Mod cost: energy vs production

[alterum]

Mods cost the same amount of production (when produced) as energy (when bought and applied to a unit). This is inconsistent with the 'Buy Now' costs for units, which cost double the amount in energy than in production. And so mods add double the amount of energy to the 'Buy Now' cost than would be required if the unit were produced without the mod, and the mod was then bought and applied. So, in order to minimize energy consumption, if you are possibly going to use 'Buy Now,' you should produce all units un-modded, 'Buy Now' when appropriate, and then immediately buy the mods you want. Which is of course quite tedious.

Shouldn't the basic production cost for mods be halved, compared to their basic energy costs? Otherwise the bizarre situation above obtains, in which you spend double the energy 'Buying Now' modded compared to the mod cost for 'Buying Now' unmodded and then buying the mods. Am I missing something?

 

[Iguanaonastick]

Modding the units later takes an extra turn, and leaves the units vulnerable in the meantime, and doesn't let you take advantage of cosmite discounts.

Since the "buy now" option is most relevant when you are under threat, these disadvantages can be quite significant. (If you have enough energy to just spam the buy-now button to get armies faster... well, it's likely you're certain to win anyway.) I think it's fair you have to pay a premium for getting a modded unit in the field immediately.

Yes, there are times when microing unit mods and production like that gives you a small advantages. (especially when you're playing Assembly, who avoid most of the disadvantages.) But I don't think it's a problem as such. It's no different than optimising your colonist allocation every turn to bolster your economy. If you do it, you do better than if you leave everything on auto. Same with deciding whether to mod units manually or not.