The Second Base - when to build it?

[Slaughter]

Don't think I am the only one who feels constrained by my first base, eventually. I feel like I need more vehicle space eventually. Also, the need to fight Cults with a Mudranger and get to missions faster.

Feels like once you have a million to spare, its time to get started.

Is it worth it turning the second base into another research base? Say, putting an intelligence center and prison to turn it into a interrogation base (X-COM GITMO lol), or bio lab/animal pen to start researching live captures. Or just research stuff. Or even a second headquarters, but that seems hella pricey.

So far I am using my second base as an outpost for running missions and storage. I got what should be like two million in briefcases/bags/criminal cases, and a research that doesn't go fast enough.

[justaround]

Don't think I am the only one who feels constrained by my first base, eventually. I feel like I need more vehicle space eventually. Also, the need to fight Cults with a Mudranger and get to missions faster.

Mudranger I never used since it's just too impractical at the range it offers but in general, yes, I suspect that's by design. You simply won't ever manage to fit in every facility and maintain sizable support staff + agent roster with just one base, not without being practically unable to respond to missions or scramble fighters later on.

Feels like once you have a million to spare, its time to get started.

A million seems severely too little to me. Just building one base with basic, not even late-game facilities takes several millions, and then maintaining all that you'll build takes a couple on top of that. Two relatively well equipped bases pretty much finished and well staffed with agents, researchers and engineers set me back over 7 - 8 millions every month, and I am not yet even at the invasion stage.

Is it worth it turning the second base into another research base? Say, putting an intelligence center and prison to turn it into a interrogation base (X-COM GITMO lol), or bio lab/animal pen to start researching live captures. Or just research stuff. Or even a second headquarters, but that seems hella pricey.

I sometimes do make specialized bases but it's mostly to avoid micromanaging and just having one place constructing everything for every base and one researching everything. If you are able to maintain research staff and expensive facilities, nothing stops you from creating second research base, either.

So far I am using my second base as an outpost for running missions and storage. I got what should be like two million in briefcases/bags/criminal cases, and a research that doesn't go fast enough.

Research early game goes very slowly because you lack facilities and staff. The regular, not-specialized laboratory you get after second promotion or so will boost it all considerably, allowing a couple times as many researchers you could house till now.

[Slaughter]

Mudranger I never used since it's just too impractical at the range it offers but in general, yes, I suspect that's by design. You simply won't ever manage to fit in every facility and maintain sizable support staff + agent roster with just one base, not without being practically unable to respond to missions or scramble fighters later on.
A million seems severely too little to me. Just building one base with basic, not even late-game facilities takes several millions, and then maintaining all that you'll build takes a couple on top of that. Two relatively well equipped bases pretty much finished and well staffed with agents, researchers and engineers set me back over 7 - 8 millions every month, and I am not yet even at the invasion stage.
I sometimes do make specialized bases but it's mostly to avoid micromanaging and just having one place constructing everything for every base and one researching everything. If you are able to maintain research staff and expensive facilities, nothing stops you from creating second research base, either.
Research early game goes very slowly because you lack facilities and staff. The regular, not-specialized laboratory you get after second promotion or so will boost it all considerably, allowing a couple times as many researchers you could house till now.

Mudranger is one of those things that seem absolutely useless, but when you use it, you realize how useful it is.

I once stomped on a Cult Outpost with it, it was hilarious. Then there was a Downed UFO mission but that went south because some alien managed to hide himself and snipe me out somehow, I think I lost to the last alien.

Get started = Build the base, maybe a hangar. You won't be able to build everything in the first month, anyway. Took me months until my second base became useable.

Research: I am a bit worried because its Jan 98 and I don't feel like I am doing too hot right now. Its one year until the invasion and I am going around on a chopper, using kevlar and rifles. I feel like the aliens will stomp me. I need to up my tech game, and more importantly - numbers.

Don't you have to destroy a Cult in order to get Promo II? I sure as hell am in no position to destroy any cults any time soon. Can't even beat a base.

[Doc]

Don't you have to destroy a Cult in order to get Promo II? I sure as hell am in no position to destroy any cults any time soon. Can't even beat a base.

Oh no, not at all! You just need to recruit all the staff experts. Promo II is really key for cult fighting, you're definitely swimming against the tide here!

IRC the requirements are :

Xenologist - You get him by default I think
Military Envoy - All cult networks researched, probably the next easiest to get.
Chief Engineer - Alien device researched, a Psiclone will do.
Chief Researcher - Live capture of one of the big mutants (Mongorn, Werewolf etc.) and an Alien Fuel trace. This one can be harder to get.

