Technology in Surviving Mars Surviving Mars Guide & Walkthrough
Last update: 21 March 2018
This chapter provides information on which technologies are worth researching. A complete list of technologies can be found in "List of technologies"
Useful technologies for the beginning
The technologies you are to research depend on what you currently need, on your playing style and what you want to focus on. Each technology has to be researched for the next one to become available. Remember that anomalies can speed up your research and discover technologies from anywhere on the tech tree.
Each technology in the game is useful. However, in the beginning, it is a good idea to research into technologies that unlock new buildings, increase performance of production and decrease building costs. Also, technologies that provide you with new crops are useful for starters.
When it comes to the biotechnology tree, it is a good idea to research, in the first place: Soil adaptation - unlocks farms, Magnetic filtration - upgrades MAGETLEN and increases oxygen production by 50% (installable upgrade - you can do that by clicking on the existing building and clicking on the icon in the upper-right corner, in the details window). Water purification - unlocks water treatment plant, which decreases water consumption in domes. Utility crops is also a must and it unlocks new crops for farms. Hygroscopic separators are not necessary - it does not increase water production significantly (a 50% bonus for vapor separators). You can research into it if you have some spare prefabs at the ready.
When it comes to engineering tree: Low-G hydrosynthesis - provides access to fuel factory and polymer factory. Decommission protocol is often useful when you want to decommission and build a new concrete extractor - this technology allows you to demolish buildings. Microproduction will allow you to use rare metals for production of electronics in the electronics factory.
The first branches of the Robotics tree are not that important. Only Drone hub and Drone swarm can prove useful - the former allows you to build drone hubs, thanks to which you will be able to expand the colony, and the latter gives 2 extra drones to hubs and increases drone overall number to 80. You can also research into Transport optimization if you use RC trucks often - they gather resources faster and its cargo space by 15.
Physics is a very important branch of technology. Researching Low-G turbines will increase energy production from wind turbines by 33%.Subsurface heating will protect you from waves of cold, thanks to the Subsurface heater. Thanks to the technology of Autonomous sensors, you will be able to forget about sensor towers and it will save you some energy. Thanks to the Stirling generator, you will build a high-yield energy generator.
At the beginning of the game, when the number of colonists is low, and with a small (or medium-sized dome, thanks to the Indian sponsor), sociology will not be that cost-effective. With dwindling funds, it is a good idea to research Mars crowdfunding, which will boost your funds by $1 000M. Systematic training seems to be a good method of better attaining of food and faster research - it boosts performance of scientists and botanists by 10. Productivity training will come in handy when you are building metal extractors and new factories. Thanks to this, the performance of geologists and technicians will increase by 10. Both of the training technologies will provide you with a bonus, on condition that colonists will work in accordance with their specialty.
Breakthrough tree is the most unpredictable - it is difficult to know what categories the game will generate after the anomaly is examined. The most useful technologies are: Autonomous hubs - drone hubs no longer need recharging and maintenance, Nanorefinement - extractors produce resources after the deposit is depleted, Dome streamlining - where basic resources cost becomes 50% lower. Martian steel - metal cost of buildings becomes 25% lower. Superior cables and Superior pipes will do away with any malfunctions. Frictionless composites will increase energy production from wind turbines by 100% and Rapid sleep will make colonists more productive - thanks to this, they will need only 1 hour of sleep. Giant crops will unlock crops of higher yield, Construction nanites will build automatically, with no drones, Artificial muscles increase the productivity of drones - they will now carry 2 resources simultaneously.
The best technologies
To a varying extent, each technology benefits you. Of course, the best technologies are ones that increase the productivity of factories, energy sources, extractors and farms. Also, technologies providing you with access to new buildings are immensely important - thanks to some of them, you will no longer have to import prefabs from Earth. Technologies, thanks to which you receive funds and cut down building costs can also be very beneficial. Technologies that change the game are the ones that unlock wonders, mainly Moho, The Excavator and Omega Telescope. Thanks to the former two, you will completely forget about searching for metal and cement deposits. Nanorefinement and Waste rock liquefaction you will better attain resources from wastes and depleted deposits.
List of the best technologies
Note some of the technologies here. For example, technologies, where there are names provided in parenthesis, such as "(hygroscopic film)" or "(rejuvenation treatment)" mean that these are upgrades that can be installed in those buildings. This means that not only do you have to research the technology for its functioning - you also have to spend resources on installing the upgrade.
