History Main / YouRequireMoreVespeneGas

#'''Power:''' A resource that is rarely found on the map, it's more likely to be produced by specific buildings or units. Power is different in that you do not build a stock of it (usually). You have a power supply (generated by certain structures), and a power demand(caused by most structures, if in varying armounts). If the demand ever exceeds the supply, bad stuff happens, varying from lowered building speeds, to some structures or units entirely ceasing to function.

* ''VideoGame/AgeOfEmpires'' had various resources, each with a different purpose and each blending "Gold" and "Lumber" related purposes over the series lifespan. Food was primarily a "Gold" resource, paying for all your standard units and Age advances, but in earlier games also paid for their research upgrades. Wood and Gold (coin in ''VideoGame/AgeOfEmpiresIII'') paid for "archaic" and "advanced" units respectively, siege units, and most upgrades. Stone featured only in the first two games (before returning in ''VideoGame/AgeOfEmpiresIV'') and was mostly used for defensive buildings and their upgrades. Each of these things were harvested from various exhaustible resources around the map, though Food could be harvested from rebuildable Farms, and [=AoE3=] made Farms and Plantations/Estates a slow but infinite source of Food and Coin, respectively. Population is also in effect, being increased by building houses, though some nations have their population cap full to begin with as a perk.

#'''Power:''' A resource that is rarely found on the map, it's more likely to be produced by specific buildings or units. Power is different in that you do not build a stock of it (usually). You have a power supply(generated by certain structures), and a power demand(caused by most structures, if in varying armounts). If the demand ever exceeds the supply, bad stuff happens, varying from lowered building speeds, to some structures or units entirely ceasing to function.

* There are a lot of kinds of resources in ''VideoGame/{{Timberborn}}''. Logs are required for every building, and they can be refined into planks or paper, which in turn can be refined into other materials. Beavers also need food and water, and there are a lot of crops they can grow; some can be eaten directly, while others need to be prepared first. Each faction has a different way to reproduce; the Folktails have a chance to give birth at night if you have at least two beavers and at least one empty bed, while the Iron Teeth grow babies in vats using a small amount of basic resources. Finally, far away from the starting point on every map, your beavers can scavenge scrap metal from human ruins.
* In ''VideoGame/ClashOfClans'', Gold and Elixir are resources needed to create and upgrade things (buildings, walls, {{mooks}}, and regular Spells). Elixir is also used to fuel two late-game defensive structures. Eventually you can acquire Dark Elixir, which is used in training and upgrading EliteMooks and two of the three {{Hero Unit}}s, as well as brewing and upgrading Dark Spells and fueling a third late-game defensive structure.

* ''VideoGame/{{Timberborn}}'': There are a lot of kinds of resources in this game. Logs are required for every building, and they can be refined into planks or paper, which in turn can be refined into other materials. Beavers also need food and water, and there are a lot of crops they can grow; some can be eaten directly, while others need to be prepared first. Each faction has a different way to reproduce; the Folktails have a chance to give birth at night if you have at least two beavers and at least one empty bed, while the Iron Teeth grow babies in vats using a small amount of basic resources. Finally, far away from the starting point on every map, your beavers can scavenge scrap metal from human ruins.

->'''Soviet Hammer Tank''': I always wondered though... how come the mightiest nations in the world need to collect ore while killing each other? I mean, what's even ''in'' that stuff?\\
''(Allied and Imperial tanks shoot at the Soviet Tank)''\\
'''Imperial Tsunami Tank''': Don't ask ridiculous questions!
-->-- ''VideoGame/CommandAndConquerRedAlert3 tutorial''

* ''VideoGame/{{Warcraft}}'': The original game is the TropeCodifier for the Gold- and Lumber-type resources. Gold, the primary resource, is obtained from gold mines, which contain finite supplies of gold, have a clear maximum collection rate, and collapse once they have been completely drained. Lumber is used to build Archers (or Spearmen, if you're playing the orc campaign), Catapults, and [[ConstructAdditionalPylons buildings]]. There's also a Population-type "resource" which extends the ArbitraryHeadcountLimit, and is acquired by [[ConstructAdditionalPylons building more farms or burrows]].

