Domes: Who uses them?

[Minor Annoyance]

If yes, why do you use domes?
For what purpose and under what circumstances?

If no, why not?
Have you ever used domes, and if so, how did they not live up to your expectations?
Can you envision a situation where you would use domes in their current form?
What would domes have to do to make them usable to you?

Do you:
Play to win the most effective way possible? i.e. min-max, play the 'best' way
Play reasonably effectively but still by your own style? i.e. play an effective strategy but not always the same/best
Or just for fun? i.e. screw around, do what you want, see what happens

 

[Bandobras Took]

I have used them. But the last game I made an effort to do so was before the patch.

Essentially, I wanted a city whose sole purpose was to keep the virtues coming in and claim land. Domes have their place; they're for people who want culture more than they want production/science. And they don't cost nearly so much energy as Terrascapes. I'm completely okay with there being niche tile improvements in the game.

I don't play for the fastest victory time. I vary between screwing around to see whether something works, and generally peaceful building.

 

[Mesix]

I put domes around puppet cities for the health benefits. I often find that I have a huge health deficit after conquering a few cities and find the domes are a good way to close the gap quickly.

 

[Minor Annoyance]

I'm not aware of how to get health from domes.

 

[Ryika]

Tried to use them a while ago, but couldn't really fit them into any strategy. I think if the dome gave at least some food, then getting 1-2 early on to make borders grow really fast would be worth considering, but they just don't seem to work the way they're right now.

You can't use them in new cities, so the idea of growing your borders with them is off the table. Getting additional culture sounds nice in theory, but it always turned out the same: I had a few additional virtues... but just getting academies instead seems to be the better, direct bonus at that point in the game. The hit points for your city also don't do too much. If an AI is really able to siege my city, then the 1-2 turns that I get will probably not change that much.

 

[CraigMak]

Never use them because biowells exist.

 

[Minor Annoyance]

I forgot that the tech that gives culture to biowells is a purity technology. I modded it to be harmony.
The dome gives 2 culture for two energy, plus some city hitpoints. The biowell gives one culture, two food and one health for two energy. You can support an artist with that and get more than the dome.
Yup, that screws the dome.

 

[GeoModder]

The artist doesn't give 10% to city defense though.

 

[Xenotitan]

I forgot that the tech that gives culture to biowells is a purity technology. I modded it to be harmony.
The dome gives 2 culture for two energy, plus some city hitpoints. The biowell gives one culture, two food and one health for two energy. You can support an artist with that and get more than the dome.
Yup, that screws the dome.

The dome gets an extra energy on its yield from a tech, so that comparison isn't quite right. I still favor biowells though. Anyway, can you get artists apart from gel cradle at four supremacy?

The artist doesn't give 10% to city defense though.

Neither does the dome. It gives +10 hp.

 

[sylvanllewelyn]

I forgot that the tech that gives culture to biowells is a purity technology. I modded it to be harmony.
The dome gives 2 culture for two energy, plus some city hitpoints. The biowell gives one culture, two food and one health for two energy. You can support an artist with that and get more than the dome.
Yup, that screws the dome.

Not quite a fair comparison. Biowells only get culture after researching alien genetics. Similarly, domes get +1 energy (net -1 from -2) after biospheres. Apples to apples.

The real problem is the holomatrix. 3 petroleum and 1 floatstone is worth around 360 energy (45 per resource per 30 turns), or 6 energy each turn. In return the city may get 10-12 extra culture, assuming the perfect 14 is not viable in practice. This is twice as effective as the dome.

 

[TLHeart]

build a dome on a marsh tile.. food and culture from that tile.

 

[Minor Annoyance]

The dome gets an extra energy on its yield from a tech, so that comparison isn't quite right. I still favor biowells though. Anyway, can you get artists apart from gel cradle at four supremacy?

Yes, but not really. The Soma distillery has artists but it is a ways off, so you're that it's not readily available.

Not quite a fair comparison. Biowells only get culture after researching alien genetics. Similarly, domes get +1 energy (net -1 from -2) after biospheres. Apples to apples.

It is apple and oranges, but I do believe that the profit from those oranges will get me more apples. If that makes any sense

The real problem is the holomatrix. 3 petroleum and 1 floatstone is worth around 360 energy (45 per resource per 30 turns), or 6 energy each turn. In return the city may get 10-12 extra culture, assuming the perfect 14 is not viable in practice. This is twice as effective as the dome.

Yes, I have thought that is a lot of culture. Still plays to my point that there is a lot of culture around. The incidental culture you'll get from the biowells that you'll build anyway, and if that isn't enough the holomatrix will fill that need. Holomatrixes Are in the sky though and don't compete with the dome. You can have both. But the biowell does and the more versatile biowells don't leave you with much tile space.

 

[Xenotitan]

Sylvanllewelyn made the holomatrix comparison, not me.

 

[Minor Annoyance]

Sylvanllewelyn made the holomatrix comparison, not me.

I got very confused trying to copy and paste the end and beginning of quotes to give me space in the middle.

 

[Mutineer]

I believe domes designed for border cities, as this make cities stronger why speeding up border expansion. We just never use them because we really never have to problem to defend agains ai

 

[Gorbles]

Culture and city defense. They're a useful spammable improvement if you've got enough coming into the city in the first place (in terms of growth).

I use them pretty often.

 

[bhavv]

build a dome on a marsh tile.. food and culture from that tile.

This sounds like a plan with cytonurseries!

What other improvements can be built on marshes without removing the marsh?

 

[Dargov]

I used to use them, been a while though.

I do feel like they should really get a benefit from one of the virtue trees so they can compete with Biowells and Terrascapes as a source of Culture. Perhaps from Might, +1 Production and counts as a fort?

 

[FaceUnderMask]

This sounds like a plan with cytonurseries!

What other improvements can be built on marshes without removing the marsh?

What's the point if clearing a marsh gives you a grassland, and grasslands are the second best generic tile food-wise?

 

[Endar]

I have built a lot of them to produce more culture while playing Purity. Culture perks are extremely powerful.