Spice Production Maximizing Colony Building Placement Guide

Originally posted by deadlineclick
Also see the How to Acquire Planets with 100 Spice Production Guide for another great guide to help you get ahead in Space Stage.
Guidelines

Houses add 15 population, seem to have no other effect.

Factories subtract 1 happiness, and add 1 production for each connection to a house or the hall.

Entertainment centers add 1 happiness, and add 1 happiness for each connection to a house or the hall, and subtract 1 happiness for each connection to a factory.

Standard colonies multiply the production score by 12, as shown in the below data. For those with the Spice Savant consequence ability, the multiplier is 18 (so multiply the below productions by 1.5 if you have the Spice Savant consequence ability.) See more on Spice Savant at the bottom.

Homeworld cities have all different production multipliers, usually significantly lower than standard colonies. Just stick to the layouts below and you'll be getting the optimal production, although the actual production number won't match the number shown here which assumes 12 spice per blue link.

Cost of buildings is 2 units for entertainment centers, 3 units for factories, and 4 units for houses. For standard colonies, the cost unit I've seen is $6,400. So houses cost 4 x $6,400 = $25,600. Costs shown below use a unit cost of $6,400 (std colony). On my homeworld, the cost unit is $400, but the ratios between the buildings remain the same. You may see different prices in your game but the ratios should continue to hold: H=4, F=3, E=2. If you are trying to build for the best cost given the happiness/production you want, follow the layouts below and you will get the best cost for your city even if the actual building prices don't match.

Space Colony
(5 City Hall connections)

Happiness - Production - 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 - Cost
--------- ---------- ----------------------- --------

H:-5 - P: 180 - X H F H F H F F H F F H - $ 243200

H:-4 - P: 156 - X F H F F H F F H F H E -$ 230400

H:-3 - P: 156 - X H F H F H F F H F H E -$ 236800

H:-2 P: 144 - X H F H F H F F H F E E - $ 224000

H:-1 - P: 144 - X H F H F F H E H F F H - $ 236800

H: 0 - P: 132 - X H F H F F H F F H E E -$ 224000

H: 1 - P: 120 - X H F H F H F E H F E E - $ 217600

H: 2 - P: 132 - X H F H F H E E H F F H - $ 230400

H: 3 - P: 120 - X H F H F H F F H E E E - $ 217600

H: 4 - P: 108 - X H E E E H F F H F F H - $ 217600

H: 5 - P: 108 - X H F H F H E E H F H E - $ 224000

Homeworld City 1
(5 City hall Connections)

Happiness-Production-0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 -Cost
--------- ---------- ----------------------- --------

H:-5 - P: 156 - X F H F H F F H F F H F - $ 236800

H:-4 - P: 156 - X H F H H F H H F F H H - $ 256000

H:-3 - P: 144 - X H F H H F F H E F H F - $ 236800

H:-2 - P: 144 - X H F H H F H H E F H F - $ 243200

H:-1 - P: 144 - X H F H H F H H E F H H - $ 249600

H: 0 - P: 132 - X F H E H F H H E F H F - $ 230400

H: 1 - P: 132 - X E H E H F H F H H H F - $ 236800

H: 2 - P: 120 - X E H E H F F H E F H F - $ 217600

H: 3 - P: 120 - X E H E H F E H E F H F - $ 211200

H: 5 - P: 96 - X H F H E E E H E F H F - $ 211200

Homeworld City 2
(4 City Hall connections)

Happiness - Production - 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 -Cost
--------- ---------- ----------------------- --------

H:-5 - P: 144 - X F H F F H F H F F F H -$ 236800

H:-4 - P: 144 - X H F H H F H H F H H F - $ 256000

H:-3 - P: 132 - X H F F F H E H F H H F - $ 236800

H:-2 - P: 132 - X H F H F H E H F H H F - $ 243200

H:-1 - P: 120 - X F H F F H F E H F E H - $ 224000

H: 0 - P: 120 - X F H F H H F E H F E H - $ 230400

H: 1 - P: 108 - X F H F E H F E H F E H - $ 217600

H: 2 - P: 108 - X F H F F H E E H F E H - $ 217600

H: 3 - P: 108 - X F H F H H E E H F E H - $ 224000

H: 4 - P: 96 - X F H F E H E E H F E H - $ 211200

H: 5 - P: 96 - X E H F F H E E H F E H - $ 211200

Homeworld City 3
( 2 City Hall connections)

Happiness - Production - 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 -Cost
--------- ---------- ----------------------- --------