Name | Description |
Water purification | New spire building - water treatment plant. Research cost: 1 000 points. |
Hygroscopic separators | An upgraded version of the separator (hygroscopic film) - water production higher by 50%. Research cost: 1 500 points. |
Magnetic filtration | An upgraded version of MAGETLEN (magnetic filtration) - oxygen production higher by 50%. Research cost: 1 500 points. |
Soil adaptation | New building - farm. Research cost: 2 000 points. |
Utility crops | In hydroponic and regular farms, it unlocks new crops that produce oxygen and improve on the quality of soil. |
Biome bioscaping | Living quarters in basic biomes become more comfortable. Research cost: 3 000 points. |
Biome engineering | Farms increase comfort of all living quarters within the dome. Research cost: 4 500 points. |
Gene adaptation | In hydroponic and regular farms, it unlocks new crops and increases their food production. Research cost: 7 000 points. |
Rejuvenation treatment | Improves the infirmary and the medical center (rejuvenation treatment) - it increases comfort and improves on visiting colonists' relaxation and stress relief. Research cost: 7 000 points. |
Water conservation | Water consumption in domes drops by 50%. Research cost: 10 000 points. |
Holographic scanning | Improves the medical center (holographic scanner) - increases birth rate within the dome. Research cost: 15 000 points. |
Farm automation | Upgrade to regular farms, hydroponic farms and fungal farms: automation - decreases the number of required staff. Research cost: 15 000 points. |
Moisture farming | New building - moisture separator - obtains water from the atmosphere. Does not work during dust storms. Research cost: 20 000 points. |
Hanging gardens | New spire building - hanging gardens - a beautiful complex of gardens that increase comfort of all dome occupants. Research cost: 20 000 points. |
Low-G hydrosynthesis | New building - polymer factory - Produces polymers, using water and fuel. New building - fuel factory - produces fuel, using water. Research cost: 1 500 points. |
Decommission protocol | Allows removal of utilized and damaged buildings. Research cost: 1 500 points. |
Microproduction | New building - electronics factory - produces electronics from rare metals. Research cost: 2 000 points. |
Storage compression | More storage space for water, oxygen and energy by 50%. Research cost: 3 000 points. |
Smart home | New buildings - smart houses and smart housing complex - they make comfortable residential buildings. During rest, occupants regenerate sanity. Research cost: 3 000 points. |
Low-G engineering | New biodome - medium - a medium-sized dome. Research cost: 4 500 points. |
Sustainable architecture | In-dome buildings require less frequent maintenance. Research cost: 4 500 points. |
Waste rock liquefaction | Drones can extract cement from waste rocks stored in dumping sites. Research cost: 10 000 points. |
Resilient architecture | Out-dome buildings require less frequent maintenance. Research cost: 15 000 points. |
Plasma cutters | Increases the performance of the rare metals extractor by 50%. Research cost: 20 000 points. |
Gravity engineering | New mega biodome - the most advanced and the largest type of dome. Research cost: 20 000 points. |
Drone Swarm | Drone hubs are provided with additional 2 drones and their maximum number is increased by 80. Research cost: 1 000 points. |
Transport optimization | RC trucks mine for resources fasters and have cargo capacity larger by 15. Research cost: 1 500 points. |
Drone hub | New building - it controls drones and dispatches them to various works. Research cost: 2 000 points. |
Rover Command AI | RC rovers no longer require recharging, they start with 4 additional drones and their command limit is increased by 12. Research cost: 2 000 points. |
Battery optimization | Drone battery capacity is increased by 50%. Research cost: 3 000 points. |
Drone printing | New building - drone assembly line - builds drone prefabs using electronics, thanks to which drone hubs can produce new drones. Research cost: 3 000 points. |
3D machining | New building - machine parts factory - produces machine parts from metals. Research cost: 4 500 points. |
CO2 propulsion | New building - shuttle hub - houses and fuels jets that allow long-distance transport of resources between storages and distribution of colonists between domes. Research cost: 4 500 points. |
Factory AI | Factory upgrade (Factory AI) - performance higher by 20%. Research cost: 7 000 points. |
Rover printing | Allows you to build RC rovers, RC trucks and RC explorers. Research cost: 10 000 points. |
High-powered jets | Shuttle cargo hold larger by 3. Research cost: 15 000 points. |
Moho project | Wonder - Moho mine - mines for metals, rare metals and waste rock without the necessity for deposits and provides heat for the neighborhood. Research cost: 20 000 points. |
The Excavator | Wonder - excavator - produces cement straight from the Martian surface, without the need of deposits: Research cost 20 000 points. |
Extractor amplification | Amplification of extractors - increases production by 25% and energy consumption by 10. Research cost: 1 000 points. |
Low-G turbines | Water turbine upgrade (polymer blades) - production of energy higher by 33%. Research cost: 1 000 points. |
Autonomous sensors | Sensor towers do not require recharging, nor maintenance. Research cost: 1 500 points. |
Subsurface heating | New building - subsurface heater - increases temperature in cool zones and protects nearby buildings against waves of cold. Consumes water. Research cost: 2 000 points. |
Stirling Generator | New building - produces energy. In the closed state, it is protected from dust ingress, but it produces less energy. Research cost: 2 000 points. |
Dust repulsion | Solar panels are gradually cleaned from dust, when closed, which decreases the required maintenance frequency. Research cost: 3 000 points. |
