Building is a very important aspect of Darkspace. This is meant to only teach you how to build and give you some tips, not to tell you that you must build a certain way. By building structures on planets, you can increase resource production, produce infantry units, and other defense structures to protect the planet. Since resources are only producedby planets, building will allow you and your team to access bigger and better ships, which will ultimetely allow you to dominate the game. First, I will go over a general overview on how to build structures.

The Engineering Ship
The Engineering Ship is the primary ship used for building structures on planets, although it is certainly not the only ship capable of this task. There are 2 basic levels of engineering ships: Standard and Advanced. However, these ships differ from each faction, and the ICC even has a third level engineering ship. Here is a breakdown of the ships and what they can build:

You'll notice that the third ICC ship doesnt actual build anything extra. That ship is just outfitted with heavier defense capabilities. Now you're wondering what each structure does. Here's a list of all the structures, their production cost, and their maintenence cost.

It should also be noted that for each infantry unit that occupies a spot on a planet, the overal resource production will drop by -5. Population, on the other hand, will increase resource production by +1 for each population unit on the planet.

Resources
How to read a planets info box:

Resources are what makes this game go around. You need resources to buy ships, build structures, repair ships, etc. These resources come from planets, which can produce resources from factories or mines. As mentioned in the Planets section of this tutorial, various minerals can be found on a planet. These minerals can be mined to give a great increase in resource production. However, don't be fooled into thinking that since the planet contains minerals, you have to build mines. This chart of resource output will give you a better idea of what I mean:

Factory's will always produce +10

Planets are not limited to 1 mineral only, and you will often find that a planet has several minerals found on it. Depending on the combination of these resources, you will build either mines or factories.

Building
Now we're getting to the fun part. Follow these easy steps, and you'll be on your way to being the most wanted general contractor on Darkspace!

1. Orbit a Planet
The first thing you want to do is orbit a planet. To orbit a planet, target that planet, then hit O to orbit.

2. Select An Open Spot
When you orbit the planet, you'll notice several "spots" appear on the planet, depending on the planets size. These spots are represented by diamonds. It should look like this:

These are used for building structures and loading and unloading cargo. Select an empty spot. Now you're ready to build.

3. Build Your First Structure
After you've selected an open spot, you're ready to build. First, you want to check some things before you build.

If everything looks good, you have enough resources and there are open building spots, then you can build a structure. All you need to do is select an open spot, and click on what structure you want to build from your Primary Systems Display. Here is where they are located:

You building will build automatically in the spot you have selected. During the building process, that build system in your Primary Systems Display will have a blinking blue status bar on it. Once it has stopped blinking, then you will be able to building that structure once again. You may build mutliple structures at the same time, however not of the same type.

Resource Management
Now you might be thinking, "Well once I get enough resources, I can just build barracks and defense bases and make the ultimate planet!". However, this is not true. There are certain resource codes that disallow this. The planet must produce enough to support the structures on the surface. If it does not, 1 structure will be removed each turn, until the resource production is balanced out that the existing structures can be supported.

You might also want to try your own resource management. Remember that spawning a ship costs resources. Where do these resources come from? They come from the controlled planets of that faction. And if you're building on a planet that has quite a bit of resources, and someone spawns a large ship, that will probably take away a lot of your resources. However, you can overcome this. Simply load as many resources as you can onto your ship. This will guarantee you have that amount to build with, since it cannot be taken away from you. Also, this is helpful when building on a planet that has just been captured and has no resources. The cost of the structure will then be subtracted from the resources you have on board, and will not affect the resources on the planet, until you run out on your ship.

Tips and Hints
Here are some tips and hints from personal experience that will help you with your building strategies:

- Don't build mines on planets with no minerals.
- Mines usually work well with planets with 2 or more minerals.
- Be aware of what side of the planet you're building on. Remember, defense basese cannot shoot through the planet.
- Don't build structures right next to each other. A single P Cruise Missile can destroy planetary structures that are next to its intended target.
- Transports can carry 2500 resources, Engineering ships 1000, Dreadnaughts 500, Cruisers/Destroyers 250.
- A good planet standard is 10-12 Factories or Mines, 1 Barracks, 1 Depot, and the rest Defense Bases.
- Troop planets can be created, producing a mass amount of infantry units quickly.
- Don't build a Barracks until you have at least +80 resource production.

Tutorial Part 6: Capturing Planets < Tutorial Part 7: Building Guide > Tutorial Part 8: Combat