My relatively small (24-person) vault seems to have an abundance of power, but a major water and food shortage! I've tried building more water treatment plants and diner/cafeterias (although they're minimally staffed), but my vault continues be in a state of perpetual shortage.
Everyone's miserable! I feel guilty.
I'd appreciate any tips or rules of thumb to determine how many of each type of room I should build…or general advice on how I seem to be messing up.
Best Answer
In the beginning (up to about 50 dwellers) you should have about an equal number of each production room type, so one power for each food and water.
When expanding, you should usually build the power room first, so that you have enough power to activate a new food and water room.
Extending a room (i.e. building a new one next to an old one) is more efficient per dweller than placing singles.
Just building a room doesn't make it produce anything, it is actually only a dweller's stat that produces something. For example, in power rooms the production comes from the strength stat. One power room with three strength 3 dwellers will produce the same as one power room with one strength 9 dweller.
Rooms produce depending on the amount of the main stat, not the number of rooms. So for example, one power room with dwellers totalling 10 strength will produce the same per minute as two power rooms of equal size and level as the first room if they contain a combined total of 10 strength. However, using two power rooms instead of one will cost more to build!
To make dwellers happy, keep them in the room they have the strongest stat in (their "talent"). If two stats are equal, the left stat takes precedence (left in the sequence "S-P-E-C-I-A-L"). You will see if a dweller likes a room by the green corners of the room when you move a dweller to it. You can also make dwellers happier by successful rushes (but sadder by failed rushes) or by making them have children (both parents).