Mech booster

Mech booster

A remote energy and computation enhancement device. Any friendly mechanoids in its effect radius will move and work faster.

Base Stats

Type

Building – Biotech (Buildings)

Market Value

345  ^[Note]

Beauty

0

HP

150

Flammability

50%

Path Cost

42 (24%)

Building

Size

2 × 2

Minifiable

True

Placeable

True

Passability

pass through only

Cover Effectiveness

75%

Terrain Affordance

Light

Power

-200 W

Creation

Required Research

High mechtech

Skill Required

Construction 5

Work To Make

8,040 ticks (2.23 mins)

Resources to make

100 + 4

Deconstruct yield

50 + 2

Destroy yield

25 + 1

Mech boosters are a building added by the Biotech DLC that provides a speed bonus to nearby Mechanoids, allowing them to move and work faster.

Acquisition

Mech boosters can be constructed once the high mechtech research project has been completed. Note that this research requires a powerfocus chip to unlock. Each requires  100 Steel,  4 Components, 8,040 ticks (2.23 mins) of work modified by the construction speed of the builder, and a construction skill of 5.

Summary

Mech boosters consume 200 W of power and provide a ×150% multiplier to Global Work Speed and a ×115% multiplier to move speed to mechs operating within 9.9 tiles of the lower left corner of the booster. After exiting the radius, the effect disappears after 30 ticks (0.5 secs). The effects of multiple mech boosters do not stack.

The bonuses from mech boosters are applied before the additive increases from control sublinks or the Mechanoid Labor: Enhanced precept; the mech booster does not further increase the effects of either.

All labor mechanoids except the tunneler have a Global Work Speed of 50%. Therefore, the mech booster will increase their work speed by +25%, regardless of any other factors.

Control Sublinks	Work Speed	Mech Boosted	Mech Boosted + Labor: Enhanced
0	50%	75%	95%
1	56%	81%	101%
2	62%	87%	107%
3	68%	93%	113%
4	74%	99%	119%
5	80%	105%	125%
6	86%	111%	131%

Analysis

Mech boosters provide a substantial boost to mech productivity and should be constructed once a modest number of labor mechanoids are in use. Prioritize placing them where your mechs will do a lot of work, such as a kitchen, hospital, workshop, or greenhouse. While you could make another labor mech for the same cost as a booster, the mech booster can support multiple mechs at once and doesn't consume bandwidth.

Keep in mind that mechanoids in use will affect the utility of a mech booster.

Fabricors, agrihands, and constructoid spend a large proportion of their time working and so benefit proportionally more from the booster. Having two fabricors affected by the affected by a booster is likely superior to adding a third fabricor because of the cost efficiency of faster workers over more. Paramedics often do time sensitive tasks and therefore even small benefits can literally save lives which can justify a mech booster in established colonies.

Meanwhile tunnelers mining ore are unlikely to stay in the radius without excessive coverage or frequent moving of the booster, but those digging out a mining base likely will benefit significantly.

Lifters are only positively affected by the move speed bonus, are unlikely to stay in a radius due to the role, and are cheap in both bandwidth and resources, as such they rarely justify a mech booster by themselves but can benefit from those built for other mechanoid if placement allows.

Boosters do little to help combat mechs, only increasing their movement speed in a small radius.

Version history

• Biotech DLC Release - Added

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Architect

Biotech

Band node • Growth vat • Mech booster • Mechband antenna • Mechband dish • Mech gestator • Large mech gestator • Mech recharger • Large mech recharger • Pollution pump • Subcore encoder • Subcore softscanner • Subcore ripscanner • Wastepack atomizer

Deathrest

Deathrest casket • Deathrest accelerator • Hemogen amplifier • Hemopump • Glucosoid pump • Psychofluid pump

Genetics

Gene assembler • Gene bank • Gene extractor • Gene processor