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Dyson Sphere Program — Practical Progression Guide

A practical route from your first factory to Mission Completed

This guide is meant to be used while you are playing, not read once from top to bottom and remembered.

The normal rhythm 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 → Flight → Titanium → Yellow → ILS → Purple → Green → Dyson/Photon → White → Mission Completed

Cube names used in this guide

DSP gives the cubes formal names, but while playing 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 is 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, broad PLS deployment, Gas Giant Exploitation, interstellar power transmission, advanced mining, and Dark Fog industry are optional paths. Take them when they solve a problem you actually have.

How to use this guide without constantly rereading it

Build-ratio assumptions

The build cards use standard recipes, no rare-resource substitutions, and no proliferation. They assume Assembling Machine Mk.I at 0.75× speed and baseline-speed Smelters, Chemical Plants, Oil Refineries, Matrix Labs, and Miniature Particle Colliders.

Upgrading assemblers changes how many machines you need, but not how many ingredients the recipes consume.

That is the whole pattern: relocate yourself → grab the useful detail → go back to the game.

  1. Jump to the phase you are in. Use the phase strip on the right. If you are 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 Quick reference when you are building. That is where the machine counts and /min numbers live.
  5. Read the rest only when you need the why. You should not have to reread a chapter just to recover one number.

When that happens:

You are not expected to remember where every table or ratio lives. This guide assumes you will leave it open, disappear into the game for a while, and come back needing your bearings.

Quick Progress Index

Quick jump: BOOT · BLUE · RED · FLIGHT · TI · YELLOW · ILS · PURPLE · WARP · GREEN · DYSON · PHOTON · WHITE

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

Stage Search tag What you are aiming for
0 [BOOTSTRAP] The factory builds the factory
1 [BLUE] Keep blue cubes flowing
2 [RED] Keep red cubes flowing and stabilize oil
3 [FLIGHT] Drive Engine Lv2 and safe planetary escape
4 [TITANIUM] A serious off-world titanium supply
5 [YELLOW] Make 200 yellow cubes and unlock ILS
6 [ILS] Automated interplanetary titanium and silicon
7 [PURPLE] Keep purple cubes flowing and unlock both paths to green
8 [WARP] Optional targeted pre-green scouting
9 [GREEN] Keep green cubes flowing and unlock cheap Space Warpers
10 [DYSON] Dyson power and photon production prepared before they become urgent
11 [PHOTON] Critical Photons and Antimatter
12 [WHITE] Keep white cubes flowing and finish Mission Completed

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 do not need to memorize them.

These are useful targets for moving through the game, not rules for how every factory should be built.

Cube color Minimum when first established Comfortable in its own phase Later target
Blue 20/min 40/min ~60+/min before the long green/endgame run of research
Red 10/min 20/min ~60+/min before the long green/endgame run of research
Yellow 7.5/min 15/min for the ILS bootstrap ~60+/min once later research is waiting on yellow
Purple 12/min 24/min ~24–36+/min as required
Green 10/min 20/min scale toward ~40/min for a comfortable endgame pace

Do not build for the later numbers at the start. Expand the older cube line that research is clearly waiting on.

0. [BOOTSTRAP] — Stop Handcrafting the Factory

Phase dashboard

At a glance What matters now
Main goal Automate basic mining, smelting, components, belts, sorters, and factory buildings
Useful cube target Start around 20 blue/min once the line is running
Research next Electromagnetism → Automatic Metallurgy → Basic Assembling → Basic Logistics System → Electromagnetic Matrix tech (unlocks blue cubes)
Keep an eye on Power headroom and repeated handcrafting
Move on when Adding ordinary factory machinery no longer sends you back to handcrafting

Goal

Reach the point where the factory, rather than Icarus, produces the materials needed to expand itself.

The bootstrap is complete when adding a miner, smelter, assembler, belt line, or sorter no longer sends you back into repeated handcrafting.

Research first

  1. Electromagnetism
  2. Automatic Metallurgy
  3. Basic Assembling
  4. Basic Logistics System
  5. Electromagnetic Matrix — unlocks blue cubes

You do not need to clear the whole early tech tree. Just unlock the machinery that stops you doing the same jobs by hand.

Quick reference — How much is enough

Looking something up mid-build? Start here. These are the numbers worth checking without rereading the whole phase.

There is no useful megabase target yet.

Build enough iron, copper, Magnetic Coil, and Circuit Board capacity that factory expansion does not constantly starve cube production.

For blue cubes, begin at 20/min and move toward 40/min only when the basic factory can feed it cleanly.

Build this

Automate:

Establish dependable power before expanding the footprint aggressively.

Watch for

Overbuilding the starter layout. Most early long-distance belt decisions will eventually be superseded by logistics.

The right bootstrap factory is the one that keeps you moving, not the one you would preserve for fifty hours.

Ready to move on when

Next

Go to [BLUE].

