Colonies and Ships
| Open Colonies | Enclosed Colonies | Orbiting Colonies | Ships | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Allowed per player per planet1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | any No. |
| Located on planet surface | Habitable terrestrial | Uninhabitable terrestrial | none | none |
| Located on asteroid | none | yes | none | none |
| Located in orbit | none | none | any planet | any planet |
| Life support unit required | no | yes | yes | yes |
| Structural units necessary per unit of mass2 | 1 | 5 | 10 | 10 |
| Size limitation | none | none | none | none |
Establishment
To establish a ship/colony, the player transfers materials (any type and number, including population) from a ship/colony already at the location to the new site by writing a set up order. The set up order is used only for ship/colony establishment and precludes transfer and assembly orders. The materials transferred by the set up order must include structural units, either farm units or food enough to feed the population for at least one turn; at least one population unit, (an unpopulated colony/ship is available for control by any other player who installs a population unit there); and enough construction units to assemble the ship or colony. If there are not enough construction units to do the assembly, then the proportionate portion of the assembly will not be done. Once the construction units have finished their work, they automatically return to the ship/colony from which they were transferred, unless otherwise specified in the set up order.