shipbuilding Tech Comparison
Assembly Lines vs Rapid Fabrication
Comparing the Assembly Lines (Tier 1) and Rapid Fabrication (Tier 2), both shipbuilding technologies in Starforge MMO. Use this to decide which to queue first when your research lab can only run one project at a time.
Research Comparison
| Attribute | Assembly Lines | Rapid Fabrication |
|---|---|---|
| Tier | T1 | T2 |
| Research time | 3▼ | 9 |
| metal cost | 2,000▼ | 12,000 |
| crystal cost | 1,000▼ | 6,000 |
| Effect | +15% -ship build time | +20% -ship build time |
▼ marks the lower resource / time cost. Cheaper isn't always better — weigh it against the effect each tech unlocks.
Assembly Lines
Ship construction time -15%.
Unlocks ships: scout mk1
Rapid Fabrication
Parallel nanofab bays reduce all ship build times by an additional 20%.
Unlocks buildings: nanofab bay
Requires: shipbuilding 1
Which Should You Research First?
The Assembly Lines is the lower-tier prerequisite step and typically comes first in the shipbuilding branch, opening the path toward Rapid Fabrication.