1. [BLUE] — Get Blue Cubes Running

Phase dashboard

At a glance What matters now
Main goal Keep blue cubes and research labs running without hand-feeding
Good target 20 blue cubes/min minimum, 40/min comfortable
Research next High-Efficiency Plasma Control → Plasma Extract Refining → Energy Matrix tech (unlocks red cubes)
Keep an eye on Do not overbuild blue while oil and mobility are still missing
Move on when Blue is continuous and your grid has room for the oil setup

Goal

Keep blue cubes running in the background instead of making a batch every time research stalls.

Research first

To open the next cube tier:

  1. High-Efficiency Plasma Control
  2. Plasma Extract Refining
  3. Energy Matrix — unlocks red cubes

Also take Steel Smelting and Thermal Power soon enough that building the oil setup and your first off-world outpost does not turn into a materials scramble.

Quick reference — How much is enough

Looking something up mid-build? Start here. These are the numbers worth checking without rereading the whole phase.

Use this like a blueprint key, not a layout. Match the machine counts and input rates; route the belts however you like.

QUICK REFERENCE — Build ratio: 40 blue cubes/min

Keep it? Yes. This remains useful for the rest of the game.

Output

  • 2 Matrix Labs → 40 blue/min

Buildings

  • 1 Mk.I Assembler — Magnetic Coils
  • 1 Mk.I Assembler — Circuit Boards
  • 1 Arc Smelter — Magnets
  • 1 Arc Smelter — Iron Ingots
  • 1 Arc Smelter — Copper Ingots

Raw materials per minute

  • 80 Iron Ore/min
  • 40 Copper Ore/min

This block has spare assembler capacity. Scale the Matrix Labs first; the component assemblers can support more than 40 blue/min.

Build this

Automate the complete chain:

Iron/Copper → Magnetic Coils + Circuit Boards → blue cubes → research labs

Keep cube production and the research labs separate enough that you can see which side is starving.

Watch for

Do not make blue your first giant factory district. The next important transition is:

red cubes → Drive Engine Lv2 → leave the starter planet

A beautiful oversized blue complex does nothing for you if oil and mobility are still missing.

Ready to move on when

Next

Go to [RED].

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

Phase dashboard

At a glance What matters now
Main goal Keep both refinery outputs moving and produce red cubes continuously
Good target 10 red/min minimum, 20/min comfortable
Research next Mecha Core Lv2 + Drive Engine Lv2, while lining up the listed PLS/ILS requirements
Keep an eye on Hydrogen or Refined Oil filling up and stopping the refinery line
Move on when Red is stable, flight is ready, and the important pre-ILS research is queued or done

Goal

Keep red cubes running, stop either refinery output from jamming the other, and research what you will need for planetary flight and the later ILS rush.

Research first

Get ready to fly

  1. Mecha Core Lv1
  2. Mecha Core Lv2
  3. Drive Engine Lv1
  4. Drive Engine Lv2

Research the ILS requirements early while the needed techs still use red cubes

Research or visibly queue:

The easy-to-miss part is:

To research PLS, you also need Thruster and Vertical Construction Lv1, even though those requirements are easy to miss in the tech tree.

Later, ILS also needs High-Strength Titanium Alloy and Reinforced Thruster.

Quick reference — How much is enough

Looking something up mid-build? Start here. These are the numbers worth checking without rereading the whole phase.

QUICK REFERENCE — Build ratio: 20 red cubes/min

Keep it? Yes. This remains useful for the rest of the game.

Output

  • 2 Matrix Labs → 20 red/min

Inputs per minute

  • 40 Hydrogen/min
  • 40 Energetic Graphite/min

Buildings

  • 3 Oil Refineries — Plasma Refining
  • 2 Arc Smelters — Energetic Graphite

Raw materials per minute

  • 80 Crude Oil/min at the exact 20-red/min target
  • 80 Coal/min

Also produces

  • 80 Refined Oil/min

Three refineries have a little headroom beyond the exact target. Route or buffer Refined Oil so Hydrogen production cannot deadlock when the oil side backs up.

Build this

Establish:

Treat both refinery outputs as products that need a destination.

Watch for

The classic refinery failure is not lack of crude oil. It is one output filling up and silently stopping the other.

Do not burn or discard Hydrogen reflexively; later phases consume enormous amounts of it. Early on, however, a finite buffer is better than letting storage blockage stop research.

Ready to move on when

Next

Go to [FLIGHT].

3. [FLIGHT] — Drive Engine Lv2 and Planetary Escape

Phase dashboard

At a glance What matters now
Main goal Reach the titanium planet safely and leave behind useful mining and smelting
Good target No cube-rate target here; bring enough fuel, power, and buildings to avoid a token trip
Research next Drive Engine Lv2 → Titanium Smelting → finish PLS requirements → Magnetic Particle Trap → Processor → Reinforced Thruster
Keep an eye on Fuel margin, destination power, and remote defense on Dark Fog runs
Move on when You can mine and preferably smelt titanium off-world without improvising the whole outpost by hand

Goal

Leave the starter planet safely and establish the ability to exploit off-world titanium.

The starter planet has no normal Titanium Ore veins. Silicon can be bootstrapped inefficiently from Stone, but Titanium has no ordinary synthetic fallback.

To reach yellow cubes, you eventually have to leave the starter planet.

