Galaxy & Colonization

A vast procedurally generated galaxy awaits. Thousands of star systems, diverse planet types, and four distinct security zones — from safe havens to lawless frontiers.

Galaxy Structure

The galaxy is a spiral with six arms radiating from a central bulge. Each arm is divided into sectors, and each sector contains dozens of star systems.

Hierarchy

Level	Contains	Scale
Galaxy	6 Spiral Arms	The entire game world
Arm	~50 Sectors	Outer sectors are safer; the core is more dangerous
Sector	~50 Systems	Each sector has a security zone
System	4-8 Planets + Asteroid Fields	Star type varies (yellow, red dwarf, blue giant, etc.)
Planet	Building Slots + optional Moons	Type determines bonuses

Security Zones

Season 0 uses three active security zones running from the guarded outer arms toward the broken core. Each zone changes PvP access, available activities, resource opportunities, and some construction rules.

Sentinel

The safest space on the outer arms. New players start here. Wardens patrol Sentinel space and respond instantly to PvP aggression, effectively shutting it down. Pirate camps are limited to weak scavenger bands.

Asteroid fields are poorer and restricted to ore. Low-class wormholes can appear here. A solid place to build your economy without fear.

Open

The frontier. Moderate risk with better rewards — no warden protection, full PvP allowed, and pirate camps include both scavengers and raiders. More camps, better loot.

Asteroid fields are standard-richness and include ore, ice, gas, and plasma types. Low-to-mid class wormholes appear. Surveys typically want a combat escort.

Dead

Dangerous space closer to the ruined core. No warden protection and aggressive pirate camps roam freely.

Asteroid fields are substantially richer than Open space and can include ore, ice, gas, plasma, quantum, and dark matter fields. Mid-class wormholes are common. Expect serious combat on routine missions.

Season 0 scope: Build around Sentinel safety, Open-space growth, and high-risk Dead Space operations. Your alliance can help protect exposed colonies, fields, outposts, and stations.

Fog of War

You can't see the entire galaxy — visibility is limited to areas around your colonies and explored systems. There are four visibility levels, each revealing different amounts of information.

Visibility Levels

Full — complete real-time information. You see everything: planet details, asteroid fields, fleets, pirate camps. Applies to systems you've explored (via probes/scouts) or where you have colonies.
Partial — star types, planet counts, and security zones are visible, but no detailed planet information. Applies to systems in your home sector and systems revealed by Omniscience Array research.
Outline — sector outlines only, showing the general structure. Applies to adjacent sectors within range (default 2 sectors), your entire spiral arm, or arms revealed by Galactic Cartography.
Fog — completely unknown. You can see the arm structure but nothing else. Applies to other spiral arms you haven't reached.

Expanding Visibility

Probes — auto-explore nearby systems, granting full visibility.
Survey missions — reveal full system details.
Sensor research — extends your adjacent sector visibility range.
Alliance shared vision — see what your allies see.
Galactic Cartography — reveals your entire spiral arm (outline level).
Omniscience Array — full galaxy visibility (partial level everywhere).

Field Scanning

Even with full system visibility, asteroid fields only show basic information (type and position). To get detailed data — exact richness, total resources, and depletion status — you need to send ships on a field scan mission.

Send a fleet to an asteroid field and select the scan mission type.
The scan takes time and produces a detailed field scan report.
Reports reveal resource quantities and richness, helping you decide where to mine or place outposts.

Planet Types

There are six planet types you can actually colonize. Each type has different resource bonuses, size range, temperature range, and moon count distribution. Choose colony locations based on what you need.

Rocky

Rich in minerals. Excellent ore and solid silicate production. The most common planet type and a natural industrial backbone.

Ore Bonus Silicate Bonus

Crystalline

Mineral-rich crystalline formations make these the best planets for silicate production.

Silicate Bonus

Gas Giant

Massive planets with enormous hydrogen production and fewer building slots than terrestrial worlds. Surface-dependent industry cannot be built here: ordinary mines, the Alloy Foundry, Rare Extractor, Molecular Assembler, and Thermal Plant are unavailable. Gas giants tend to have more moons.

Huge Hydrogen Bonus Restricted Surface Industry

Ice

Frozen worlds whose subsurface ice is the only place to mine cryo-ice via the Rare Extractor. Cold temperatures give a small hydrogen bonus but a small energy penalty. Can have multiple moons.

