shipbuilding Tech Comparison
Capital Yards vs Dreadnought Engineering
Comparing the Capital Yards (Tier 3) and Dreadnought Engineering (Tier 4), 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 | Capital Yards | Dreadnought Engineering |
|---|---|---|
| Tier | T3 | T4 |
| Research time | 24▼ | 80 |
| metal cost | 60,000▼ | 180,000 |
| crystal cost | 30,000▼ | 90,000 |
| antimatter cost | — | 1,200▼ |
| dark matter cost | — | 600▼ |
| Effect | enables capital class: true | enables dreadnought class: true; enables capital class: true |
▼ marks the lower resource / time cost. Cheaper isn't always better — weigh it against the effect each tech unlocks.
Capital Yards
Enables construction of capital ships.
Unlocks buildings: capital shipyard
Unlocks ships: frigate mk1, hauler mk1
Requires: shipbuilding 2
Dreadnought Engineering
Multi-segment superstructure design and redundant reactor cradles unlock the Dreadnought — a Capital hull rivaling the Titan in mass.
Unlocks buildings: dreadnought foundry
Unlocks ships: titan dreadnought, hammerfist battleship
Requires: shipbuilding 7, shipbuilding 8, shipbuilding 5
Which Should You Research First?
The Capital Yards is the lower-tier prerequisite step and typically comes first in the shipbuilding branch, opening the path toward Dreadnought Engineering.