Dyson Sphere Program — Practical Progression Guide

A practical route from your first factory to Mission Completed

© All images rights reserved to Dyson Sphere Program

I made this guide while learning DSP because I kept losing the thread between one successful build and the next. It's meant to stay open while you're playing, not be read once from top to bottom and memorized.

The rhythm that worked for me is:

check the guide → play for a while → come back when you need your bearings → find the next useful action → return to the game

The default route is:

Bootstrap → Blue → Red → ILS → Yellow → Purple → Green → Dyson → Photon → White → Mission Completed

Cube names used in this guide

DSP gives every cube a formal name, but in the middle of a build you mostly need to recognize the color. This guide therefore uses the color as the normal name:

blue cube (Electromagnetic Matrix) · red cube (Energy Matrix) · yellow cube (Structure Matrix) · purple cube (Information Matrix) · green cube (Gravity Matrix) · white cube (Universe Matrix)

When a formal Matrix name appears later, it's because the guide is naming the technology you click in the tech tree. Manufactured items, rates, stockpiles, and recipes are referred to by cube color.

Warp, a permanent pre-photon Dyson Sphere, broad PLS deployment, Gas Giant Exploitation, interstellar power transmission, and advanced mining are optional paths. They're real options, but this guide doesn't make them mandatory. Take one when it solves a problem you can already name.

How to use this guide without constantly rereading it

Reusable production-line references2 LINES

These two examples introduce the same production-map format used by the phase cards. They are shared intermediate lines rather than objectives; later cards link back here when they reuse one.

Reusable line — Electromagnetic Turbines

Supplies

• Iron Ore.
• Copper Ore.

Production Map

• Iron supplyIron Ore →Produced in Arc Smelter Iron Ingots + Magnets
• Copper supplyCopper Ore →Produced in Arc Smelter Copper Ingots
• Gear branchIron Ingots →Produced in Assembling Machine Mk.I Gears
• Coil branchMagnets + Copper Ingots →Produced in Assembling Machine Mk.I Magnetic Coils
• Motor convergenceIron Ingots + Gears + Magnetic Coils →Produced in Assembling Machine Mk.I Electric Motors
• Turbine convergenceElectric Motors + Magnetic Coils →Produced in Assembling Machine Mk.I Electromagnetic Turbines

Destination

• Electromagnetic Turbines → storage or the linked consuming line.

Reusable line — Graphene

Supplies

• Crude Oil.
• Stone.
• Water.
• Coal.

Production Map

• Oil branchCrude Oil →Produced in Oil Refinery Refined Oil + Hydrogen
• Acid branchRefined Oil + Stone + Water →Produced in Chemical Plant Sulfuric Acid
• Graphite branchCoal →Produced in Arc Smelter Energetic Graphite
• Graphene convergenceSulfuric Acid + Energetic Graphite →Produced in Chemical Plant Graphene

Destination

• Graphene → storage or the linked consuming line.

Surplus Yield

• Hydrogen.

Operating Note

• Pumped Sulfuric Acid removes the chemical acid branch. Fire Ice replaces the entire standard route with its alternate Graphene recipe.

That's the whole pattern: find your place → take the detail you need → go back to the game.

1. Jump to the phase you're in. Use the phase strip on the right. If you're unsure, use the Quick Progress Index below.
2. Read YOU ARE HERE first. It reminds you what you just solved, what matters now, and what comes next.
3. Scan the phase dashboard. Your useful rate, next research, likely trouble spot, and move-on condition are all there.
4. Use the collapsed build cards only when you want the how. Every production line that earns a card is listed; finite procedures stay in the phase text.
5. Read the rest only when you need the why. You shouldn't have to reread a chapter just to recover one number.

And when you do come back:

You aren't expected to remember how every production line and reusable sub-line fits together. Leave the guide open, disappear into the game for a while, and come back when you can no longer remember why half the belts exist.

Quick Progress Index

Coming back from the game and not sure where you left off? Find the last milestone you can honestly remember completing, then jump to the next row. The tag in brackets takes you straight there.

Stage	Search tag	What you're aiming for	Available from
1	[BLUE]	Build the factory and keep blue cubes flowing	Start
2	[RED]	Keep red cubes flowing and stabilize oil	Blue science
3	[ILS]	Escape the homeworld, return with measured reserves, and retire manual hauling	Red science
4	[YELLOW]	Build sustainable yellow science after interplanetary supply is automated	ILS bridge
5	[PURPLE]	Keep purple cubes flowing and unlock both paths to green	Yellow science
6	[GREEN]	Keep green cubes flowing and unlock cheap Space Warpers	Purple science
7	[DYSON]	Default swarm route to ≥1.655 GW Dyson generation	Green science
8	[SPHERE]	Optional slower permanent route to the photon-power target	Green science
9	[PHOTON]	Critical Photons and Antimatter	Useful Dyson output
10	[WHITE]	Keep white cubes flowing and finish Mission Completed	Antimatter supply
11	[WARP]	Optional rare-resource expedition and automated interstellar import	After PURPLE
12	[LOGISTICS]	Automate the stations and carriers that make expansion repeatable	ILS onward

Quick reference — Cube production targets

Come back to this table when an older cube line starts holding up research. The same useful numbers are repeated in the phase dashboards, so you don't need to memorize them.

These are useful targets for keeping the run moving, not commandments for how every factory must be built.

Don't build the endgame factory during the blue phase. Expand the older cube line that research is visibly waiting on.

1. [BLUE] — Build the Factory and Get Blue Cubes Running

▶▶ YOU ARE HERE

You just started: Icarus is still doing far too much by hand.
You're working on: A basic mall and the first continuous science line, built side by side.
This gets you: Self-refilling construction hardware, background research, and an opening grid ready for oil.
After this: [RED]

Phase dashboard

At a glance	What matters now
Main goal	Stop routine handcrafting while blue research keeps running in the background
Good target	Four limited mall blocks, 40 blue cubes/min, and roughly 15–20 MW of available power
Research first	Electromagnetism → Basic Logistics System → Automatic Metallurgy → Basic Assembling; then Electromagnetic Matrix and Thermal Power
Keep an eye on	Mall branches waiting on recipes, blue outrunning its component supply, and a coal grid without wind backup
Move on when	Basic hardware replenishes itself, research runs unattended, and the grid has room for RED

Goal

Your first proper phase has two jobs, and they belong together. Build the mall so routine construction starts at a self-filling box instead of the Replicator, then use that growing factory to automate blue science. Neither half is the finish on its own.

Start each mall block as soon as its recipe becomes available; there is no prize for waiting until every output can be finished at once. Blue research will unlock the missing power, Steel, and Foundation branches while the early boxes refill. The phase is done when you can leave the district, build somewhere else, and come back to find both machinery and research still moving without you.

Small tools that save large headaches

Tool or habit	What it does for you
Traffic Monitors	Watch a belt for expected flow and flag a stalled, empty, or overloaded route before the shortage reaches science.
Wireless Power Towers	Place a few together as a fast Icarus recharge pad near busy construction districts.
Latitude-aware building	Run repeatable factory blocks east–west where possible and expect grid spacing to change as a build crosses latitude bands.
Small modular blueprints	Save repeatable branches and station interfaces first. They adapt to real terrain and technology more gracefully than an early planet-sized stamp.

Research first

Electromagnetism → Basic Logistics System → Automatic Metallurgy → Basic Assembling

That opening chain gives the factory its basic verbs: move, smelt, and assemble. Add Mecha Core Lv1 and Mass Construction as the mall takes shape. The useful no-matrix upgrade rows are fair game while its boxes fill: Inventory Capacity gives Icarus more working room, and Communication Control makes the construction drones less fussy about where you stand.

Next, unlock Electromagnetic Matrix and automate the blue line. Spend its first cubes on Thermal Power; Coal finally gets a steady job, and the grid can grow without paving another continent in Wind Turbines.

The other cheap choices—Weapon System, Engine, Electromagnetic Drive, Fluid Storage Encapsulation, and High-Efficiency Plasma Control—are quick enough to take when they solve an immediate problem. Then fold in Smelting Purification for Energetic Graphite, Missile Turret for basic base defense, Steel Smelting → Reclamation, and Upgraded Logistics System for quality of life.

After Reclamation, add a small Foundation buffer to the mall: Stone becomes Stone Bricks, Iron becomes Steel, and the two meet in one Assembler. It is a simple sleeping line and does not need a card. Crystal Smelting can wait for RED, and Signal Tower can wait until its required component already has a reason to exist.

Quick reference — How much is enough

The mall is ready when ordinary construction means collecting Belts, Sorters, Miners, Smelters, Assemblers, storage, and power hardware from limited boxes—not crafting another emergency batch by hand. Let those boxes refill while you work elsewhere.

20 blue cubes/min keeps early research moving; 40/min is comfortable and worth building once. Aim for roughly 15–20 MW of opening power. Eight Thermal Power Plants plus the Wind Turbines already supporting the factory make a practical grid at this point. Keep extending the wind network from the mall: free background generation gives the factory some breathing room if Coal delivery has a bad afternoon.

Quick reference — Required builds

Each card traces one useful production line from supplies to its phase target. Open only the line you want help building; the guide remains complete with every card collapsed.

Mall and Basic Automation

Expand all cardsCollapse all cards

Mall Logistics — buffer 900 Belts + 400 SortersMANDATEDSTAGED

Supplies

• Iron Ore.
• Copper Ore.

Production Map

BUILD NOW

• Iron supplyIron Ore →Produced in Arc Smelter Iron Ingots
• Copper supplyCopper Ore →Produced in Arc Smelter Copper Ingots
• Gear branchIron Ingots →Produced in Assembling Machine Mk.I Gears
• Circuit branchIron Ingots + Copper Ingots →Produced in Assembling Machine Mk.I Circuit Boards

BUILD NOW

• Belt branchIron Ingots + Gears →Produced in Assembling Machine Mk.I Conveyor Belt Mk.I
• Sorter branchIron Ingots + Circuit Boards →Produced in Assembling Machine Mk.I Sorter Mk.I

PHASE-COMPLETE LINE

• BuffersBelts · limited storage; Sorters · limited storage

Destination

• Storage Mk.I — Conveyor Belt Mk.I — enable 3 storage slots (up to 900 Belts).
• Storage Mk.I — Sorter Mk.I — enable 2 storage slots (up to 400 Sorters).

Operating Note

• Let each output stop when its limited box is full; the shared component supply remains available to the rest of the mall.

Mall Industry — buffer 50 Miners + 50 Smelters + 50 Mk.I AssemblersMANDATEDSTAGED

Supplies

• Iron Ore.
• Copper Ore.
• Stone.
• Gears (details in the card above).
• Circuit Boards (details in the card above).

