Planet Types

An Earth-like planet with breathable atmosphere, liquid water oceans, and stable seasonal cycles that make it among the easiest colonization targets in the known galaxy. Temperate worlds typically feature continents of mixed terrain — forests, grasslands, and fertile river deltas — that support rapid population growth without requiring expensive habitat infrastructure. Metal and crystal deposits are present in accessible quantities, making them ideal first footholds for expanding empires that need a productive base before pushing into more dangerous space.

Fertile Soil — food production +20%

Tier 1 — Basic Colonization

Arid desert worlds of baked red sand and iron-oxide rock hide extraordinary metal deposits beneath their surface. The geological process that stripped away water also concentrated metal ores into veins so dense that automated mining platforms can begin extraction within days of landing. Colonization requires sealed habitat domes and water reclamation technology, but the metal yield advantage over temperate worlds makes the infrastructure investment worthwhile for any empire prioritising ship construction. Crystal deposits are sparse but occasionally surface in ancient meteor craters.

Buried Veins — metal yield +50%

Tier 1 — Basic Colonization

Vast frozen oceans of crystallised water and rare minerals cover ice worlds from pole to pole, their surfaces fractured into spectacular ridges and plains where tectonic pressure has concentrated crystal formations of extraordinary purity. Subsurface heat vents create pockets of liquid water that xenobiologists study while miners drill through the ice to reach the crystal-laden bedrock below. Colonization requires insulated dome habitats and heated transit tubes, but the crystal yield — sometimes double that of any other world type — justifies the engineering challenges significantly.

Crystal Fields — crystal yield +100%

Tier 2 — Advanced Terraforming

Volcanic worlds are geological engines of extraordinary productivity — their continent-spanning lava flows and hyperactive mantle convection continuously surface rare elements from deep planetary reserves that stable worlds buried billions of years ago. The surface environment is murderous: temperatures averaging 400 degrees, constant toxic gas venting, and eruption events that flatten unprepared surface installations. Colonies require heat-shielded domes and deep-anchor foundation systems, but commanders who make the investment gain access to rare element yields two hundred percent higher than any comparable planet type — resources essential for advanced weapon and engine technologies.

Lava Vents — rare elements yield +200%

Tier 2 — Advanced Terraforming

Gas giants are the fuel depots of the galaxy — titanic spheres of hydrogen and exotic atmospheric compounds whose upper layers support enormous orbital extraction platforms that harvest gas at rates impossible on smaller bodies. No surface colonization is possible, but the atmospheric platforms themselves become permanent installations housing crews of hundreds and processing millions of units of gas and antimatter precursors per cycle. Securing a gas giant is a strategic imperative for any fleet-heavy faction, as the fuel demands of capital ships are otherwise nearly impossible to sustain at scale.

Hydrogen Lakes — gas yield +200%; unlocks antimatter extraction

Tier 3 — Hostile World Adaptation

Ocean worlds are planet-spanning seas of liquid water teeming with exotic bio-compounds that serve as the raw material for advanced technologies including bio-warfare agents, medical systems, and organic computer substrates. Colonies are built on floating platform cities anchored to shallow continental shelves, with harvest facilities descending into the deep ocean to collect biological specimens and chemical compounds unavailable anywhere else. The abundant water and relatively moderate temperatures make ocean worlds among the most habitability-friendly non-temperate planets, and their research speed bonus reflects the extraordinary diversity of biological samples available for study.

Biomass — research speed +15%

Tier 2 — Advanced Terraforming

Airless, geologically stable barren rocks offer the simplest colonization equation in the galaxy: no atmosphere to contend with, no weather events, no hostile biosphere, and a surface littered with metal and crystal deposits exposed by billions of years of unprotected micrometeorite erosion. Standard vacuum habitat kits establish a functional colony within hours, and the Open Crust trait means extraction equipment reaches productive ore seams without the deep drilling required on atmospheric worlds. Habitability is functionally zero for unprotected humans, but the colony infrastructure investment is the lowest of any non-temperate world type.

Open Crust — metal and crystal yields +30%

Tier 1 — Basic Colonization

Exotic anomaly worlds defy conventional classification — planetary bodies of unknown origin where the standard laws of physics operate inconsistently, producing reality fractures that generate dark matter precipitates and ancient artifacts in quantities unmatched by any natural geological process. Surface temperature reads at absolute zero on standard sensors, but this is believed to be a sensor artifact caused by the anomaly's interference with measurement systems rather than an accurate reading. No faction has successfully maintained a long-term colony on an exotic anomaly world, but the dark matter and artifact yields make repeated short-duration extraction expeditions among the most profitable operations available to advanced commanders.

Reality Fractures — artifacts and dark matter only; extremely valuable

Tier 3 — Hostile World Adaptation