How are these systems gained? all at once or when needed? if the sim had an expand as you progress playstyle it would make for an addictive game indeed..
When it comes to compressed air the answer is simple.
The air-compressed energy can be only done when you actually depleted completely an ore spot.
By mining resources you make small hollows in the ground. Those are the hollows filled with compressed air.
That's how it usualy get's done on Earth. The caves where the air/water is pumped are usually made by nearby mines (like coal-mines).
It is possible to find a nattural hollow in the martian ground but it's not likely.
Also - the air-compressed energy supply should be as near the base as possible. Thus - only artificial holes are good enough.
Proposed compressed-air storage creation scheme:1. The game starts. No mining in progress. No air-compressed energy. Players have to conserve erergy as possible for a few days (like we do now in MCO).
2. Players starts to look for nearby resources using GPR. They start from the base and move further each day.
3. When players spot the nearest resource ore to the base (red dot
they place the Augar ontop.
4. Players start to mine that ore until it's completely hollow (Augar can't drill any more resources). It doesn't matter what kind of resource it is as long as it's close to the base.
5. When the ore is completely mined, players remove the Augar.
6. On top of the Drilling point where the Augar was standing players place the Air compressor/generator. The Air compressor/generator is placed just like the water pump.
Since the martian atmosphere is thicker it's possibe that the compressor would be as small as the Power Generator
http://ai.pricegrabber.com/pi/0/18/21/1821010_640.jpg(it would be of course - properly secured to the ground).
It's also possible that the Air compressor/generator is an equipement of the size of an Augar like this (and is placed with rover like Augar too).
http://cdn2.ioffer.com/img/item/141/138/415/Z0Yh.jpg7. In order to send/receive energy from it, you need to connect it to the base. On the back/front of the base there could be a unwindable electrical wire with max. lenght of 50 m.. Player would need to step close to the electric-wire box and click on it to start dragging it behind him. When he reaches the Air compressor/generator he clicks "Plug electric wire" and simply starts the machine. If the compressor if further than 50 m the player could plug it to the amplifier device to gain another 50 m.
8. The compressor starts to pump air into the hollow. It measures the Psi (preasure) level. When it reaches a certain level (for Mars let's say....1 Psi) the compressor finally starts to pump power inside, when it's aviable. The compressor will stop charging when the preasure reaches critical level (for instance: 10 Psi). If base needs power the compressor stopes charging preasure and changes into generator which gives electric power until the preasure reaches below 1 Psi. The larger the hollow the more time it needs to preasure-up the cave to 1 Psi, but it will also take more time to depreasurize to 1 Psi aswell. In other words - bigger hollows have the capability to hold more air-power.
9. Air compressor/generator will charge every day when it has excess power from the PVP and discharge at night or when needed. At first players still will have to conserve power, but after every day, the situation would improve.
10. Players search the map for bigger, better located resources to change the air-compressor location.
11. In order to switch the compressor to a better location you would first need to safely dispose all of the air inside the hollow. Simply walk to the machine and press "release air" button. It will take a couple of hours/days until the psi will drop to a save level to take the machine off the augar-hole.
*NOTE* If someone were to take the compressor off the hole when it still has air, it would explode killing everyone in tens of meters away.