Buildings

Buildings always stand on a specific planet and only work there: a mine produces for its own planet, a Development center only speeds up construction on site. Each building level takes up one field. The building page in the game shows how many fields are already in use. Once they are all taken, nothing more can be built until you gain extra fields – for example through premium upgrades or the Interdimensional Transmitter – or downgrade a level. So decide early which planet takes on which role.

Building in practice

The build queue holds five jobs, six with the Construction Commander, and only one on an asteroid. A job is only paid for when it starts – if the resources are missing at that point, it drops out of the queue. That means you can remove waiting jobs at no loss. If you cancel a running build, you get 70% of the cost back. Via the detail page you can also downgrade a building by one level: free of charge, much faster than an upgrade, and the field is freed up. In some universes you even get part of the construction cost back. From Development center level 12 you can instantly finish the running job with Urplasma in many universes.

Mines and the Blast furnace need energy. It comes mainly from the Fusion plant, supplemented by the Thermosolar plant, the Solar cells ship and Energy technology. If there isn't enough energy, all mines are throttled evenly – the Economy page shows the percentage they are still running at. Warehouses matter just as much: when one is full, the matching mine only produces 5%. Check both before you start the next mine level. More under Energy and Resources.

What should I build first?

A proven start: upgrade the Fusion plant, Pig iron mine and Kryptonite mine in turns, and soon add the Blast furnace and Spice mine. The Development center pays off early: levels 2 and 3 unlock the Research lab and Weapons factory, and every level shortens all further construction. Then come your first research, your first ships and at least level 1 of the Fleet base, so you can send fleets out and get them to safety. Build warehouses as soon as your mines would fill them overnight. More tips for getting started under Getting Started.

How to read the level tables

Under “Levels at a glance” every building page shows the cost of upgrading to each level, the build time and, depending on the building, production per hour, energy demand or energy produced, storage capacity or the time bonus. Production and energy are total values at that level, not the increase. Use the drop-downs above the table to set your Development center, your Microsystem accelerator and your universe, and the build times update instantly. For the Spice mine you can also pick the planet temperature. All values exclude basic income, Mining technology and bonuses from premium, Synth and specialization – in the game your production is usually higher.