Wiki: Core Systems & Planning Guide

Dyson Sphere Program is a factory-building and automation game where you develop planets, harvest resources, research technologies (Matrices), and ultimately build a Dyson Sphere to harvest stellar energy. This page collects core, persistent reference information about the game's major systems, components, and conventions you will use while planning production and logistics.

Game scope and goals

• The long-term goal is constructing a Dyson Sphere (or equivalent megastructure) to collect stellar energy; research and scaled production chains lead to that end.
• Research is organized around six Matrix types (Electromagnetic, Energy, Structure, Information, Gravity, Universe), which are produced and consumed by research systems and unlock deeper technologies and buildings.

Planets, grids, and building layout

• Terrestrial planets share a fixed size and are divided into a construction grid of individual squares; larger blocks (5×5) and superblocks (20×20) are visible on the grid.
• Planets are segmented into 23 lateral bands (tropics). Blueprints must be placed within a single lateral band (unless copied across bands and placed at the same location). Building belts across tropic lines will shift alignment unless built on a quarter-line (meridian). Avoid tropic lines when designing tight layouts.
• Meridians run pole-to-pole and are marked on the grid; the equator counts as a tropic but does not change the pattern.

Production progression and grouping

• Buildings and technologies are grouped in the construction menu into categories such as Power, Collecting, Logistics, Storage, Production, Transportation, Defense, COSMO (Research & Dyson Sphere), and Environment.
• Production progression charts exist for many items (conveyor belts, steel, magnets, etc.). As you research, higher-tier buildings and recipes unlock, enabling faster throughput and new intermediate products.

Logistics and storage

• Logistics stations (Planetary/Interstellar) manage transport between planets and within a star system. Tutorials and guides exist for their detailed operation.
• Storage buildings (Depot MK I/II, Storage MK I/II) have gone through naming revisions; use storage tiers to buffer production lines and decouple supply from demand.
• Conveyor belts and sorters are the backbone of on-planet logistics. Higher-tier belts unlock with research and provide greater throughput.

Power generation and distribution

• Power generation includes conventional plants, solar panels, and late-game facilities such as the Artificial Star. The Artificial Star is listed under the Dyson Sphere category despite being a power facility.
• Ray receivers and Dyson Sphere components become relevant when scaling to stellar-level power needs.
• The game tracks statistics for power and many other metrics over selectable time windows (1 minute to 100 hours or full history), and across scopes (entire galaxy, current planet, selected system, selected planet).

Research and Matrices

• Matrices are both produced objects and the primary currency for research. There are six core Matrix types; the sixth Matrix unlocks late-game technologies.
• Matrix Labs and built-in research units convert Matrices into technology progression and unlock buildings/upgrades.
• Metadata points tied to Matrix production are persistently awarded to the game client and can carry across saves.

Key items and components

• Some items have had historical name changes or recipe changes (e.g., Stone → Stone Brick; Storage MK.N → Storage MK I/II; Grating Crystal requirements changed in a past patch). Expect occasional recipe and requirement adjustments across patches.
• Notable components include Casimir Crystal (adjusted historically), Strange Matter, and various advanced fuel and power items used in late-game reactors and the Artificial Star.

Transportation (ships, stations, and energy exchangers)

• Transportation includes ships, drones, and their stations. Interstellar logistics require building and managing stations that interface with planetary logistics.
• Energy Exchangers and related transportation infrastructure are grouped under Transportation in the build menu.

Combat and hazards

• Dark Fog and associated defensive systems (turrets, Dark Fog equipment) are placed under Defense in the build menu; build defenses when operating in hazardous regions or attacking certain objectives.

Player (Icarus)

• The player avatar Icarus is upgradeable through research and can gain abilities and inventory improvements from technologies and Matrix-based upgrades.

Build planning tips

• Design around planetary tropics and meridians to avoid belt-realignment issues.
• Use storage buffers to absorb production spikes and to smooth research material supply.
• Group production by tiers and throughput needs: higher-tier belts and assemblers should serve higher-demand lines to avoid bottlenecks.

Community resources and wikis

• The DSP community maintains multiple resources and blueprints; the community-run dsp-wiki.com and dysonsphereblueprints.com are recommended active resources. Official channels include the game’s Steam page, Discord, Twitter, Facebook, and Reddit.

This page provides high-level reference and conventions used across Dyson Sphere Program; consult specific building or item entries for exact recipe inputs, production rates, and per-building statistics.