Game Guide
Learn to Play Age of Space - Complete beginner's guide to Age of Space. Learn how to build, attack, spy, colonize, and dominate the galaxy!
Economy & Growth
A strong economy is the foundation of every successful empire. This chapter teaches you how to upgrade mines efficiently, balance your resource production, and build the infrastructure that accelerates everything else. Every minute you waste on a bad upgrade order is a minute your rivals pull ahead.
Mine Upgrade Priority
The most important decision you make in early game is which mine to upgrade next. The answer is simple: always upgrade the mine that gives you the best return on investment (ROI). In practice, this means the mine whose next level costs the least relative to the production it adds.
In the early game, the general upgrade priority follows a ratio of roughly 10:9:7 for Titanium:Graphene:Deuterium mine levels. This means if your Titanium Mine is level 10, your Graphene Mine should be around level 9, and your Deuterium Synthesizer around level 7.
Why this ratio? Titanium is needed in the largest quantities for almost every construction. Graphene is the second most common cost component and produces less per level. Deuterium is the scarcest but also needed in smaller amounts for buildings — though it becomes critical for fleet fuel and research later.
Understanding Cost Escalation
Building costs in Age of Space grow exponentially. This means each level costs significantly more than the previous one. The formula is:
Notice how level 15 costs almost 60 times more than level 5. This exponential growth is why upgrade decisions matter so much — a poorly chosen upgrade wastes thousands of resources and hours of production time.
The key insight is that while costs grow exponentially, production also grows exponentially (but more slowly). This creates a natural inflection point where upgrading a specific mine stops being the best use of your resources.
| Level | Titanium Cost | Graphene Cost | Production/hr | ROI (hours) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | 455 | 114 | 207/h | ~3h |
| 10 | 3,454 | 863 | 778/h | ~6h |
| 15 | 26,220 | 6,555 | 2,509/h | ~13h |
| 20 | 199,066 | 49,766 | 7,864/h | ~32h |
| 25 | 1,511,076 | 377,769 | 24,245/h | ~78h |
Balancing Your Resource Production
An imbalanced economy is an inefficient economy. If your Titanium Mine is level 20 but your Graphene Mine is only level 10, you will constantly be waiting for Graphene to accumulate while Titanium overflows your storage.
The 10:9:7 ratio works because most buildings and technologies require Titanium and Graphene in similar proportions, with Deuterium needed less frequently for construction but essential for fleet operations.
If you find yourself always short on one resource, that is a signal to prioritize that mine. The ideal state is having all three resources accumulate at roughly the rate you spend them.
On planets with extreme temperatures, you may want to adjust: hot planets produce less Deuterium (consider higher Synthesizer levels), while cold planets produce more Deuterium but less solar energy.
Robot Factory: Your Growth Accelerator
The Robot Factory is one of the most underrated buildings in the game. It reduces the construction time of ALL buildings on the planet where it is built. This makes every subsequent upgrade faster.
Build your Robot Factory to level 3-5 as early as possible. The time savings compound over dozens of upgrades. A Robot Factory level 5 cuts your build times significantly compared to level 0.
The build time formula incorporates the Robot Factory level:
Nanite Factory: The Late-Game Powerhouse
The Nanite Factory is the most powerful construction accelerator in the game. Each level halves the build time of all buildings, ships, and defenses on that planet. Level 1 cuts times in half, level 2 cuts them to a quarter, and so on.
However, the Nanite Factory is extremely expensive and has steep requirements. It is a late-game building that you should not rush. Focus on mines and economy first.
Once you can afford it, even Nanite Factory level 1 is a game-changer. Building fleets that took hours will take minutes. Defenses that took a day will finish in hours.
When to Build Storage
A common mistake is building storage buildings too early. Storage only matters when your production would overflow your current capacity. Before that point, storage upgrades are a waste of time and resources.
Check your storage vs. production rate. If your storage will not fill up before you spend the resources on your next upgrade, you do not need more storage yet.
The main exception is when you are saving for an expensive purchase (a high-level building, Colony Ship, or Death Star). In that case, upgrade storage before you start saving so no production is wasted during the accumulation period.
