Build Facilities: Laboratory cost, bonus and base grid

About this game

Developer: Firaxis Games · Publisher: 2K · Platform: PC (Steam) · Art style: Realistic 3D · Screen type: City & Base Management

More XCOM: Enemy Unknown screens in the Gallery

What to study

Building a facility is a cost, a rule, and a placement puzzle in one panel: the Laboratory costs 3 power, 6 scientists, and $125, pays +20% research speed, and pays more again for every adjacent laboratory, so the grid hologram above the list is not decoration, it is the decision. Power 45 of 57 in the corner is the hard constraint on the whole choice. Frame at about 5:17 in the XCOM EU The Story Trailer (Steam), manually extracted because the scene-change pass landed on the surrounding base views, not this settled panel.

Patterns

How the screen is arranged.

panel-grid detail-panel cost-list

Components

Parts on screen.

Grid List Resource bar Tooltip

Screen inventory

• Facility list left: Laboratory (selected), Workshop, Satellite Uplink, Power Generator, Thermo Generator
• LABORATORY detail: Required to Build 3 Power, 6 Scientists, $125; each laboratory increases research speed by 20%; Adjacency Bonus +10% per adjacent laboratory
• Base grid hologram above the panel; BACK and BEGIN CONSTRUCTION buttons
• Resource readout top right: CREDITS $429, ELERIUM 148, ALLOYS 68, POWER 45/57

Top 3 colors

#000000 34%#070c0c 26%#1d3d3a 20%

Top three palette colors by share. The remaining colors make up the rest.

Source and credit

© Firaxis Games / 2K, XCOM: Enemy Unknown screenshot: XCOM EU The Story Trailer (Steam), shown for design study and commentary. PlayCraft is an unofficial fan project, not affiliated with or endorsed by 2K.

Source tier 2 (publisher-released) · screenshot: Steam store page · Steam page

Source details

Fetched 2026-11-01. verified 2026-11-01: manually extracted frame from the official Steam trailer, inspected visually at full resolution; facility list, Laboratory cost and bonuses, grid hologram, resource counts, and both buttons confirmed legible

2K Support, Policy on posting copyrighted 2K material (support.2k.com, updated October 2, 2025): 2K generally does not object to fans using materials for non-commercial uses in a manner that does not intentionally spoil the plot; 2K reserves the right to have its copyrighted material taken down at any time. Gallery use is free study/commentary, unofficial, not endorsed; takedown honored within 48h.

Rights holders: see Copyright & takedown.