The Shipyard builds ships and planetary defenses. A higher shipyard level unlocks larger hulls and builds faster. Every planet needs its own Shipyard, which in turn needs Assembly Works level 2 (see Buildings).
How the shipyard works
- You order any number of a ship or defense at once and pay the full price up front from this planet.
- Orders run one after another. Ships and defenses share the same line, so a new order starts when the previous one is done.
- The whole order is delivered when it finishes. The time per unit depends on its ferrite and crystal cost; helion does not count.
- Every Shipyard level adds the same amount of speed, so Shipyard 3 builds twice as fast as Shipyard 1. All times scale with the universe speed.
- Shipyard orders cannot be cancelled once they are placed, so plan your orders before you click.
Each unit also needs a minimum Shipyard level on this planet and research for your empire. Locked cards show what is still missing.
Combat ships
- Wasp Interceptor - the first warship, available with Shipyard 1 and Drift Drive 1. Weak alone, dangerous in swarms.
- Lancer Corvette - an armoured gunship with three times the firepower of a Wasp.
- Warden Frigate - the workhorse of every war fleet and the fastest warship, with balanced firepower and armour.
- Bastion Cruiser - a heavy line cruiser that needs Shipyard 7 and Warp Theory 4.
- Sovereign Dreadnought - a slow flying fortress with the strongest weapons and the thickest hull, requiring Shipyard 9.
Transport and utility ships
- Skiff Hauler - a cheap freighter for 5,000 resources, unlocked with Shipyard 2 and Drift Drive 2.
- Bulk Freighter - carries 25,000 resources. Slow and defenceless, but vital for logistics and raids.
- Pathfinder Probe - a fast sensor drone for Espionage.
- Prospector - the only ship that can mine asteroid fields and nebulae (see Mining).
- Reclaimer - harvests debris fields after battles (see Salvage).
- Seedship - founds a new colony and is used up doing so. It needs Shipyard 4 and Ion Propulsion 3 (see Colonies).
Planetary defense
Defenses stay on their planet and fight every attacker automatically, also while you are offline.
- Autocannon Turret - cheap, made only of ferrite and available from Shipyard 1 without research. The first line of defense of any young colony.
- Blaster Battery and Torpedo Silo - stronger turrets for the middle game. The Blaster Battery needs Pulse Optics 3.
- Siege Array - a heavy laser lattice with more firepower than a Bastion Cruiser.
- Plasma Lance - the ultimate planetary weapon, requiring Shipyard 8 and Plasma Physics 7.
- Aegis Dome and Pulse Barrier - shield domes that cover the whole colony. Each planet can have only one of each.
Destroyed defenses are lost like ships and lower your points (see Combat).
Tips
- Upgrade the Shipyard on the planet where you build most. It shortens every order there.
- A few Autocannon Turrets early make your colony a less attractive target.
- Order in batches that finish while you sleep, because placed orders cannot be cancelled.
- Check the unlock list before a big research push: one research level can open several ships and turrets at once.