Research first

  1. Drive Engine Lv2
  2. Titanium Smelting
  3. Finish the research needed for PLS:
    • High-Efficiency Logistics System
    • Thruster
    • Vertical Construction Lv1
    • Planetary Logistics System
  4. Magnetic Particle Trap
  5. Processor
  6. Reinforced Thruster

Drive Engine Lv2 also needs Drive Engine Lv1 and Mecha Core Lv2.

Quick reference — How much is enough

Looking something up mid-build? Start here. These are the numbers worth checking without rereading the whole phase.

This phase is about being ready for the trip, not hitting a particular cube rate.

Before launch, have enough fuel and core-energy margin that a poor approach does not strand you, plus enough construction material to establish a real outpost rather than a token miner.

Build this

Carry or prebuild:

Watch for

Persistent remote outposts on Dark Fog runs

An unattended mining world can acquire a nearby enemy base while you are away.

Before leaving a persistent outpost behind, either:

Do not configure early defenses to attack orbital or Relay targets unless escalation is deliberate.

Ready to move on when

Next

Go to [TITANIUM].

4. [TITANIUM] — Your First Off-World Industrial Expedition

Phase dashboard

At a glance What matters now
Main goal Establish remote titanium mining and smelt it before transport
Good target First haul: 810–860 Titanium Ingots; remote source: 60/min minimum, 120/min comfortable
Research next Only what is needed for the Structure Matrix tech (yellow cube unlock) → High-Strength Titanium Alloy → ILS
Keep an eye on Do not spend scarce first titanium on a broad PLS rollout
Move on when You have a serious titanium stockpile and direct silicon is available or planned

Goal

Return with enough titanium to break through the yellow/ILS transition without repeating several tiny manual-hauling trips.

Research first

Do not wander off into unrelated research here.

Finish only the research you need for:

Quick reference — How much is enough

Looking something up mid-build? Start here. These are the numbers worth checking without rereading the whole phase.

First serious haul

Aim for 810–860 Titanium Ingots.

That is a practical target for:

The hard technical minimum for the 200-yellow research batch, two ILS towers, and one vessel is about 770 Titanium Ingots.

Persistent remote smelting

QUICK REFERENCE — Build ratio: 120 Titanium Ingots/min

Keep it? Yes. This is a useful remote setup that can be expanded later.

Buildings

  • 4 Arc Smelters

Input per minute

  • 240 Titanium Ore/min

Output

  • 120 Titanium Ingots/min

Miner count is not prescribed because vein geometry and mining upgrades change extraction capacity.

Build this

Smelt titanium at the source:

2 Titanium Ore → 1 Titanium Ingot

This doubles the useful titanium value carried per cargo stack compared with hauling raw ore personally.

If convenient, start mining Silicon Ore directly during the same trip or around the same time. Making silicon from Stone is fine as a temporary fallback, but poor for bulk Processor production.

Watch for

Do not spend the first scarce titanium on a broad PLS rollout.

Before ILS, PLS can clean up local transport, but it does not solve the real problem: moving titanium between planets. Build only the PLS units that will become your first ILS pair unless your local belts are genuinely wasting more time than another titanium trip.

Ready to move on when

Next

Go to [YELLOW].

5. [YELLOW] — Make 200 Yellow Cubes and Break the Hauling Loop

Phase dashboard

At a glance What matters now
Main goal Produce 200 yellow cubes and have the first ILS hardware ready when research finishes
Good target 7.5 yellow/min minimum, 15/min comfortable for the ILS rush
Research next Chemical branch → Structure Matrix tech (yellow cube unlock) → High-Strength Titanium Alloy → confirm PLS + Reinforced Thruster → ILS
Keep an eye on The oil-heavy Organic Crystal chain and missing ILS prerequisites
Move on when 80 yellow has gone to Titanium Alloy, 120 to ILS, and the first station pair is ready to build

Goal

Produce 200 yellow cubes, spend them on the two technologies that matter, and convert manual interplanetary hauling into automated logistics.

Default allocation:

This is one of the clearest parts of the whole run: make 200 yellow, spend it, and move on.

Research first

If the chemical branch is incomplete:

  1. Basic Chemical Engineering
  2. Polymer Chemical Engineering
  3. High-Strength Crystal
  4. Structure Matrix — unlocks yellow cubes
  5. High-Strength Titanium Alloy
  6. Confirm the PLS required research
  7. Confirm Reinforced Thruster
  8. Interstellar Logistics System

ILS requires:

Quick reference — How much is enough

Looking something up mid-build? Start here. These are the numbers worth checking without rereading the whole phase.

For the ILS rush:

QUICK REFERENCE — Build ratio: 15 yellow cubes/min

Keep it? Keep the yellow-cube line. The homemade Organic Crystal part can be retired later if you start importing natural Organic Crystal.