Factory amplification | Factory upgrade (amplification) - increases production by 25%, and increases energy consumption by 20. Research cost: 3 000 points. |
Atomic accumulator | New building - stores electricity. Has large capacity, but it charges slowly. Research cost: 4 500 points. |
Deep scanning | Sectors can now be scanned again for deep deposits. Exploiting these deposits requires additional technologies Research cost: 4 500 points. |
Nuclear fusion | New Building: Fusion Reactor - Generates Power. Out-Dome building which requires Workers to operate Research cost: 7 000 points. |
Deep water extraction | You can now exploit deep water deposits Research cost: 7 000 points. |
Meteor defence system | New Building: MDS Laser - Destroys falling meteors within range. Research cost: 10 000 points. |
Triboelectric scrubbing | New Building: Triboelectric Scrubber - Emits pulses which reduce dust accumulated on buildings within range. Research cost: 15 000 points. |
Fusion autoregulation | Fusion Reactor upgrade (Auto-regulator) - reduces the number of required workers. . Research cost: 15 000 points. |
Deep metal extraction | Can exploit deep metal and rare metal. Research cost: 20 000 points. |
Interplanetary astronomy | Wonder: Omega Telescope - provides access to new breakthrough Technologies and boosts research. Research cost: 20 000 points. |
Systematic training | Scientists and Botanists receive +10 performance when working in their specialty. Research cost: 1 000 points. |
Earth-Mars initiative | Increases research provided by sponsor by 100. Research cost: 1 000 points. |
Mars crowdfunding | Receive a one-time grant of $1000 M. Research cost: 1 500 points. |
Productivity training | Engineers and Geologists receive +10 performance when working in their specialty. Research cost: 1 500 points. |
Martian education | New Building: Mars University - Train scientists, ecologists, botanists, medics, engineers, security specialists. Research cost: 2 000 points. |
General training | Colonists without the proper specialization suffer a lower work penalty. Research cost: 3 000 points. |
Martian patents | License Martian copyrights for use back on Earth. Earn $2000 M. This technology is repeatable and can be researched multiple times . Research cost: 3 000 points. |
Home collective | Residential building upgrade (Home collective) - Increases comfort of the building by 10. Research cost: 7 000 points. |
Behavioral Shaping | New spire building: Sanatorium - treats colonists to remove flaws. Research cost: 10 000 points. |
Martian festivals | Decoration grants increased comfort. Research cost: 10 000 points. |
Martianborn resilience | Martianborn do not suffer sanity damage when working in out-dome buildings. Research cost: 15 000 points. |
Martian copyrights | License Martian copyrights for use back on Earth. Earn $2000 M funding. This tech is repeatable and can be researched multiple times. Research cost: 15 000 points. |
Behavioral Melding | Sanatorium upgrade (Behavioral Melding) - replaces removed flaws with random perks. Research cost: 20 000 points. |
Martian strength | Martianborn do not take sanity damage from disasters. Research cost: 20 000 points. |
Dream reality | Wonder: Project Morpheus- Stimulates the development of new perks in adult colonists throughout the entire colony. Research cost: 20 000 points. |
Core water | Discovers immensely rich underground water deposits. Research cost: 2 000 points. |
Rapid sleep | Colonists need to sleep for only 1 hour and regain extra sanity while sleeping. Research cost: 3 000 points. |
Giant crops | Unlocks giant crops with an increased food production. Research cost: 3 000 points. |
Extractor AI | Metals and Rare metals extractors can work without crew at 50 performance. Research cost: 4 000 points. |
Construction nanites | Buildings construct themselves slowly without drones. Nanites will seek out resources from nearby resource depots. Research cost: 4 000 points. |
Martianborn ingenuity | Martianborn gain 10 performance. Research cost: 6 000 points. |
Vector pump | Moisture Vaporator upgrade (Vector Pump) - water production increases by 100%. Research cost: 9 000 points. |
Hypersensitive photovoltaics | Solar panels and Large Solar panels. Power production increases by 100%. Research cost: 9 000 points. |
Artificial muscles | Drones carry two resources at the same time. Research cost: 14 000 points. |
Vocation-oriented society | Colonists receive a bonus of 10 to performance ad work, when all the parameters are in green. Research cost: 20 000 points. |
Autonomous hubs | Drone hubs no longer require power or maintenance. Research cost: 2 000 points. |
Nanorefinement | All extractors continue to extract small amounts when their deposit is depleted. Research cost: 2 000 points. |
Eternal fusion | Fusion reactor upgrade (Eternal Fusion) - Fusion reactors no longer require workers and operate at 150 performance. Research cost: 3 000 points. |
Dome streamlining | Basic resources dome cost reduced by 50%. Research cost: 4 000 points. |
Martian steel | Lowers metals costs for building construction by 25%. Research cost: 6 000 points. |
Superior cables | Instant and free power cable construction. Power cables do not suffer from power faults. Research cost: 6 000 points. |
Magnetic extraction | Extractor upgrade - increases production by 50%. Research cost: 9 000 points. |
Inspiring architecture | Colonists in domes with a spire have increased morale. Research cost: 9 000 points. |
Hive mind | Arcology inhabitants receive a bonus to performance on the basis of number of perks and specialties of colonists inhabiting arcology. Research cost: 14 000 points. |
Soylent green | Bodies of dead Colonists are converted to food. Research cost: 14 000 points. |
Frictionless composites | Wind turbine power production increases by 100%. Research cost: 20 000 points. |
Superior pipes | Instant and free pipe construction. Newly-built pipes do not leak. Research cost: 20 000 points. |