Guide · mid game
Mid-game guide — research, alloys & colonies
Around ten planets in, unlocking the next one is no longer enough: three systems take over, and they all revolve around research — the smelter (alloys far pricier than ore), managers (multipliers across your whole output) and colonies (permanent per-planet bonuses).
Driving research
From here, your roadmap IS the research tree. Two branches pay off immediately. Managers: "Specialist University" and "Advanced Specialist University" boost every manager’s second benefit, "Senior Leader" then "Superior Leader" unlock and quadruple Leader bonuses. Smelting: "Furnace Overdrive 2" then "Furnace Overdrive 3" add a 2nd and 3rd furnace in overdrive — a direct jump in alloy output.
In parallel, push the Telescope branch: it reveals the far planets and unlocks "Surge Mapping", which starts detecting surges — temporary production spikes that become essential later.
Smelter & alloys
The smelter turns ores into alloys, which sell for far more than the sum of their ores. The first, Copper Bar, smelts from the start. Feed the furnaces with the ores you overproduce, and aim for the highest alloys you can make — this is your main mid-game income jump. The "Furnace Overdrive 2" / "Furnace Overdrive 3" researches multiply that throughput.
Managers & colonies
Assign one manager per planet: it automates mining and applies its bonus. Level them in stars, put your best on your richest planets, and elect a Leader as soon as the Managers research allows. Colonizing a planet adds colony levels that permanently boost its output — unlike upgrades, a colony stays. It is the stable backbone of your economy.
Prioritize colonizing the planets you mine most. A high-level colony on a rich planet beats ten scattered upgrades on poor ones.
The billions wall
Around Pranas, the unlock price hits 50M; around Dosie, 50B. The curve stays steady (~×1.8 per planet) but raw mining alone won’t keep your credits up. That’s the signal: your income must now come from alloys + colonies + managers optimized together, funded by research. If you stall, it isn’t a missing planet — it’s a research branch left behind.