Output

  • 2 Matrix Labs → 15 yellow/min

Buildings

  • 2 Mk.I Assemblers — Titanium Crystals
  • 1 Arc Smelter — Diamonds
  • 2 Chemical Plants — Organic Crystals
  • 2 Chemical Plants — Plastic
  • 3 Oil Refineries — Refined Oil supply
  • 2 Arc Smelters — Energetic Graphite
  • 2 Arc Smelters — Titanium Ingots

Raw materials per minute

  • 90 Coal/min
  • 75 Crude Oil/min
  • 15 Water/min
  • 90 Titanium Ore/min

Surplus yield

  • ~37.5 Hydrogen/min

Build this

The standard yellow chain is:

Crude Oil → Refined Oil → Plastic → Organic Crystal → Titanium Crystal → yellow cubes

with the parallel branch:

Coal → Energetic Graphite → Diamond → yellow cubes

Once titanium is available, the practical bottleneck often becomes the oil-heavy Organic Crystal chain rather than titanium itself.

Prepare the first ILS hardware while the 200 yellow cubes are being produced:

The goal is for ILS research completion to unlock immediate construction rather than another component grind.

Watch for

Do not treat the 15/min build ratio as your permanent yellow capacity.

The first 200 yellow cubes only get you through the ILS rush. Later research will eat thousands more, so come back and expand this line after ILS makes the rebuild much easier.

Ready to move on when

Next

Go to [ILS].

6. [ILS] — End Manual Interplanetary Hauling

Phase dashboard

At a glance What matters now
Main goal Keep the first ILS routes running and start using PLS where it actually saves effort
Good target Titanium and silicon arrive unattended; later, move older blue/red/yellow cube lines toward ~60/min each only when research is waiting on them
Research next Applied Superconductor if needed → High-Strength Material → Particle Control → Processor if needed → Information Matrix tech (unlocks purple cubes)
Keep an eye on ILS charging spikes and the temptation to rebuild the entire planet at once
Move on when Logistics is stable and the research queue is clearly pointed at purple

Goal

Replace the player-as-cargo-ship loop with continuous automated interplanetary supply and begin converting long global belts into local logistics districts.

Research first

Point the main research queue toward purple:

  1. Applied Superconductor, if still missing
  2. High-Strength Material
  3. Particle Control
  4. Processor, if still missing
  5. Information Matrix — unlocks purple cubes

The Information Matrix tech (purple cube unlock) requires Processor + Particle Control.

Do not automatically research every yellow-tier utility technology just because the titanium problem is solved.

Quick reference — How much is enough

Looking something up mid-build? Start here. These are the numbers worth checking without rereading the whole phase.

The important target here is not a cube rate. It is:

Once that is working, check your older cube lines from time to time. Before the long run to green, around 60/min each for blue, red, and yellow is a comfortable goal, but only expand the color your research is actually waiting on.

Build this

First titanium route

Remote source ILS

Home ILS

A powered home ILS can dispatch vessels to an unpowered remote source ILS.

To belt an item out of a station, set the belt-port output filter to that item. Remote Receiver determines what enters the station; the belt filter determines what leaves onto the belt.

Begin PLS migration without rebuilding the planet

Use the pattern:

Producer district → PLS Local Provider → drones → PLS Local Receiver → consumer district

Keep short belts inside each district.

An ILS can act as the local provider for imported resources:

Remote source → vessel → Home ILS Remote Receiver + Local Provider → drones → PLS Local Receiver

The basic idea is:

global spaghetti → drone logistics → local spaghetti

This is a successful transition even if the planet never becomes blueprint-perfect.

Watch for

ILS charging spikes

A newly placed ILS charges a large internal energy buffer and can temporarily create a dramatic grid-demand spike.

Do not build your whole power grid around that brief charging spike. Lower the station charging-power setting if the early grid cannot absorb it comfortably.

Premature total rebuilds

Replace one irritating long-distance belt route at a time. Leave anything that already works alone until it actually starts slowing you down.

Ready to move on when

Next

Go to [PURPLE].

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

Phase dashboard

At a glance What matters now
Main goal Keep purple cubes flowing and complete both the Strange Matter and Quantum Chip paths
Good target 12 purple/min minimum, 24/min comfortable
Research next Miniature Particle Collider → Strange Matter → Gravitational Wave Refraction and Casimir Crystal → High-Strength Glass → Wave Function Interference → Quantum Chip → Gravity Matrix tech (unlocks green cubes)
Keep an eye on Processors, Particle Broadband, Graphene/Carbon Nanotubes, and older blue/red/yellow cube rates
Move on when Purple cubes are stable and both tech branches needed for green are finished or nearly finished

Goal

Keep purple cubes running and finish the two tech branches needed to unlock green cubes.

Your next clear goal is:

sustain purple → complete the Strange Matter branch → complete the Quantum Chip branch → unlock the first green cube

Once you can make the first green cube, purple has done its job. You do not need to perfect the whole purple-era factory before moving on.

Research first

Work on both paths as your factory allows.

Branch A — Strange Matter / gravity side

  1. Miniature Particle Collider
  2. Strange Matter
  3. Gravitational Wave Refraction

Branch B — Quantum Chip side

  1. Casimir Crystal
  2. High-Strength Glass
  3. Wave Function Interference
  4. Quantum Chip

Wave Function Interference sits downstream of Casimir Crystal and High-Strength Glass.

Then unlock green

  1. Gravity Matrix — unlocks green cubes

The Gravity Matrix tech (green cube unlock) only becomes available after both the Quantum Chip path and Gravitational Wave Refraction are finished.