* ''VideoGame/StarCraft'' The TropeNamer. Minerals would be gold and Vespene gas would be lumber.[[note]]Somewhat confusingly, however, you collect Vespene the same way you collect gold in ''Warcraft'', and you collect minerals the same way you would collect lumber...[[/note]]If you play well, you will likely constantly be hearing the phrase, "''You require more Vespene gas''". Both resources have a clear maximum collection rate per site. This difference from ''Warcraft'' - where wood has a extremely high collection rate limit - results in a drastically different tempo. Finally, the Protoss and (sort of) Zerg have Power resources. All Protoss buildings must be built near pylons, and shut down if the pylons are destroyed. Zerg buildings must be built on creep, which spreads out from hatcheries and creep colonies; however, losing the creep source doesn't hurt the buildings.

** Population is also a resource in ''Starcraft''. Each race has a standard Population cap (Terran supply depots, Zerg overlords, Protoss [[ConstructAdditionalPylons pylons]]), independent of each other. If you can acquire a WorkerUnit of a different race, you get an entirely new population cap to work with that applies only to that other race's units.
* ''VideoGame/StarcraftII'' kept the same formula but changed a few details: Vespene geysers are no longer infinite (depleted geysers gave a quarter of the normal output), Zerg can boost their larva production from three to seven via micromanagement, and campaign-only automatic Vespene gathering. In addition, Zerg buildings now die slowly if their creep source disappears, making creep into a true Power resource.
* ''VideoGame/CommandAndConquer'': The ''Tiberian'' series uses Tiberium as a Gold-type resources. The ''Red Alert'' series used "ore" as its Gold; another variant, gems, functioned exactly like ore, only it was worth more money. ''Generals'' uses "supplies", mainly found in supply docks and occasionally as UN crates scattered around the battlefield, but also acquired via special support structures that serve as the only late-game source of income once the aforementioned supply docks are depleted (as they do not regenerate). All series have Power as, well, Power (though the spiritual predecessor ''Dune II'' is the TropeNamer for that resource). There is also often a Population limit on air vehicles, usually planes (number of Airstrips). Helicopters and other VTOL are able to land anywhere, but still needed a pad to rearm most of the time.
** ''Tiberian Twilight'' changes their Gold into a Lumber-type, where they pay for upgrades instead.
** ''VideoGame/RedAlert2's'' expansion, ''Yuri's Revenge'', though no different in the only-Gold-and-Power-type-resource paradigm, gives you the Grinder, allowing you to turn units, or [[VideoGameCrueltyPotential civilians]] whom you have {{mind control}}led, into resources on demand.
** ''VideoGame/RedAlert3'' lampshades it in one of its tutorials with the page quote.
* ''VideoGame/DuneII'' required you to mine Spice, which is what makes space travel possible, and is thus the most valuable substance in the galaxy. It also uses power produced by Wind Trap buildings. Being one of the grand-daddies of modern RTS, this is a possible TropeMaker - and the TropeNamer of power resources.

* Iterations I-IV ''Sid Meier's VideoGame/{{Civilization}}'' series have three primary resources: Food (Nutrients in ''Alpha Centauri''), which feeds the city's population and increases it when the stockpile reaches a certain point, Production ("Shields" in ''Civ 1, 2 and 3'', Minerals in ''[[VideoGame/SidMeiersAlphaCentauri Alpha Centauri]]'', "Hammers" in ''Civ 4''), which is used to build improvements and units, and [[GlobalCurrency Commerce]] ([[EnergyEconomy Energy]] in SMAC), which goes either to research, your treasury (which can be used to speed up production, and is needed to support buildings and/or units, depending on the version of Civilization), or making your citizens happy (more important at higher difficulties). In addition, in editions after ''Civ 3'', there are strategic resources, which are required for some units and upgrades or otherwise enhance your empire in some way, as well as bonus resources that give you extra Food, Production or Commerce.