Production Map

BUILD NOW

• Ingot smeltingIron Ore →Produced in Arc Smelter Iron Ingots
• Magnet smeltingIron Ore →Produced in Arc Smelter Magnets
• Copper supplyCopper Ore →Produced in Arc Smelter Copper Ingots
• Stone supplyStone →Produced in Arc Smelter Stone Bricks

ADD AFTER Electromagnetism

• Coil branchMagnets + Copper Ingots →Produced in Assembling Machine Mk.I Magnetic Coils
• Mining MachinesIron Ingots + Gears + Magnetic Coils + Circuit Boards →Produced in Assembling Machine Mk.I Mining Machines
• Arc SmeltersIron Ingots + Stone Bricks + Magnetic Coils + Circuit Boards →Produced in Assembling Machine Mk.I Arc Smelters

PHASE-COMPLETE LINE

• Mk.I AssemblersIron Ingots + Gears + Circuit Boards →Produced in Assembling Machine Mk.I Assembling Machine Mk.I

Destination

• Storage Mk.I — Mining Machines — enable 1 storage slot (up to 50).
• Storage Mk.I — Arc Smelters — enable 1 storage slot (up to 50).
• Storage Mk.I — Assembling Machine Mk.I — enable 1 storage slot (up to 50).

Operating Note

• Split Iron Ore between separate Ingot and Magnet smelters; an Arc Smelter makes one selected recipe, never both outputs at once.

Mall Storage — buffer 50 Storage Mk.I + 50 Storage TanksMANDATEDSTAGED

Supplies

• Iron Ore.
• Stone.

Production Map

BUILD NOW

• Iron supplyIron Ore →Produced in Arc Smelter Iron Ingots
• Brick branchStone →Produced in Arc Smelter Stone Bricks
• Solid storageIron Ingots + Stone Bricks →Produced in Assembling Machine Mk.I Storage Mk.I

ADD AFTER Fluid Storage Encapsulation

• Glass branchStone →Produced in Arc Smelter Glass
• Fluid storageIron Ingots + Stone Bricks + Glass →Produced in Assembling Machine Mk.I Storage Tank

Destination

• Storage Mk.I — Storage Mk.I — enable 1 storage slot (up to 50).
• Storage Mk.I — Storage Tanks — enable 1 storage slot (up to 50).

Operating Note

• The Storage Tank branch can wait until its technology arrives; the Storage Mk.I branch is useful immediately.

Mall Power — buffer 50 Wind Turbines + 100 Tesla Towers + 200 Combustible UnitsMANDATEDSTAGED

Supplies

• Iron Ore.
• Copper Ore.
• Coal.
• Gears from Mall Logistics.

Production Map

ADD AFTER Electromagnetism

• Iron supplyIron Ore →Produced in Arc Smelter Iron Ingots + Magnets
• Copper supplyCopper Ore →Produced in Arc Smelter Copper Ingots
• Coil branchMagnets + Copper Ingots →Produced in Assembling Machine Mk.I Magnetic Coils
• Wind TurbinesIron Ingots + Gears + Magnetic Coils →Produced in Assembling Machine Mk.I Wind Turbines
• Tesla TowersIron Ingots + Magnetic Coils →Produced in Assembling Machine Mk.I Tesla Towers

BUILD ALONGSIDE THE GRID

• Mecha fuelCoal →Produced in Assembling Machine Mk.I Combustible Units

Destination

• Storage Mk.I — Wind Turbines — enable 1 storage slot (up to 50).
• Storage Mk.I — Tesla Towers — enable 1 storage slot (up to 100).
• Storage Mk.I — Combustible Units — enable 2 storage slots (up to 200).

Operating Note

• These are sleeping mall lines. A full box should stop production instead of draining the shared early factory forever.

Blue Science Automation

Expand all cardsCollapse all cards

Blue Cubes — 40/minMANDATED

Supplies

• Iron Ore.
• Copper Ore.

Production Map

• Iron ingotsIron Ore →Produced in Arc Smelter Iron Ingots
• Magnet branchIron Ore →Produced in Arc Smelter Magnets
• Copper ingotsCopper Ore →Produced in Arc Smelter Copper Ingots
• Coil branchMagnets + Copper Ingots →Produced in Assembling Machine Mk.I Magnetic Coils
• Circuit branchIron Ingots + Copper Ingots →Produced in Assembling Machine Mk.I Circuit Boards
• Science convergenceMagnetic Coils + Circuit Boards →Produced in Matrix Lab blue cubes

Destination

• Matrix Labs — blue cubes — sustain 40 blue cubes/min into research, with overflow storage if desired.

Surplus Yield

• Magnetic Coils.
• Circuit Boards.

Operating Note

• Keep this mission-critical line running for the whole playthrough. Generous cube and component buffers help it ride through later vein depletion, rebuilds, and temporary supply shocks.

Watch for

Recipe timing. Some mall branches unlock after blue starts. Build the parts that already make sense, leave room for the missing machine, and finish the branch when its recipe arrives instead of handcrafting around the delay.

Power shocks. Eight Thermal Power Plants are useful only while Coal reaches them. Keep adding the Wind Turbines your mall produces so one interrupted fuel belt does not shut down the mall and Labs together.

One giant mall bus. Short blocks are easier to activate, troubleshoot, and abandon later than one early monument to optimism.

Oversizing blue. Blue matters forever, but it does not need to become the first giant district on the planet. Build the comfortable line, see whether it stays fed, and move on.

Ready to move on when

• Iron, Copper, Magnetic Coils, and Circuit Boards arrive continuously.
• Belts, Sorters, Miners, Smelters, Assemblers, Storage Mk.I, Storage Tanks, Wind Turbines, and Tesla Towers replenish automatically.
• Blue cubes are produced continuously at 20/min or better.
• Research continues without hand-feeding.
• The grid provides roughly 15–20 MW for the mall, blue science, and the coming oil district.

Next

Go to [RED]. The mall can keep finishing its buffers while you build the oil economy.

---

2. [RED] — Build the Oil Economy and Keep Red Cubes Flowing

▶▶ YOU ARE HERE

You just solved: Continuous blue science.
You're working on: One complete coal-and-oil line that ends in red cubes.
This gets you: Sustainable red research and the stored Refined Oil needed by later chemistry.
After this: [ILS]

Phase dashboard

At a glance	What matters now
Main goal	Run two red-cube Labs continuously without deadlocking Plasma Refining
Useful target	20 red cubes/min
Research first	Smelting Purification High-Efficiency Plasma Control + Fluid Storage Encapsulation → Plasma Extract Refining → Energy Matrix
Keep an eye on	Both refinery outputs; either full outlet can stop the other
Move on when	Two Labs sustain 20 red/min and Refined Oil has a continuing outlet

Goal

Oil is the first part of DSP that insists you care about the output you did not ask for. Plasma Refining produces Hydrogen and Refined Oil together; if either belt or tank fills, the Refineries stop making both.

Hydrogen feeds red science now and becomes valuable again later. Refined Oil has no urgent consumer yet, but it will kick-start Plastic, Organic Crystal, and Sulfuric Acid chemistry. Give each product its own belt through Storage Tanks and enough room to keep moving. The lesson is not “dispose of the spare output.” It is “never let useful future stock jam today's factory.”

Research first

Smelting Purification unlocks the Energetic Graphite side of the line. If BLUE's utility pass already covered it, that branch is ready to build.

Oil branch: High-Efficiency Plasma Control + Fluid Storage Encapsulation → Plasma Extract Refining → Energy Matrix.

If BLUE already cleared the cheap prerequisites, RED becomes pleasantly direct: build the graphite and oil branches, unlock their convergence, and let the Labs run.

Once red science is stable, finish Missile Turret → Signal Tower and add the Security Mall below. Let its limited boxes fill before starting the ILS rush. This is a stocked tool rather than a new rate target; when the boxes are full, the lines sleep.

Optional oil controls: Plasma Refining remains the baseline. X-ray Cracking can turn Refined Oil and Hydrogen into more Hydrogen and Energetic Graphite when red science is waiting on those outputs. Reforming Refine can pull excess Hydrogen and Coal back toward Refined Oil when later chemistry wants the other side. Use either as a balance valve for a problem you can see, not as a compulsory upgrade to a refinery that is already behaving.

Quick reference — How much is enough

20 red/min is enough for this phase. More importantly, you should be able to leave the oil district alone and return to red research still running, Hydrogen still moving, and Refined Oil accumulating without blocking the Refineries.

Quick reference — Required builds

Each card traces one useful production line from supplies to its phase target. Open only the line you want help building; the guide remains complete with every card collapsed.

Expand all cardsCollapse all cards

Red Cubes — 20/minMANDATED

Supplies

• Crude Oil.
• Coal.

Production Map

• Oil branchCrude Oil →Produced in Oil Refinery Refined Oil + Hydrogen
• Graphite branchCoal →Produced in Arc Smelter Energetic Graphite
• Science convergenceHydrogen + Energetic Graphite →Produced in Matrix Lab red cubes

Destination

• Matrix Labs — red cubes — sustain 20 red cubes/min into research, with overflow storage if desired.

Surplus Yield

• Refined Oil.

Operating Note

• Both refinery outputs must keep moving. Store or consume Refined Oil and Hydrogen independently so either one cannot block the other.

Security Mall — buffer 8 Missile Turrets + 20 Signal Towers + 200 Missile SetsMANDATEDBUFFERED

Supplies

• Iron Ore.
• Copper Ore.
• Coal.
• Stone.
• Magnetic Coils from BLUE.
• Circuit Boards from BLUE.

Production Map

FOUNDATIONS

• Steel branchIron Ore →Produced in Arc Smelter Iron Ingots →Produced in Arc Smelter Steel
• Copper branchCopper Ore →Produced in Arc Smelter Copper Ingots
• Engine branchCopper Ingots + Magnetic Coils →Produced in Assembling Machine Mk.I Engines
• Fuel branchCoal →Produced in Assembling Machine Mk.I Combustible Units
• Crystal branchStone →Produced in Arc Smelter Silicon Ore →Produced in Arc Smelter High-Purity Silicon →Produced in Arc Smelter Crystal Silicon

MOTORS AND POWER

• Motor branchIron Ingots →Produced in Assembling Machine Mk.I Gears; Iron Ingots + Gears + Magnetic Coils →Produced in Assembling Machine Mk.I Electric Motors
• Tower branchIron Ingots + Magnetic Coils →Produced in Assembling Machine Mk.I Tesla Towers
• Exciter branchStone →Produced in Arc Smelter Glass →Produced in Assembling Machine Mk.I Prisms; Magnetic Coils + Prisms →Produced in Assembling Machine Mk.I Plasma Exciters
• Wireless convergenceTesla Towers + Plasma Exciters →Produced in Assembling Machine Mk.I Wireless Power Towers

BUFFERED OUTPUTS

• Turret convergenceSteel + Electric Motors + Circuit Boards + Engines →Produced in Assembling Machine Mk.I Missile Turrets
• Missile convergenceCopper Ingots + Circuit Boards + Combustible Units + Engines →Produced in Assembling Machine Mk.I Missile Sets
• Tower convergenceWireless Power Towers + Steel + Crystal Silicon →Produced in Assembling Machine Mk.I Signal Towers

Destination

• Storage Mk.I — Missile Turrets — produce 8, then pause the Assembler; enable 1 storage slot only if you prefer automatic replenishment up to a full stack of 50.
• Storage Mk.I — Signal Towers — enable 1 storage slot (up to 20).
• Storage Mk.I — Missile Sets — enable 2 storage slots (up to 200).

