Expanding your base in Surviving Mars Surviving Mars Guide & Walkthrough
Last update: 20 March 2018
In this section, you will learn how to take care of your colonists, which domes and building to build, and what to produce.
Domes
There are several types of domes that you can build. They differ in terms of size, available space and Spire spaces - central point of a dome where one can raise special buildings.
Small dome
One of the first domes that you are going to build. It has 6 building spaces (10 hexagons per space) and 1 Spire space.
Medium dome
It has 12 building spaces (10 hexagons per space), in the middle there are 3 1-hexagon spaces for decorations and 1 Spire space. Available once you research Microgravity Engineering from Engineering branch (available right away for the sponsor from India).
Large dome
It has 24 building spaces (10 hexagons per space) and 1 Spire space. Available once you research Gravity Engineering from Engineering branch.
Oval dome
It has 14 building spaces (10 hexagons per space) and 2 Spire spaces.
Geoscope dome
It has 18 building spaces (10 hexagons per space) and 1 Spire space. Increases comfort of all your colonists inside the dome and improves Sanity every Sol. Available once you research Localized Terraforming from Biotech branch.
Living quarters
In total, there are 5 types of living quarters. Each one has its own living space and level of comfort. At first, you will only have access to housing block, but you will invent other types, with your progress.
Living block
The basic type of living quarters available from the very beginning. It is one of the better resting locations for colonists. It can house up to 14 colonists.
Apartments
Due to their size, they provide lower comfort than living blocks. it can house 24 colonists. This is the second building type that you invent.
Smart home
A very comfortable house, yet the living space is highly limited. It can only house 4 colonists. You invent it alongside the intelligent housing complex.
Smart housing complex
Just like the intelligent house, - this one provides comfort at the cost of living space. You invent it together with intelligent house. It can house 12 colonists.
Arcology
Provides high comfort. Additionally, this is a spire - you build it in the center of the dome. It can house 32 colonists.
List of residential buildings
Name | Description |
Housing block | Cost: 10 cement, Consumption: 1 energy, Maintenance: 1 cement. Living space: 14 colonists. Provides shelter. Colonists living there regenerate faster than in other types of housing. |
Apartments | Cost: 35 cement, 10 polymer, Consumption: 12 energy, Maintenance: 3 cement. Living space: 24 colonists. Provide shelter. The small rooms provide less comfort. |
Smart home | Cost: 5 cement, 3 electronics, Consumption: 2 energy, Maintenance: 0,5 electronics. Living space: 4 colonists. Makes very comfortable housing. While staying there, colonists regenerate sanity. |
Smart housing complex | Cost: 15 cement, 10 electronics, Consumption: 4 energy, Maintenance: 1 electronics. Living space: 12 colonists. It makes a very comfortable living space. While staying there, colonists regenerate sanity. |
Arcology | Cost: 80 cement, 10 polymer, Consumption: 20 energy, Maintenance: 4 polymer, Living space: 32. Provides shelter and high comfort. |
What to build in domes?
Spires
Spires are special buildings that can be constructed in the center of the dome, except for the oval dome - it can hold up to two spires. There are 7 types of those buildings. The choice of the spire depends heavily on what you plan to do in the dome. Do you need a lot of space for factories and public buildings? Chose a residential spire - arcology. Do you need a building that increases comfort? Build hanging gardens. Residents and farms use too much water? Build water purifiers. It all depends on whether you want people from other domes to visit the spire and what type of bonus you want to have.