** Emerald, the only currency-like resource, was a late addition in the game, used only when trading with villagers (an optional sidequest of sorts). Villagers also bring a Population-type limitation: you can "breed" them, but only if the village has enough houses (though the game counts a door with one block over the space behind it as a "house," so this is easier to fulfill than it sounds).

* The original ''VideoGame/{{Warcraft}}'' is the TropeCodifier for the Gold- and Lumber-type resources. Gold, the primary resource, is obtained from gold mines, which contain finite supplies of gold, have a clear maximum collection rate, and collapse once they have been completely drained. Lumber is used to build Archers (or Spearmen, if you're playing the orc campaign), Catapults, and [[ConstructAdditionalPylons buildings]]. There's also a Population-type "resource" which extends the ArbitraryHeadcountLimit, and is acquired by [[ConstructAdditionalPylons building more farms or burrows]].

* ''{{VideoGame/Pharaoh}}'' has an extremely complicated resource system, as resources are consumed by population (food, finished goods) or industry (raw materials) or traded (all of the above). There are only four instances of getting the YouRequireMoreVespeneGas message though: obelisks and sun temples, which require vast amounts of granite and sandstone, and libraries, which need papyrus, and a city requesting goods and refusing to accept one unit less.
* In Microids' ''Warrior Kings'', there are 3 resources - food, material, and gold. It's actually food that's the most important resource and functions as both Gold and Population in other RTS games. Almost all units require food to produce and some can be bought with food alone, if your food reserves run out completely then most of your units will start starving until they're reduced to a few hit points, food taken from your reserves can be used to slowly heal damaged units and finally the size of your food reserves is used to measure the maximum population. Material acts as the Wood resource in other games, it's mostly used to make buildings and is a small component of cavalry and vehicles. Finally there's gold in the game which is used only for buying high end units and buildings, making this the least important resource. The Imperial faction has one unique resource which is faith. Faith is produced in churches and other religious buildings, it's used to power the miracles that the Imperials can use - such as calling down fire from the skies.

* In ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 4}}'', most [[ShopFodder "junk"]] items can provide vital resources for building and maintaining settlements. Weapons, armor, trees, and broken-down settlement scenery can also be scrapped for wood, steel, leather, and other materials. Settlers require certain amounts of Food (crops), Water (provided by hand pumps or a purifier, the latter of which requires electrical power), and Defense to maintain Happiness, depending on the Population level, whose maximum is determined by the player's Charisma points.

* In ''VideoGame/TheyAreBillions'' the resources you have to collect to build buildings and units are gold, wood, food, energy, stone, iron ore and oil.

* The ''VideoGame/SupremeRuler'' franchise has a fairly complex simulation of real-world economics. Basic resources such as coal, oil, water and wood are used both to keep the civilian world running and to produce more abstract refined resources such civilian goods, military goods and power, some of which are also fed back into the economy. Consumption of goods depends on what units are doing; going to war will greatly increase use of oil and military goods and often require a stockpile to be built up beforehand. As in the real world, most countries don't have access to all resources, so the most important of all is cold, hard cash, which is acquired both through taxes and selling resources on the international market.

* In ''VideoGame/PuzzlesAndSurvival'', the resources are food, lumber, steel and gas. These are needed in order to train troops, research skills and upgrade buildings.

* There are a lot of kinds of resources in ''VideoGame/{{Timberborn}}''. Logs are required for every building, and they can be refined into planks or paper, which in turn can be refined into other materials. Beavers also need food and water, and there are a lot of crops they can grow; some can be eaten directly, while others need to be prepared first. Your beavers won't reproduce unless there's at least one free house slot. Finally, far away from the starting point on every map, your beavers can scavenge scrap metal from human ruins.

* ''VideoGame/GemCraft'' has a grand total of one ressource: Mana serves not only to buy towers, traps, walls and gems, it's also used as your health bar by autocasting a banishing spell on monsters who get too close. If a monster gets close and you're out of mana, it's GameOver.