And yeah, the Mudranger rocks in the .001% of cases you actually get to use it. 

[justaround]

Mudranger is one of those things that seem absolutely useless, but when you use it, you realize how useful it is.

If you get to use regularly and frankly, majority of missions from where I built my base were too far away for it, to the point that the mudranger was basically an expensive waste of space in the hangar.

Don't you have to destroy a Cult in order to get Promo II? I sure as hell am in no position to destroy any cults any time soon. Can't even beat a base.

Doc is right on this one, you can get Promotion II way, way before you'll even get far into destroying any cult.

[Solarius Scorch]

The Xenologist requires X-Com PAU: General Strategy and a live strange creature, which indeed is probably the easiest.

[Bananas_Akimbo]

With 3 hangars in my main base (southern Europe) I am usually able to reach most missions and have my cars/vans return, before more missions pop up. Still, I prefer the flexibility of having shorter travel distances i.e. several bases across the globe. Besides, I will need more space eventually and since it takes quite a while to build up bases, especially if you want to make them as defensible as possible, it is better to start sooner rather than later.

So I start my second base almost immediately. Both East Asia and North America are valuable areas to protect. I usually go for NA for my second base, because it is slightly farther away from my first.
It is possible to run out of money, before it becomes operational (hangar, living quarters, gym, storage, prison, animal pen). I also prefer to build an intelligence center and bio lab in here, rather than in my main base (or in both, if budget permits).

I aim to have 3 bases up and running by the time, that helicopters become available. That way I have almost global reach with helicopters and later with Dragonflies. Also, with these three bases in the locations I mentioned, you will be able to reach every cult HQ with an Osprey (I buy only one and transfer it around bases as needed).

In the end I want to have 5 bases, like in vanilla, to get global radar coverage (yes, AWACS exist, but I'm sure I'll need the space eventually, anyway).  I hope to have them fully decked out with radar, interceptors, troops and whatever else I need before 1999.

[anothrgamer1234]

I built my second base much earlier, long before I had a science lab or even a third hangar in my first one. Given the helicopter's short range, I found putting it in the second base was more efficient and at least for now I can still make enough money to keep me going by completing missions and selling the loot.

[Slaughter]

Oh no, not at all! You just need to recruit all the staff experts. Promo II is really key for cult fighting, you're definitely swimming against the tide here!

IRC the requirements are :

Xenologist - You get him by default I think
Military Envoy - All cult networks researched, probably the next easiest to get.
Chief Engineer - Alien device researched, a Psiclone will do.
Chief Researcher - Live capture of one of the big mutants (Mongorn, Werewolf etc.) and an Alien Fuel trace. This one can be harder to get.

And yeah, the Mudranger rocks in the .001% of cases you actually get to use it. 

I am only missing Chief Researcher. Got a live Mongorn and Werewolf on storage too, started researching alien fuel trace recently, never knew it was actually such a key research fuuuuck.

Should I keep one scientist per research and spread out, or go for more?

[justaround]

Should I keep one scientist per research and spread out, or go for more?

Depends on you. Do you want some technologies to be researched just a short while before heat death of the universe? Then the single researcher will do

In general, at least later game, many techs will absolutely require some team of researchers per tech to be acquired in timely manner (which is kinda weird in case of some things like various hired, not particularly involved goons of "second tier" hostile organisations who shouldn't really be much harder to interrogate than other goons of other organisations, but that's beside the point) - it's just up to you and how much priority a tech has for you to decide how quickly you want it and so, how many scientists you want to assign to it. I don't think I ever researched anything with just one scientist on the research, with exceptions of common regular human weapons and various other mundane "trash" items (licenses, badges etc).

[anothrgamer1234]

Depends on you. Do you want some technologies to be researched just a short while before heat death of the universe? Then the single researcher will do

In general, at least later game, many techs will absolutely require some team of researchers per tech to be acquired in timely manner (which is kinda weird in case of some things like various hired, not particularly involved goons of "second tier" hostile organisations who shouldn't really be much harder to interrogate than other goons of other organisations, but that's beside the point) - it's just up to you and how much priority a tech has for you to decide how quickly you want it and so, how many scientists you want to assign to it. I don't think I ever researched anything with just one scientist on the research, with exceptions of common regular human weapons and various other mundane "trash" items (licenses, badges etc).

It's still more or less a necessity to do so relatively early on; scientists are expensive and the Science Laboratory requires a hefty amount of research itself even after Promotion II. Better to have slow progress rather than none at all. And don't forget that even with the Laboratory, you'll need the Bio Lab and Intelligence Center to research some techs (most notably the autopsies and interrogations).