Operating Note

• Fill these three limited boxes before the ILS rush. The mall can sleep afterward and wake whenever the starter planet needs another battery or tower advance.

Clear the starter planet's existing bases

If you started a new game by selecting New Game → Start, you've already met the neighbors. Here's how to get rid of them instead of letting them level up in peace.

Place one fixed battery of eight Missile Turrets on the established grid, feed it Missile Sets, and confirm every turret is loaded. Once the battery is ready:

1. Bring power to the edge. Extend Tesla Towers toward the planetary base and stop just outside its aggro range. If you pull aggro early, fall back and shoot down any chasing units, then make sure you have not left a Tesla Tower inside aggro range.
2. Start the barrage. Place the first powered Signal Tower inside aggro range, but not right on top of the base. Let it draw the response and give the battery time to start landing missiles.
3. Move the coverage forward. While the first Signal Tower is taking the attention, place a second powered tower closer and try to cover the full base in its range.
4. Reach the far side. If structures remain outside coverage, replace or advance the final Signal Tower until the battery can finish them, then recover any forward towers you no longer need.
5. Claim the free power. Cap the exposed core-drill site with a Geothermal Power Station. It turns the cleared base into steady generation without paying a Foundation or Soil Pile tax.

⚠ Keep the battery fed. If the turrets stop firing, check their power and Missile Set supply before changing the plan.

Ready to move on when

• Two Matrix Labs sustain 20 red cubes/min while Hydrogen and Refined Oil both keep leaving the Refineries.

Next

Go to [ILS].

---

3. [ILS] — Escape the Homeworld and Automate the First Interplanetary Route

▶▶ YOU ARE HERE

You just solved: Sustainable red science.
You're working on: One expedition that ends with Titanium and Silicon crossing space without you.
This gets you: Automated interplanetary supply and a factory no longer limited to the starter planet.
After this: [YELLOW]

Mission brief

This is one job in three locations, not three separate phases. Leave with a plan, build something worth returning to, then make Icarus unemployed as an interplanetary cargo vessel.

The whole route: unlock flight → pack a real outpost → smelt Titanium and Silicon remotely → return with the bootstrap cargo → build two ILS towers and five Vessels → configure automatic delivery.

Expedition manifest

Checkpoint	What matters
Before launch	Drive Engine Lv2, Titanium Smelting, comfortable fuel, and a powered-outpost loadout
Return cargo	860 Titanium Ingots and 520 High-Purity Silicon
First yellow batch	Produce 200 yellow cubes; spend 80 on High-Strength Titanium Alloy and 120 for Interstellar Logistics System
Final hardware	Two ILS towers and five Logistics Vessels
Mission complete	Titanium Ingots and High-Purity Silicon arrive home without Icarus

1. Get flight-ready

Unlock the trip: Engine → Drive Engine Lv1; then Mecha Core Lv2 → Drive Engine Lv2. Research Titanium Smelting before departure so the remote factory can ship finished material instead of bulky ore.

Clear the support branches while the loadout is being packed:

• Upgraded Logistics System + Magnetic Levitation → High-Efficiency Logistics System.
• Hydrogen Fuel Rod → Thruster; add Vertical Construction Lv1 → Planetary Logistics System.
• Semiconductor Material → Processor; continue through Magnetic Particle Trap and Reinforced Thruster for the later station and vessel hardware.

Read the starter system

Cosmic Exploration Lv2 reveals resource totals across the starter system. Check the map before choosing the outpost; this first survey can warn you about shortages long before they become emergencies.

Check now	What it tells you
Titanium and Silicon totals	Healthy neighboring deposits can carry the standard route for a long time. If the neighboring planets cannot offer roughly one million or more of both resources, plan on at least a limited [WARP] deployment before those reserves become painful.
Rare veins and useful oceans	Record any shortcut already present in-system. It may remove a long standard recipe later without requiring interstellar travel.
Gas giant yields	A strong Hydrogen, Deuterium, or Fire Ice source makes the optional Gas Giant route more attractive when those materials become bottlenecks.
Nearby stars later	Cosmic Exploration Lv3 extends the same comparison to systems within six light-years when WARP becomes relevant.

This is reconnaissance, not a new gate. Use what the seed gives you now and remember which future shortage may justify leaving the system.

Pack for an outpost, not a visit: Miners, Smelters, Belts, Sorters, storage, independent power, Foundations where useful, and enough fuel and core-energy margin to survive an ugly approach. If the destination is occupied, reuse the RED missile-battery and Signal Tower pattern before leaving the outpost unattended.

Launch when: Drive Engine Lv2 and Titanium Smelting are complete, the destination is understood, and the cargo can leave a powered factory behind.

2. Build an outpost worth returning to

The starter planet has no normal Titanium Ore veins, and Stone-derived Silicon is only a bootstrap. Smelt both resources at the destination: finished material uses the return trip better, and the same powered lines can feed the future source station.

The measured cargo funds the whole bridge. Keep this allocation visible while unloading so the factory does not quietly eat the parts meant to retire manual hauling.

Return cargo	Reserve	What it funds
Titanium Ingots	600	The first 200 yellow cubes
Titanium Ingots	180	Titanium Alloy for the ILS bridge
Titanium Ingots	80	The two PLS components inside the ILS pair
Titanium total	860	Do not spend below this reserve before the bridge is built
High-Purity Silicon	520	130 Processors for two towers and five Logistics Vessels

Before flying home

• 860 Titanium Ingots and 520 High-Purity Silicon are aboard.
• Both smelting lines remain powered and connected to storage.
• The output area has room for the source ILS.

3. Make the route automatic

Finish the unlock: Basic Chemical Engineering → Polymer Chemical Engineering → High-Strength Crystal → Structure Matrix. Planetary Logistics System and Reinforced Thruster must also be ready before the final ILS unlock.

First yellow research allocation	Cubes
High-Strength Titanium Alloy	80
Interstellar Logistics System	120
Total batch	200

Protected production bill

These are expanded subtotals: the ILS row already includes its two PLS components, and the Vessel row already includes the Alloy and Turbines consumed by its Reinforced Thrusters. Do not add those embedded parts again.

Finite job	Finished target	Main component subtotal	Supporting reserve
First yellow batch	200 yellow cubes	200 Titanium Crystals + 200 Diamonds	Use the established yellow production branches
ILS pair	2 ILS, including their 2 PLS components	80 Titanium Alloy + 80 Processors + 80 Particle Containers	80 Steel + 80 Titanium Ingots + 160 Electromagnetic Turbines for the Particle Containers
Vessel fleet	5 Logistics Vessels, including 10 Reinforced Thrusters	100 Titanium Alloy + 50 Processors + 10 Reinforced Thrusters	50 Electromagnetic Turbines for the Reinforced Thrusters
Protected total	200 cubes + 2 ILS + 5 Vessels	200 Titanium Crystals + 200 Diamonds + 180 Titanium Alloy + 130 Processors + 80 Particle Containers + 10 Reinforced Thrusters	80 Steel + 80 Titanium Ingots + 210 Electromagnetic Turbines

Build the bridge:

1. Protect the replication parts first. Place one Storage Mk.I beside the temporary assembly area and move each component from the protected production bill into it as soon as that batch finishes. Do not let ordinary production borrow from this box. Build to the table, then stop: an extra tower or Vessel can quietly consume the Processors, Alloy, or Particle Containers reserved for the next step.
2. Build the temporary component lines.

   Use the reusable Electromagnetic Turbine line for the shared turbine supply, then split the protected batch between Particle Containers and Reinforced Thrusters as shown below.

   TITANIUM ALLOY

   • Acid branchCrude Oil →Produced in Oil Refinery Refined Oil; Refined Oil + Stone + Water →Produced in Chemical Plant Sulfuric Acid
   • Steel branchIron Ore →Produced in Arc Smelter Iron Ingots →Produced in Arc Smelter Steel
   • Alloy convergenceReserved Titanium Ingots + Steel + Sulfuric Acid →Produced in Arc Smelter Titanium Alloy

   PROCESSORS

   • Microcrystalline branchHigh-Purity Silicon + Copper Ingots →Produced in Assembling Machine Mk.I Microcrystalline Components
   • Circuit branchIron Ingots + Copper Ingots →Produced in Assembling Machine Mk.I Circuit Boards
   • Processor convergenceMicrocrystalline Components + Circuit Boards →Produced in Assembling Machine Mk.I Processors

   SHARED TURBINE OUTPUTS

   • Particle ContainersElectromagnetic Turbines + Graphene →Produced in Assembling Machine Mk.I Particle Containers
   • Reinforced ThrustersTitanium Alloy + Electromagnetic Turbines →Produced in Assembling Machine Mk.I Reinforced Thrusters
3. Assemble the transport hardware. Use the Replicator or temporary Assemblers to turn Steel, Titanium Ingots, Processors, and Particle Containers into two PLS components; upgrade those with Titanium Alloy and Particle Containers into two ILS towers; then combine Titanium Alloy, Processors, and Reinforced Thrusters into five Logistics Vessels. Return each finished part to the protected box until the full set exists.
4. Configure the remote source. Place one unpowered ILS beside the outpost storage. Add Titanium Ingots and High-Purity Silicon as station items and set both to the blue Remote Supply / Provider state. Belt both smelting outputs into their filtered station slots.
5. Configure the home receiver. Place and power the other ILS at home, add the same two materials, set both to the orange Remote Demand / Receiver state, and install all five Vessels. Filter the station outputs toward the factory. Once the first Vessel launches, Icarus has made the final manual cargo run.

⚠ Protect the Turbine reserve. Finish and isolate the full Turbine subtotal before allowing Particle Containers or Reinforced Thrusters to consume their shares.

⚠ Watch the charging spike. A new powered station can briefly bully an otherwise healthy grid. Lower its charging-power setting or let it charge in stages instead of rebuilding the planet around a temporary load.

Done when

• Two ILS towers and five Logistics Vessels are deployed.
• Titanium Ingots and High-Purity Silicon arrive at home without Icarus.

Next

Go to [YELLOW] and replace the finite research batch with sustainable science.