* ''VideoGame/AgeOfEmpires'' had various resources, each with a different purpose and each blending "Gold" and "Lumber" related purposes over the series lifespan. Food was primarily a "Gold" resource, paying for all your standard units and Age advances, but in earlier games also paid for their research upgrades. Wood and Gold (coin in ''VideoGame/AgeOfEmpiresIII'') paid for "archaic" and "advanced" units respectively, siege units, and most upgrades. Stone featured only in the first two games and was mostly used for defensive buildings and their upgrades. Each of these things were harvested from various exhaustible resources around the map, though Food could be harvested from rebuildable Farms, and [=AoE3=] made Farms and Plantations a slow but infinite source of Food and Coin, respectively. Population is also in effect, being increased by building houses, though some nations have their population cap full to begin with as a perk.

#'''Power:''' A resource that is rarely found on the map, it's more likely to be produced by specific buildings or units. Power is different in that you do not build a stock of it (usually). You have a power supply, and a power demand. If the demand ever exceeds the supply, bad stuff happens, varying from lowered building speeds, to some structures or units entirely ceasing to function.

* ''VideoGame/{{Stellaris}}'' uses a list of Wood, Gold, and Power resources. Energy Credits and Minerals both act as Gold, with [=ECs=] spent on upkeep and used as money for the market, and Minerals used to make buildings. Minerals are also refined into Alloys and Consumer Goods; Alloys are militarized Gold (used to build warships) and [=CGs=] are Power (consumed by population and advanced jobs, but not spent to build anything). Food is a Power resource that feeds population (Pops), and pops are a Population type resource, determining how many jobs you can work (and thus how fast you can gather other resources). Unity acts as Power-Wood (consumed to provide bonuses through Leaders, Edicts, and Traditions), and Science is Power (used over time to research technologies, although most early-game Science is harvested directly from the map). Influence is a Wood resource used in expansion and diplomacy. The seven Strategic Resources each act as either Wood or Uselessium, to build advanced ship components, advanced buildings, or nothing really. Naval Capacity and Administrative Capacity are Population type resources, however they are soft caps rather than hard caps as exceeding them applies increased costs and upkeep but do not hard limit your expansion. And on top of all this, ''all'' of the Wood- and Gold-type resources are also Power, as all resources are produced and consumed over time and a sustained deficit in one resource can lead to steep penalties across other resources or across your entire empire.

* ''VideoGame/{{Stellaris}}'' uses a number of resources in common ways. Energy Credits and Minerals both act as Gold, with [=ECs=] spent on upkeep and used as money for the market, and Minerals used to make buildings. Minerals are also refined into Alloys and Consumer Goods; Alloys are militarized Gold (used to build warships) and [=CGs=] are Power (consumed by population and advanced jobs, but not spent to build anything). Food is a Power resource that feeds population (Pops), and pops act as Power to determine how many jobs you can work (and thus how fast you can gather other resources). Unity acts as Power (consumed to provide bonuses through Edicts and Traditions), as does Science (used to research technologies). Influence is a Wood resource used in expansion and diplomacy. The seven Strategic Resources act as either Wood or Uselessium, to build advanced ship components, advanced buildings, or nothing really. Naval Capacity and Administrative Capacity are Population type resources, however they are soft caps rather than hard caps as exceeding them applies increased costs and upkeep but do not hard limit your expansion. And on top of all this, ''all'' of the Wood- and Gold-type resources are also Power, as all resources are produced and consumed over time and a sustained deficit in one resource can lead to steep penalties across other resources or across your entire empire.

