Numbers of workers

[Slythe]

I was just curious how many scientists and engineers everyone usually likes to keep employed during the middle to latter part of a game. I don't mean some exaggerated idealistic number, like hundreds, but how many scientists and engineers people honestly and typically have during any given game.

[de_freak]

i usually have 100-150 scientists and about 50-100 enginers

[NKF]

Having played the game for some time now, I tend to just employ 50 scientists, and this keep the bills down (quite a lot come to think about it!). By being selective in your research topics and leaving the unimportant bits for later, you can get research moving along just fine.

 

As for the engineers, it varies, but it's usually ends up around 90 or 140 engineers.Just enough workers to rapidly churn out personal armour, laser tanks and replacement weapons whenever there's a shortage.

 

- NKF

[Spaceman42]

70 scientists makes the work go *that* much faster, IMO.

[Mouse Nightshirt]

50 scientists until 2000, when I hire another 25 if I'm not happy with what I've done.

 

42 engineers at the start. Later on, about 200 in a manufacturing base, and 42 in my main base.

[darkvenom]

My original base has around 20 sci and 40 engineers when i start off...

 

However, i have two other bases dedicated to science and engieering when i've gone out of the 'shit i dont have the tech to fight these creeps, giv me heavy plasmas' phase...

 

The sci base has around 70 - 100 scientists

 

The eng base has always had 200 engineers

 

(i build 1 hangar for the sci base and 2 for the engineer base)

[Fox]

I tend to have all my bases self-sufficient, 2 laboratories in the original base, full of scientists (100). I keep two projects going on at the same time, 50 scientists allocated to each. Then I usually put 1-2 workshops into each additional base I build, with 20-40 engineers.

[Crazy Photon]

I usually have 75-150 scientists at the main base (usually 100), 80 engineers at the main base and 220 engineers at the 2 manufacturing centers.

[Stewart]

Scientists either 50 or 100, depending on situation. Engineers 255+255+(200-35). 2 factories employing 255 each pumping out laser cannons and one base for building stuff ultimately has 4 workshops. IIRC Avenger takes the "space" of 35 engineers.

[Stun Grenade]

Well in my new game i'm aiming to have 2 bases that only manufactor and research. Even my main base doesn't reasearch...

 

I have 100scientists at my research base and 100 at the manufactoring base (with a hanger)

 

My last game was pathetic.. Like for example, if I started researching something at my main base, I would sometimes end up reaearching it again later at a different base lol

[Bomb Bloke]

I only keep scientists and engineers in my main base.

 

You start with ten of each. The first thing I do is buy another 30 scientists (by memory), along with a couple more soldiers. This maxes out my living space, so I immediately buy more.

 

When I get it, I buy another 50 scientists, add more living space, and eventually end up with a work force of 100 scientists, 90 engineers, and 10 soldiers. Sometimes I go up to 150 scientists.

 

There's no point in sacking engineers, as they make you money. As for scientists, the theory is that I'll sack them when I no long need them; but given that you need them until the end of the game, that never happens.

 

The payroll is over $6M, so you really need to bring in the big bucks to maintain that sort of force.

[NickAragua]

Heh. I wind up keeping about 100 scientists(total), and about 80 or 90 engineers per base. Why so many engineers? Well, I don't want my bases to be stuck without replacement armor/equipment while my main base is making an avenger or something. And I certainly don't want to disrupt Avenger manufacture, now do I? On the other hand, the full 100 engineers are never going to get used in a two-workshop setup, as the stuff you're working on takes up space.

 

How do I pay for all that? Well, a heavy plasma pays for two engineers for a month and then some. And even though I rarely have more than three bases (four at most), I get good enough coverage that I can pretty much be guaranteed to scavenge way more plasma rifles than engineers. Not to mention alien corpses and other such things.

[Rzhanov]

Usually i recruit additional 10 scientists for begining of game, and then increase up to 100 total within first 5 monthes.

100 engineers in three workshops at engineering base and 20 per other bases just for making expendables.

[Jman4117]

Main Base: 100 scientists, 70-80 engineers, and 20-25 soldiers (gotta have plenty of room for rookies and wounded troopers)

 

Secondary Base: 15 soldiers, a lab just in case I lose the main base, and 2-3 hangers for my other strike team

 

Picket: 12 soldiers to defend the stores and hanger

 

Manufacturing Base: 120 engineers, 25-30 soldiers, 4 hangers (most important, heavily defended)

[Zombie]

Very rarely do I employ anything more than 50 scientists. Seriously, you can get quite a bit of work done with only one Laboratory. As long as I have my trusty Laser Rifle (and later on the Blaster Launcher), I'm a happy camper. My first base is always a primary strike base, because that is where the science lab is located. My soldiers bring back the spoils of war, the scientists research them, and my engineers produce them (if necessary).

