Why build factories?

Is there an advantage?

from GalCiv2 Forums
Tell me, oh GalCiv 2 developers and gurus, what is the ratio of advantage for building a given thing (building or ship) with a factory as opposed to just rush buying it? I understand that the factories are essentially buildings that turn income directly into production, but in what way are they superior, then, to just rush buying?

I suspect it is because it is more efficient as far as BC's spent, but can anyone clear up just how much more so?
11,024 views 8 replies
Reply #1 from Stardock Forums Top

The answer completely lies with with item being bought. In other words it's not a straight extra % you pay on each item.


For example. If I click to rush buy a basic constructor I pay about a 20% penalty over actually building it (check the actual build costs in bc in the ship screen then compare to the cost of rush buying it).


However for a custom medium sized military ship I designed the  cost of building it was like 600 bc while the rush purchase was about 2500 bc. So the inefficiency there is on the order of 400%.


Unfortunately other than ships which list the actual bc cost to make you can't measure the cost of a factory or bank or galactic wonder (this has been requested but Stardock hasn't released it so no one knows the exact inefficiency).


I generally buy one factory right away at the start of the game to get things moving. Sometimes 2 if I don't get a production bonus tile. I often buy a factory on a new world to get it producing faster when I colonize.


But in general it's very very inefficient to buy your military ships this way (other than very basic constructors or colony ships) and no one know the building costs as far as I know.


KGB


 
Reply #2 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Because money runs out, then you're screwed from rush buying. Whereas with lot's of factories you can go up to 500bc in debt with no penalty.
Elemental: Reforged
Reply #3 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Do factories increase economic output? Do factories enhance the economic output of economic centers?
Reply #4 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
The starting price of rush buying is 4bc per production point, and it'll go up to 5 & 6bc if you're rushing something big. OTOH, if you match one point of industrial capacity (such as from a factory) with one 1bc, that costs only 1bc.
Reply #5 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Yeah the inefficiency varies from purchase to purchase. I'm not sure we have any exact figures given to us as to how that "buy it now" price is calculated...but it's mean to be prohibitive for a reason. If you do the math on the payment plans it makes a credit card look like a low APR. Half the price up front plus double the price over 2 years or so...sometimes higher.

If you really wanted to, you could just buy and then save up for a few turns and then purchase it all at once...but you'll get it faster and cheaper if you just wait. Buying is useful for rush jobs, emergencies and starting colonies. I usually straight up purchase at least one factory on each colony, probably two, and then a handful of buildings on my home world to get it rocking quicker.
Reply #6 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
To estimate the cost of a building, could you multiply your Social production by the number of weeks to completion? If you're producing twenty points of social a week and the queue says a building will take ten weeks, would it be reasonable to say the building is worth 200bc? Of course this would only apply if you've just selected a building for construction.
Reply #7 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Unfortunately other than ships which list the actual bc cost to make you can't measure the cost of a factory or bank or galactic wonder (this has been requested but Stardock hasn't released it so no one knows the exact inefficiency).


And yet I managed to find out how to view this information recently, but have not had the chance to check the accuracy. I did find a couple of bugs with it right off the bat though.

Look here:
Bring up the planets/ships pop-up.
If you click on the planet, it of course centers the map on the planet. Instead of going to the planet view screen (a big waste anyway because of the errors on it) click on the social production bar on that list next to the planet. You get a whole new pop-up that shows the bc cost of the social improvement. You can rearrange the social build list there with simple single clicks also. MUCH easier than using the planet view screen.
Reply #8 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Unfortunately other than ships which list the actual bc cost to make you can't measure the cost of a factory or bank or galactic wonder (this has been requested but Stardock hasn't released it so no one knows the exact inefficiency).


Huh?? The cost of planetary improvements isn't any kind of secret. E.g., you can easily access this information through the Galactopedia download:

https://forums.galciv2.com/?ForumID=162&AID=105605#851532
http://www.kynosarges.de/Galactopedia.html

Basic factory is cost 50, Factory is cost 75, Enhanced factory is cost 100, etc.