PLANET PRODUCTION (CONT.)

indicates the number of years left remaining to produce the ship given current levels of production. If the star system is capable of producing more than one ship per year, the time will be 1 year, and the number of ships produced will be shown by the ship’s picture. New starships will either be placed in orbit around the planet, or sent to another colony if you have specified a destination for relocation (see Relocate button).

Defenses (Def): Resources allocated to planetary defenses are used to upgrade existing bases, build planetary defense shields, and construct new missile bases, in that order. Missile bases will always be equipped with the most advanced technology available. When new weapons technology is discovered that can be placed in a missile base, the current missile bases must be upgraded to include the new weapons. If the defense ratio is insufficient to cover the costs of upgrading the missile bases, the word UPGRD will appear to the right of the ratio bar. Any remaining resources will be used to build planetary defense shields if you have the necessary technology. The word SHIELD will appear for those planets that are in the process but have not yet completed construction of planetary shields. Otherwise remaining resources will be used to build new missile bases with the number of years left to build the next base shown to right of the ratio bar.

Industry (Ind): Resources allocated to industry will be used to build new factories. You can build more factories than the colonies can operate, but you will be warned with the message MAX in the construction box to the right of the ratio bar. Be careful not to build too many factories without the technology necessary to clean up the waste generated by the factories. When the game begins, colonists can operate two factories each. With advanced technology though, the level of control can be raised up to seven factories per colonist. If you have built as many factories as your planet’s maximum population can support, any excess spent on Industry will go to the Planetary Reserve (see The Planets Screen) and be displayed as RESERV.

Ecology (Eco): Resources allocated to ecology are used to improve the planet’s environment by cleaning up industrial waste, expanding the habitable regions with terraforming, converting the atmosphere, and enriching the soil, in that order. Ecology resources are first used to eliminate industrial waste. If you have not allocated enough resources to completely clean up the planet, WASTE will appear by the ratio bar. The Ecology allocation will automatically be set to the minimum amount needed to maintain a clean environment. If any resources remain and you have the technology to terraform the planet beyond its current size, convert the atmosphere from hostile to standard, or enrich the planet’s soil to a gaia, resources will be allocated to the appropriate terraforming operation in that order. ATMOS will appear in the construction box when atmospheric terraforming is being conducted and SOIL when soil enrichment is being performed.