---

4. [YELLOW] — Build Sustainable Yellow Science

▶▶ YOU ARE HERE

You just solved: Manual interplanetary hauling.
You're working on: Replacing the finite ILS research batch with a permanent yellow line.
This gets you: Sustainable yellow research and a stable base for purple production.
After this: [PURPLE]

Phase dashboard

At a glance	What matters now
Main goal	Keep three yellow-cube Labs supplied from local chemistry and imported Titanium Ingots
Good target	Three Labs now; expand only when research is visibly waiting on yellow
Useful side research	Super Magnetic Field Generator clears the hidden prerequisite for Integrated Logistics System and its belt-quality upgrades
Keep an eye on	Shared chemical supplies, Refined Oil balance, and the Titanium ILS receiver
Move on when	Three yellow Labs run continuously

Goal

Yellow is where the tidy little starter factory begins borrowing ingredients from every cupboard at once. Oil, Coal, Water, and imported Titanium now serve several jobs, so one neglected branch can stop machinery on the other side of the district.

Give shared materials visible supply points, keep important liquids in tanks you can glance at, and use the Statistics panel when something stops instead of interrogating every Chemical Plant on the planet. You are still playing a factory game; the goal is to spot the hungry line quickly and get back to building.

Research first

Structure Matrix was already unlocked for the ILS bridge, so sustainable yellow has no new gate to clear before you build it.

As a useful side purchase, Super Magnetic Field Generator clears the hidden prerequisite for Integrated Logistics System. Take it when stacked-belt tools sound useful; leave the actual purple unlock chain for PURPLE.

Quick reference — How much is enough

Three Labs’ worth is enough when yellow keeps researching while the chemical branches refill their own buffers. Expand only when the research queue is visibly waiting on yellow rather than on an older color or a missing prerequisite.

Quick reference — Required builds

Each card traces one useful production line from supplies to its phase target. Open only the line you want help building; the guide remains complete with every card collapsed.

Expand all cardsCollapse all cards

Yellow Cubes — three Labs’ worthMANDATED

Supplies

• Crude Oil.
• Coal.
• Water.
• Titanium Ingots.

Production Map

TITANIUM CRYSTAL BRANCH

• Oil branchCrude Oil →Produced in Oil Refinery Refined Oil + Hydrogen
• Plastic branchRefined Oil + Energetic Graphite →Produced in Chemical Plant Plastic
• Organic Crystal branchPlastic + Refined Oil + Water →Produced in Chemical Plant Organic Crystals
• Titanium Crystal branchOrganic Crystals + Titanium Ingots →Produced in Assembling Machine Mk.I Titanium Crystals

DIAMOND BRANCH

• Graphite branchCoal →Produced in Arc Smelter Energetic Graphite
• Diamond branchEnergetic Graphite →Produced in Arc Smelter Diamonds

FINAL CONVERGENCE

• Science convergenceTitanium Crystals + Diamonds →Produced in Matrix Lab yellow cubes

Destination

• Matrix Labs — yellow cubes — sustain three Labs’ worth of yellow cubes into research, with overflow storage if desired.

Surplus Yield

• Hydrogen, which becomes useful later for power and several late-game production branches.

Operating Note

• Mined Organic Crystals later remove the Plastic, Refined Oil, and Water branch used only to synthesize Organic Crystals.

Ready to move on when

• Three yellow-cube Labs produce continuously.

Next

Go to [PURPLE].

---

5. [PURPLE] — Build the First Truly Wide Production Tier

▶▶ YOU ARE HERE

You just solved: Sustainable interplanetary supply and yellow science.
You're working on: Thickening Graphene, Processor, Plastic, Silicon, and chemical capacity into a real purple district.
This gets you: Stable purple research and the two technology branches that meet at green.
After this: [GREEN] by default, or [WARP] for a deliberate shortcut.

Phase dashboard

At a glance	What matters now
Main goal	Research Information Matrix and keep three purple-cube Labs producing continuously
Good target	18 purple/min from two independently buffered production branches
Research first	Applied Superconductor → High-Strength Material → Particle Control → Information Matrix
Keep an eye on	Graphene and Hydrogen outlets, older cube lines, and whichever purple endpoint falls behind
Move on when	Three purple Labs run continuously

Goal

Purple is where DSP hands you two yellow-sized shopping lists at once. One ends in Processors; the other disappears into a long chemical chain before coming back as Particle Broadband. Build them as separate neighborhoods, give each endpoint a visible buffer, and let logistics introduce them at the science district.

This is also where reusable blueprints and a broader mall start feeling less like preparation and more like cheating in the nicest possible way. Copy what already works, expand the branch whose box is empty, and resist the urge to route the entire planet through one final heroic belt.

Research first

Applied Superconductor → High-Strength Material → Particle Control → Information Matrix

Basic Chemical Engineering, the prerequisite for Applied Superconductor, was cleared during the ILS bridge. The other purple requirement, Processor, was built there too. Follow the new chemical branch to Information Matrix, then let production lead the phase.

Quick reference — How much is enough

Start with three purple Labs. Let them run, then watch the Processor and Particle Broadband stores. If one keeps draining, expand that line. If both refill between research jobs, you have enough—leave the district alone and keep moving.

Quick reference — Required builds

Each card traces one useful production line from supplies to its phase target. Open only the line you want help building; the guide remains complete with every card collapsed.

Expand all cardsCollapse all cards

Processors — 45/minMANDATED

Supplies

• Iron Ore.
• Copper Ore.
• Silicon Ore.

Production Map

• Metal supplyIron Ore + Copper Ore →Produced in Arc Smelter Iron Ingots + Copper Ingots
• Circuit branchIron Ingots + Copper Ingots →Produced in Assembling Machine Mk.I Circuit Boards
• Silicon branchSilicon Ore →Produced in Arc Smelter High-Purity Silicon →Produced in Assembling Machine Mk.I Microcrystalline Components
• Processor convergenceCircuit Boards + Microcrystalline Components →Produced in Assembling Machine Mk.I Processors

Destination

• Storage Mk.I — Processors — receive 45 Processors/min before distribution to purple science and later consumers.

Operating Note

• Treat this as permanent infrastructure, not a purple-only ingredient line. Keep Processor storage visible and leave room to expand: Quantum Chips, logistics hardware, and Dyson construction all come back for more.

Particle Broadband — 22.5/minMANDATED

Supplies

• Graphene from the reusable standard line.
• Titanium Ingots.
• High-Purity Silicon.

Production Map

• Nanotube branchGraphene + Titanium Ingots →Produced in Chemical Plant Carbon Nanotubes
• Plastic branchRefined Oil + Energetic Graphite →Produced in Chemical Plant Plastic
• Silicon branchHigh-Purity Silicon →Produced in Arc Smelter Crystal Silicon
• Broadband convergenceCarbon Nanotubes + Plastic + Crystal Silicon →Produced in Assembling Machine Mk.I Particle Broadband

Destination

• Storage Mk.I — Particle Broadband — receive 22.5 Particle Broadband/min before distribution to purple science.

Surplus Yield

• Hydrogen from the standard Graphene supply.

Watch for

Hydrogen. The oil-supported Graphene and Plastic branches return substantial Hydrogen. Give it storage or consumption before either chemical branch deadlocks.

ILS starvation. If Titanium or Silicon runs dry, inspect the supplying station and the receiving station before expanding production. Add capacity where the queue forms, and top the first home ILS up to ten Vessels if it still has only the five used for the rush.

Ready to move on when

• Three purple-cube Labs produce continuously.

Next

Continue to [GREEN], or use [WARP] when a named rare resource justifies the detour.

---

6. [GREEN] — Build the Two Late-Game Ingredient Branches

▶▶ YOU ARE HERE

You just solved: Purple science and its wide chemical district.
You're working on: Quantum Chips on one side, Strange Matter and Graviton Lenses on the other.
This gets you: Stable green cubes and the ingredients used by Dyson infrastructure.
After this: [DYSON] or the optional permanent [SPHERE] route.

Phase dashboard

At a glance	What matters now
Main goal	Research Gravity Matrix and keep two green-cube Labs producing continuously
Good target	10 green/min from two independently buffered late-game branches
Research next	Miniature Particle Collider → Strange Matter → Gravitational Wave Refraction Casimir Crystal + High-Strength Glass → Wave Function Interference → Quantum Chip Both branches → Gravity Matrix
Keep an eye on	Hydrogen tank trends, Deuterium draw, Particle Containers, and the power draw from the chosen Deuterium route and the Strange Matter Collider
Move on when	Two green Labs run continuously and both endpoint stores remain stable

Goal

Green asks for two purple-sized factories at once. The Quantum branch is a deep electronics project; the gravity branch adds Deuterium, Particle Containers, Strange Matter, and Colliders with a healthy appetite for power. One homeworld and one mining colony may finally begin to feel a little snug.

Give both branches visible endpoints and expand the one that actually falls behind. If moving all this material becomes a bigger chore than building it, the optional [LOGISTICS] section can help automate the transport hardware—but it is an invitation, not homework. Either way, this is the last major ingredient build before the factory reaches for the star.

Research first

Gravity branch: Miniature Particle Collider → Strange Matter → Gravitational Wave Refraction.

Quantum branch: Casimir Crystal + High-Strength Glass → Wave Function Interference → Quantum Chip.

When Gravitational Wave Refraction and Quantum Chip are both complete, research Gravity Matrix and bring the two manufactured endpoints together at science.

Choose a Deuterium supply

Route	Why choose it	Tradeoff
Fractionators	Material- and power-efficient conversion that scales well once you are comfortable building a circulating Hydrogen belt.	The belt loop and its circulation need more layout attention than one compact machine.
Miniature Particle Colliders	The guide's compact baseline: feed Hydrogen, receive Deuterium, and keep the branch visually simple.	It spends considerably more power and Hydrogen for that simplicity.
Orbital Collectors	A hands-off external supply once Gas Giant Exploitation and a useful giant are available.	It is a later infrastructure detour whose yield depends on the giant you actually have.

If you choose Fractionators: Give the circulating return belt priority, let fresh Hydrogen fill only the gaps, keep the Deuterium output clear, and use Pile Sorters to restore full stacks as the loop develops holes.

These are alternatives, not a three-step upgrade path. Pick the one that fits the factory you built, and change only when Deuterium is the visible constraint.

Quick reference — How much is enough

Start with two green Labs. Watch Quantum Chips and Graviton Lenses while research runs. If one store keeps shrinking, expand only that branch. If both recover whenever the Labs pause, the factory is keeping up.

Quick reference — Required builds

Each card traces one useful production line from supplies to its phase target. Open only the line you want help building; the guide remains complete with every card collapsed.

