Building Your Colony: The System Architect Role

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The System Architect Role

Once the primary starport is completed, you become the System Architect. According to official documentation, this gives you direct influence in placing existing assets, additional starports, planet ports, settlements and other facilities.

Orbital Facilities

The system map will show all potential locations for orbital facilities. You can select a location and choose a facility to be deployed, then deliver the required commodities to complete construction.

The available orbital facilities include:

  • Starports (Coriolis, Asteroid Base, Ocellus, Orbis)
  • Outposts (Commercial, Industrial, Criminal, Civilian, Scientific, Military)
  • Installations (Satellites, Communication stations, Space farms, Pirate bases, Mining outposts, Relay stations, Military, Security, Government, Medical, Research, Tourist, Bar)

Each has different tier requirements and construction point costs and rewards.

Planetary Facilities

For planetary development, you can fly around a planet and choose a custom location to build facilities. After selecting your desired installation, a ground-based construction site will appear where you’ll need to deliver commodities.

Important Notes:

  • Ground installations and construction sites can physically alter the planet’s landscape
  • You don’t need completely flat ground - be creative with your placement
  • Planetary hubs are designed as industrial/commercial zones and are not friendly landing locations
  • If you want an accessible location for landing and exploration, build a settlement or port instead

Planetary options include:

  • Outposts (Civilian, Industrial, Scientific)
  • Ports (Planetary Port)
  • Settlements (Agricultural, Extraction, Industrial, Military, Scientific, Tourism)
  • Hubs (Extraction, Civilian, Exploration, Outpost, Scientific, Military, Refinery, High Tech, Industrial)

Economy and Installation Effects

The installations you build will shape your system’s economy. Different types of installations contribute to different economic types, and the construction menu will show you how each facility will affect the economy.

The facility types you place dictate the economy in that system. For example, mining facilities create a mining economy, while agricultural installations foster an agricultural economy. This determines both the goods required for construction and the economic output of your system.

Once operational, installations begin producing commodities aligned with their economic type. You might see different items being sold based on the combined economies present in your system.

Specific locations matter for certain installations too. For instance, an asteroid station requires suitable asteroid clusters or it might end up looking like “just a floating rock” without proper support structures.