H:-5 - P: 132 - X F H F F H H F F F H F - $ 236800

H:-4 - P: 132 - X H F H H F F H H H F H - $ 256000

H:-3 - P: 120 - X H F H H F F H F F H E - $ 236800

H:-2 - P: 120 - X F H F E H H H F H F H - $ 243200

H:-1 - P: 108 - X F H F F H H F F E H E - $ 224000

H: 0 - P: 108 - X H F H H F F H F E H E - $ 230400

H: 1 - P: 108 - X E H F E H H H F H F H - $ 236800

H: 2 - P: 96 - X F H F E H H F F E H E - $ 217600

H: 3 - P: 96 - X F H F E H H H F E H E - $ 224000

H: 4 - P: 84 - X H F H E E F H F E H E - $ 211200

H: 5 - P: 84 - X E H F E H H F F E H E - $ 211200

Homeworld City 4
(5 City Hall connections)

Happiness - Production - 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 -Cost
--------- ---------- ----------------------- --------

H:-5 - P: 180 - X F H F F H F H F H F H - $ 243200

H:-4 - P: 168 - X H F H H H F H F H F H - $ 256000

H:-3 - P: 168 - X E H F F H F H F H F H - $ 236800

H:-2 - P: 156 - X F H E F H F H F H F H - $ 236800

H:-1 - P: 144 - X E H F F H F H F F H E - $ 224000

H: 0 - P: 144 - X E H F F H F H F H H E - $ 230400

H: 1 - P: 144 - X E H E F H F H F H F H - $ 230400

H: 2 - P: 132 - X E H E F H H H F H F H - $ 236800

H: 3 - P: 120 - X E H E F H F H F F H E - $ 217600

H: 4 - P: 120 - X E H E F H F H F H H E - $ 224000

H: 5 - P: 108 - X E H F F H F H H E E E - $ 211200

Homeworld City 5
(4 City Hall connections)

Happiness - Production - 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 -Cost
--------- ---------- ----------------------- --------

H:-5 - P: 168 - X H F H F F H F H F H H - $ 249600

H:-4 - P: 156 - X H F H H F H F H F H H - $ 256000

H:-3 - P: 144 - X H F H H F F H F H F E - $ 236800

H:-2 - P: 144 - X H F H F H H H F H F E - $ 243200

H:-1 - P: 144 - X H F H F F H E H F H H - $ 243200

H: 0 - P: 132 - X H F H H F F H F H E E - $ 230400

H: 1 - P: 132 - X H F H H F E E H F H H - $ 236800

H: 2 - P: 120 - X H F H F H H E F H E E - $ 224000

H: 3 - P: 108 - X H F F H F E H F H E E - $ 217600

H: 4 - P: 108 - X H F H H F E H F H E E - $ 224000

H: 5 - P: 96 - X H F H F F H E H E E E - $ 211200

Homeworld City 6
(5 City Hall connections)

Happiness - Production - 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 - Cost
--------- ---------- ----------------------- --------

H:-5 - P: 156 - X H F H F F H F H F H F - $ 243200

H:-4 - P: 144 - X H F H F F H F E H F H - $ 236800

H:-3 - P: 144 - X H F H F F H F H F H E - $ 236800

H:-2 - P: 132 - X H F H F E H F H F H F - $ 236800

H:-1 - P: 132 - X H F H F E H F H H F H - $ 243200

H: 0 - P: 120 - X H F H F F H F H H E E - $ 230400

H: 1 - P: 120 - X H F H F F H E E H F H - $ 230400

H: 2 - P: 108 - X H F H F E E H F F H E - $ 217600

H: 3 - P: 108 - X H F H F E E H H F H E - $ 224000

H: 4 - P: 96 - X H F H F E E H E F H E - $ 211200

H: 5 - P: 96 - X H F H F E H E E H F H - $ 224000

Homeworld City 7
(4 City Hall Connections)

Happiness - Production - 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 -Cost
--------- ---------- ----------------------- --------

H:-5 - P: 144 - X F F H F H F F H F F H - $ 236800

H:-4 - P: 132 - X F F H F H F F H E F H - $ 230400

H:-3 - P: 132 - X H F H F H F F H E F H - $ 236800

H:-2 - P: 132 - X H H F H F H F H F H E - $ 243200

H:-1 - P: 120 - X E E H F H F F H F F H - $ 224000

H: 0 - P: 120 - X H F F H F H F H E H E - $ 230400

H: 1 - P: 120 - X H H F H F H F H E H E - $ 236800

H: 2 - P: 108 - X E E H F H F F H E F H - $ 217600

H: 3 - P: 108 - X E E H F H H F H E F H - $ 224000

H: 4 - P: 96 - X E E H F H F H E E F H - $ 211200

H: 5 - P: 96 - X H H F H E H F H E H E - $ 230400

Homeworld City 8
(6 City Hall connections)