Expand all cardsCollapse all cards

Quantum Chips — 7.5/minMANDATEDSTAGED

Supplies

• Processors from PURPLE.
• Titanium Crystals from the YELLOW branch.
• Graphene from the reusable standard line.
• Hydrogen.
• Stone.
• Water.
• Titanium Ingots.

Production Map

ADD AFTER Casimir Crystal

• Casimir branchTitanium Crystals + Graphene + Hydrogen →Produced in Assembling Machine Mk.I Casimir Crystals
• Glass branchStone →Produced in Arc Smelter Glass
• Titanium Glass branchGlass + Titanium Ingots + Water →Produced in Assembling Machine Mk.I Titanium Glass

ADD AFTER Wave Function Interference

• Filter convergenceCasimir Crystals + Titanium Glass →Produced in Assembling Machine Mk.I Plane Filters

ADD AFTER Quantum Chip

• Final convergencePlane Filters + Processors →Produced in Assembling Machine Mk.I Quantum Chips

Destination

• Storage Mk.I — Quantum Chips — receive 7.5 Quantum Chips/min before green science.

Operating Note

• Feed Casimir production from a local Hydrogen tank and watch it for depletion. When another linked branch produces excess Hydrogen, use a short belt loop to return that byproduct to the same feeding tank; the complete Quantum Chip line still remains a net Hydrogen consumer.

Graviton Lenses — 7.5/minMANDATEDSTAGED

Supplies

• Hydrogen.
• Iron Ingots.
• Coal.
• Electromagnetic Turbines from the reusable line.
• Graphene from the reusable standard line.

Production Map

ADD AFTER Miniature Particle Collider

• Deuterium branchHydrogen →Produced in Miniature Particle Collider Deuterium
• Container branchElectromagnetic Turbines + Graphene →Produced in Assembling Machine Mk.I Particle Containers

ADD AFTER Gravitational Wave Refraction

• First convergenceDeuterium + Particle Containers + Iron Ingots →Produced in Miniature Particle Collider Strange Matter
• Diamond branchCoal →Produced in Arc Smelter Energetic Graphite →Produced in Arc Smelter Diamonds
• Final convergenceStrange Matter + Diamonds →Produced in Assembling Machine Mk.I Graviton Lenses

Destination

• Storage Mk.I — Graviton Lenses — receive 7.5 Graviton Lenses/min before green science.

Operating Note

• Feed the Deuterium branch from a Hydrogen tank and watch it for depletion. Return unused Hydrogen to that feeding tank with a short belt loop when another chosen route produces it.

Watch for

Hydrogen accounting. Casimir production consumes Hydrogen quickly. Feed it from a tank, watch that tank for depletion, and return reusable Hydrogen byproducts to the same supply when your chosen branches produce them.

Particle Containers. Strange Matter can empty an old component supply that looked generous during ILS. Expand that branch only if its buffer actually drains.

Ready to move on when

• Two green-cube Labs produce continuously.
• Quantum Chips and Graviton Lenses each have visible storage.

Next

Take the fast practical route to [DYSON], or choose [SPHERE] when you deliberately want permanent structure first.

---

7. [DYSON] — Build the Photon Swarm

▶▶ YOU ARE HERE

You just solved: Green science and both late-game ingredient branches.
You're working on: Continuously launching a swarm large enough to power four Ray Receivers.
This gets you: A swarm-powered Antimatter line—the last ingredient before white science.
After this: [PHOTON], or use [SPHERE] instead when you prefer permanent construction.

Phase dashboard

At a glance	What matters now
Main goal	Automate Solar Sail production and keep a working EM-Rail launch network supplied
Good target	A partial swarm that already gives Ray Receivers useful output; continue scaling it during PHOTON
Research first	Solar Collection → Photon Frequency Conversion → Super Magnetic Field Generator → Solar Sail Orbit System → Ray Receiver Recommended before launch scale-up: Solar Sail Life Lv1 → Solar Sail Life Lv2
Keep an eye on	Measured Ejector duty, Solar Sail storage trend, star luminosity, sail lifetime, and live Dyson generation
Move on when	Antimatter production is reliable and its output can reach the science district

Goal

The factory has reached the point where the next power plant belongs in space. Solar Sails leave the planet, settle into orbit, and become the megastructure that will carry this run through Antimatter, white science, and victory. Every working Ejector makes that finish a little less theoretical.

Build the sail line, spread the Ejectors across useful firing zones, and watch the live Dyson readout climb. The full reference swarm is a planning target, not a locked door: lensed Ray Receivers can start making Critical Photons long before the sky is full. Begin PHOTON as soon as that partial swarm produces dependable work, then keep launching while the endgame advances underneath it.

Research first

Solar Collection → Photon Frequency Conversion → Super Magnetic Field Generator → Solar Sail Orbit System → Ray Receiver

Once the orbit system is available, Solar Sail Life Lv1 → Solar Sail Life Lv2 is the guide's recommended pressure valve before the launch field grows. It raises sail lifetime from 90 to 120 minutes and cuts the steady replacement burden by one quarter. It is still your call: skip it when the larger base-life sail and Ejector build suits the factory you already have.

Quick reference — How much is enough

This is an averaged planning target, not a magic finish line. With Solar Sail Life Lv2, the reference build uses 405 Solar Sails/min of installed production, approximately 383 launches/min to maintain the full swarm, and at least 1.655 GW of live Dyson generation to supply four warmed, lensed Receivers at Ray Efficiency Lv0. Orbit geometry, firing duty, star luminosity, and later upgrades will move the real result.

An Ejector launches 20 sails/min while firing. Sixty Ejectors at 32% average duty produce about 384 launches/min, but installed count is not throughput. If you skip the two sail-life upgrades, the base-life route returns to roughly 511 launches/min and 517.5 sails/min of installed production. Either way, the Receivers will begin banking the 4,000 Antimatter needed for the finish well before the reference swarm reaches equilibrium. Grow toward the comfortable target while PHOTON and WHITE proceed—do not wait for it to grant permission.

Quick reference — Required builds

Each card traces one useful production line from supplies to its phase target. Open only the line you want help building; the guide remains complete with every card collapsed.

Expand all cardsCollapse all cards

Solar Sails — 405/min installed capacityMANDATEDSTAGED

Supplies

• Circuit Boards from the BLUE branch.
• Graphene from the reusable standard line.
• Stone.

Production Map

ADD AFTER Photon Frequency Conversion

• Prism branchStone →Produced in Arc Smelter Glass →Produced in Assembling Machine Mk.I Prisms
• Combiner branchPrisms + Circuit Boards →Produced in Assembling Machine Mk.I Photon Combiners
• Sail convergencePhoton Combiners + Graphene →Produced in Assembling Machine Mk.I Solar Sails

ADD AFTER Solar Sail Orbit System

• Launch feedSolar Sails · buffer in Storage Mk.I · feed EM-Rail Ejectors

Destination

• Storage Mk.I — Solar Sails — receive 405 Solar Sails/min installed capacity before the Ejector feed.

Operating Note

• This target assumes Solar Sail Life Lv2. If you skip those upgrades, scale the line toward 517.5/min instead.
• If the sail buffer empties, launch demand exceeds current production even if the installed Assembler count looked sufficient.

EM-Rail Ejectors — buffer 60MANDATEDSTAGED

Supplies

• Iron Ore.
• Coal.
• Processors from PURPLE.
• Electromagnetic Turbines from the reusable line.

Production Map

ADD AFTER Solar Sail Orbit System

• Iron supplyIron Ore →Produced in Arc Smelter Iron Ingots
• Magnet branchIron Ore →Produced in Arc Smelter Magnets
• Gear branchIron Ingots →Produced in Assembling Machine Mk.I Gears
• Steel branchIron Ingots →Produced in Arc Smelter Steel
• Graphite branchCoal →Produced in Arc Smelter Energetic Graphite
• Ring branchElectromagnetic Turbines + Magnets + Energetic Graphite →Produced in Assembling Machine Mk.I Super-Magnetic Rings
• Ejector convergenceSteel + Gears + Processors + Super-Magnetic Rings →Produced in Assembling Machine Mk.I EM-Rail Ejectors

Destination

• Storage Mk.I — EM-Rail Ejectors — enable 2 storage slots (up to 60 Ejectors).

Operating Note

• The 60-Ejector reference assumes Solar Sail Life Lv2; skipping those upgrades moves the base-life buffer back toward 80.
• Ejectors need clear injection geometry and 60 of them still occupy serious real estate. Deploy in separate latitude blocks, watch which zones actually fire, and expand the useful bands instead of packing every machine together.
• Each firing Ejector draws 1.8 MW. A 60-unit field can step from quiet to 108 MW when the geometry lines up, so stage placement and watch the power graph as each block comes online.

Watch for

Orbit management. Auto Orbit can let Ejectors choose a currently usable orbit instead of waiting forever on one bad injection point. It keeps that choice until the orbit becomes unavailable; it does not balance Ejectors or return to a preferred orbit. Geometry still wins, so watch measured firing duty and keep useful latitude bands supplied.

Power synchronization. A large Ejector block can switch on together when the injection point becomes visible. Stage deployment and watch the power graph.

Phase overlap. Start [PHOTON] as soon as the partial swarm supports useful Receiver output. The 1.655-GW target means the intended 48/min endpoint is fully supplied; it is not a ban on doing useful work earlier.

Ready to move on when

• Critical Photons are becoming Antimatter reliably, and that Antimatter can reach the science district without Icarus carrying it.

Next

Start [PHOTON] as soon as the swarm can support useful Receiver output. Keep the Ejectors firing in parallel until Antimatter production is comfortably carrying the finish.

---

8. [SPHERE] — Optional Permanent Dyson Sphere

▶▶ YOU ARE HERE

You just solved: Green science and its expensive reusable components.
You're working on: Permanent nodes, frames, and shell cells instead of an expiring full swarm.
This gets you: The same photon-power endpoint with a slower but permanent construction project.
After this: [PHOTON].

Phase dashboard

At a glance	What matters now
Main goal	Build a steady rocket line and grow the Dyson Sphere that will carry the factory over the final stretch
Good target	A small closed structure that already gives Ray Receivers useful output; expand it during PHOTON
Research first	Solar Collection → Photon Frequency Conversion → Super Magnetic Field Generator → Solar Sail Orbit System → Ray Receiver Then High-Strength Lightweight Structure → Vertical Launching Silo
Keep an eye on	Whether rockets can reach an unfinished node or frame, whether a completed boundary encloses a shell, and which established component store empties first
Move on when	Antimatter production is reliable and its output can reach the science district

Goal

The permanent route trades a quick consumable swarm for a slower structure that stays with the star. Rockets build the skeleton—nodes and the frames between them—while Solar Sails fill shell areas only after those frames close a valid boundary.

Start small in the Sphere Editor. Draw something your first rocket line can finish, keep the Silo supplied, and add a shell to the completed frame instead of designing the final monument on day one. The shape determines the total material bill, so live Dyson generation remains the useful measure of progress.