* ''VideoGame/{{Stellaris}}'' uses a number of resources in common ways. Energy Credits and Minerals both act as Gold, with ECs spent on upkeep and used as money for the market, and Minerals used to make buildings. Minerals are also refined into Alloys and Consumer Goods; Alloys are militarized Gold (used to build warships) and CGs are Power (consumed by population and advanced jobs, but not spent to build anything). Food is a Power resource that feeds population (Pops), and pops act as Power to determine how many jobs you can work (and thus how fast you can gather other resources). Unity acts as Power (consumed to provide bonuses through Edicts and Traditions), as does Science (used to research technologies). Influence is a Wood resource used in expansion and diplomacy. The seven Strategic Resources act as either Wood or Uselessium, to build advanced ship components, advanced buildings, or nothing really. Naval Capacity and Administrative Capacity are Population type resources, however they are soft caps rather than hard caps as exceeding them applies increased costs and upkeep but do not hard limit your expansion. And on top of all this, ''all'' of the Wood- and Gold-type resources are also Power, as all resources are produced and consumed over time and a sustained deficit in one resource can lead to steep penalties across other resources or across your entire empire.

* In ''VideoGame/{{Stellaris}}'' the various resources are produced by buildings or harvested from natural deposits by population units or mining stations. Energy credits and minerals act as gold and wood, though energy credits are only spent to buy a few specific units or buildings and are usually just used for maintenance. Food is a power-type resource that is consumed by the population. Population is divided into discrete [=POPs=] that occupy planet tiles and harvest the tile's natural resources or operate buildings. A number of different "strategic resources" power specific structures, such as Betharian Stone to Betharian Power Plants, Alien Pets to Xeno Zoos, or Zro for Navigator's Guilds. Research is also treated as resources, "research points" are continually collected as a tech is researched, and analyzing debris can add points to a specific tech that isn't currently under research.

** Later versions of ''Starcraft II'' included "Announcer Packs", featuring various characters in both the game itself and esports personalities with their own twist on this trope. Many of the popular ones include [[Website/DayNine Day9]], the late [[Creator/TheCynicalBrit TotalBiscuit]], Abathur (voiced by Creator/SteveBlum) and Alarak (voiced by Creator/JohnDeLancie).

* TBS series ''VideoGame/HeroesOfMightAndMagic'' uses a whopping seven resources, with gold as, well, Gold, and with lumber, ore, gems, crystal, sulphur and mercury as Lumber. Gold was the easiest to get, generated automatically by cities, gold mines and certain items and skill, with upgrades to cities increasing that city's income by a maximum as small as 250 in Heroes 1 and 2 - from 1000 to 1250 - or as large as 9500 - from 500 to 10000 with the Grail building in Heroes 3, 4 and 5. Lumber and ore are both secondary resources, gathered at a rate of 2 per day from ore mines and lumber patches, and also by certain items. Gems, crystal, sulphur and mercury are all tertiary resources, produced by their respective mines, or, in the case of mercury, in labs, at the rate of 1 per day, and generally required for higher-level buildings and units. Certain town buildings also increase income of different resources, and any resource can be traded for any other in a marketplace, with the price becoming more favourable the more markets you control.
** Each faction inherently biases towards a certain rare resource in most games, meaning that the others quickly fall to the Marketplace as Uselessium. Unfortunately for Heroes 1, there was no marketplace and the bias was worse than ever, but hindsight is 20/20.

* ''VideoGame/RiseOfNations'': took the ''VideoGame/AgeOfEmpires'' system UpToEleven. You begin with Food, Lumber, and Wealth, gaining access to Metal, Knowledge, and Oil as you advance in age. Knowledge is a hybrid-Lumber-Power resource, acquired through Universities, and used for Age-relevant researches and, late-game, missiles. The others serve as Gold at some times and Lumber at others: every unit requires two types of resource to build, essentially pushing you in the direction of a well-rounded army composition since if you focus on one unit you end up with a surplus of (at least) one resource. Rarely are you in a position where you can't build ''some''thing, even if it's not what you originally wanted to get. It also features Population (increased through Military Research), and Power in a mutated sense: you have a {{Cap}} on your maximum income ''rate'', which must be expawnded take full advantage of all your resourcing nodes.