Quick reference — How much is enough

Looking something up mid-build? Start here. These are the numbers worth checking without rereading the whole phase.

A 12/min purple-cube line takes about 83 minutes to produce 1,000 cubes if purple alone sets the pace. At 24/min, the same amount takes about 42 minutes.

QUICK REFERENCE — Build ratio: 12 purple cubes/min

Keep it? Yes. Purple cubes remain useful for the rest of the game.

Output

  • 2 Matrix Labs → 12 purple/min

Required product flow

  • 24 Processors/min
  • 12 Particle Broadband/min

Processor side

  • 2 Mk.I Assemblers — Processors
  • 1 Mk.I Assembler — Circuit Boards
  • 3 Mk.I Assemblers — Microcrystalline Components
  • 4 Arc Smelters — High-Purity Silicon
  • 1 Arc Smelter — Iron Ingots
  • 2 Arc Smelters — Copper Ingots

Particle Broadband side

  • 3 Mk.I Assemblers — Particle Broadband
  • 1 Chemical Plant — Carbon Nanotubes
  • 1 Arc Smelter — Crystal Silicon
  • 1 Chemical Plant — Plastic
  • 1 Chemical Plant — Graphene
  • 1 Chemical Plant — Sulfuric Acid
  • 2 Oil Refineries
  • 3 Arc Smelters — Energetic Graphite
  • 1 Arc Smelter — Titanium Ingots

Raw materials per minute

  • 48 Iron Ore/min
  • 72 Copper Ore/min
  • 240 Silicon Ore/min
  • 24 Titanium Ore/min
  • 132 Coal/min
  • 51 Crude Oil/min
  • 36 Stone/min
  • 18 Water/min

Surplus yield

  • ~25.5 Hydrogen/min

Build a second copy for roughly 24 purple/min. That is usually more useful than copying a late-game Reddit blueprint full of machines you have not unlocked yet.

QUICK REFERENCE — Supporting build ratio: 40 Graphene/min with synthetic Sulfuric Acid

Keep it? Probably not forever. A Sulfuric Acid ocean or Fire Ice can later replace much of this setup.

Output

  • 1 Chemical Plant — Graphene → 40/min

Supporting buildings

  • 1 Chemical Plant — Sulfuric Acid
  • 2 Arc Smelters — Energetic Graphite
  • 1 Oil Refinery — Refined Oil supply

Raw materials per minute

  • 120 Coal/min
  • 30 Crude Oil/min
  • 40 Stone/min
  • 20 Water/min

Surplus yield

  • 15 Hydrogen/min

The standard Sulfuric Acid recipe is:

6 Refined Oil + 8 Stone + 4 Water → 4 Sulfuric Acid

If no acid-ocean planet is available, build enough synthetic acid to keep Graphene moving and stop polishing the district. It is a prime candidate for later replacement.

Build this

Focus on four production systems:

  1. Processors
  2. Particle Broadband
  3. Graphene / Carbon Nanotubes
  4. A stable purple-cube line

You do not need every new purple-era technology. You need the two branches that lead to green.

Watch for

Purple feels messy because several old resource networks are exposed at once:

Judge them by whether they keep up, not by whether the factory looks elegant.

A synthetic Sulfuric Acid district can be ugly and still be perfectly adequate. A beautiful Processor district that only makes half the required rate is the real problem.

Ready to move on when

Next

Default route: go to [GREEN].

For a targeted rare-resource detour, read [WARP] first.

8. [WARP] — Optional Pre-Green Interstellar Scouting

Phase dashboard

At a glance What matters now
Main goal Warp for a named resource with a clear payoff
Good target Make only a small stock of expensive pre-green Space Warpers
Research next Gravitational Wave Refraction → Drive Engine Lv3 → Mecha Core Lv4 → Drive Engine Lv4
Keep an eye on Aimless exploration and confusing personal warp with vessel warp
Move on when The target resource has been collected and you can explain exactly which painful chain it replaces or simplifies

Goal

Use personal warp early only when you already know of a rare resource that will noticeably simplify something you are struggling to produce.

Warp is not required for Mission Completed. The standard production chains can be completed inside the starting system.

Research first

For personal warp before green:

  1. Gravitational Wave Refraction
  2. Drive Engine Lv3
  3. Mecha Core Lv4
  4. Drive Engine Lv4
  5. Optional Universe Exploration Lv3 when better scouting information has a concrete payoff

Drive Engine Lv4 also needs Drive Engine Lv3, Mecha Core Lv4, and Gravitational Wave Refraction.

Personal warp and vessel warp are separate capabilities. Do not assume that because Icarus can warp, ILS vessels can automate interstellar routes.

Quick reference — How much is enough

Looking something up mid-build? Start here. These are the numbers worth checking without rereading the whole phase.

Before green:

1 Graviton Lens → 1 Space Warper

After green:

1 green cube → 8 Space Warpers

This economic difference is why the default route remains green first.

Build this

Make only a small supply of expensive pre-green warpers.

Scout or manually retrieve a named rare resource that removes a painful production chain, then return to the green path.

