Lunar Base Command

Lunar Base Command - Operations Manual (v1.0)

1. Introduction & Objective

Welcome, Commander! You are in charge of establishing and managing humanity's vital outpost on the Moon: Ares Base. Your mission is to grow the base, ensure the survival and well-being of your crew, manage resources extracted from the lunar regolith, and maintain operational integrity against the harsh environment and potential system failures.

The Objective is to expand the base, grow the crew population, accumulate Credits, and maintain high Morale and base Integrity to achieve a high score, all while avoiding catastrophe (crew loss or critical funding withdrawal).

2. Interface Overview

• Left Column:
  • Game Title: "Lunar Base Command".
  • Map Area (8x8 Grid): Your view of the base area. Click tiles to build or get info. Tiles represent Craters/Rough Terrain (unbuildable), Regolith (buildable surface), or existing Modules/Structures. Damaged structures show a red 'X'.
  • Comms Log: Displays incoming messages regarding events, construction, resource levels, and system warnings. Scrollable and essential reading!
• Right Column:
  • Base Operations (Controls): Buttons for managing the base.
    • Actions: Repair Mode button.
    • Construct Module: Buttons for building base structures (Hab Dome, Ore Processor, Hydroponics, etc.). Costs (Cr) are shown.
    • Resource Priority: Buttons (Low, Med, High) to set the focus of the base's non-essential resources, affecting Credit income vs. Crew Morale.
  • Base Status (Stats): Key performance indicators for your base.
    • Sol: The current Martian day (equivalent to a turn).
    • Score: Your command performance rating.
    • Crew: Current Crew members / Maximum Crew Capacity.
    • Morale: Crew morale percentage. Affects growth and system integrity.
    • Health: Crew health percentage. Affects growth and loss rate.
    • Research: Base research level percentage. Influenced by Labs.
    • Credits (Cr): Your operational budget. Needed for construction, repairs, and upkeep.
    • Net Inc: Estimated Credit change next Sol (Income + Allocation - Upkeep).
    • Upkeep: Total Credit cost per Sol for maintaining structures.
    • Nutrients (Nu): Current nutrient paste stockpile.
    • Nu +/-: Estimated Nutrient change next Sol (Production - Consumption).
    • Power: Current Power Supply / Current Power Demand. Turns red/orange if demand exceeds supply (shortage).
    • Integrity: Overall base structural and system stability (100% is optimal). Decreases with low Morale and events, increased by Command Centers. Low integrity invites malfunctions.

3. Core Concepts

• Credits (Cr): Earned from Ore Processors and "taxed" via Resource Priority settings based on crew count. Spent on construction, repairs, and per-Sol Upkeep costs for most modules. Depletion leads to mission failure.
• Nutrients (Nu): Produced by Hydroponics Bays. Consumed by your Crew (1 unit per person per Sol). Running out leads to starvation, crew loss, and severe Morale drops.
• Power: Supplied by Solar Arrays. Consumed by most operational modules (Hab Domes, Processors, Hydroponics, Labs, Medical Bays, Command Centers, Defense Turrets). If Demand > Supply, a Power Shortage occurs, reducing the efficiency of powered modules (less income/nutrients/research/health/morale boost) and directly lowering Morale.
• Crew: Your personnel. Require Hab Domes (capacity and power), consume Nutrients, generate base income via Resource Priority, and influence base Integrity via Morale. Crew numbers increase if conditions (Hab space, Nutrient surplus, Morale, Health) are met. Crew numbers decrease due to starvation, low Health/Morale, or specific events.
• Morale: Crew contentment and psychological state. Increased by low resource priority settings, adequate Nutrients, Research Labs, Medical Bays, and successful event outcomes. Decreased by high priority settings, starvation, overcrowding, low Integrity, Pollution, and Power Shortages. Low Morale hinders growth and decreases Integrity.
• Health: Physical well-being of the crew. Improved by Medical Bays. Negatively impacted by starvation, radiation events, and pollution. Low Health increases loss rate.
• Research: Represents the base's scientific output. Increased by Research Labs. May influence event outcomes or unlock future potential.
• Integrity: Represents the base's physical and system stability (starts at 100%). Decreased by low Morale and certain events (e.g., malfunctions, sabotage). Increased by Command Centers. Low Integrity increases the chance or severity of negative events like malfunctions.
• Upkeep: Most modules require Credits per Sol for maintenance. Deducted automatically.

4. Module & Structure Guide

• Build Location: All structures are built on grey Regolith tiles.
• Power: "Pwr: -X" means demands X power. "Pwr: +Y" means supplies Y power.
  • Habitation Dome: (Cost: 45Cr, Upkeep: 1Cr, Pwr: -1) - Adds +10 Crew Capacity. Requires power to function.
  • Ore Processor: (Cost: 100Cr, Upkeep: 3Cr, Pwr: -3) - Generates +12 Credits/Sol. Causes pollution.
  • Hydroponics Bay: (Cost: 65Cr, Upkeep: 1Cr, Pwr: -2) - Generates +18 Nutrients/Sol.
  • Research Lab: (Cost: 140Cr, Upkeep: 4Cr, Pwr: -2) - Increases Research rate and Morale.
  • Medical Bay: (Cost: 190Cr, Upkeep: 7Cr, Pwr: -2) - Increases Health rate and Morale.
  • Command Center: (Cost: 240Cr, Upkeep: 12Cr, Pwr: -2) - Increases base Integrity recovery rate.
  • Solar Array: (Cost: 160Cr, Upkeep: 6Cr, Pwr: +20) - Supplies 20 Power. No pollution.
  • Point Defense Turret: (Cost: 280Cr, Upkeep: 15Cr, Pwr: -3) - Helps defend against Micrometeoroid Showers.

5. Controls & Actions

• Construct: Click a module button under "Construct Module". The button highlights. Click a valid Regolith tile on the map to build, spending Credits. Click again or invalidly to cancel.
• Repair: Click the "Repair" button. It highlights. Click a damaged structure (red 'X'). If you have enough Credits (60% of original cost), it's repaired. Repair mode deactivates.
• Resource Priority: Click "Low", "Med", or "High" to adjust resource focus. Affects Credit income and Crew Morale starting next Sol.
• End Sol: Click this button to advance the game simulation by one Sol. Resources are processed, nutrients consumed, crew changes occur, stats update, and random events may happen.

6. Random Events

Life on the Moon is unpredictable! Be prepared for:

• Negative: Solar Flares (radiation/damage), Equipment Malfunctions (damage), Hydroponics Failures (reduced nutrients), Viral Outbreaks (health/morale drop, potential losses), Micrometeoroid Showers (damage, reduced by Point Defense), Life Support Strain (health/morale drop from pollution), Seismic Activity (damage chance), Communication Blackout (morale drop), Market Crash (reduced ore income), Resupply Delay (reduced nutrients next Sol).
• Positive: Bumper Crop (bonus nutrients), Mining Boom (bonus credits), Supply Pod Arrival (bonus credits/nutrients), Research Breakthrough (bonus research/temp income boost), Ice Discovery (bonus nutrients).

Monitor the Comms Log closely!

7. Mission Success & Failure

• Mission Failure (Game Over): Occurs if your Crew count reaches 0 or your Credits drop below -700.
• Mission Success: There's no fixed end. Success is measured by your Score, reflecting the size and well-being of your crew, accumulated wealth, Morale, Health, Research, and overall base Integrity (low System Stress). Aim high, Commander!