Since it only effects the base where it's built, this
is by far the least useful of all the 200-energy projects. Still, it can give
you a nice financial leg up early on when things are tight (and solar collecters
are still being built). Also, when you consider how early this project pops up,
and multiply its financial contribution by the whole duration of the game, it
comes out to a pretty penny for your faction in the long term. Needless to say,
you're well advised to build this at a base with plenty of resources and no neighbors
too near, so that you can get the most out of it as your base grows. The more
squares your base can put into production, the higher the energy bonus from this
project. The Peacekeepers and the
Hive (and to a lesser extent, the Spartans)
will find this project useful in counteracting their economic-related penalties.
The Morganites start
the game with the ability to build the Merchant Exchange.
The "Super Base" Strategy
One lucrative strategy that requires a bit of planning
is to designate one base (again, one with good production capacity, that's not
squeezed by it's neighbors - and well defended), and make it the home to all the
projects that have single-base effects. This creates a "Super Base",
with a value far greater than it's size. The other projects that affect only a
single base are the Supercollider and the Theory
of Everything, while projects that have both single-base and faction-wide
effects include the Space Elevator and the Network
Backbone (and the Longevity Vaccine, if you're
into Free Market economies). This creates a single base with tripled research
output, doubled (or better) energy reserves, all on top of a hyped energy production
and research production capability. Not too shabby.
