Celestial Bodies

(The content of this page is based on user experience from Terra Invicta's Demo version.)

Introduction

Celestial Bodies are bundles or rock, gas and minerals of different sizes and composition found throughout the Solar System. They are the primary targets of the industrialization of space and the locations where the vast majority of human and alien infrastructure is constructed around (Lagrange points being the exception). The number of bodies depends on the System setup at the beginning of the campaign, but objects are always present in the game up to a distance of 50 Astronomical Units from the Sun (up to the Kuiper Belts)

Saturn and his satellite bodies, as seen at the beginning of the campaign.

Body types and Composition

There are four categories of Celestial Bodies (discounting the Sun): Planets, Dwarf Planets, Natural Satellites and Asteroids. There are 1 to 16 locations on almost each body where ground Habs can be built. Some satellites are considered asteroids while others, such as large moons, are more similar to dwarf planets and indicated as planetary satellites in the game.

Asteroid bodies can have varying composition in the game, while the particular resources one can extract from them are unique to each individual body and can differ drastically between playthroughs based on resource rolls.

Determining the exact resources available requires a probe to be sent. Tip: If you want to send many probes there is a one-click option in the Intel -> Solar System tab

Ground sites and Orbits

All orbital bodies except for the Gas Giants and Venus have at least 1 site that allows ground habitation. As of the demo*:

Asteroids and Satellite Asteroids are the most restrictive type of body and have 1 building slot each, while dwarf planets also get 1 with the exception of Ceres, which has 4. Planetary satellites' site numbers can go up to 16 (Ganymede, Calisto and Titan), while the Moon has 9 available spots. Mars has a total of 16 ground sites while Mercury supports 8.

In term of orbits, the situation is more varied. Low and High orbits are found on most bodies (some asteroids have "parking orbits" instead), but larger planets and even the gas giants support additional orbits of their own, some of the other common nomenclatures are: Inclined, Medium, Intermediate, Extreme and Synchronous; but the altitude, graviational pull, the number of possible stations in the orbit and possible hazards (which drastically increase maintenance costs) are unique to each and every one of them for every body (though station number caps are typically 1 for asteroids and inclined orbits, 4 for dwarf planets and some moons, and 8 for the rest).

Most (if not all) low orbits have the interface option with the respective body, which allows several interactions and research buff generation on inhabited bodies through the use of the Habitats mechanic and its construction. Finally, two exclusive orbits are found in the game, corresponding to those of the International Space Station and Tiangong Station around Earth. Only 1 station can orbit those configurations at a time, and they are also considered interface orbits, they effectively correspond to inclined low orbits.

Resources and Body utility

All space resources are found in these bodies (Water, Volatiles, Base Metals, Noble Metals and Fissiles), with the exception of antimatter which isn't directly acquired though mining in a ground hab. Their abundance and distribution depend on dice rolls cast during world generation. Regardless, some celestial bodies can be always far more valuable than others in terms of resource placements and utility. Early resources in the Moon for instance, are far lower than Mars (which is typically the main expansion point in the early game). Different bodies and orbits do, at the end of the day, carry material or strategic value depending on the player's needs in a given campaign.

After the expansion on the Asteroid Belt, the resource levels on significant bodies remain constant on the system. Jupiter and Saturn's moons are of special value because the main planetary satellites may have the same or better resources than Mars and Ceres individually. Once the Belt is reached however, the remaining mining and strategic options are due on pure expansion and goal achievement rather than early game strategy to access decent resources in the first place.