Watch for

Exploration for its own sake can turn into a large detour before the factory has cheap warpers or vessel warp.

A good pre-green warp trip answers:

“What problem will this resource actually solve for me right now?”

If the answer is unclear, continue to green.

Ready to move on when

Next

Return to [GREEN].

9. [GREEN] — Green Cubes and Cheap Warp Logistics

Phase dashboard

At a glance What matters now
Main goal Keep green cubes flowing without letting Hydrogen or Deuterium take over the whole factory
Good target 10 green/min starter, 20/min comfortable, scale toward ~40/min for the endgame
Research next Quantum Chip + Gravitational Wave Refraction → Gravity Matrix tech (green cube unlock); then take vessel warp or Gas Giant Exploitation when they solve a real need
Keep an eye on Hydrogen, Deuterium, Strange Matter power use, and whether Orbital Collectors would now save real effort
Move on when Green is stable, cheap warpers exist, and Dyson/photon preparation is already moving

Goal

Keep green cubes running and make enough that the later photon and white-cube research does not suddenly turn into a multi-hour wait.

Research first

By now you should have finished both research paths needed here:

  1. Quantum Chip
  2. Gravitational Wave Refraction
  3. Gravity Matrix — unlocks green cubes

After the first stable green line:

Quick reference — How much is enough

Looking something up mid-build? Start here. These are the numbers worth checking without rereading the whole phase.

QUICK REFERENCE — Build ratio: 10 green cubes/min

Keep it? Yes. Keep the green-cube line, although some of the ingredient chains can later be replaced with easier rare-resource recipes.

Output

  • 2 Matrix Labs → 10 green/min
  • requires 5 Quantum Chips/min
  • requires 5 Graviton Lenses/min

Quantum Chip branch

  • 1 Mk.I Assembler — Quantum Chips
  • 3 Mk.I Assemblers — Plane Filters
  • 1 Mk.I Assembler — Casimir Crystals
  • 2 Mk.I Assemblers — Titanium Glass
  • 1 Mk.I Assembler — Processors
  • 1 Mk.I Assembler — Circuit Boards
  • 1 Mk.I Assembler — Microcrystalline Components
  • 2 Arc Smelters — High-Purity Silicon
  • 1 Arc Smelter — Glass

Graviton Lens / Strange Matter branch

  • 1 Mk.I Assembler — Graviton Lenses
  • 1 Miniature Particle Collider — Strange Matter
  • 1 Mk.I Assembler — Particle Containers
  • 1 Mk.I Assembler — Electromagnetic Turbines
  • 2 Mk.I Assemblers — Electric Motors
  • 1 Mk.I Assembler — Magnetic Coils
  • 1 Mk.I Assembler — Gears
  • 1 Miniature Particle Collider — Deuterium route used for this build ratio

Shared chemical support

  • 1 Chemical Plant — Graphene
  • 1 Chemical Plant — Sulfuric Acid
  • 1 Chemical Plant — Plastic
  • 1 Chemical Plant — Organic Crystals
  • 1 Mk.I Assembler — Titanium Crystals
  • 1 Arc Smelter — Diamonds
  • 4 Arc Smelters — Energetic Graphite
  • 3 Oil Refineries

Raw-material smelting support

  • 3 Arc Smelters — Iron Ingots
  • 2 Arc Smelters — Magnets
  • 2 Arc Smelters — Copper Ingots
  • 2 Arc Smelters — Titanium Ingots

Raw materials per minute with this standard setup

  • 230 Iron Ore/min
  • 90 Copper Ore/min
  • 80 Silicon Ore/min
  • 100 Titanium Ore/min
  • 200 Coal/min
  • 80 Crude Oil/min
  • 80 Stone/min
  • 50 Water/min
  • 220 Hydrogen/min gross demand

The required oil refining yields a surplus of about 40 Hydrogen/min, leaving roughly 180 Hydrogen/min external net demand under this collider-Deuterium model.

That number is the important lesson: even a modest 10-green/min line can make Hydrogen logistics a real problem.

Build this

Choose a deliberate Deuterium/Hydrogen strategy:

The build ratio above uses colliders because their output is easy to predict. Fractionators depend more on the design of the loop, so judge them by what they actually produce in your factory.

Watch for

Green is where Gas Giant Exploitation often changes from “expensive detour” to “obvious solution.”

If Hydrogen or Deuterium production is taking over the factory, Orbital Collectors are solving a real problem rather than adding another system for its own sake.

Rare resources can also change the build ratio substantially:

These are different ways to make the same materials; the research path does not change.

Ready to move on when

Next

Go to [DYSON].

10. [DYSON] — Prepare the Photon Economy Before You Need It

Phase dashboard

At a glance What matters now
Main goal Automate Solar Sails, launch a useful swarm, and have Ray Receivers ready
Good target ~22.5 sails/min minimum demonstration, ~45/min comfortable starter swarm
Research next Solar Collection → Photon Frequency Conversion → Super Magnetic Field Generator → Solar Sail Orbit System → Ray Receiver → Planetary Ionosphere Utilization → Dirac Inversion
Keep an eye on Launching far more short-lived sails than you can use and building receivers without enough Dyson power
Move on when Sails and receivers are ready and the path to Dirac Inversion is active

Goal

Build the stellar-energy setup alongside late-game research so Critical Photon production does not become one huge wait at the end of the run.

