Level-1 cost and growth factor
The values below are what a level 1 costs. Above that it grows as
level-1 cost × factor^(level−1). A building with a factor of 2.0
costs 512× its base at level 10, so pick your moment carefully.
| Building | Metal | Crystal | Gas | Factor | Type | What it does |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Metal Drill Core | 60 | 15 | 0 | ×1.5 | Production | Mines metal from the crust — the base of every ship and structure. |
| Crystal Spire | 48 | 24 | 0 | ×1.6 | Production | Mines the crystal used in electronics and advanced alloys. |
| Nebula Siphon | 225 | 75 | 0 | ×1.5 | Production | Extracts gas from the atmosphere — fleet fuel. |
| Photon Forge | 75 | 30 | 0 | ×1.5 | Production | Turns starlight into power. Short on it and your mines idle. |
| Metal Vault | 1,000 | 0 | 0 | ×2.0 | Storage | Raises the metal cap. Overflow is discarded. |
| Crystal Vault | 1,000 | 500 | 0 | ×2.0 | Storage | Raises the crystal cap. |
| Gas Cell | 1,000 | 1,000 | 0 | ×2.0 | Storage | Stores gas under pressure. |
| Assembly Forge | 400 | 120 | 200 | ×2.0 | Facility | Speeds up construction. Level 1 alone halves build time. |
| Academy Core | 200 | 400 | 200 | ×2.0 | Facility | Speeds up research. Required for every technology. |
| Shipyard | 400 | 200 | 100 | ×2.0 | Facility | Builds ships and defensive emplacements. |
| Habitat Dome | 500 | 250 | 0 | ×1.5 | Facility | Crew quarters. Run out of population and you cannot build more ships. |
| Skyway Elevator | 50,000 | 25,000 | 10,000 | ×1.6 | Facility | Lifts material to orbit. Required for a space station. |
| Nanite Factory | 1,000,000 | 500,000 | 100,000 | ×2.0 | Facility | Halves build and shipbuilding time per level. |
| Terraformer | 0 | 50,000 | 100,000 | ×2.0 | Facility | Widens the planet, opening more building fields. |
Why the factor matters
The Metal Drill Core has a factor of 1.5; the Assembly Forge 2.0. At the same level 10 that is 38× versus 512×. Raise low-factor buildings freely; raise high-factor ones only as far as you need.
| Level | Factor 1.5 | Factor 1.6 | Factor 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1.0× | 1.0× | 1.0× |
| 5 | 5.1× | 6.6× | 16× |
| 10 | 38× | 69× | 512× |
| 15 | 292× | 721× | 16,384× |
| 20 | 2,216× | 7,556× | 524,288× |
Buildings with prerequisites
- Habitat Dome — Core Theory 1
- Nanite Factory — Assembly Forge 10, Neural Core 10
- Terraformer — Nanite Factory 1, Core Theory 8
- Skyway Elevator — Nanite Factory 4
The Nanite Factory is the gateway to the late game. It halves build and shipbuilding time per level, and it is also the prerequisite for the Terraformer and the Skyway Elevator (which leads to space stations).
Each planet has a fixed number of building fields, and one building level occupies one field. When they run out you either widen the planet with a Terraformer or colonize somewhere else.