Cryo-Ice (Extractor)

Terra

Earth-like worlds with mild climate. Highest natural population capacity, and the only place where the Bio Complex produces doubled bio-extract. One of three types your starting homeworld may roll on (alongside rocky and crystalline). Only found in the habitable zone (mid orbital positions).

Population Bonus Bio-Extract (Bio Complex ×2)

Volcanic

Extreme-heat worlds with superior energy production. They are also the only place where the Rare Extractor can pull plasma core. Hot temperatures give a small energy bonus on top of the planet's native advantage, but are harsh on population.

Energy Bonus Plasma Core (Extractor)

Orbital Position Matters

A planet's orbital position (distance from the star) influences what type of planet it can be:

Inner orbits (1-2) — mostly volcanic and rocky planets. Hotter.
Middle orbits (3-5) — terra planets possible here (habitable zone). Mix of all types.
Outer orbits (6-8) — gas giants and ice worlds dominate. Colder.

Colonization

Expanding your empire requires settling new worlds. Unoccupied planets in Sentinel, Open, and Dead Space can be colonized. The Colony Ship and its accompanying fleet must still satisfy colony-slot, range, fuel, and population requirements.

How to Colonize

Research Colonization Technology.
Build a Colony Ship at your shipyard.
Send the colony ship to an unoccupied planet in a Sentinel, Open, or Dead sector. Tankers may accompany it to extend operational range.
The colony ship is consumed — it becomes the foundation of your new colony.
Your new colony starts with basic infrastructure.

Abandoning a Colony

You cannot abandon your only planet.
Active missions involving the planet or any of its moons must finish or be recalled first. Hostile incoming fleets also block abandonment; a foreign long-term stealth observer is the exception and is recalled automatically.
Artifacts located there must be moved or otherwise resolved before abandonment.
A laboratory committed to an active cooperative special project blocks abandonment. The project name and progression remain intentionally undisclosed here.
If Leadership is enabled, a command vessel travelling from, travelling to, or assigned to a mission involving the colony blocks abandonment. A stationary command vessel is moved to a valid remaining colony.
Attached moons are abandoned with the planet. Local build and shipyard queues are removed, and unfinished research tied to that colony does not move with it.
If the abandoned colony was the homeworld, the oldest eligible remaining colony becomes the new homeworld.
After abandoning a planet, the same commander cannot colonize another world in that system for 24 hours.

Colony Limits

You can only control a limited number of colonies. Research increases this limit:

Colonization Technology — initial colony slots
Colonial Governance — additional slots
Genetic Adaptation — additional slot
Terraforming — additional slots
Advanced Governance — additional slots
Megastructure Engineering — additional slots

Choose Wisely: Each colony should serve a purpose. Don't just colonize the nearest planet — look at the planet type, resource bonuses, security zone, and proximity to asteroid fields or pirate camps.

Moon Colonization

Moons orbit planets and serve as platforms for specialized buildings — including the all-important Moon Dockyard for capital ship construction.

How to Colonize a Moon

Research Lunar Operations.
Build a Lunar Shuttle.
Send it to a moon orbiting one of your planets.
The shuttle is consumed — it becomes your moon colony.

Moon Types

Moons come in six types, each with different characteristics:

Moon Type	Character
Barren	Strong ore and silicate extraction, weak hydrogen. Cannot build a Low-G Refinery.
Metallic	Strong ore and alloy industry, but no natural silicate or hydrogen extraction. Cannot build a Silicate Processor or Ice Harvester.
Icy	Strong hydrogen and useful silicates with an energy penalty. Cannot build a Regolith Extractor or Low-G Refinery.
Volcanic	Strong ore, alloy, and energy output, but no hydrogen extraction. Cannot build an Ice Harvester.
Hollow	Balanced extraction and two additional building slots. Cannot build a Low-G Refinery.
Ancient	One additional slot and exceptional silicate extraction, but no ore, hydrogen, or alloy extraction; several ordinary extractor buildings are unavailable.

Sentinel restrictions: Moon Defense Platforms and Moon Dockyards cannot be newly built in Sentinel. Capital ships cannot travel into or out of Sentinel space, so plan capital construction and staging in Open or Dead Space.

Moon Limits

You start with a limited number of moon slots. Increase them through research:

Lunar Operations — first moon slot
Lunar Expansion — additional moon slots
Lunar Mastery — maximum moon capacity

Moon Priority: Your first moon should almost always get a Moon Dockyard. Capital ships are game-changers, and they can only be built on moons.

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