Astro Space Efficiency Study

Assumptions

My analysis makes the following assumptions. This analysis assumes a moderately advanced account, which I believe helps newer accounts plan what they will need for space planning a few months out.

* Energy-20 (i.e., double energy output)
* Free account limitations (Five of the following: Terraform, Fusion Plants, Antimatter Plants, Nanite Factories, Android Factories.)
* Good defenses comprise Pring-15, Pshield-10, and CC-5.

Following these assumptions, we know:

* Astro area is increased by 25 for the Terraforms.
* Advanced Plants consume 10 spaces and berths, and provide 200 energy
* Advanced Factories consume 10 spaces and berths, and 60 energy
* Good defenses consume 7 spaces, 10 berths, and 109 energy
* Net difference is -2 spaces, -30 berths and +31 energy

Why does this matter? Beyond these “constants,” we have to consider Spaceports, Shipyards, Labs and construction infrastructure. Small Fleet encourages 12 to 16 Shipyards per base (you'll need Dreads for base defense, which is 20 Shipyards and an Orbital Shipyard).
Terms Used

* Slot is the orbit of an astro.
* Berth is a unit of population consumed.
* Space is a unit of astro area consumed.

Space Available

The tables below show the amount of space available after applying the assumptions above. Two spaces have been removed due to less space. The bonus in energy and loss in berths are assumed to balance out…so I'm leaving them out. In reality, the energy bonus benefits Slot-2 astros across the board by mitigating the difference in lost solar power.

The “U” shows the number of Urbans required. The “P” shows the number of Solar (or Gas) Plants. The fourth column (Slot-2,3(F)) denotes only fusion plants, which is available to Upgraded players in sufficient numbers and conveys the benefit of increased fertility without the loss of Solar.
Planets
Type Slot-1 (U/P) Slot-2 (U/P) Slot-2,3(F) (U/P) Slot-4,5 (U/P)
Arid, Tundra 63 (23/7) 64 (18/11) 67 (18/
Gaia 64 (17/7) 63 (14/11) 66 (14/
Earthy 60 (16/7) 60 (13/10) 63 (13/7)
Rocky 57 (20/6) 57 (16/10) 60 (16/7)
Metalic 50 (27/6) 54 (20/9) 57 (20/6)
Craters 50 (27/6) 54 (20/9) 57 (20/6)
Toxic 53 (29/6)
Volcanic, Magma 53 (19/6)
Crystalline 47 (26/5) 51 (19/ 53 (19/6)
Asteroids 38 (21/4) 41 (15/7) 43 (15/5)

[url='http://espacesociety.org/AstroEmpires.AdvancedBaseGuide-Analysis#moons']#moons [/url]
Moons
Type Slot-1 (U/P) Slot-2 (U/P) Slot-2,3(F) (U/P) Slot-4,5 (U/P)
Arid, Tundra 55 (20/6) 56 (16/9) 58 (16/7)
Gaia 56 (15/6) 56 (12/9) 58 (12/7)
Earthy 53 (14/6) 52 (12/9) 55 (12/6)
Rocky 50 (18/5) 51 (14/ 53 (14/6)
Toxic 47 (25/5)
Metalic 44 (24/5) 47 (18/ 50 (18/5)
Craters 44 (24/5) 47 (18/ 50 (18/5)
Volcanic, Magma 47 (17/5)
Crystalline 42 (23/4) 45 (17/7) 47 (17/5)
Asteroids 38 (21/4) 41 (15/7) 43 (15/5)
Space Available

Not updated. This shows the area minus the required number of Urbans to support the remaining area, not after plants.

The charts below show the remaining available space for each astro type. Available space is calculated by the total space minus the space required for Urban Structures and Fusion/Gas/Solar Plants. The first chart shows the moon space available.

We have two considerations to make. Upgraded players are advised to build on moons because the smaller size makes building P-Rings and P-Shields (i.e., Pringles) cheaper. Generally speaking, the difference between a Moon and Planet in usable space is within two Terraform levels, which is significantly less expensive than the difference in Pringle costs.
Moons

The general advice has been to take a Slot 1 over Slot 2 moon. This is because of the increased Energy of the Slot 1. However, the table reveals the difference to be slight to non-existant. In the case of Metal-3 astros, the preference should be Slot-2.

If you eventually replace all Solar Plants with Fusion, you will only gain two spaces, limiting the value of Fusion Plants when considered with their cost. Because the Fusion Plant column assumes unlimited upgrades, the value of an all-Fusion planet is not available to free players. This is an issue for Moons and Planets.

Arid and Tundras are generally preferred as research bases, and they are slightly larger than Gaias. This means Gaias are not the holy grail that is widely touted. Toxic Moons compete with Earthly, which means they should be considered when in Slot 4 and 5.