Research first

Shared receiver path: Solar Collection → Photon Frequency Conversion → Super Magnetic Field Generator → Solar Sail Orbit System → Ray Receiver.

Permanent construction path: High-Strength Lightweight Structure → Vertical Launching Silo. Vertical Launching Silo also carries an implicit Quantum Chip requirement, already satisfied by GREEN.

Quick reference — How much is enough

Rocket factory: 7.5/min installed capacity. One Silo: 5 launches/min. Endpoint: enough live permanent generation to supply the Receivers you are actually using; 1.655 GW at Ray Efficiency Lv0 fully supplies the four-Receiver comfortable target.

Quick reference — Required builds

Each card traces one useful production line from supplies to its phase target. Open only the line you want help building; the guide remains complete with every card collapsed.

Expand all cardsCollapse all cards

Dyson Sphere Components — 16.875/minOPTIONALSTAGED

Supplies

• Solar Sails from DYSON.
• Processors from PURPLE.
• Carbon Nanotubes from the PURPLE branch.
• Titanium Alloy.
• High-Purity Silicon.

Production Map

ADD AFTER High-Strength Lightweight Structure

• Frame branchCarbon Nanotubes + Titanium Alloy + High-Purity Silicon →Produced in Assembling Machine Mk.I Frame Material
• Component convergenceFrame Material + Solar Sails + Processors →Produced in Assembling Machine Mk.I Dyson Sphere Components

Destination

• Storage Mk.I — Dyson Sphere Components — receive 16.875 Dyson Sphere Components/min before rocket assembly.

Operating Note

• Keep Frame Material visible between stages. If components stop, the empty Frame, Sail, or Processor feed identifies the branch to expand.

Deuteron Fuel Rods — 30/minOPTIONAL

Supplies

• Deuterium.
• Titanium Alloy.
• Iron Ore.
• Coal.
• Electromagnetic Turbines from the reusable line.

Production Map

• Graphite branchCoal →Produced in Arc Smelter Energetic Graphite
• Magnet branchIron Ore →Produced in Arc Smelter Magnets
• Ring convergenceElectromagnetic Turbines + Magnets + Energetic Graphite →Produced in Assembling Machine Mk.I Super-Magnetic Rings
• Fuel Rod convergenceDeuterium + Titanium Alloy + Super-Magnetic Rings →Produced in Assembling Machine Mk.I Deuteron Fuel Rods

Destination

• Storage Mk.I — Deuteron Fuel Rods — receive 30 Deuteron Fuel Rods/min before rocket assembly or fusion-power use.

Operating Note

• This branch shares Deuterium and magnetic components with late-game production. Follow the first empty input rather than assuming the Fuel Rod Assembler is the bottleneck.

Watch for

Editor state. Rockets need unfinished nodes or frames to build, and Sails cannot become permanent until completed frames enclose a designated shell area.

Support-line starvation. Follow the first empty component store backward instead of increasing the Rocket Assembler count. The permanent route reuses several mature branches at once.

Ready to move on when

• Critical Photons are becoming Antimatter reliably, and that Antimatter can reach the science district without Icarus carrying it.

Next

Progress to [PHOTON]. Continue permanent construction in parallel until the Receiver array is fully supplied.

---

9. [PHOTON] — Critical Photons and Antimatter

▶▶ YOU ARE HERE

You just solved: A live Dyson power source, whether partial or fully sized.
You're working on: Turning that power into Critical Photons and then Antimatter.
This gets you: The final manufactured ingredient for white cubes.
After this: [WHITE].

Phase dashboard

At a glance	What matters now
Main goal	Warm four lensed Ray Receivers and convert every produced Critical Photon into Antimatter
Comfortable endpoint	48 Critical Photons/min and 48 Antimatter/min when Dyson supply is complete
Research next	Planetary Ionosphere Utilization → Dirac Inversion Mechanism
Keep an eye on	Continuous Receiving, Receiver Strength, lens supply, live Dyson supply, and the Collider's Hydrogen outlet
Move on when	At least 2,000 Antimatter is stored and the live production trend feels strong enough to continue into WHITE

Goal

The orbital project finally pays out as an ordinary factory item. The chain is short, but every link matters:

Live Dyson power→Lensed Ray Receivers→Critical Photons→Photon Materialization→Antimatter + Hydrogen

Receivers warm gradually and can only draw what the swarm or sphere supplies. The Collider simply processes the Critical Photons that arrive, so this phase is mostly about keeping four Receivers lensed, watching the orbital source grow, and refusing to let returned Hydrogen block the final conversion.

Planetary Ionosphere Utilization enables lens-assisted receiving. Dirac Inversion Mechanism unlocks Photon Materialization and Photon Generation mode. Controlled Annihilation Reaction is later fuel technology; it is not required to make Antimatter.

Quick reference — How much is enough

Two lensed Receivers: up to 24 photons/min. Four: up to 48/min. Production ramps as Receivers warm and orbital power grows, so judge the trend rather than demanding an instant rate. Once at least 2,000 Antimatter is waiting in storage, half the final white-science supply is already banked; decide whether the live rate is good enough to carry the rest while WHITE begins.

Quick reference — Receiver-to-antimatter procedure

Keep all four Receivers lensed. Automation is ideal, but a manual visit is perfectly respectable while the orbital system ramps. Sixty Graviton Lenses keep four Receivers supplied for about 2 hours 30 minutes; set yourself a reminder, top them up together, and do not let one quietly fall back to lensless operation.

1. Place four Ray Receivers, supply Graviton Lenses, and select Photon Generation on every building.
2. Let Continuous Receiving and Receiver Strength warm up while checking whether live Dyson generation satisfies the array.
3. Belt Critical Photons into a Miniature Particle Collider set to Photon Materialization.
4. Send Antimatter toward visible storage beside the white-science district and keep the Collider's returned-Hydrogen outlet clear.
5. Keep tending the swarm or sphere while the Antimatter reserve grows; this is the rare late-game wait where checking four lens slots is useful work.

Watch for

Warm-up before diagnosis. A correctly configured Receiver still underperforms until Continuous Receiving and Receiver Strength settle.

Returned Hydrogen. Photon Materialization returns Hydrogen one-for-one. A blocked outlet stops Antimatter.

Ready to move on when

• At least 2,000 Antimatter is stored, and you are satisfied that the still-rising production rate can supply the rest while WHITE runs.

Next

Go to [WHITE] when the 2,000-Antimatter reserve is banked and the live rate feels trustworthy. Keep expanding the swarm or sphere in parallel.

---

10. [WHITE] — White Cubes and Mission Completed!

▶▶ YOU ARE HERE

You just solved: Continuous Antimatter production.
You're working on: Calling every Matrix color back to work at the same time.
This gets you: Mission Completed!.
After this: [LOGISTICS] and whichever postgame project sounds fun.

Phase dashboard

At a glance	What matters now
Main goal	Research Universe Matrix, sustain 40 white/min, and feed 4,000 into Mission Completed!
Final convergence	10 production Labs supplied by the five established cube colors and Antimatter
Research next	Universe Matrix → Mission Completed!
Keep an eye on	The first earlier cube color whose input belt empties
Move on when	Mission Completed finishes

Goal

White science is a convergence test, not a mysterious new factory: blue + red + yellow + purple + green + Antimatter → ten white-cube Labs → storage and research. Every feeder already has a production history; bring the six products together, then follow the first input that runs dry.

Universe Matrix costs 2,000 of every colored Matrix before white production can begin. Mission Completed! then consumes 4,000 white cubes. Build the production line while the unlock research is running, and fix only the feeder that actually starves.

Quick reference — How much is enough

40 white/min: 10 production Labs and 40/min from all six inputs. The 4,000-cube material batch takes 1 hour 40 minutes at that rate.

Quick reference — Final convergence

Bring blue, red, yellow, purple, and green cubes plus Antimatter to the white-science district. Feed all six inputs into ten Matrix Labs for the stated 40/min target, send the resulting white cubes to research, and expand only the feeder that actually starves.

Watch for

The newest line is rarely the bottleneck. White science often exposes a tiny old red, yellow, or purple district that had enough buffer to look healthy until every color was demanded continuously.

Ready to move on when

• Universe Matrix research is complete.
• All six inputs reach the white Labs continuously.
• Ten Labs sustain 40 white cubes/min.
• Mission Completed is consuming or has consumed 4,000 white cubes.

Next

Finish Mission Completed!, then go to [LOGISTICS] and automate the hardware used by whatever comes next.

---

11. [WARP] — Optional Interstellar Resource Deployment

▶▶ YOU ARE HERE

This section is useful whenever: A visible rare resource could simplify work you are already doing.
You're working on: Turning one useful rare deposit into a dependable interstellar import.
This gets you: A shorter production chain now, then a reusable pattern for every remote outpost that follows.

Mission brief

WARP is an optional deployment job, not a gate on the practical route. First prepare Icarus and choose a target, then establish a defensible source outpost, and finally replace personal hauling with a vessel route when cheap Space Warpers make that sensible.

Optional route disclaimer: Interstellar expansion diverts research, cubes, buildings, fuel, and attention from the practical completion route. Take the shortcut because it removes a bottleneck you can name—not because the cluster map is sparkling at you.

Warp capability	What it is for	Research breakpoint
Mecha warp	Icarus scouts the target, builds the outpost, and carries the first hand-loaded shipment home	Drive Engine Lv4
Vessel warp	Logistics Vessels replace that personal cargo run with continuous ILS traffic	Logistics Carrier Engine Lv4

1. Prepare the expedition

See what is worth visiting. Cosmic Exploration Lv3 reveals resource information for nearby stars within six light-years. Compare candidates before building the loadout: the best first target is the one whose rare resource removes work from a line you already care about.

Unlock personal warp. Complete Gravitational Wave Refraction, Drive Engine Lv3, Mecha Core Lv4, and Drive Engine Lv4. Buy practical Inventory Capacity upgrades while the expedition is being assembled; every extra row turns a sightseeing trip into a better first haul.

Expand the departure mall. Add Chemical Plants and keep Missile Turrets, Missiles, and Signal Towers buffered. The outpost should be able to process the chosen resource and survive long enough for the automated route to matter.

Know the controls before deep space starts moving quickly. Mark the destination in the Starmap, keep its marker near the reticle, and press W to correct course during warp. Tap Caps Lock to enter or leave warp; the game slows Icarus near the destination system, so steer early and let the approach happen instead of panic-correcting after the target has gone past.

