Hello (soon-to-be) world conquerors
Today, I would like to try to give you a better understanding of Entrotria's economy.
The ultimate goal is clear: producing more and stronger spaceships than your opponents in order to conquer them and win the game. But before we get to that, let me start this series on Entrotria's economy with something much more fundamental: the hexagonal structure.
Entrotria, like other games in the genre, uses a hexagonal structure. Each system consists of asteroids, nebulae, and, last but not least, planets. And this is where it gets exciting, because each planet type consists of unique tiles: on the planets, there are deserts and forests, oceans, auroras, and don't forget the squishy eel slime... (A more detailed overview of the different planet types will follow later). Each hexagon now offers a unique spectrum of resources that can be mined on it. The question that now arises for the player, however, is where to start.
I would say let's start with the fact that tiles must first be purchased before the player can do anything with them. With a few exceptions later in the game, two resources are needed for this: iron and titanium.
[Titanium]
Titanium is essentially limited to the purchase of tiles in space and on lava worlds. The nice thing about this is that both types of tiles are now also the two most important sources of titanium (e.g., volcanoes). So if the player has a significant titanium production, it is easy for them to produce even more titanium, and more is certainly not too much in Entrotria!
[Iron]
Iron, on the other hand, is more versatile, as it provides access to almost all other planets (rock, forest, desert, water, swamp, and ice worlds). High iron production is therefore desirable, as iron can be used to buy access to many tiles. And many tiles also mean great potential for further economic growth. And as with titanium, the largest iron deposits are found on tiles that can be purchased with iron (e.g., mountains). Iron also has another decisive advantage: it serves as the basis for one of the two most important economic buildings, the mine. (More on this in the next part of the economy overview!)
So does it make sense to produce titanium and iron in larger quantities? Absolutely. Titanium is always good, because in addition to accessing tiles, you can also use it to build spaceships and upgrade buildings. Iron, on the other hand, is the core of the economy and provides access to most tiles and the most important production facilities. In the early game, it therefore makes sense to produce more iron than titanium. In the late game, titanium production can then take over. However, the amount of different resources you need will increase rapidly, and you will also have to ensure their production is high enough.
So now that you have a tile, how can you get resources from it? Don't worry, the answer will come soon in part 2.
Until then, enjoy your day!
-a nervous Giratakel (Simon Alber)