engineers.
   
2. A growing number of machines are being left idle, despite there being no obvious shortage of materials.
   
3. Finished guns are being left in machines instead of being moved to an armoury.
   
4. Human colonists are wasting their time delivering goods to traders.

Analysis of the cause.
A careful analysis has concluded that following to be the causes.

1. There is a shortage of Metal Ore, which is having a knock on effect in the availability of Metal, Semi-Conductors and ultimately Guns. This shortage has been ignored largely because the stock of metal appeared high. But this is misleading as much of this metal is tied up in Arms manufacture waiting for semi-conductors to become available.
   
2. Bot production has ceased having reached the manufacturing limit of 100 agreed. This means the base currently only has 58 x Carrier Bots trying to deal with the movement of materials for 289 x Colonists. Clearly they are not able to cope, and skilled workers have had to be assigned to menial carrier tasks, such as the delivery of trade goods to traders in the Starport.
   
3. Some of the new manufacturing domes have not been provided with local habitation domes (Canteens and Sleeping Cabins) this is resulting in workers wasting time walking long distances to east, drink and sleep, and discouraging them from working in the new factories.
   
4. The desire to increase the production of guns has resulted in an imbalance in the number of machines producing guns and those producing semi-conductors, creating a shortage of the later.

Risks Arising
These issues pose a number of risks to the future efficiency of the base.

1. We may need to turn traders away due to a shortage of guns to trade.
   
2. Potential danger of injury to colonists from unexpected solar flares when delivering goods to Starports.
   
3. Loss of prestige due to unhappy colonists forced to do menial and dangerous tasks.

Recommended Remedial Action
The following actions are recommended.

Short Terms

1. Purchase additional Ore from Traders to supplement the production from the mines.
   
2. Purchase additional Carrier Bots from Traders to reduce the pressure on the movement of goods and distraction of skilled workers.
   
3. Purchase additonal semi-conductors from traders to boost production of guns and bots.
   
4. Cancel the limit on Bot production and switch all future production to Carrier Bots.
   
5. Recruit additional colonists to reduce the pressure on the current population/
   https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1186176331

Long Term

1. Add local habitation domes close to the new manufacturing hubs to reduce time wasted by workers getting food, drink and sleep.
   
2. Build additional mines to boost ore production as soon as driller bots are available to operate them. (2 x Driller Bots per Mine) Note: Driller Bots to be purchased for the time being.
   
3. Switch one of new Armament Factories over to Semi-Conductor manufacture to address the imbalance in production.
   https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1186133808

https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1193633910
Despite the issues identified two days ago progress towards our goals has been excellent over the past ten days. Income in particular has substantially and is almost double that reported on Day 50. We are currently concentrating on resolving our production issues to ensure that we can continue to meet the demand for our guns and medical supplies.

Good progress has been made towards increasing the base population. However, care is being taken not to recruit new colonists faster than they can be assimilated into the base community. Additional habitat domes and meal capacity will be needed to cater for the remaining 200 recruits and they will only be recruited when jobs are available to justify the cost of their employment.

The rate of increase in the base prestige has slowed probably because we are reaching the limits of prestige that can be earned from emergency services and growth. There are no immedite plans to start constructing prestige buildings as we still have a lot to do before we meet the population and financial targets.

A massive increase in income has been achieved in the last 10 days, due to the additiknal trade attracted by the two extra Starports. However, as reported on Day 68 this has created an increase in demand for both Guns and Medical Kits which our current production is having trouble meeting.

1. Additional Ore has been purchased from Traders to supplement the production from the mines.
   
2. The number of mines has also been increased from 10 to 14 over the past ten days serviced by a total of 42 x Driller Bots acquired by purchase and internal manufacture.
   
3. An additional 35 x Carrier Bots have been acquired either by purchase from traders or internal manufacture. The eventual intention being to increase this to 150 as soon as opportunity allows.
   
4. Additonal semi-conductors have been purchased from traders to boost production of guns and bots.
   
5. All restrictions on Bot production have been cancelled and production focussed on Carrier Bots and Driller Bots.
   
6. Additional colonists have been recruited to reduce the pressure on the current population and to work in the new Manufacturing Hub.
   
7. Additional local habitation domes have been constructed close to the new manufacturing hubs to reduce time wasted by workers getting food, drink and sleep.
   https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1193651120
   
8. 4 additional mines have been constructed increasing the total to 14 and boosting ore production operated by 42 x Driller Bots.
   https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1193655751
   
9. One of the new Armament Factories has been switched over to Semi-Conductor manufacture to address the imbalance in production.

The production issues are still not fully resolved and as can be seen our stocks of both guns and medical kits are still low. However, we are just about meeting demand at the moment and plan to add more manufacturing capacity as soon as we have the resources to operate it effectively.

A minor crisis arose yesterday which could easily have escalated had it not been handled properly.

It began with a warning that O2 levels were low in one of the cabin domes in the new production hub complex under construction. This seemed odd as the hub included additional O2 generators and the overall oxygen production of the base was well within the tolerances for its population.

However, the base had recently begun a major recruitment drive to provide the additional labour needed by the production hub and the workforce had been increased to 110 x Engineers; 110 x Workers and 112 x Biologists, whilst the number of Medic's and Guards had been increased to 50 of each.

It was reasoned at first that the cabin O2 issue was just a minor oxygen flow issue and would resolve itself once the new arrivals had dispersed around the base and settled in.

It didn't.

Despite the re-assurances that the base was generating plenty of oxygen for the size of its population the O2 shortages continued and became more widespread. Within hours the entire of the new production hub complex was showing an O2 deficiency and normal human activty was curtailed in all 13 domes.

In an effort to resolve the problem the following emergency actions were taken.

1. The arrival of additional colonists was stopped immediately.
   
2. 3 x Large O2 Generators were constructed around the perimeter of the new production hub.
   

This appeared to resolve the immediate issue and O2 began to flood back into the production complex as the new generators were constructed and connected.
https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1229418583
However, in our haste to resolve the O2 problem we failed to notice that the level of water in the bases Water Storage Tank was dropping rapidly. The 3 x new O2 Generators had over stretched the capacity of our existing water extractors and the base was now descending into a water shortage.

Not only was this resulting in a lot of thirsty and distracted colonists, but it was beginning to cause the shutdown of O2 generators across the base, and was having a direct impact on food production. In short, the base was now in the opening stages of a death spiral with potential asphyxiation and starvation as an outcome.

Fortunately, we recognised the issue quickly enough and were able to prioritise the construciton of 2 x Large Water Extractors to compensate for the demands of the 3 x new O2 Extractors, and eventually the base returned to normal operations.

Only two lives were lost as an indirect result of the crisis. The first was one of our guards who was killed during an undetected intruder raid that occurred at the height of the crisis. The second was a visiting radiation victim who failed to receive treatment fast enough due to all the distractions taking place across the base.
https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1229410636
This was essentially a problem of our own making, The desire to hire additional colonists to operate the new production hub and the tempation to boost the overall base population significantly closer to the target of 500 had led to too many new colonists arriving at the base to quickly and had initially overstretched the O2 flow in the area around the airlocks to the starports.

That issue was then compounded by an over-reaction in managing that crisis which resulted in a potentially much more serious water shortage that affected multiple systems across the entire base.