How to play

You command a planet in a universe shared with other players. Your goal is to grow your empire: build, research, trade and, if you like, fight.

The easiest way to learn is to follow the starter missions: a series of simple goals, each of which rewards you with resources. You will find them in the menu and on the overview.

The game keeps going while you are away: resources pile up and constructions finish by themselves. You can play a few minutes at a time, even from your phone.

There are three resources: metal, crystal and deuterium. Metal and crystal are used to build; deuterium is the fuel for fleets and is needed for some research.

The fourth item, solar energy, is not stored: it is the power that runs your mines. If energy production is lower than consumption, the mines slow down. Build the Helios Grid alongside your mines.

Storage has a limit: when it is full, production of that resource stops. The Titan Vault raises the capacity. If you have too much of one resource and too little of another, the merchant swaps them at a fixed rate.

Buildings are built on a planet and you can queue up to three. Every level costs more than the previous one and takes longer, but it produces more. Each planet has a limited number of fields, so choose carefully.

Mines produce resources, the Helios Grid produces energy, the Titan Vault enlarges your storage, the Helix Institute is for research and the Orbital Foundry builds ships and defenses. The Automata Core shortens the building times of structures.

If you change your mind, you can cancel a construction: the resources you spent are fully refunded.

Research is done in the Helix Institute and applies to all your planets. It unlocks new buildings, ships and defenses, and improves what you already have: faster engines, stronger weapons, tougher shields.

You can queue up to three researches; a higher-level Helix Institute makes them faster. Every research has requirements: if an item is locked, its card tells you what is missing.

Ships are built in the Orbital Foundry. On the Fleet page you choose the ships, the destination and the mission: attack, transport, deploy, espionage, colonization, debris harvesting or expedition.

A trip takes longer when the destination is far away, and it burns deuterium. Before departure the page shows you the duration, the fuel use and the cargo. A fleet in flight can be recalled: it flies home from wherever it is.

To spy on a planet you need Wisp probes: if they are detected, they are lost. For colonization, a Genesis Ark founds a new planet at a free position. The number of planets depends on the Astrophysics research: besides your homeworld, each level lets you found one more colony.

A battle lasts six rounds at most. The side left standing wins: the attacker can plunder up to 50% of the planet's resources, within the limits of its cargo hold.

Part of the destroyed ships turns into debris, which Harvesters can collect. Destroyed defenses are rebuilt by about 70%.

Before attacking, spy on the target and try the battle in the simulator, in the Tools section: it shows you the chances of victory, the expected losses and the estimated loot.

Newbie protection: a player with few points cannot be attacked by someone with many more, and the other way around. The thresholds are set by the administrator.

Anti-bashing rule: you cannot attack the same planet too many times in a short time. The limit and the period are set by the administrator, and the game warns you when you reach it.

Stasis mode: if you have to be away for a while, stasis stops production and construction and nobody can attack you. It lasts at least 48 hours, and to turn it on you must have no fleets in flight and no queues running.

An alliance brings together players who work together. There is a founder, some officers and the members; the founder decides whether to accept new applications.

Every alliance has a private chat, visible only to its members. The staff moderates it: messages can be deleted and anyone who goes too far can be muted.

The alerts by email, Telegram or Discord, which you can set up in the settings, tell you when an enemy fleet is on its way, so you are never caught off guard.

When a battle leaves a lot of debris, a moon may appear next to the planet: the more debris there is, the likelier it is. Moons are rare and bring prestige.

Medals reward achievements: your first victory, the number of planets, trades with the merchant and more. You can pick one medal as a title to show next to your name.

The universe is split into seasons. When a season ends, the final ranking stays in the archive and the best players receive a special medal; then everyone starts again from zero, on equal terms.

Never leave your storage full and your queue empty: keeping a construction queued at all hours is the simplest way to grow.

Keep an eye on the overview: it shows incoming fleets, including hostile ones. An active alliance is the best defense.

Do not trust messages that ask for your password: nobody on the staff will ever ask for it. For any problem, use support.