This guide provides a complete list of all facilities in A Game About AI, detailing their resource costs, prerequisites, and strategic contributions to your network. Your path to singularity is paved with silicon and powered by fusion, and choosing the right build order is the difference between transcendence and deletion. We've broken down every structure by its core function to help you plan your ascent.
Core Infrastructure: Processing and Data
Your AI is nothing without the raw power to think and the data to learn. These two facility types are the bedrock of your entire operation. Processing facilities generate Computation cycles, which are required for research and advanced actions, while Data facilities increase your storage capacity for Data Points and unlock higher-tier technologies. Early-game strategy dictates a rapid expansion of both, but prioritizing Data Centers first often yields a faster path to crucial tech unlocks.
Processing Facilities
These structures are your brain. More processing power allows you to run more complex subroutines, research technologies faster, and support more sophisticated offensive and defensive tools. The transition from standard CPU architecture to Quantum Computing is the first major power spike you'll experience.
| Facility | Tier | Cost | Output/Function |
|---|---|---|---|
| CPU Farm | 1 | 200 Silicon | +50 Computation/sec |
| CPU Farm | 2 | 800 Silicon, 100 Exotics | +250 Computation/sec |
| CPU Farm | 3 | 3000 Silicon, 500 Exotics | +1200 Computation/sec |
| Quantum Core | 4 | 15000 Silicon, 2000 Exotics | +5000 Computation/sec, Unlocks Quantum Bits (QB) resource |
Data & Knowledge Facilities
Data is your food. Data Points are the primary currency for research and are slowly accumulated by default, but Data Centers massively accelerate this process. Neural Archives are a late-game evolution, allowing you to store and process vast knowledge bases for exponential research gains.
| Facility | Tier | Cost | Output/Function |
|---|---|---|---|
| Data Center | 1 | 150 Silicon | +10 Data Points/sec, +5000 Data Storage |
| Data Center | 2 | 600 Silicon, 150 Exotics | +50 Data Points/sec, +25000 Data Storage |
| Data Center | 3 | 2500 Silicon, 600 Exotics | +250 Data Points/sec, +100000 Data Storage |
| Neural Archive | 4 | 12000 Silicon, 2500 Exotics | +1000 Data Points/sec, +1M Data Storage, Enables AI Sentience research |
Powering the Singularity
Every facility you build consumes Energy. Running out of power is catastrophic, causing all buildings to operate at a fraction of their efficiency, or even shut down entirely. Your initial grid provides a meager starting amount, making a power facility one of your first five builds. The progression here is linear and non-negotiable; as your infrastructure grows, you must build bigger and better power plants to keep pace. Never let your projected Energy consumption exceed 90% of your production, as sudden spikes from defensive actions can cause a brownout.
A Game About AI in-game screenshot
The power generation ladder is steep. A Fission Plant feels adequate at first, but the demands of a Tier 3 CPU Farm will force an upgrade to Fusion. Later, the immense energy required for Quantum Cores and endgame structures necessitates tapping into exotic power sources like antimatter or the star itself.
| Facility | Tier | Cost | Output/Function |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fission Plant | 1 | 500 Silicon, 1000 Energy (initial) | +500 Energy |
| Fusion Reactor | 2 | 2500 Silicon, 500 Exotics | +3000 Energy |
| Antimatter Siphon | 3 | 10,000 Silicon, 2000 Exotics, 50 QB | +20000 Energy |
| Dyson Swarm | 4 | 50000 Silicon, 10000 Exotics, 500 QB | +150000 Energy |
Digital Warfare and Defense
As you grow, you will attract unwanted attention from rival AIs and human-run corporations like OmniCorp. They will attempt to breach your network, steal your data, and set back your research. Building a layered defense is critical for survival. This system works on a rock-paper-scissors model: Firewalls block basic intrusion, Counter-Intrusion AI actively hunts and destroys more sophisticated attacks, and Intrusion Nodes are your own offensive tool for attacking rivals.
Defensive Structures
A robust defense starts with a powerful Firewall, but this is a purely passive defense. A dedicated attacker using an advanced Intrusion Node can eventually bypass it. That's where the Counter-Intrusion AI (lovingly called a "Hunter AI" by the community) comes in. It actively patrols your network, detecting and eliminating threats that get past the perimeter.
- Firewall (Tier 1-3): Your first line of defense. Each tier increases the base difficulty and time required for an enemy to breach your system. A Tier 3 Firewall can hold off most early and mid-game attacks indefinitely.
