Dev Log: Space Infrastructure

How Launch Pads, Lagrange Stations, and Orbital Arrays Become Part of a Living World

In most games, going to space is a binary event:

Build a spaceship → click launch → you’re in orbit.

Maybe you unlock satellites. Maybe a tech unlocks Mars.

But in Colonies: Genesis of E.D.E.N., space isn’t a background layer.

It’s a fully simulated frontier, driven by the same systems that govern everything else:

• Contracts
• Infrastructure
• Capabilities
• Upkeep
• Faction strategy

And it all starts with one thing:

A decision to reach beyond the surface.

🌍 From Planet to Orbit: The Simulation Path

Going to space in Colonies requires everything to line up:

1. You must discover the knowledge (orbital mechanics, fuel chemistry, materials)
2. You must develop the infrastructure (refineries, launch complexes, tracking stations)
3. You must issue contracts (launch payloads, transfer satellites, build outposts)
4. You must support orbital assets with maintenance, power, and logistics

This isn’t about clicking “Build Satellite.”

It’s about your civilization deciding: we are ready—and building everything that entails.

🧱 Space Infrastructure Types

Once you’re in orbit, the world expands. These are not just visuals—they are real, simulated facilities:

🚀 

Launch Infrastructure

Component	Function
LaunchComplex	Converts surface payloads into orbital assets via OrbitalLaunchContract
FuelDepot	Stores high-energy propellants and oxidizers
TrackingStation	Allows orbital targeting, rendezvous, and mission monitoring

Without these, you’re grounded.

🛰 

Orbital Stations

Component	Function
LowOrbitRelay	Provides comms coverage and scan capability
Research Lab	Enables orbital or zero-G experiments
Habitat Ring	Supports crewed long-duration operations
Refueling Node	Accepts tankers, supports outbound missions

These are placed into orbit using contracts, and persist as simulation entities. They obey orbital mechanics, decay if not maintained, and can be upgraded or salvaged.

🌗 

Lagrange Infrastructure

Component	Function
L1 Observation Station	Monitors stellar activity or planetary atmosphere
L2 Sensor Hub	Deep space astronomy, early warning system
L4/L5 Factories	Stable industrial bases with delta-v savings

These appear at dynamically resolved Lagrange Points, tracked via barycentric orbital mechanics.

Factions that understand orbital dynamics gain positional advantage—and exploit it.

🪐 

Deep Space Infrastructure

Once you move beyond local orbit:

Infrastructure	Function
Asteroid Processing Hub	Extracts metals and volatiles
Heliostat Swarm	Provides power across orbits
Jumpgate Construction Scaffold	Enables post-Newtonian transit (late-game)

These require supply lines, maintenance, and economic justification. They’re not just “upgrades”—they’re investments with risk and return.

🧠 How It Works in Simulation

🔁 Contracts Drive Construction

Every orbital structure begins with a contract:

• OrbitalConstructionContract to build a station segment
• LaunchContract to place it
• ResupplyContract to maintain it

Contracts are fulfilled using:

• Faction-owned infrastructure (e.g., launch pads, construction yards)
• Or third-party support (e.g., orbital manufacturers, freelance contractors)

🔧 Upkeep and Decay

Space structures don’t last forever:

• Unmaintained stations fall into disrepair
• Habitats can become abandoned, then derelict, then salvageable
• Power loss or radiation damage leads to shutdowns or cascading failure

But well-maintained assets become keystones of faction power—visible across the star system.

🔀 Strategic Roles

Space infrastructure allows factions to:

• Dominate orbital logistics
• Control access to specific latitudes or transit windows
• Project power (defensive or otherwise)
• Establish ideological or cultural presence (e.g., monuments in orbit)

Control of orbit is control of the future.

🔮 Late Game: Megastructures and Space Economy

As you progress, orbital infrastructure enables:

• Planetary-scale energy networks (orbital solar mirrors, laser transmission)
• Terraforming support (atmospheric processing stations, ice redirectors)
• Space elevators and launch assist arrays
• Interstellar preparation (drydock megastructures, fusion array staging platforms)

Each of these is:

• A facility
• With placement and upkeep
• Managed through the same contract and ownership systems as everything else

There’s no “magic structure.”

If you want a ringworld, you’ll need to simulate its construction, segment by segment.

Why Space Infrastructure Matters

• It’s not just visuals—it’s simulated presence
• It’s not just tech gating—it’s logistic and economic investment
• It’s not just a late-game toy—it’s a systemic layer of the world
• It tells the story of your rise into space—and maybe your fall