You do not need a finished permanent Dyson Sphere for Mission Completed. You only need enough swarm or sphere power to keep the number of Ray Receivers you chose working properly.

Research first

  1. Solar Collection
  2. Photon Frequency Conversion
  3. Super Magnetic Field Generator
  4. Solar Sail Orbit System
  5. Ray Receiver
  6. Planetary Ionosphere Utilization
  7. Dirac Inversion Mechanism

Solar Sail Orbit System also depends on Super Magnetic Field Generator.

Do not wait until every technology that uses green cubes is finished before beginning this setup.

Quick reference — How much is enough

Looking something up mid-build? Start here. These are the numbers worth checking without rereading the whole phase.

Solar Sail production

QUICK REFERENCE — Build ratio: 45 Solar Sails/min

Keep it? Yes. You will keep using this for photons and Antimatter.

Output

  • 2 Mk.I Assemblers — Solar Sails → 45/min

Supporting buildings

  • 2 Mk.I Assemblers — Photon Combiners
  • 1 Mk.I Assembler — Prisms
  • 1 Mk.I Assembler — Circuit Boards
  • 3 Arc Smelters — Glass
  • 1 Chemical Plant — Graphene
  • 1 Chemical Plant — Sulfuric Acid
  • 2 Arc Smelters — Energetic Graphite
  • 1 Oil Refinery
  • 1 Arc Smelter — Iron Ingots
  • 1 Arc Smelter — Copper Ingots

Raw materials per minute

  • 22.5 Iron Ore/min
  • 11.25 Copper Ore/min
  • 67.5 Coal/min
  • 16.875 Crude Oil/min
  • 157.5 Stone/min
  • 11.25 Water/min

Surplus yield

  • ~8.44 Hydrogen/min

Build this

During the purple-to-green period:

Watch for

Solar Sails have finite lifetime.

Prepare the launch system early, but do not fire an enormous swarm far in advance of need unless you deliberately accept the expiry cost.

Do not choose the number of Ejectors from the sail build ratio alone. Launch capacity and useful swarm size depend on actual operation and the Dyson output you are trying to sustain.

Ready to move on when

Next

Go to [PHOTON].

11. [PHOTON] — Critical Photons and Antimatter

Phase dashboard

At a glance What matters now
Main goal Produce Critical Photons and Antimatter continuously at a rate that matches your intended finish pace
Good target Pick receiver count from the photon table below; 10 ideal lensed receivers ≈ 120 photons/min
Research next Ray Receiver → Planetary Ionosphere Utilization → Dirac Inversion Mechanism → photon generation → Antimatter
Keep an eye on Actual Dyson power and older blue/red/yellow cube lines that may now be slower than the new endgame machinery
Move on when Antimatter is continuous and all five cube lines can support your planned white-cube rate

Goal

Turn Dyson output into sustained Critical Photons and Antimatter at a rate that matches the white-cube pace you want.

Research first

The important order is:

  1. Ray Receiver
  2. Planetary Ionosphere Utilization
  3. Dirac Inversion Mechanism
  4. Critical Photon generation
  5. Photon Materialization
  6. Antimatter

Planetary Ionosphere Utilization does not by itself unlock photon production. You still need Dirac Inversion before you can start making Critical Photons.

Quick reference — How much is enough

Looking something up mid-build? Start here. These are the numbers worth checking without rereading the whole phase.

The research just before white is expensive enough that your older cube lines need to be real production lines by now, not tiny starter setups.

Planetary Ionosphere Utilization

Cube cost:

Dirac Inversion Mechanism

Cube cost:

That is why a blue, red, or yellow line that felt perfectly fine earlier can suddenly become the thing holding up the whole endgame.

How fast to make Critical Photons

Mission Completed ultimately consumes 4000 white cubes. On the ordinary route, that implies:

At ideal 100% Continuous Receiving with Graviton Lenses and enough Dyson power:

Ideal lensed receivers Critical Photons/min Theoretical time for 4000 photons
1 12 ~333 min
5 60 ~67 min
10 120 ~33 min
20 240 ~17 min

Real output depends on receiver conditions and available Dyson power.

Build this

  1. Finish Planetary Ionosphere Utilization.
  2. Finish Dirac Inversion.
  3. Put prepared Ray Receivers into photon-generation mode.
  4. Feed Critical Photons into Photon Materialization.
  5. Automate Antimatter.
  6. Compare Antimatter rate with colored-matrix rate.

Whichever side is slower is what sets your actual pace.

Watch for

Do not build receiver count in isolation from Dyson output.

Twenty receivers that cannot be fully supplied are not a 240-photon/min system.

Likewise, a huge Antimatter line is irrelevant if your older yellow-cube line can only feed white at 15/min.

Ready to move on when

Next

Go to [WHITE].

