If you have endless resources I suppose it doesnt matter, but looking at resource requirement for Large vs med generators, you are better off building 2 med vs 1 large generator.

from a resources that matter point of view (copper and nuclear material - and lesser extent aluminum) 2 med generators producing same 10 total power vs 1 large generator uses lot less copper and no nuclear material or aluminum.

Of the resources we usually run out of first, large takes 10 copper vs 6 for the two mediums
Large also takes 3 nuclear material and 12 aluminum the mediums use zero.

Does anyone build large generators? unlike other items with size progression (water purifiers, pylons) the resources used seems wonky.

I thought max size was done by an object count so you'd want less total generators to get more items in the settlement?

I just use small generators..saves on them screws I'm always running out of..currently at my main home I can build 93 small, 7 medium, and 4 large..

Actually I'm running out of steel ! Because I'm making this huge thing in Starlight-Drive in and anything I can make without steel is a welcome now
I built 2 in sanctuary to power up 4 of thos huge water plants and now I'm showering with caps.. They payed for themselves pretty soon

theres ways around this though

Yes, there are ways around the limitations to building. PM either Corey or me if you want the details of them. You can basically make your settlements as large as you want, well. Within the dimensions of the area anyways.

without using the settlement size exploit you will run out of settlement space faster using small and / or medium generators and the wind ones are just about worthless if you plan on having many lights or defenses that consume power

I'm in the "I don't know what the Hell im doing" stage right now lol. I have a few small and medium generators placed in people's way right now lol.

When it comes to power, I really don't know what I'm doing.

I dont know so no strong opinion but my guess is roughly the same. For sure is settlement size budget is not based on individual item count, it is based on the number of polygons and triangles that graphics have to render. In the guts of the engine, you can console command or use easy pre-made mod that alters these settings.

So as a guess, based on eyeball estimate of the polys being rendered, the large generator seems just about same as two mediums, possibly bit more because of the attached light mechanism on large gen.

I didnt think of steel as limiting resource but i suppose based on style, it could very well be. For me, while wood and steel is precious because of my huge settlement building, copper and nuclear material is far lower in abundance. Put another way, its a lot easier and cheaper for me to get 10-12 more steel than the 4 extra copper + 3 nuclear material

As for settlement real estate - i tend to build vertically, so always plenty of room. Even in a olace as cramped as Hangman's Alley, although there you hit an artificial vertical wall before you reach sureounding building height, but no issue getting max settlement size plus even max food/water on ground dirt level for self supporting (24 food, 24 water)

one trick if you have a problem w/ the settlement size is to scrap everything your not gonna use trees destroyed buildings 1/2 built concrete walls Etc. and especially TV's have seem many a thread on how they can bug a settlement. Emptying the houses in sanctuary of everything really helped out

I just put a generator and a power pylon on the roof of my building and that enables the lights and everything to be powered inside.

I still have zero idea what those wind generators actually do.

i'm still mostly clueless as well but the large generators are also less aesthetically pleasing to store, i have a power building in sanctuary and the large ones did not like being put inside!

i use em for powering the beacon, they look cool and don't make noise

They act exactly like the small generator, minus the annoying generator noise. Of course, they're massive, so it takes planning to put them to good use. One key difference: the power conduit is under the generator, which makes them more useful on rooftops.

I have two on top of my building, side-by-side. When walking to Sanctuary from Red Rocket, they look freaking awesome.

i never thought of that.

Building is really fun, something that TES players did a lot I guess, but problems with clipping and some of the glitches with light fixtures make it a pain sometimes....

My ques is that's it's done per polygon, not per object because it is number of polygons that matter more.