[url='http://espacesociety.org/AstroEmpires.AdvancedBaseGuide-Analysis#moons']#moons [/url]
Astro Type Slot 1 Slot 2 Fusion Slot 4,5
Arid, Tundra 81 82 84
Gaia 81 80 82
Earthly 78 77 80
Toxic 77
Rocky 76 76 78
Radioactive 76
Metallic 72 76 76
Craters 72 74 76
Volcanic, Magma 74
Crystalline 70 70 72
Asteroid 65 66 68
Planets

Free players should select Planets because of the added space. I suggest spending a bit of money to upgrade your account for one month and building two extra Terraforms on Moons instead, which will give you the general low cost of a Free account with the cost advantage of moons and the space of planets.

As with Moons, the available space difference between Slot 1 and Slot 2 is again slight; but Slot 2 is preferred. As with Moons, Metallic astros bear the greatest difference. This is due largely to their normal Fertility and size.
Astro Type Slot 1 Slot 2 Fusion Slot 4,5
Arid, Tundra 90 91 93
Gaia 90 89 91
Earthly 86 85 88
Toxic 85
Rocky 83 84 86
Radioactive 83
Metallic 80 83 83
Craters 80 81 83
Volcanic, Magma 81
Crystalline 76 77 80
Asteroid 65 66 68
Defenses

This section is outdated somewhat and should be revised.

Good Astro Defense includes:

3 x Planetary Rings
2 x Planetary Shields

Because Rings do not take up space on the astro, this consumes 2 slots. As (:abbr prings Planetary Rings:) require 24 energy, and (:abbr pshield Planetary Shields:) require 16 energy, these defenses require 104 Energy, which requires six Antimatter Plants. Therefore, we have 11 structures requiring population. So, when determining what you put on a base, consider the impact of defenses. (+16 energy, -11 slots)

Add to that a 10 recommended Command Centers (-10 energy, -10 slots). The actual number of Command Centers depends on your situation. Combined Astro Defenses and Command Centers (+6 energy, -21 slots).

The following is the impact of the Good Astro Defense with Command Centers on planetary slots.
Astro Type Slot 1 Slot 2 Fusion Slot 4,5
Arid, Tundra 69 70 72
Gaia 69 68 70
Earthly 65 64 67
Toxic 64
Rocky 62 63 65
Radioactive 62
Metallic 59 62 41
Craters 59 60 41
Volcanic, Magma 60
Crystalline 49 56 59
Asteroid 44 45 47

The following is the impact of the Good Astro Defense with Command Centers on moon slots.
Astro Type Slot 1 Slot 2 Fusion Slot 4,5
Arid, Tundra 60 61 63
Gaia 60 59 61
Earthly 55 56 59
Toxic 56
Rocky 55 55 57
Radioactive 55
Metallic 51 55 55
Craters 51 53 55
Volcanic, Magma 53
Crystalline 49 49 51
Asteroid 44 45 47
Spaceports

Fifteen spaceports on a Planet.
Astro Type Slot 1 Slot 2 Fusion Slot 4,5
Arid, Tundra 54 55 72
Gaia 54 53 70
Earthly 50 64 67
Toxic 64
Rocky 47 63 65
Radioactive 62
Metallic 44 62 41
Craters 44 60 41
Volcanic, Magma 60
Crystalline 34 56 59
Asteroid 29 30 47

Fifteen spaceports on a Moon.
Astro Type Slot 1 Slot 2 Fusion Slot 4,5
Arid, Tundra 60 61 63
Gaia 60 59 61
Earthly 55 56 59
Toxic 56
Rocky 55 55 57
Radioactive 55
Metallic 51 55 55
Craters 51 53 55
Volcanic, Magma 53
Crystalline 49 49 51
Asteroid 44 45 47
Astro Type Slot 1 Slot 2 Fusion Slot 4,5
Arid, Tundra 53 44 46
Gaia 53 67 54
Earthly 49 63 66
Toxic 63
Rocky 61 62 49
Radioactive 61
Metallic 58 61 61
Craters 58 59 61
Volcanic, Magma 59
Crystalline 54 55 58
Asteroid 43 44 46
Astro Type Slot 1 Slot 2 Fusion Slot 4,5
Arid, Tundra 59 60 62
Gaia 59 58 60
Earthly 56 55 58
Toxic 55
Rocky 54 54 56
Radioactive 53
Metallic 50 54 54
Craters 50 52 54
Volcanic, Magma 22
Crystalline 48 48 50
Shipyards
Astro Type Slot 1 Slot 2 Fusion Slot 4,5

The above table assumes the astro is optimized for Production. Following the Efficient Fleet model, we would only build 12 Shipyards. However, for those who want to build Dreads, we include that calculation as well.

* 4 energy.

Astro Type Slot 1 Slot 2 Fusion Slot 4,5