12. [WHITE] — White Cubes and Mission Completed

Phase dashboard

At a glance What matters now
Main goal Unlock white cubes, then produce the final 4000
Good target 20 white/min relaxed, 40/min comfortable, 80/min fast — only if every feeder can match it
Research next Universe Matrix tech (unlocks white cubes) → Mission Completed!
Keep an eye on Your slowest older cube line; white cubes can never run faster than their weakest input
Move on when Mission Completed is finished

Goal

Feed all five cube colors plus Antimatter into a continuous white-cube line, then supply the final 4000 white cubes for Mission Completed.

Research first

  1. Universe Matrix — unlocks white cubes
  2. Mission Completed!

The research path is simple. Keeping every ingredient flowing at the same time is the hard part.

Quick reference — How much is enough

Looking something up mid-build? Start here. These are the numbers worth checking without rereading the whole phase.

Unlock the white recipe first

The Universe Matrix tech (white cube unlock) costs:

Only after that research finishes can you manufacture white cubes.

Each white cube then consumes:

A Matrix Lab produces 4 white cubes/min at baseline recipe speed.

White cube rate Production labs Required rate from each cube color Antimatter/min Time for 4000 white cubes
20/min 5 20/min each 20 200 min
40/min 10 40/min each 40 100 min
80/min 20 80/min each 80 50 min

A 40-white/min design is still only a 15-white/min factory if one older cube line can only produce 15/min.

At ideal lensed photon output, matching 20/40/80 Antimatter per minute requires roughly 2/4/7 fully supplied receivers respectively. Real conditions may require more.

Build this

Connect:

Blue cube + Red cube + Yellow cube + Purple cube + Green cube + Antimatter → white cube

Then watch the inputs rather than the white labs.

Scale the slowest feeder line.

Watch for

The most common endgame mistake is assuming the newest production line is the important one.

White-cube production asks every earlier cube line to work at once. The thing slowing you down may be a tiny blue, red, or yellow setup you built many hours ago and never touched again.

Ready to move on when

Next

Mission Completed.

After this point, there is no longer one required next step. The game opens up into scale, exploration, combat, permanent Dyson construction, rare-resource shortcuts, and megabase design.

Optional Paths

These are worth taking when they solve a problem you can already see. None of them needs to interrupt the main route just because it has become available.

[PLS] — Planetary Logistics as a Spaghetti-Reduction Tool

What it is for

Replace long cross-planet belts with drone transport while preserving functioning local production districts.

Take it when

Before ILS, avoid a broad rollout if it consumes titanium needed for the ILS rush.

Do this

Use:

Producer district → PLS Local Provider → drones → PLS Local Receiver → consumer district

For imported goods:

Remote ILS Provider → vessel → Home ILS Remote Receiver + Local Provider → drones → PLS Local Receiver

Replace one painful long-distance relationship at a time.

Return to the main route when

The goal is not a blueprint-perfect planet.

The goal is:

global spaghetti → drone logistics → local spaghetti

[PILE SORTER] — Integrated Logistics

What it is for

Fix production lines that are being held back by how quickly items can enter or leave the machines.

Take it when

Do this

Research it when machine input or output speed is already the problem.

Do not take it merely because it is available.

Return to the main route when

Once the sorters are no longer what is slowing the line down, return to the main progression path.

[GAS GIANT] — Orbital Collectors

What it is for

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

Take it when

Do this

Take Orbital Collectors because you actually need the gas, not because the technology happens to be available in yellow.

Green is often the point where the economics become obvious.

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 is for

Use this when powering remote worlds locally is awkward and shipping charged accumulators is genuinely easier.

Take it when

Do this

Compare the ongoing logistics burden with simply building local generation.

Remember that a new ILS can create a large temporary charging spike; do not mistake that brief load for the remote world's permanent demand.

Return to the main route when

Use the simpler power system. Do not create a logistics network merely to avoid a few easy local generators.

[ADVANCED MINING] — Large Remote Extraction Networks

What it is for

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

Take it when

Do this

Treat it as a convenience upgrade for a factory that is already spread across many worlds.

It is not required for an efficient Mission Completed run.

Return to the main route when

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

[DARK FOG] — Hidden Industrial Technology

What it is for

Access the hidden Dark Fog industrial branch in a long-run combat-focused game.

Take it when

Do this

Treat Dark Fog industry as a separate progression lane.

Holo Beacon can help you manage deliberate Relay interaction, but you still need the Dark Fog to reach the right levels and drop the required items.

Return to the main route when

For the default Mission Completed route: do not enter this branch at all.

One-Screen Default Checklist

[BOOTSTRAP]

[BLUE]

[RED]

[FLIGHT]

[TITANIUM]

[YELLOW]

[ILS]

[PURPLE]

[WARP]

[GREEN]

[DYSON]

[PHOTON]

[WHITE]

When you are not sure what is wrong

When progression stalls, 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 are missing another technology or the machine that actually makes it.

  3. Can I keep supplying every required material?
    If not, find the material you cannot 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 production line below the minimum for this stage is probably what you should fix first.

A line between minimum and comfortable is usually good enough to leave alone.

A line already above the comfortable target usually does not need more attention unless the next part of the game has started asking much more from it.