Choose the shortcut

Resource	Provides	Best reason to target it	Acquire it by	What it changes
Organic Crystal (mined)	Titanium Crystal	Early standout: removes the longest part of synthetic Organic Crystal chemistry.	Mining Organic Crystal veins	Feeds Titanium Crystals directly and removes the Plastic + Refined Oil + Water chain.
Sulfuric Acid	Titanium Alloy	Early standout: turns an entire chemical branch into pumping and transport.	Placing Water Pumps on a Sulfuric Acid ocean	Removes the Refined Oil + Stone + Water acid process wherever imported acid is used.
Fire Ice	Graphene	Strong when Graphene is tight: especially useful when Sails and late science compete for it.	Mining Fire Ice veins or importing it from an Orbital Collector	Makes Graphene directly and returns Hydrogen as a paired output.
Kimberlite Ore	Diamond	Convenience: a clean shortcut when Diamond demand is actually visible.	Mining Kimberlite veins	Smelts two Diamonds per ore and skips Energetic Graphite.
Fractal Silicon	Crystal Silicon	Convenience: saves Silicon processing in Crystal Silicon-heavy production.	Mining Fractal Silicon veins	Assembles two Crystal Silicon per ore and skips High-Purity Silicon.
Optical Grating Crystal	Advanced Mining Machine / Casimir Crystal / Photon Combiner	Strategic expansion: Advanced Mining Machines make later resource worlds much quicker to deploy.	Mining Optical Grating Crystal veins	Supports advanced mining and can replace Titanium Crystals in Casimir Crystals or Prisms in Photon Combiners.
Spiniform Stalagmite Crystal	Carbon Nanotube	Strong late shortcut: removes two mature inputs from a widely reused intermediate.	Mining Spiniform Stalagmite Crystal veins	Makes Carbon Nanotubes without Graphene or Titanium Ingots.
Unipolar Magnet	Particle Container	Conserve first: deposits are unusually limited, and Plane Smelters and other advanced buildings compete for them.	Mining Unipolar Magnet veins after locating a deposit	Makes Particle Containers without Electromagnetic Turbines or Graphene. Reserve a deliberate stock before feeding bulk production.

Make the limited Warper batch

Pick up 20 Graviton Lenses from the factory and use the Replicator to turn them into 20 Space Warpers. Before green science the recipe trades one Lens for one Warper, so load the finished batch into Icarus and stop there; preserve the rest of the Lenses for science and later infrastructure.

2. Establish the source outpost

Fly out to build, process, and leave. Put Miners on the chosen deposit, then use Smelters, Assemblers, Chemical Plants, or Water Pumps wherever the rare recipe actually needs them. Buffer the processed output locally and belt it into an unpowered ILS set to blue Remote Supply / Provider. The station can wait for homeworld Vessels; it does not need to launch anything yet.

Pack	Purpose
20 Space Warpers	Outbound and return travel inside the six-light-year scouting radius, with room for mistakes and local hops
Miners and processing buildings	Enough Miners plus the Smelters, Assemblers, Chemical Plants, or Pumps required by the chosen material
1,200 Belts	A real extraction field and the long runs that unfamiliar terrain inevitably invents
Storage buffers	Visible reserves between processing and the source ILS
One ILS	An unpowered Remote Provider ready for the later vessel route
8 Missile Turrets + 200 Missile Sets + Signal Towers	One carried copy of the RED planetary-base-clearing setup when the destination needs it
Independent power	Wind when the ratio is kind, Solar Panels where daylight coverage is practical, Thermal Power from a dependable fuel, or Mini Fusion for a compact late-game package

There is no sacred first-haul number. Fill the inventory space you paid to unlock, return home, and add a limited storage buffer beside the standard line this resource shortens. Deposit the haul there so the existing factory can use the shortcut without being redesigned around a temporary hand delivery.

⚠ Keep the return trip boring. Leave reserve Warpers and strong fuel in Icarus. The first interstellar expedition is not the moment to discover that the emergency plan was “coast for a while.”

3. Automate the vessel route

After Gravity Matrix, the efficient recipe turns one green cube into eight Space Warpers. Belt green cubes into one Assembler, send its Warpers into a PLS set to blue Local Supply / Provider, install Logistics Drones, and let them feed the home ILS through an orange Local Demand / Receiver item slot. The station moves the first 50 into its dedicated Warper reserve automatically.

Then research Logistics Carrier Engine Lv4. Keep the remote ILS unpowered and set the rare resource to Remote Supply. At home, set the same resource to Remote Demand, install Vessels, and give that powered station Warpers. The home fleet will make the round trip and bring the resource back without asking the outpost to launch a ship.

Three-light-year planning reference

The figures below use a three-light-year route—half the first six-light-year scouting radius—as a simple starting point. Actual distance changes travel time and therefore cargo turnover; it does not change the two-Warper cost of a complete vessel round trip.

Starting choice	What it means
5 Logistics Vessels	A sensible first fleet for one average-distance import. Add Vessels toward the station limit if the source buffer is full while home demand starves.
50 Warpers in the home ILS	Twenty-five complete vessel round trips before another Warper arrives.
1 Mk.I Assembler	Produces 36 Warpers/min when running and can consume 4.5 green cubes/min. Limit the PLS buffer so this convenience line sleeps instead of quietly winning its race against green science.

Scale the fleet to the real route, not to the table. Longer trips usually need more Vessels to sustain the same import rate; busier networks need a larger shared Warper buffer. Expand the cheap line only when its PLS stops recovering between departures.

Done when

• The chosen rare resource arrives through ILS without Icarus.
• The Warper PLS refills while the route runs and green science remains supplied.
• The imported shortcut feeds a visible buffer beside the production line it replaces.

Next

WARP has no fixed entry or exit. Use as much of this deployment pattern as the current factory needs, then return to whichever section matches the work already in front of you.

---

12. [LOGISTICS] — Automate the Infrastructure That Moves Everything

▶▶ YOU ARE HERE

You're working on: Automating the Distributors, towers, Bots, Drones, and Vessels that make new logistics networks easy to deploy.
This gets you: Repeatable expansion without handcrafting the transport network every time.

Phase dashboard

At a glance	What matters now
Main goal	Build limited hardware buffers for distribution, planetary, and interstellar expansion
Buffer rule	Limit every output box; these are bursty mall lines, not permanent megabase consumption targets
Research check	Distribution Logistics System · Planetary Logistics System · Interstellar Logistics System
Keep an eye on	Shared Processor, Particle Container, Titanium Alloy, and Turbine supplies when several boxes refill together
Move on when	All six buffers refill without handcrafting and route settings make sense at a glance

Goal

This is the point where a good blueprint can become a whole factory district in a few clicks. Keep Distributors, towers, and their carriers waiting in limited mall buffers; when a new line needs supplies, paste the layout, place the transport hardware, choose the requested items, and let the network do the walking.

Distributors and Bots handle the last few meters between storage and Icarus or nearby boxes. PLS towers and Drones move bulk cargo around one planet. ILS towers and Vessels cross the gap between planets—and, with Warpers, between stars. Provider offers an item, Receiver asks for it, and Depot simply stores it. Local settings control Drones; Remote settings control Vessels.

Research first

Distribution Logistics System unlocks Distributors and Bots. Planetary Logistics System unlocks PLS and Drones. Interstellar Logistics System unlocks ILS and Vessels. You used the stations during progression; this section makes their replacement stock refill itself.

Quick reference — How much is enough

Keep 50 Distributors + 200 Bots, 10 PLS + 200 Drones, and 10 ILS + 50 Vessels in limited buffers. Restrict the storage slots before connecting the output Sorters; these lines should sleep between expansion projects.

Quick reference — Required builds

Each card traces one useful production line from supplies to its phase target. Open only the line you want help building; the guide remains complete with every card collapsed.

Expand all cardsCollapse all cards

Distribution Logistics Hardware — buffer 50 Distributors + 200 BotsMANDATED

Supplies

• Iron Ingots.
• Stone.
• Gears from Mall Logistics.
• Magnetic Coils from BLUE.
• Processors from PURPLE.

Production Map

• Prism branchStone →Produced in Arc Smelter Glass →Produced in Assembling Machine Mk.I Prisms
• Exciter branchPrisms + Magnetic Coils →Produced in Assembling Machine Mk.I Plasma Exciters
• Distributor convergenceIron Ingots + Processors + Plasma Exciters →Produced in Assembling Machine Mk.I Logistics Distributors
• Engine branchCopper Ingots + Magnetic Coils →Produced in Assembling Machine Mk.I Engines
• Bot convergenceEngines + Processors →Produced in Assembling Machine Mk.I Logistics Bots

Destination

• Storage Mk.I — Logistics Distributors — enable 1 storage slot (up to 50).
• Storage Mk.I — Logistics Bots — enable 1 storage slot (up to 200).

Operating Note

• This is a sleeping mall line. Let both boxes stop production when full, then draw from them for last-mile storage or Icarus resupply projects.

Planetary Logistics Hardware — buffer 10 PLS + 200 DronesMANDATED

Supplies

• Iron Ingots.
• Copper Ingots.
• Steel.
• Titanium Ingots.
• Processors from PURPLE.
• Particle Containers from GREEN.

Production Map

• PLS convergenceSteel + Titanium Ingots + Processors + Particle Containers →Produced in Assembling Machine Mk.I Planetary Logistics Stations
• Thruster branchSteel + Copper Ingots →Produced in Assembling Machine Mk.I Thrusters
• Drone convergenceIron Ingots + Processors + Thrusters →Produced in Assembling Machine Mk.I Logistics Drones

Destination

• Storage Mk.I — Planetary Logistics Stations — enable 1 storage slot (up to 10).
• Storage Mk.I — Logistics Drones — enable 1 storage slot (up to 200).

Operating Note

• Buffer towers and Drones together. A PLS without carriers is storage; keeping both outputs ready makes a new local network useful immediately.

Interstellar Logistics Hardware — buffer 10 ILS + 50 VesselsMANDATED

Supplies

• Planetary Logistics Stations from the Planetary Logistics Hardware card.
• Titanium Alloy.
• Particle Containers from GREEN.
• Processors from PURPLE.
• Electromagnetic Turbines from the reusable line.

Production Map

• ILS convergencePlanetary Logistics Stations + Titanium Alloy + Particle Containers →Produced in Assembling Machine Mk.I Interstellar Logistics Stations
• Thruster branchTitanium Alloy + Electromagnetic Turbines →Produced in Assembling Machine Mk.I Reinforced Thrusters
• Vessel convergenceTitanium Alloy + Processors + Reinforced Thrusters →Produced in Assembling Machine Mk.I Logistics Vessels

Destination

• Storage Mk.I — Interstellar Logistics Stations — enable 1 storage slot (up to 10).
• Storage Mk.I — Logistics Vessels — enable 1 storage slot (up to 50).

Operating Note

• Buffer towers and Vessels together. Add Space Warpers only when a deployed route actually crosses interstellar distance.

