Food¶
The Food rating determines how much food a settlement is producing. Ideally, this rating should be at least as high as the current population. Creating supply lines will split the burden between multiple settlements, easing the strain on one particular settlement. Settlers will be happy enough with a low Food rating provided the connected settlements make up the shortfall in supply. Either way, a low Food rating lowers a settlement’s overall happiness and productivity.
Raising the Food rating is simple: plant crops and assign workers to tend them. A single worker can make up to 6 Food and they can tend any combination of crops that doesn’t exceed this figure. These crops can also produce food you can harvest yourself to eat, sell, store or craft new items with.
One downside of having a high Food rating is the appearance of Brahmin. They are attracted to settlements with plenty of food and can get in the way so you should make sure to build some feed troughs to keep them occupied. Having rogue Brahmin wandering your settlements is never a good idea.
Crops can be damaged during raids and invasions so make sure to use the Workshop menu to repair any damage and boost food production again.
Water¶
Like the Food rating, the Water rating reflects how much water a settlement is producing. Your settlers will expect a rating at least as high as the current population. Supply lines are once again key to splitting the burden but do be aware that shortages will make workers less productive.
Usefully, water stations don’t need assigned workers to start adding to the Water rating. As soon as you build a Water Pump for instance, it will immediately increase the Water rating. However, Water Purifiers will only function after being connected to a working power supply but even this is easy enough to complete. With the right materials and reasonable terrain, Water is one of the easier resources to keep steady.
Like crops, pumps and purifiers can be damaged during raids so you should remember to check them for repairs after an invasion.
Power¶
The Power rating indicates how much power is being produced at a settlement. Providing enough power to whatever devices you wish to have is an obvious necessity but settlers are generally happy with any Power rating as it is not essential to their needs provided Food and Water is covered.
The Workshop menu can be used to attach wires to generators, connectors, switches or powered devices. You will need plenty of Copper because 1 Copper is required to create any connection. You can also use this menu to remove and store any unwanted wires you have created. A device that can accommodate a wire will be able to transmit power so this means that you can link powered devices to each other and, as long as there is enough power, all of the devices in the chain will function.
Like any resource, power generators are highly susceptible to attacks during raids and if you rely on turrets, traps and any other powered devices for your defense, then you may find yourself in trouble. Generators should be placed well out of sight and repaired immediately if damaged.
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