This site belongs to Merovech, formerly of Ceti, Epislon & Fenix; now resident of Gamma, Helion and Ixion.
Many players like to balance the development of their infrastructure by their relative cost. The normal way of doing this is either through a haphazard ordering of structures in the construction queue, or to go on advice of others. This page provides the players with an at-a-glance view of the relative cost (and value) of manufacturing structures at that tier.
The following production calculator shows you what structures you need for balance, and what the relative construction and production values are of Metal-2 and Metal-3 bases. Adjustments for Cybernetics is included.
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The following table lists the six key manufacturing structures: Metal Refineries, Robotic Factories, Nanite Factories, Android Factories, Shipyards and Orbital Shipyards. They are organized on tiers of their relative cost, with the cost column baselined on the price of Metal Refineries at that tier. The other structure costs are relatively the same.
The parenthetical value represents the construction value of that tier, based on a Metal-2 astro. Add an additional 1 per level of Metal Refinery at that tier to get the construction value of that tier.
The italicized value represents the ten percent increase in production created by having Cybernetics-2, which is the minimum technology necessary to build Orbital Shipyards. That suggests that at this level and beyond, the true value is different from the estimated value. This is also the case if you have a Construction or Production commander assigned to that base. So, remember to adjust these numbers according to your specific situation.
| Cost | MR | RF | NF | AF | SY | OY | CV-2 | CV-3 | PV |
| 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | 2 | 3 | 2 |
| 2 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | 4 | 6 | 4 |
| 3 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | 6 | 9 | 6 |
| 4 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | 8 | 12 | 8 |
| 5 | 5 | 1 | - | - | 1 | - | 12 | 15 | 14 |
| 8 | 6 | 2 | - | - | 2 | - | 16 | 21 | 18 |
| 12 | 7 | 3 | - | - | 3 | - | 20 | 27 | 22 |
| 18 | 8 | 4 | - | - | 4 | - | 24 | 32 | 32 |
| 26 | 9 | 5 | - | - | 5 | - | 28 | 37 | 38 |
| 39 (32) | 10 | 6 | - | - | 6 | - | 32 | 42 | 44 |
| Cost | MR | RF | NF | AF | SY | OY | CV-2 | CV-3 | PV |
| 58 | 11 | 7 | - | - | 7 | - | 36 | 47 | 50 |
| 87 | 12 | 8 | 1 | - | 8 | - | 44 | 58 | 60 |
| 130 | 13 | 9 | 2 | - | 9 | - | 52 | 65 | 70 |
| 195 | 14 | 10 | 3 | - | 10 | - | 60 | 741 | 80 |
| 292 | 15 | 11 | 4 | - | 11 | - | 68 | 83 | 90 |
| 438 | 16 | 12 | 5 | - | 12 | - | 76 | 92 | 100 |
| 657 | 17 | 13 | 6 | - | 13 | - | 84 | 101 | 110 |
| 986 | 18 | 14 | 7 | 1 | 14 | - | 98 | 116 | 126 |
| 1478 | 19 | 15 | 8 | 2 | 15 | - | 112 | 131 | 142 |
| 2217 | 20 | 16 | 9 | 3 | 16 | - | 126 | 1462 | 158 |
| MR | RF | NF | AF | SY | OY | CV-2 | CV-3 | PV | |
| 3326 (140) | 21 | 17 | 10 | 4 | 17 | - | 140 | 161 | 178 |
| 4988 | 22 | 18 | 11 | 5 | 18 | - | 154 | 176 | 190 |
| 7482 | 23 | 19 | 12 | 6 | 19 | - | 168 | 191 | 206 |
| 11085 | 24 | 20 | 13 | 7 | 20 | 1 | 182 | 206 | 232 255 |
| 0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| 1 | 1.5 | 2.5 |
| 2 | 2.2 | 4.8 |
| 3 | 3.4 | 8.1 |
| 4 | 5.1 | 13.2 |
| 5 | 7.6 | 20.8 |
| 6 | 11.4 | 32.2 |
| 7 | 17.1 | 49.3 |
| 8 | 25.6 | 74.9 |
| 9 | 38.4 | 113.3 |
| 10 | 57.7 | 171.0 |
| 11 | 86.5 | 257.5 |
| 12 | 129.7 | 387.2 |
| 13 | 194.6 | 581.9 |
| 14 | 291.9 | 873.8 |
| 15 | 437.9 | 1311.7 |
| 16 | 656.8 | 1968.5 |
| 17 | 985.3 | 2953.8 |
| 18 | 1477.9 | 4431.7 |
| 19 | 2216.8 | 6648.5 |