A list of spires
Name | Description |
Arcology | Cost: 80 concrete, 10 polymer. Consumption: 20 energy, Maintenance: 4 polymer, Living space: 32 It provides roof and comfort to the residents. |
Hanging Gardens | Cost: 40 concrete, 10 polymer, Consumption: 2 water, Maintenance: 4 concrete, Service comfort: +100, Comfort for all residential places: +30 A beautiful park that increases the comfort of all living places inside the dome. Services: relaxation, exercise, playing. |
Water Reclamation Station | Cost: 50 concrete, 10 polymer, 5 mechanical parts. Maintenance: 3 mechanical parts. Recovers up to 70% of consumed water in the dome. |
Clone Vat | Cost: 50 metals, 20 polymer, 10 electronics, Consumption: 30 energy, Maintenance: 3 polymer. Creates clones over time. Colonists that are clones grow and age twice as fast as normal. |
Network Node | Cost: 50 concrete, 50 metals, 20 electronics, Consumption: 20 energy, Maintenance: 3 electronics. Increases the efficiency of research of the dome. |
Sanatorium | Cost: 50 concrete, 20 metals, 10 polymer, Consumption: 20 energy, Maintenance: 2 polymer. Heals colonists by removing their flaws and defects. |
Medical Center | Cost: 30 concrete, 30 metals, 10 polymer, Consumption: 20 energy, Maintenance: 3 polymer, Service comfort: 70. Users get mental and physical health, provided that they do not suffer from hunger, dehydration, hypothermia or hypoxia. It has more places and functions more effectively than a Sanitarium. A dome with a medical center has a lower threshold of comfort required for birth. Services: medical research. |
Factories
Aside from farms, domes can hold up to two types of factories. Those are essential if you want to be completely independent of deliveries from the Earth. They require colonist supervision - direct technicians there, as they are the most effective.
Electronics factory
It produces electronics from rare metals. Basic production at the level of 9 units of electronics. It consumes 8 energy and 1 rare metals. Cost: 10 concrete, 5 metals, 15 electronics or $600M as a prefabricate.
Mechanical parts factory
It produces mechanical parts from metal. Basic production at the level of 12 units of mechanical parts. It consumes 30 energy and 1 metal. Cost: 10 concrete, 10 metal, 2 electronics or $400M as a prefabricate.
Services in the dome
Services are there mainly to provide comfort and increase morale. They are essential. The fact is that you won't be able to fit every type of service in the basic dome. You need to choose carefully what you want to build. As you acquire more domes, you will be able to fit more services. In the beginning, if you want to focus on the reproduction of colonists, you should build a kindergarten and a playground. A Diner is also mandatory - colonists don't like to eat unprocessed food. The grocery store is a relatively small and cheap choice to provide a shopping service for your people. The art workshop and electronics store aren't a necessity - instead you can build a spacebar or an open-air gym. The security station is not mandatory at the beginning as well - it is only needed if you do not care about the colonists. Build an infirmary - it's a building of high importance.
A list of service buildings
Name | Description |
Kindergarten | Cost: 10 concrete, Consumption: 2 energy, Maintenance: 1 concrete Provides children with a roof over their heads. Living space for 8 people. This is not a typical service building, but it's still worth to have it in the dome. |
Playground | Cost: 8 polymer Develops advantages of children thanks to special educational programs. Service: playing Service comfort: 80 |
School | Cost: 25 concrete, 10 electronics, Maintenance: 2 electronics. Develops desirable advantages of children using modern remote teaching methods. |
Spacebar | Cost: 15 concrete, 5 metal, Consumption: 2 energy, Maintenance: 1 concrete. Provides a place for recreation and relaxation, as well as fancy drinks. Services: relaxation, drinking, social life. Service comfort: 60 |
Diner | Cost: 10 concrete, 5 metal, Consumption: 2 energy and 1 food, Maintenance: 1 concrete. Serves the best meals on Mars. People can eat here from non-plastic tableware. Services: eating, social life, food. Service comfort: 60 |
Infirmary | Cost: 15 concrete, Consumption: 2 energy, Maintenance: 1 concrete. Users will recover their mental and physical health, provided that they do not suffer from hunger, dehydration, hypothermia or hypoxia. A dome with this building has a lower threshold of comfort required for birth. Services: medical research. Service comfort: 40 |
