[ Colonization ]

Space Habitats are built in or around areas of space that are good for producing raw materials. A Space Habitat may be set up on a Space Habitat Site, which is found through Surveying. When you starting the surveying, you must choose a raw material to indicate the type of the site (i.e., one of , , , , , or ). Once colonised, your site will start producing that resource.

A Space Habitat site takes up (1|0) Sector Capacity.

Setting up a Space Habitat requires the construction of a huge space station at the site and the necessary transport for the produced raw materials. This requires an investment of:

• 1500 ,
• 1000 ,
• 50 for every sector travelled through en-route from your home system to your space habitat (bonusses for hyperspace lanes do not apply)

For example, if your space habitat is in the sector next to your home system's sector, you would pay 1500 + 1000 + 100 .

Once all investments have been made, your space habitat is finished and can start producing raw materials. It produces 50 raw materials each turn of the type chosen when the site was surveyed, which arrive at your home system automatically. The Space Habitat produces an additional 30 raw materials for each full set of 1 , 1 , 1 and 1 given to it each turn, up to a maximum of 500 raw materials when 15 such sets are traded.

It is not necessary to assign a trade fleet to the Space Habitat. The invested are used to transport the necessary goods to and from the Space Habitate. In effect, it is as if there is a continuous trade going on between your home system and the Space Habitat, effectively turning the Space Habitat into an extension of your home system's economy.

Space habitats are affected by Piracy, so it is necessary to do regular Piracy Patrol to keep them running.