production Building Comparison
Metal Mine vs Orbital Shipyard
Comparing the Metal Mine and Orbital Shipyard, both production buildings in Starforge MMO. Base plots and energy upkeep are scarce, so use this to decide which structure earns its slot first.
Build & Output Comparison
| Attribute | Metal Mine | Orbital Shipyard |
|---|---|---|
| Max level | 20 | 10 |
| Base cost | 200 metal, 100 crystal | 12,000 metal, 8,000 crystal, 3,000 gas |
| Upkeep | 10 energy | 150 energy, 80 metal, 40 gas |
| metal production / level | +50★ | — |
| capital ship build speed / level | — | +0.06★ |
| max ship class tier / level | — | +1★ |
★ marks the higher per-level output. Compare against your base's current bottleneck before committing a plot.
Metal Mine
Extracts metal from planetary crust. Core income source.
Orbital Shipyard
Constructs Battleship-class and above vessels in orbital dry-docks beyond planetary atmospheric constraints. The only facility capable of building the largest hull classes in the game.
Requires tech: heavy shipbuilding iv
Requires building: shipyard
Which Should You Build First?
Both are production buildings, so the choice depends on your current bottleneck. Prioritise the structure whose highlighted per-level output addresses your scarcest resource, and weigh that against its energy upkeep — a high output that drains your power grid can stall the rest of your base.