Happiness - Production - 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 -Cost
--------- ---------- ----------------------- --------

H:-5 - P: 168 - X F H F F H F H F H F F - $ 236800

H:-4 - P: 156 - X F H E F H F H F H F F - $ 230400

H:-3 - P: 156 - X F H E F H F H F H F H - $ 236800

H:-2 - P: 144 - X F H E F H F H F H F E - $ 224000

H:-1 - P: 144 - X E H E F H F H F H F F - $ 224000

H: 0 - P: 144 - X E H E F H F H F H F H - $ 230400

H: 1 - P: 132 - X E H E F H F H F H F E - $ 217600

H: 2 - P: 120 - X E H E F H F H F H E F - $ 217600

H: 3 - P: 120 - X F H E F H F H F H E E - $ 217600

H: 4 - P: 108 - X E E E E H F H F H F H - $ 211200

H: 5 - P: 108 - X E H E F H F H F H E E - $ 211200

Homeworld City 9
(3 City Hall Connections)

Happiness - Production - 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 -Cost
--------- ---------- ----------------------- --------

H:-5 - P: 156 - X H F F H F H F F H F F - $ 236800

H:-4 - P: 156 - X H F H H F H F H H H F - $ 256000

H:-3 - P: 144 - X H F H H F H F H H F E - $ 243200

H:-2 - P: 132 - X H F H H F H F E H F E - $ 230400

H:-1 - P: 132 - X H F F H F H F F H E E - $ 224000

H: 0 - P: 132 - X H F H H F H F F H E E - $ 230400

H: 1 - P: 132 - X H F H H F H F H H E E - $ 236800

H: 2 - P: 120 - X H F H H F H F E H E E - $ 224000

H: 3 - P: 108 - X H F E H F H F E H E E - $ 211200

H: 4 P: 108 X H F H H E H F F H E E $ 224000

H: 5 P: 108 X H F H H E H F H H E E $ 230400

Example of Spice Savant Layout (space colony)
(162hr spice production with max happiness)[quote=SporeMasterPetreak]I went and checked and the cities that have the 162.00 spice production on them are on my race that has the Spice Savant. The Race without Spice Savant only shows 108.00, so I guess the Spice Savant does make a difference.
Here is a screenshot showing my city with 162.00 spice production and full happiness.
[/quote]

To acquire the Spice Savant consequence ability you must finish Civilization Stage as blue (economic). See more on consequence abilities here:
Archetype Guide

Look for the Consequence Abilities section.

Happiness Booster Colony Tool
(place on a planet to keep its inhabitants happy)

You can add a Happiness Booster to your planet to reduce the odds of your colony going on strike.

They will still possibly become overworked if the colony has any 'sad faces'. If they do go on strike you will get a distress signal asking for you to place some entertainment buildings within their colonies.

The less red 'sad faces' a colony has, the less odds that you will get the distress signal that 'your colonies on *insert name of planet here* are overworked and need something to do on their day off!'.

At that point you need to return to that planet and add in some entertainment buildings or rearrange your building configuration.

My personal preference is to arrange them in a configuration where there are no 'green happy faces or 'red sad faces'. This is just my personal preference. Most of the different cities above have a configuration that produces the same amount of spice with one or two happy faces too. I simply memorized the 'neutral' ones first.

This requires the Golden Touch 3 or the Merchant 3 badge to unlock it for purchase.

This tool can be purchased in the following locations:

Your Empire :$300,000

Bard Empire : $180,000

Diplomat Empire : $180,000

Zealot Empire : $150,000

Loyalty Booster Colony Tool
(place on a planet to ensure maximum loyalty)

It seems when an alien fleet is attacking a planet with the player's colony on it, they seem to go for the loyalty booster first, then they try to destroy the colony, what's more, is that the loyalty booster has about 10,000 health so it's very durable.

This requires the Body Guard 3 or the Warmonger 2 badge to unlock it for purchase.

This tool can be purchased in the following locations:

Your Empire : $300,000

Bard Empire : $180,000

Diplomat Empire : $150,000

Warrior Empire : $150,000

Zealot Empire : $150,000

Please note: Nothing can completely prevent an unhappy planet from striking, (besides having the happy faces perfectly balanced with the sad faces this applies to everything else listed below until the 'Balanced Guide System' explains this). Besides that, if they have any sad faces the are subject to go on strike.. If they are unhappy they are subject to go on strike. You must have them at least at the 'neutral' configuration at least to prevent strikes altogether. Any planet with any amount of 'sad faces' in any of the colonies is subject go on strike regardless of having both Boosters in place.

