Building Size Requirements

[Haxus]

Here are the size thresholds for each thing that has them. There are two sizes for each category. The first number is the size needed to create the first one. The second number is the size needed to add each additional one.

Arena

• 5000m³
  
• 707616m³
  

Auditorium

• 1132m³
  
• 3000m³
  

Field

• 4000m² Note square meters not cubic meters.
  
• 5000m²
  

Generator

• 2265m³
  
• 2500m³
  

Home Small

• 57m³
  
• 160m³
  

Home Medium

• 114m³
  
• 300m³
  

Home Large

• 228m³
  
• 400m³
  

Lounge

• 637m³
  
• 5000m³
  

Office

• 34m³
  
• 400m³
  

Shop

• 91m³
  
• 500m³
  

Store

• 566m³
  
• 5000m³
  

It was suggested that I post these numbers in the forum for a discussion of what the values should be. The arena particularly stands out, taking 700000 cubic meters to add additional arena space.

The add number is always bigger then the first number. This should account for extra hallways, etc. required when making multiple unit buildings.

[Vectorus]

The trouble with the "add" number being bigger is that you want to keep overall building count down, to reduce server load. 

If someone can make a city more efficient by building 100 tiny arenas rather than 1 big one, they will.

It also makes little sense. Making one multiplex cinema should be more efficient, somehow, than building five different cinemas. Trouble is, in real life you can't just build an "office" of so many metres cubed. If you build one, you also need to connect the pipes, build the foundations, fire escapes etc. Adding a second office to that plan is relatively trivial. Effective pop limits are reasonably low now, as it is. Removing the "add" penalty will probably limit the number of buildings in most cities by a good few dozen.

You could even have a penalty for the first office instead, to represent all the infrastructure needed to build the edifice, then a reducing cost as you add more (up to a point), to represent the relative ease of extending that infrastructure between floors, wings, etc. There's a reason why people build extensions rather than just building a new house in the garden!

[Haxus]

From our discussion in the game, it sounds like you would be in favor of just using the first number for the add number too.

I modified all of them so that the add number is the same as the first number. None of the first numbers were changed.

[Haxus]

This will affect existing designs. They might need to be refinalized to benefit from the change.

[Vectorus]

That seems sensible, thanks! I'll think about the actual numbers, too. Presumably others also have something to suggest about those.

[Vectorus]

The numbers should presumably be pegged such that it is actually possible to reach at least half the larger population limits. Possibly, this could be done by increasing the effectiveness of each cubic metre on larger worlds. i.e., worlds larger than 9500m (whose population limits cannot currently be reached even by half) should essentially require less volume per functional space.

I'll have a go at calculating what that would actually mean later on. I am guessing that an office, which takes 34m^3 on a 9500m world would take only 2.2m^3 on a ringworld*. They would retain their strategic value and they wouldn't massacre the servers with thousands of extra buildings, in order to do so.

Military bases could be exempt from the bonus, to preserve current balance.

*this is assuming someone's calculation that 130,000 is now the max attainable population, and that about 2,000,000 is half a ringworld's stated limit. i.e. just divide all volume requirements by 15.