User Guide

COLONIZING PLANET

CHAPTER 4

Minerals represent all raw materials derived from Planet that are used for con-

struction. They are used to build units (vehicles and equipment) and base

facilities (special buildings). They are also used to maintain units (provide

spare parts and so on) supported by the base.

• Units are mobile, and may be used for defense, exploration and conquest.

• Facilities increase the capabilities of the base that builds them. Certain one-

of-a-kind facilities (see Secret Projects, p. 165) can be built only once but

benefit your whole faction. Most facilities have a prerequisite technology that

you must discover before you can build the facility (see Facilities, p. 64).

Energy is collected from the area surrounding your base, from rivers, or by

using solar collectors to harness heat (see Terraform Menu, p. 46). The ener-

gy you collect is allocated for use in three different areas of your bases:

Economy, Labs and Psych. (Note that Specialist citizens can increase energy

allotments in specific areas; see Citizens, p. 61.)

• Energy allocated to Economy is used to maintain base facilities; any excess

is placed in the energy reserves. Your faction’s economic power is measured

by the size of its energy reserves. These reserves are saved as “energy cred-

its,” and can be used like money for base facility maintenance, commerce

between factions, or to expedite construction projects.

• Energy allocated to Labs speeds research into new technologies.

• Energy allocated to Psych helps maintain order and peaceful existence

inside your bases.

• See Energy Allocation, p. 117, for more details.

GETTING BASES

When you arrive on Planet, your first base is usually placed for you, depending

on your game setup options. Once your first base is established, you can build

colony pods to construct others, or acquire bases from other factions through

conquest (see Bases and Facilities, p. 104), Probe Team activity (see Mind