The less 'sad faces' they have the less odds it is for them to go on strike. Having a Happiness Booster and/or a Loyalty Booster in place will only significantly reduce your chances of them from going on strike. It seems to go according to a random timer similar to pirate raids and eco-disasters. The underlined above is simply my best educated guess as of yet. It is subject to change pending test results.

When your colonies are on strike your turrets will not function and hang limply leaving your colonies extremely vulnerable to attacks not to mention halting spice production.

Further tips and tricks with nuances in the spice production area!
Please note Ryuujins input on this strategy: "Greebley's numbers are for a city with 11 factory links and no spice savant (that is to say, a standard colony as per deadlineclicks devising). A mixed-colony planet like I proposed (+2/-1/-1) and have been using for the last 20 game hours produces approximately 630 per hour, while if you maximize output but also red faces with 15 links you get 810 output."
Homeworld Spice Productivity
Skip the science part if you want to get to how this is relevant.
1 City = 132 spice per hour - Max Storage: 5 (10) - 12 Spice per link
2 Cities = 264 spice per hour - Max Storage: 10 (20) - 12 Spice per link
3 Cities = 396 spice per hour - Max Storage: 15 (30) - 12 Spice per link
4 Cities = 528 spice per hour - Max Storage: 20 (40) - 12 Spice per link
5 Cities = 594 spice per hour - Max Storage: 25 (50) - 10.8 Spice per link
6 Cities = 594 spice per hour - Max Storage: 30 (60) - 9 Spice per link
7 Cities = 593.95 spice per hour - Max Storage:35 (70) - 7.71 Spice per link
8 Cities = 594 spice per hour - Max Storage: 40 (80) - 6.75 Spice per link
9 Cities = 594 spice per hour - Max Storage: 45 (90) - 6 Spice per link
10 Cities = 594 spice per hour - Max Storage: 50 (100) - 5.4 Spice per link

After 4 colonies, production per-colony decreases, having more than 5 colonies will not give any net gain to how fast spice is produced

Additional colonies still provide additional storage capacity however which makes them useful if you are away for long periods and want to fill your cargo up in a single visit

In order to fill your cargo up completely in a single visit you will still need 10 colonies to achieve the minimum 99 required (7 colonies If you are using BetterSpore)

In terms of return on investment, there is a better investment-to-return ratio from setting up only 5 colonies (and destroying the rest). However since the cost of setting up a colony is a fraction of it's potential returns and the added convenience of additional storage this point is largely moot unless you routinely empty your stores quicker than they fill up

The above incredible observation and calculation is the work of Greebley2 the latest addition to the Spice Production Maximizing Colony Building Placement Guide
The Happiness versus Sadness Balanced System

A planets chance of going on strike appears to be based on the net happiness of all it's colonies added together rather than each individual colony. Therefore in most circumstances having one colony with 2 green happiness faces, followed by 2 colonies with 1 red unhappy face ensures the highest productivity balance without a strike occuring. Use the colony tables in this guide to work out which colony setup to use.

Exacts on this Strategy
Mixed Colony Placement
A planets happiness appears to be additive. That is to say, a combination of all colonies happyiness added together, this can be used advantageously by using colonies of differing happyness levels to optimise productivity as shown here
Standard Balanced
Happiness: +2 Productivity: 132
Happiness: +2 Productivity: 132
Happiness: +2 Productivity: 132
Total: 396 per hour
+2/-1/-1 Mixed
Happiness: +2 Productivity: 132
Happiness: -1 Produtivity: 144
Happiness: -1 Productivity: 144
Total: 420 per hour

As you can see above, mixing 2 different types of colony resulted in a net increase by putting the wasted 2 happiness points from the first colony to use by removing entertainment from the other 2 colonies in favour of an additional factory. Other combination exist but after quite exghaustive testing nothing better was found

This principle extends to homeworld colonies too, by placing 1 happy colony for every 2 unhappy colonies.

The above is Ryuujins latest work of genius.
(Thanks to ChaosHarbinger and Ryuujin for helping me figure this out concerning Happiness and Loyalty Boosters. Also thanks to Petreak for his input on the Spice Savant consequence ability. MUCH thanks to Ryuujin for being our genius scientist and prodigous new theory provider. I must also thank Greebley2 for jumping in with excellent new info and a quite surprising discovery of his own. I can only hope these guys continue to participate making the supreme and completely thorough guide that I hoped it would be since I posted it. All suggestions/ideas/ constructive disagreement/critique are welcome and appreciated to add more depth to this guide.)[/color]