Open Air Gym | Cost: 10 metal, 8 polymer. Users regain a small amount of physical health and can get efficiency. Services: gymnastics, social life. Service comfort: 50. |
Casino complex | Cost: 40 concrete, 20 electronics, Consumption: 5 energy, Maintenance: 2 electronics. A place of luxurious entertainment, not always moral. Here you can feel a real human. Services: luxury, playing, gambling, social life. Service comfort: 70. |
Security Station | Cost: 15 concrete, 5 metal, Consumption: 2 energy, Maintenance: 1 concrete. It counteracts crime caused by renegades and reduces mental health loses of citizen in the dome caused by natural disasters. |
Grocery store | Cost: 10 concrete, Consumption: 1 food, Maintenance: 1 concrete. Offers premade meals and fresh vegetables and fruits. Services: food, shopping. Service comfort: 50. |
Art Workshop | Cost: 10 concrete, 2 polymer, Consumption: 1 polymer, Maintenance: 1 concrete. A place to create and admire authentic Martian works of art. Each visit causes the consumption of polymers. Services: luxury, shopping. Service comfort: 80. |
Electronics store | Cost: 10 concrete, 3 electronics, Consumption: 1 electronics, Maintenance: 1 concrete. The latest and best gadgets available on Mars! Each visit causes the consumption of electronics. Services: shopping, playing. Service comfort: 100. |
For the majority of buildings, aside from the Infirmary and the Security Station, employ colonists without a specialization.
Decorations
Decorations are mainly buildings that increase the comfort of colonists - if you have a 1 free hex to use, build a decoration. All of the decorations offer the same services (aside from the Jupiter): relaxation, gymnastics and playing. Additionally, each decoration offers the same bonus to Service comfort - 40. They are a good supplement to your dome and to public buildings.
A medium dome has 3 spaces for decoration located around the spire.
External buildings that require colonist supervision
There are 6 buildings that can be constructed outside of the dome, but they require colonist supervision. Those buildings must be placed within the dome's range, otherwise they will not function.
Those buildings are: polymer factory, metal extractor, drone hub (the first screenshot, starting from the left), thermonuclear reactor, rare metal extractor and mushroom farm (the second screenshot, starting from the left).
Direct technicians to polymer factories, drone assemblies and thermonuclear reactors, botanists to mushroom plants and geologists to metal extractors and rare metal extractors.
Providing safety
At the beginning of the game, you will have very limited options of defending against threats (especially against weather conditions and meteorites). The only thing you can do here is not to build buildings close to each other, reducing the chances of mass destabilization of the entire colony. In the later parts of the game you will have access to buildings that will effectively defend your colony.
MDF Lasers
MDF lasers are buildings that can fire a laser beam capable of destroying a meteorite. There's a short delay between each shot. You need 15 metals and 5 electronics to construct them and they have 10 energy consumption. Maintenance is 1 electronics. They are suitable only for defense against meteorites.
Defensive towers
Defensive towers are buildings with laser guidance, capable of destroying meteorites. You need 10 metals and 5 electronics to construct them and they consume 10 energy. Maintenance is 1 electronics. They can be used not only to defend against meteorites - they can fire at enemy vehicles as well.
Energy traps
Energy traps are buildings capable of catching mirror spheres. You need 10 concrete, 5 polymer and 5 electronics to construct them and they consume 10 energy. They are only used as a protection against mirror spheres.
Underground heater
Underground heater increases the temperature in colder parts of the dome and protects nearby buildings against waves of cold. A necessity when cold waves haunt your colony - it's worth to place it near water extractors and water towers. You need 15 metal and 5 mechanical parts to construct it, they consume 1,6 energy and 1 unit of water and use 2 units of metal to maintain.
Triboelectric cleaner
The triboelectric cleaner sweeps the surrounding buildings off dust by using impulses. It's not a necessity, but it should be constructed near solar panels and moisture separators (especially if moisture separators work close to extractors). Moisture separators and solar panels covered in dust have decreased efficiency. You need 15 metal and 5 electronics to construct it, it consumes 1,8 energy and requires 1 electronics to maintain.
