Assumptions

My analysis makes the following assumptions. This analysis assumes a moderately advanced account, which I believe helps newer accounts plan what they will need for space planning a few months out.

• Energy-20 (i.e., double energy output)
• Free account limitations (Five of the following: Terraform, Fusion Plants, Antimatter Plants, Nanite Factories, Android Factories.)
• Good defenses comprise Pring-15, Pshield-10, and CC-5.

Following these assumptions, we know:

• Astro area is increased by 25 for the Terraforms.
• Advanced Plants consume 10 spaces and berths, and provide 200 energy
• Advanced Factories consume 10 spaces and berths, and 60 energy
• Good defenses consume 7 spaces, 10 berths, and 109 energy
• Net difference is -2 spaces, -30 berths and +31 energy

Why does this matter? Beyond these “constants,” we have to consider Spaceports, Shipyards, Labs and construction infrastructure. Small Fleet encourages 12 to 16 Shipyards per base (you’ll need Dreads for base defense, which is 20 Shipyards and an Orbital Shipyard).

Terms Used

• Slot is the orbit of an astro.
• Berth is a unit of population consumed.
• Space is a unit of astro area consumed.

Space Available

The tables below show the amount of space available after applying the assumptions above. Two spaces have been removed due to less space. The bonus in energy and loss in berths are assumed to balance out…so I’m leaving them out. In reality, the energy bonus benefits Slot-2 astros across the board by mitigating the difference in lost solar power.

The “U” shows the number of Urbans required. The “P” shows the number of Solar (or Gas) Plants. The fourth column (Slot-2,3(F)) denotes only fusion plants, which is available to Upgraded players in sufficient numbers and conveys the benefit of increased fertility without the loss of Solar.

Planets

Moons

Space Available

The charts below show the remaining available space for each astro type. Available space is calculated by the total space minus the space required for Urban Structures and Fusion/Gas/Solar Plants. The first chart shows the moon space available.

We have two considerations to make. Upgraded players are advised to build on moons because the smaller size makes building P-Rings and P-Shields (i.e., Pringles) cheaper. Generally speaking, the difference between a Moon and Planet in usable space is within two Terraform levels, which is significantly less expensive than the difference in Pringle costs.

Moons

The general advice has been to take a Slot 1 over Slot 2 moon. This is because of the increased Energy of the Slot 1. However, the table reveals the difference to be slight to non-existant. In the case of Metal-3 astros, the preference should be Slot-2.

If you eventually replace all Solar Plants with Fusion, you will only gain two spaces, limiting the value of Fusion Plants when considered with their cost. Because the Fusion Plant column assumes unlimited upgrades, the value of an all-Fusion planet is not available to free players. This is an issue for Moons and Planets.

Arid and Tundras are generally preferred as research bases, and they are slightly larger than Gaias. This means Gaias are not the holy grail that is widely touted. Toxic Moons compete with Earthly, which means they should be considered when in Slot 4 and 5.

Planets

Free players should select Planets because of the added space. I suggest spending a bit of money to upgrade your account for one month and building two extra Terraforms on Moons instead, which will give you the general low cost of a Free account with the cost advantage of moons and the space of planets.

As with Moons, the available space difference between Slot 1 and Slot 2 is again slight; but Slot 2 is preferred. As with Moons, Metallic astros bear the greatest difference. This is due largely to their normal Fertility and size.

Defenses

Good Astro Defense includes:

[@ 3 x Planetary Rings 2 x Planetary Shields @]

Because Rings do not take up space on the astro, this consumes 2 slots. As require 24 energy, and require 16 energy, these defenses require 104 Energy, which requires six Antimatter Plants. Therefore, we have 11 structures requiring population. So, when determining what you put on a base, consider the impact of defenses. (+16 energy, -11 slots)

Add to that a 10 recommended Command Centers (-10 energy, -10 slots). The actual number of Command Centers depends on your situation. Combined Astro Defenses and Command Centers (+6 energy, -21 slots).

The following is the impact of the Good Astro Defense with Command Centers on planetary slots.

The following is the impact of the Good Astro Defense with Command Centers on moon slots.

Spaceports

Fifteen spaceports on a Planet.

Fifteen spaceports on a Moon.

Shipyards

The above table assumes the astro is optimized for Production. Following the Efficient Fleet model, we would only build 12 Shipyards. However, for those who want to build Dreads, we include that calculation as well. +4 energy.