Economy and resources

The eight resources

Your empire produces, stores, and spends eight resources:

• Energy — keeps colonies and fleets running. Run out and ships shut down.
• Minerals — raw material for buildings and new ships.
• Research — pays for technological progress.
• Influence — currency of diplomacy. Spend it on treaties and trade deals.
• Exotic Matter — rare; harvested from anomalies. Powers high-tier propulsion.
• Dark Energy — rarer still. Required for the most advanced weapons.
• Biological Samples — collected from habitable worlds. Boosts research and population growth.
• Credits — the fungible trade currency. Sell surplus, buy what you need.

How income works

Each turn, every colony produces a base amount of each resource. Bonuses stack on top — your faction has innate bonuses, your buildings add more, certain technologies add even more. Maintenance comes off the top: fleets eat energy, colonies pay an upkeep cost.

If your maintenance exceeds your income, your stockpile drains. If a stockpile hits zero, the things that depend on it (ships, buildings) start running at reduced effectiveness or shut down outright.

Building an economy

Three principles:

1. Specialise colonies. A research colony with a research lab and a population focus produces more research than a balanced colony does. Two specialists usually beat three generalists.
2. Don’t over-extend. Each new colony costs a one-time settlement charge and an ongoing maintenance bill. Found a third colony only once your second is paying for itself.
3. Research economy techs early. Unlocking improved buildings has a compounding effect — every turn you have them is a turn you produce more.

Trade

Once diplomacy ships, you’ll be able to trade resources directly with other civilisations. Influence is the unlock — sign a trade agreement, then convert your surplus minerals into the energy or research you actually need.

Markers and warnings

If a colony or fleet is operating at reduced effectiveness because of a shortage, a warning marker appears in the resource HUD. Hover the marker to see which resource and which entity. Address shortages by increasing production, decreasing maintenance (mothball ships, demolish buildings), or trading.