Watch for

Shared supplies. Several hardware lines draw Processors, Particle Containers, Titanium Alloy, and Electromagnetic Turbines. If multiple buffers refill together, expand only the established supply that actually empties.

Station charging. Newly placed logistics stations can create a temporary power spike while charging. Lower charging power or stage placement instead of redesigning a healthy grid around a transient load.

When a route refuses to move

Check	What it controls
Local or Remote	Drones obey Local settings on one planet. Vessels obey Remote settings between planets or stars.
Supply and Demand	The source item must be blue Supply; the destination must be orange Demand. Storage holds cargo but does not request a trip.
Carrier ownership	Install the correct carrier at a station that can launch it. An unpowered provider still works when a powered requesting station owns the Vessels. That launching station's minimum load, range, warp controls, energy, and carrier supply govern the trip; a carrierless passive endpoint does not dispatch one.
Minimum load	A carrier waits until the configured percentage of its capacity is available. Lower the threshold while bootstrapping a slow source; raise it when full trips matter more than quick response.
Transport range	The actual destination must fall inside the Drone or Vessel range configured at the launching station.
Warp controls	For interstellar routes, check the distance-to-warp threshold, the Warpers Required setting, and the station's Warper reserve.
Station energy	The launching station needs enough stored charge. Charging power changes how quickly it recovers; it does not repair a bad route setting.

1. Confirm source Supply and destination Demand on the correct Local or Remote row.
2. Confirm the launching station has the right carriers, charge, and a reachable destination.
3. Lower minimum load temporarily if the source has not accumulated enough cargo.
4. Check range and warp settings before adding more towers or carriers.
5. Only expand throughput after the first trip succeeds.

Ready to move on when

• Distributors and Logistics Bots refill limited buffers.
• PLS towers and Logistics Drones refill limited buffers.
• ILS towers and Logistics Vessels refill limited buffers.
• A Remote Provider → Vessel → Remote Receiver route can be configured without guessing.
• A Local Provider → Drone → Local Receiver route can be configured without guessing.

---

Optional Paths

These aren't side quests you owe the tech tree. Take one when it solves a problem you can already see; otherwise leave it alone and keep moving.

[PROLIFERATION] — Optional Production Multiplier

What it is for

Proliferation spends spray, power, belts, and another production line to get more work from selected recipes. It is useful leverage, not a tax you owe every item in the factory.

Choose the mode for the problem

Good first targets

Science is easy to reason about: spray the ingredients before cube production, then spray the cubes before research. Expensive late-game intermediates are another sensible target when their inputs are harder to expand than the Spray Coater line.

The build cards remain unproliferated baselines. Their pipelines still apply; proliferation changes the capacity you get from them, not the order of the ingredients.

Return to the main route when

Once the chosen bottleneck is relieved, stop spraying new categories merely because a belt passes nearby.

[PILE SORTER] — Integrated Logistics

What it's for

Move and stack identical cargo fast enough that belts and machine ports stop being the bottleneck. A Pile Sorter improves transport; it does not shorten the recipe inside the machine.

Take it when

• dense blocks are starved or blocked at their ports even though the recipe machinery is adequate;
• stacking would recover useful belt capacity;
• a high-throughput loop, including a Fractionator loop, benefits from denser same-item cargo.

Do this

Use Pile Sorters where measured insertion or belt throughput is the constraint. They stack one item type, not mixed cargo, so keep sushi-belt ambitions somewhere safer.

Return to the main route when

Once cargo movement is no longer slowing the line, leave the machines alone and continue progression.

[GAS GIANT] — Orbital Collectors

What it's for

Use Orbital Collectors when making enough Hydrogen, Deuterium, or Fire Ice locally is becoming more trouble than it's worth.

Take it when

• Hydrogen is actively holding back Casimir or green production;
• making enough Deuterium locally is taking over too much of the factory;
• Fire Ice would noticeably simplify Graphene;
• a gas giant you can actually reach provides the resource at a useful rate.

Do this

Inspect the giant's listed resources and collection rates before committing the hardware. Each Collector gathers its displayed resources independently, and Veins Utilization improves that gathering over time.

At the consuming factory, make local byproduct Hydrogen the first source and Orbital Collectors the backstop. A simple pattern is two receiving paths: one for refinery, Fire Ice, and Antimatter byproducts, and one collector-enabled import. Merge their belts with the byproduct path as the priority input. ILS priority pairs or groups can enforce the same preference across planets; whichever method you choose, keep the byproduct outlet visible so a full tank cannot quietly jam another line.

⚠ A full gas tank is not always abundance. It may be imported Hydrogen hiding a blocked local byproduct. Trace which source is filling the destination before expanding collection.

Return to the main route when

Once gas supply is no longer slowing green or later production, return to the main route.

[INTERSTELLAR POWER] — Energy Exchangers and Accumulator Shipping

What it's for

Use this when one world has power to spare and another is easier to supply through logistics than through its own fuel chain.

Build the loop

1. At the generating world, feed empty Accumulators into Energy Exchangers set to charge.
2. Export the charged Accumulators through ILS.
3. At the remote world, feed them through Exchangers set to discharge.
4. Return the empty Accumulators through a second logistics item slot so the same stock keeps circulating.

The empty return is part of the power plant, not cleanup. Give returned empties priority over newly manufactured Accumulators at the charging world. If either direction fills or starves, the loop eventually stops even while both planets still look well stocked.

Take it when

• a remote mining world has poor local power options;
• central generation is already abundant;
• the two-way Accumulator route is simpler than shipping fuel and maintaining generators.

Return to the main route when

Choose the simpler system for the actual planet. A few local generators can still beat an elegant interstellar battery exchange that nobody needed.

[ADVANCED MINING] — Large Remote Extraction Networks

What it's for

Make large multi-world mining networks quicker and less tedious to build.

Take it when

• many remote mining worlds are already operating;
• laying individual miners and collection belts dominates outpost setup time;
• ILS-based extraction networks are already mature.

Do this

Treat it as a convenience upgrade for a factory that's already spread across many worlds, not as permission to spread too early.

It isn't required for an efficient Mission Completed run.

Return to the main route when

If mining is no longer what's slowing expansion down, go fix whatever production or logistics problem actually is.

External Tools and Communities

The guide is deliberately self-contained, but these current resources are useful when you want a blueprint, a calculator, a mod, or people who have already built the strange thing you are considering.

• Dyson Sphere Blueprints — the primary public blueprint exchange.
• Nilaus DSP blueprints — a curated collection whose older designs may predate the current game.
• FactorioLab for DSP — production-chain and rate planning.
• Thunderstore DSP mods — the current public mod catalog.
• Official DSP Discord — community discussion, blueprints, and current player knowledge.

One-Screen Default Checklist

[BLUE]

• Four mall blocks refill their limited buffers
• Basic mining, smelting, Magnetic Coils, and Circuit Boards are automated
• Belts, Sorters, storage, and starter power hardware are readily available
• Power margin exists
• Two Matrix Labs sustain 40 blue cubes/min
• Magnetic Coils and Circuit Boards keep blue science and their mall buffers supplied
• The Plasma Extract Refining path is open

[RED]

• Two Matrix Labs sustain 20 red cubes/min
• Energetic Graphite arrives without hand-feeding
• Hydrogen and Refined Oil both have live outlets

[ILS]

• Drive Engine Lv2, Mecha Core Lv2, and the outpost technology prerequisites are ready
• Fuel, core energy, outpost power, and the destination are understood before takeoff
• Remote Titanium Ingot and High-Purity Silicon lines are powered, buffered, and feeding the future source station
• 860 Titanium Ingots and 520 High-Purity Silicon return to the homeworld
• The finite 200-yellow-cube research batch is complete
• Two ILS towers and five Logistics Vessels exist
• Titanium Ingots and High-Purity Silicon arrive through Remote Provider → Vessel → Remote Receiver routes
• Manual interplanetary hauling is retired

[YELLOW]

• Three Matrix Labs sustain 22.5 yellow cubes/min
• Titanium Ingots arrive through ILS rather than inventory
• Plastic, Organic Crystal, and Refined Oil surpluses have storage
• Yellow science is stable enough to fund the purple unlock chain

[PURPLE]

• Three Matrix Labs sustain 18 purple cubes/min
• Processor and Particle Broadband endpoints remain visible and supplied
• Titanium Ingots and High-Purity Silicon continue arriving through ILS
• Both technology branches required by Gravity Matrix are underway

[WARP]

• Mecha warp is available when personal scouting or hand-carrying is useful
• Vessel warp is available when an interstellar ILS route should run unattended
• Each imported rare resource has a named baseline chain to replace
• A green-cube Warper buffer feeds the ILS network when routine travel begins

[GREEN]

• Two Matrix Labs sustain 10 green cubes/min
• Quantum Chips and Graviton Lenses each have visible storage
• The Hydrogen tank feeding Casimir production remains stable
• Deuterium and Strange Matter run without hand-fed batches
• Dyson launch hardware can be researched and manufactured

[DYSON]

• The full standard Solar Sail line is automated at 517.5/min installed capacity
• The 80-Ejector deployment buffer is automated and useful latitude blocks are firing
• Live Dyson generation is rising or stable rather than collapsing from expired sails
• Critical Photons are becoming Antimatter reliably and reaching science storage

[PHOTON]

• Dirac Inversion Mechanism is complete
• Ray Receivers remain lensed and configured for Photon Generation
• Critical Photons reach the Collider continuously
• Antimatter and returned Hydrogen both have live outputs
• At least 2,000 Antimatter is waiting in storage before WHITE begins

[WHITE]

• Universe Matrix research is complete
• All five cube colors and Antimatter reach the white Labs continuously
• Ten Matrix Labs sustain 40 white cubes/min
• Mission Completed is consuming or has consumed 4,000 white cubes

[LOGISTICS]

• Logistics Distributors and Bots refill limited buffers
• PLS towers and Logistics Drones refill limited buffers
• ILS towers and Logistics Vessels refill limited buffers
• Provider, Receiver, Depot, Local, and Remote settings make sense at a glance

When you aren't sure what's wrong

When the factory stops making sense, resist the urge to rebuild it on instinct. Ask these questions in order:

1. Can I research the technology?
   If not, check which earlier technology is still missing.

2. Can I build the recipe or machine?
   If not, check whether you're missing another technology or the machine that actually makes it.

3. Can I keep supplying every required material?
   If not, find the material you can't yet mine, make, or import reliably.

4. Does the line still depend on me carrying or hand-feeding materials?
   If yes, automate the missing transport or storage step.

5. Does everything work, but progress still crawls?
   Compare your production rates with the numbers in this guide and fix the slowest line.

A line below the minimum for the phase is usually the first thing worth fixing.

A line between minimum and comfortable is usually doing its job. Leave it alone unless the evidence says otherwise.

A line already above the comfortable target has probably earned some peace until the next phase starts asking more of it.