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I've been playing on Classic and one thing I've found is that I need to get a jump start on Satellite Uplinks so that I can keep the panic level under control. However, to build them, I need 10 engineers, and I only start with 6. I can't always afford to take the first abduction mission that offers +4 engineers, because often there are high-panic countries that I need to head to instead.

I've noticed that eventually the workshop unlocks and I can build it to get the engineers I need, but I don't know exactly what triggers it. I'd like to know, because if it's something I can control, it means I can get Satellite Uplinks going more quickly.

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    It might be worth it to take the extra engineers anyway, then just use your satellites to damage control the countries you ignored. – Invader Skoodge Oct 12 '12 at 14:32
  • On some games of Classic so far, even when I do every mission right and hit the highest panic areas, I still end up with 2-3 countries in the red at the end of the month. Sometimes I just can't afford to do an engineering mission (which would effectively let me deal with one of these, probably) at the cost of making 2-3 other countries hit red. Kind of comes down to how (un)lucky I am in the beginning. – Sterno Oct 12 '12 at 14:46
  • yea, on classic you'll just have to make the tough choices. Sometimes I try to concentrate my red countries to a particular continent. – l I Oct 12 '12 at 16:27
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    Note that a common tactic on classic and impossible is to intentionally let the countries you're planning to satellite go into the red. Countries that are red only leave at the end of the month. As long as you get the satellite up before then, you're golden. Also, panic cannot go over 5. Thus, intentionally ignoring the country for multiple abduction missions can actually get you lower total global panic. – peakxu Nov 27 '12 at 1:48
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Just to correct some mis-information in this question and responses: A classic Game (without the tutorial) starts you with 5 engineers + 5 scientists.

For both the workshop and laboratory, they require 6 engineers /scientists to unlock them for construction.

If you don't feel you can take the first 4 engineer (or scientist if your rushing the laboratory) mission that pops up, then rely on your second satellite to pick up an African or Asian country to get the +1 engineer bonus if you have set up in North/South America/Europe, giving you the required 6 engineers for the start of month 2. (For the lab, the opposite is true, place a satellite in North/South America/Europe).

I would say that getting the first 4 engineer mission is more helpful than controlling the panic levels however, allowing you to focus on something more beneficial such as the officer training school ^^

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To first unlock workshops, you have to have a certain # of engineers, which you can get rather early in the game. I often choose engineers heavily early on to get my satellite uplinks going fast, so whenever a abduction comes up, I always go for the ones that offer engineers (unless some other one is close to a panic state).

To be able to build more after that, its a matter of having the cash on hand, and the prerequisite number of engineers. This number goes up for each workshop you build, but on the flip side you gain a small bonus amount (+5) of engineers for every workshop you build.

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  • Ahh... so in my last game, maybe workshops unlocked after I got my freebie engineers from the end-of-month council meeting. – Sterno Oct 12 '12 at 14:47
  • @Sterno that's likely – peacedog Oct 12 '12 at 15:57

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