Economy & Resources
Your empire runs on three resources. Palladium and iridium are per-system industrial materials. Mined locally on each star you own, spent on structures and ships. Credits are an empire-wide currency, pooled across your whole empire, spent on fleet upkeep.
Palladium
Palladium is the dense, heavy stuff your industry runs on. Hulls, plating, foundations. Mined in every star system by your Palladium Extractor. Higher extractor levels mean more palladium per minute.
Iridium
Iridium is the refined, high-tech material. Reactors, sensors, fleet systems. Pulled in by your Iridium Extractor.
Why both matter
Almost everything you build costs palladium and iridium. Letting one fall behind means the other piles up while your queue waits. A balanced empire keeps both extractors moving up together.
Storage caps
Each system can hold a finite amount of palladium and iridium depending on the Resource Depot. When you hit the storage cap, production stalls. Every minute spent at the ceiling is income you'll never get back.
How your income grows
Three levers raise your effective income:
Better extractors - flat per-minute increase.
More systems - every claimed system runs its own economy, use transport ships to move your resources around.
Bigger depots - bigger caps mean longer offline accrual before you stall.
Sector control - dominate a sector's territory to earn a production bonus on your extractors there. See Sector Bonus.
Energy ties it all together. If your reactor can't cover your upkeep, everything slows down. Including your income.
Credits
Credits are your empire's currency. Where palladium and iridium are per-system industrial resources, credits are a single pool shared across your whole empire.
Income from Trade Hubs
Credits come from Trade Hubs. Each owned system has one. The higher you upgrade them, the more credits per day your empire earns.
Fleet upkeep
Every ship in your Fleet drains credits over time. Bigger ships drain more. Upkeep is paid continuously. Your treasury shrinks at a steady rate equal to your total fleet upkeep.
Net flow
Your treasury rises by income minus upkeep each day. As long as income beats upkeep, the treasury grows. If upkeep beats income, the treasury drains.
Treasury exhausted
If your treasury hits zero and your fleet is still draining it:
New ship purchases are blocked.
Your ships fight at reduced effectiveness.
Your ships travel slower.