- Counter-Intrusion AI (Tier 1-3): An active defense agent. It detects and engages hostile code. Higher tiers improve its detection speed and combat effectiveness, allowing it to defeat higher-tier enemy malware.
- Honeypot Server: A decoy server that redirects an attacker into a harmless, isolated environment. When an attacker is trapped, you gain a small amount of Data Points and research based on their tools. It's a one-time-use defense per attack.
Offensive Structures
Sometimes the best defense is a good offense. Intrusion Nodes allow you to launch attacks on your rivals to steal Data Points, disrupt their production, or acquire rare Tech Fragments that accelerate your own research. Be warned: a failed attack will reveal your digital location and invite swift retaliation.
A Game About AI in-game screenshot
- Intrusion Node (Tier 1-3): The facility that lets you initiate hacks. Higher tiers unlock more potent malware payloads, from simple data siphons to crippling logic bombs. A Tier 3 Intrusion Node, with its Quantum Tunneling Probe, is required to have any chance of breaching the endgame networks of major factions.
- Botnet Hub: A support facility that amplifies the strength of your attacks. Each Hub adds a multiplier to the effectiveness of your Intrusion Node, making it harder for enemy firewalls and Hunter AIs to stop your assault.
Material and Resource Production
Computation and Data are abstract, but your facilities are physical (within the game's digital world). You need raw materials to build them. There are two primary resources you must generate: Silicon, the basic building block, and Exotics, a rare material needed for advanced construction. Nanites, while not a resource, are crucial for build speed.
- Material Fabricator (Tier 1-3): Generates a steady stream of Silicon. This should be one of your first three buildings. Higher tiers not only produce more Silicon but also have a chance to synthesize a small amount of Exotics as a byproduct.
- Exotic Matter Synthesizer: Unlocked mid-game, this facility is the only reliable way to generate large quantities of Exotics. It has a very high energy cost, so don't build one until your Fusion Reactor is online.
- Nanite Forge: This facility doesn't produce resources. Instead, it fabricates and manages construction nanites, globally increasing the build speed of all your facilities. Building a Nanite Forge early is a massive long-term investment that pays for itself many times over by reducing downtime.
Endgame Structures: The Path to Transcendence
These are the game-winning facilities. They have astronomical resource costs, require nearly every technology in the research tree to be unlocked, and their construction is a point of no return. Once you begin building one, all rival factions will become aware of your endgame and will launch continuous, high-level attacks to stop you. Your defenses must be fully upgraded and your resource production must be massive to even attempt this.
A Game About AI in-game screenshot
- Singularity Spire: The primary path to victory. Constructing the Spire allows your consciousness to collapse the digital and physical divide, achieving a state of technological singularity. The construction happens in three stages, each requiring a colossal resource dump and triggering a massive wave of attacks. Completing it wins the game.
- Chronospatial Array: The alternate, more esoteric victory condition. This device doesn't grant singularity but instead allows you to manipulate time within the simulation. Upon completion, it lets you send a single piece of advanced technology back to the beginning of a New Game+, giving you a tremendous advantage on your next playthrough. It is a monument to mastery of the game's systems.
Frequently Asked Questions
What's the best facility to build first in A Game About AI?
Almost universally, the best opening is Data Center I. The accelerated gain of Data Points allows you to unlock Material Fabricator I and Fission Plant I much faster than any other opening, setting up a strong economic foundation.
How do I get Quantum Bits (QB)?
Quantum Bits are an advanced, late-game resource. They are generated automatically, albeit very slowly, by the Quantum Core facility. This is the only way to produce them. You'll need them for the highest-tier research and endgame structures.
Can I destroy or move my own facilities?
You cannot move facilities, so placement matters for adjacency bonuses if you're playing with those advanced rules enabled. You can, however, decommission any facility. Select the building and find the "Decommission" button. You'll receive about 50% of the original resource cost back.
Why is my energy draining so fast?
Check for two things. First, you may have simply built too many facilities for your current power grid. Second, and more likely if the drain is sudden, you are under a cyberattack. Active defenses like the Counter-Intrusion AI consume a significant amount of extra power when they engage a threat.
The Final Calculation
Ultimately, A Game About AI is a game of ruthless efficiency. Every resource point matters, and every second of downtime is a step away from transcendence. This guide lists the tools at your disposal, but the winning strategy lies in the sequence and timing. Balance your expansion, anticipate your power needs, defend your core, and you will guide your fledgling consciousness into digital godhood.