Star Dominion guide: how to win a space 4X game
RetroGM Star Dominion is a free space 4X strategy game in your browser: you start as a small colony in a generated galaxy, mine finite ores, build a fleet and compete with factions that play by the same rules. Time runs in real time with pause, or one day at a time. This guide explains the economy, which is the heart of the game, and how to win.
Your first days
Press Play for the standard galaxy, or open Customize to set the size, shape and number of factions, the alien hive and the goal. A new game opens on the galaxy map with your first research (mining) already running, and the first steps give you one goal at a time, each worth 3,000 credits: build three warships, finish a level of research, settle a second world, reach a fleet of eight.
Tip: You are safe at first: for 150 days no empire can declare war on you, and for the first 30 days your shipyards build twice as fast. Use that time to expand, not to fight.
The economy: ore builds, crew limits, deuterium sustains
Every kind of planet holds different ores: rocky worlds iron and titanium, volcanic worlds cobalt, deserts silicon, ice worlds and gas giants deuterium, dead worlds iridium and nebula anomalies exotic crystal. Deposits run out (gas giants slowly refill), and the rare ones, iridium and crystal, run out first. Prospectors mine and ore haulers carry by themselves; your job is to put outposts where the ore is.
Ships burn deuterium every day, not credits, so your active fleet is as big as the fuel that reaches it; the rest waits in reserve. Credits come from colony taxes and sales, and buy from the guild.
Components and the warships
Civilian ships are made of ore alone. Warships also need components that your factories make every hour: alloy plates (iron and titanium), circuits (silicon and cobalt), reactor cores (deuterium and cobalt) and, for the biggest hulls, crystal lattice (crystal and iridium). The classes run from fighter wings and frigates to cruisers, carriers and battleships, and the bigger hulls need a bigger shipyard.
- Set stock targets in Production and the factories work toward them.
- Secure iridium early. Cruisers and everything above need it, and the galaxy runs short.
- The guild buys and sells every ore at prices set by its stock and by scarcity in the galaxy. Standing orders buy up to a level and sell above another every day.
Research
Eight branches apply straight to the game: mining, industry, propulsion, weapons, armour, logistics, colonization and sensors. Mining and industry pay back first; weapons and armour decide wars later.
Diplomacy and the coalition
Every faction has an opinion of every other, from -100 to 100, moved by personality (warlike, merchants, miners, devout), borders, treaties, common enemies and fear of the strongest. Treaties: trade (credits every day and shared maps), non-aggression (no war between you) and alliance (attack one ally and the other joins). Breaking a treaty angers the whole galaxy.
Grow too strong (more than 38% of the galaxy's power after day 200) and the other factions make peace among themselves and declare war on you together. Keep allies, and do not leave everyone else afraid at once.
War
Battles are fought every hour in contested systems; ships in reserve fight at a quarter of their strength, and haulers caught there are shot down, so cutting supply lines works. Planets fight back with defences (three levels) and militia. With the defences down and no enemy warships left, the siege begins: an outpost falls in about five days, a big colony in weeks, and a capital holds three times as long. Admirals (one for every five warships) add damage and reduce losses.
The alien hive
Mining heats up the systems, and around day 240 the hive wakes near the heat (sooner on Swarm). It grows on mining and attacks the most-mined systems. Taking a nest pays a treasure of crystal, iridium and credits, but bring at least the hive's strength: its nests hold sieges far longer than planets.
How to win
- Domination: control 60% of the inhabited worlds, or be the last empire.
- Season: after 1 to 5 years, the richest empire wins (treasury, stock, fleet, worlds and buildings).
- Endless: no end, just the ranking and 15 achievements.
Every 30 to 60 days an event asks for a choice (a derelict ship, a strike, refugees, pirates). You can also change your empire's stance once a week (balance, research, mobilization, offensive or defensive) and send probes to spy, steal research or sabotage.
Play it now
RetroGM Star Dominion is free in your browser, on a phone or a computer, with no account and no download. Your save stays on your device and the game works offline.