 

My second base is usually a production facility. My whole game revolves around producing the Avenger as efficiently as possible. That means not hiring extra Engineers which will be sitting idle because the Avenger requires 36 in workshop space. Since I usually build 4 workshops to build an Avenger, I hire 164 engineers total. (4 workshops * 50 engineers/workshop - 36 workshop space/Avenger = 164 engineers/per Avenger). Strange why I can nail down exact numbers for both scientists and engineers.

 

Later on? Still my original 50 scientists to clean up any new research projects, and 164 Engineers at each production base. When I have enough Avengers built to satisify me, I dismantle 2 workshops at every base to save on cash. One production base always has 164 Engineers there just in case one of my Avengers gets destroyed.

 

I love going on away-missions, so having plenty soldiers is a must. Realistically, I never have more than 30 soldiers at any strike base. Can't cram more than 26 soldiers on an Avenger, and only 40 X-COM units will show up for a base defense mission. 30 is a happy medium for me!

[NickAragua]

Heh. At one point, when I had a little bit of a plasma gun/alien alloy surplus (about 10 million dollars' worth), I built a psi-base which basically had about 100 soldiers and 10 psi-labs, plus a storage module, mind shield, hyperwave decoder, grav shield and three fusion ball defences. At the end of a month, I'd shuttle the psi-competents over to a combat base to replace any casualties, sack the psi-incompetents (or transfer them to my "psi-rejects" base), and hire back up to 100.

 

At a combat base, I'll have enough to fill up all of my transports, plus a couple more replacements. Pretty much all of my bases can launch ground attack missions anyway, so I don't have to worry about ordering guys specifically for base defence, and the chances of aliens attacking a base while the team is away are astronomically low (I've never had it happen before).

[Blehm 98]

hmmmm, i've built psi bases in the antarctic with 3-6 psi labs, and i'll send a small number of my men down there to train every few months. Sort of like a 3 month every year camp cold...

[Zombie]

and the chances of aliens attacking a base while the team is away are astronomically low (I've never had it happen before).

I've never had that happen either, probably because those base attack missions from the aliens happen later in the game when you are primarily using Avengers. Since they can get back to base much faster than a Skyranger can, your troops are never left up in the air with no place to land.

 

Also, I think that most players tend to keep a few extra soldiers around at a base just in case some get killed on an away mission. It takes what, 72 hours or three days to hire new soldiers specifically for that base. Personally, I just transfer some soldiers from another base which has too many.

 

So just the other day, my base was getting attacked by Sectoid Battleships. I intentionally dismantled my base defenses, and sent all my troops stationed there up into an Avenger to see what would happen. Yep, you lose the base if your soldiers aren't there to defend it!

[Stewart]

I can personally attest that the odds for that are not astonomical :-(

[Jman4117]

Had it happen once or twice, likely because I just get attached to that ole 'ranger

[Bomb Bloke]

I usually use the SkyRanger the whole game these days, as I can't bear to use Elerium. I build the Avenger as early as I can, then leave it in the hanger, ready for Cydonia. Interceptors with plasma cannons are slower, but work well enough.

 

I always leave two men in a base at any given time, and my away team is usually made up of eight men and a tank. I often buy extra tanks to speed the re-equipment of my craft should I lose one, meaning my base gets a few HWPs left on duty as well.

 

By memory, though, if a base is attacked and only tanks are present, you lose it.

[Jman4117]

Nope, you get to fight the battle ^^

[Stun Grenade]

i read that if u only have tanks, the aliens automatically win..

[Zombie]

No, you can have only tanks stationed at a base and you will be able to defend it from attack. I don't know many people who only keep tanks and not soldiers at their bases though. (Me thinks I better retest this as my memory sometimes fails me).

 

It is usually a good idea to have at least one soldier stationed at a base along with some HWP's. Your tanks can do the killing while the lone soldier can pick the weapon of his choice from the heaps of dead bodies. Then its probably a module by module search with the soldier to verify that the area is clear of aliens. (Tanks cannot go through a single door).

[Bomb Bloke]

I'm thinking version number might have something to do with it. Truth be told, though, I have no idea.