* Averted in ''VideoGame/Commander''. In theory you have access to an infinite number of troops, and the only resource that matters is your reputation. Capture enemy buildings, kill the rebels and fight with small numbers of troops and your reputation will rise, constantly request reinforcements and it will fall.

* ''VideoGame/SinsOfASolarEmpire'': Gold and Lumber. "Income" is needed for everything, including bribing pirates and BlackMarket purchases. Of the two kinds of Lumber, troop production requires more Metal, while research requires more Crystal.
** Also Population, requiring you to research various levels in fleet and capital ship crew 'supply' in order to support additional units of various types.

* ''VideoGame/RiseOfNations'': Similar to ''VideoGame/AgeOfEmpires'', but UpToEleven. You begin with Food, Lumber, and Wealth, gaining access to Metal, Knowledge, and Oil as you advance in age. Knowledge is a hybrid-Lumber-Power resource, acquired through Universities, and used for Age-relevant researches and, late-game, missiles. The rest of the resources are used to build and upgrade various units, as well as upgrade resource-gathering rates. It also features Population (increased through Military Research), and Power in a mutated sense: you have a {{Cap}} on your maximum income-per-minute, per resource, and need to expand it to take full advantage of all your resourcing nodes. Rarely are you in a position where you can't build ''some''thing, even if it's not what you originally came for.
* SpiritualSuccessor ''VideoGame/RiseOfLegends'' has timonium as a Gold-type, Wealth (for the Vinci and Alin) / Energy (for the Cuotl) as Lumber-types, and Population. Timonium, wealth and energy have the same income cap found in ''VideoGame/RiseOfNations'', and the most common way of increasing wealth/energy income also raises that cap. There's also "Research", which is used to improve certain aspects of the player's nation, and the Vinci-only "Prototypes", which can be used to either give a general improvement across the whole army, or buy a special unit and improve units related to the special one. Both are acquired from specific buildings.

#'''Uselessium:''' Any resource you have no use for, usually because either you're at the wrong point in the TechTree ([[LevelLockedLoot too low]] or [[WorthlessYellowRocks too high]]), or you're the wrong faction; shows up only occasionally. If it can be exchanged for cash, it's VendorTrash. If it is cash but still can't be used for anything, it's MoneyForNothing.

* ''TabletopGame/SettlersOfCatan'' has no single Gold-type resource; all five resources are Lumber-type, and all construction nominally requires at least two different kinds of resources. It's possible, however, to change 4 units of any resource into 1 of any other by trading with unknown [=NPCs=], meaning a player can, for example, build a road starting out with 8 sheep. Wood and brick are the most important resources in the early game, but become VendorTrash in the late game. The Cities and Knights expansion introduced three more Lumber-type resources needed for advanced improvements. The genius of the game is that while YouRequireMoreVespeneGas at all times, you are cruelly punished for hoarding resources whenever somebody rolls a 7 (which, in a two-dice system, has the highest odds of being rolled).

* In ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 4}}'', most [[VendorTrash "junk"]] items can provide vital resources for building and maintaining settlements. Weapons, armor, trees, and broken-down settlement scenery can also be scrapped for wood, steel, leather, and other materials. Settlers require certain amounts of Food (crops), Water (provided by hand pumps or a purifier, the latter of which requires electrical power), and Defense to maintain Happiness, depending on the Population level, whose maximum is determined by the player's Charisma points.

* ''VideoGame/StarTrekOnline'''s crafting system requires a number of different resources, which must be assembled into parts, which are then assembled into advanced weapons, engines, shields, etc. The most advanced parts tend to require dilithium (one of the two game currencies) in their build. A workaround is to build the part at a lower level, then upgrade it. However, upgrading also costs dilithium, either directly or indirectly, so no matter what you will be spending money if you want the best gear.

#'''Gold:''' Gold is a primary resource. You will need it for everything you plan to do. If there is a BlackMarket to buy other resources from, the gold-type resource is what's used as currency. If a game has only one resource, it's likely this one (if not, it's power).