System Colonisation
 | Work in progress This page is about an unreleased or work-in-progress item. All information is subject to change. |
System Colonisation lets you claim star systems with player-led, free-form expansion in the galaxy.[1] The Bubble is no longer static.[1] The System Architect manages colonial development. Colonisation can be done by a solo commander, group or faction.[2] The beta version is currently playable, launched on 26 Feb 2025.[3]
Claim
The player must find an unpopulated system within 16 light years.[4] You can scan a star system in advance to see the number of slots that are available for construction.[5] Some systems are more valuable for construction.[5] The player must purchase a claim with credits from a Colonisation Contact (CC).[4] The CC is a member of a faction in a populated system in The Bubble.[4] A Colonisation Beacon must be deployed in that system within 24 hours.[4] If this is not done within the time limit then the claim is revoked.[4] A primary starport can be selected and placed in a pre-determined location.[4]
Then a Colonisation Ship (CS) arrives in the system.[4] It is bigger than a Drake-Class Carrier.[2] The player must deliver a list of items to the CS which depends on the starport type.[4] It is a hub to work on in the system.[2] Logistics is key to build a starport by transporting materials into the system.[6] The starport appears in partial construction and will be finished after the weekly server tick.[4] If it's not done within the time limit then all progress is lost.[4] The station under construction appears as an abandoned starport with inactive vendors and services.[7]
Once the primary starport is built, the colonisation beacon becomes a nav beacon.[4] A new Colonisation Contact will appear in the completed starport.[5] You'll have the option to claim and colonize another system by contacting the Colonisation Contact.[4] You can own more than 1 star system.[5] You could build basic systems and daisy chain your way towards your favorite system. You can make it your home as the main system.[2]
Construct
The player who completed the primary starport becomes the System Architect.[4][2] The architect has direct influence in placing existing assets, starports, planet ports, settlements and other facilities.[6] There's a plethora of tools to work with. The architect has a certain number of actions to deploy construction sites and locations.[5] There is no time limit for building additional facilities.
Colony Tech Tree
The tech tree image shows the beta 1 version (Feb 2025) of the building requirements for colonies.
Each construction adds or substracts the following: Population Increase, Max Population, security, tech level, wealth, standard of living, development level.
Orbital Facilities
The system map shows all potential locations for a orbital facility. You can select the location and choose a facility to be deployed. Deliver goods and once that's finished the facility will be deployed.[5] There are multiple tiers for orbital facilities.[5] The big spaceports such as the Ocellus take a lot of effort.[5] A supporting economy with small and mid-tier facilities are needed to unlock the large-tier facilities.[5] The available orbital facilities are from ED: Horizons.[5] Here's a list of facilities that can be built:
| Facility | Type | Economy | Location | Tier | Requires | Landing pad | Cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coriolis | Starport | Space | 2 | First station | Large | |||
| Orbis | Starport | Space | 3 | First station | Large | |||
| Ocellus | Starport | Space | 3 | First station | Large | |||
| Commercial Outpost | Space | 1 | First station | Medium | ||||
| Industrial Outpost | Space | 1 | First station | Medium | ||||
| Criminal Outpost | Space | 1 | First station | Medium | ||||
| Civilian Outpost | Space | 1 | First station | Medium | ||||
| Scientific Outpost | Space | 1 | First station | Medium | ||||
| Military Outpost | Space | 1 | First station | Medium | ||||
| Satellite | Installation | Space | 1 | First station | Medium | |||
| Communication station | Installation | Space | 1 | First station | Medium | |||
| Space farm | Installation | Space | 1 | First station | Medium | |||
| Pirate base | Installation | Space | 1 | First station | Medium | |||
| Mining outpost | Installation | Space | 1 | First station | Medium | |||
| Relay station | Installation | Space | 1 | First station | Medium | |||
| Military | Installation | Space | 2 | Small/Medium/Large Military Settlement | Medium | |||
| Security Station | Installation | Space | 2 | Relay station | Medium | |||
| Government | Installation | Space | 2 | First station | Medium | |||
| Medical | Installation | Space | 2 | First station | Medium | |||
| Research station | Installation | Space | 2 | Small/Medium/Large Scientific Settlement | Medium | |||
| Tourist | Installation | Space | 2 | Small/Medium/Large Tourism Settlement | Medium | |||
| Bar | Installation | Space | 2 | First station | Medium | |||
| Asteroid Base | Starport | Space | 2 | First station | Large |
Planetary facilities
You can fly around on a planet and choose a custom location to build a facility.[5] Rotate and place facilities on a planet with a holographic view.[4] The available slots for additional development are predetermined by the system.[4] After choosing a facility there will be a ground-based construction site.[4] Deliver all the goods then the planetary facility will appear.[4][5] The available planetary facilities are from Odyssey and Horizons.[5] Some facilities give population buffs.[5]
| Facility | Type | Economy | Location | Tier | Requires | Landing Pad | Cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CIvilian planetary outpost | Outpost | Planet, moon | 1 | First station | Large | |||
| Industrial planetary outpost | Outpost | Planet, moon | 1 | First station | Large | |||
| Scientific planetary outpost | Outpost | Planet, moon | 1 | First station | Large | |||
| Planetary Port | Port | Planet, moon | 3 | First station | Large | |||
| Small agricultural settlement | Settlement | Agriculture | Planet, moon | 1 | First station | Medium | ||
| Medium agricultural settlement | Settlement | Agriculture | Planet, moon | 1 | First station | Medium | ||
| Large agricultural settlement | Settlement | Agriculture | Planet, moon | 2 | First station | Medium | ||
| Small Mining Settlement | Settlement | Extraction | Planet, moon | 1 | First station | Medium | ||
| Medium Mining Settlement | Settlement | Extraction | Planet, moon | 1 | First station | Medium | ||
| Large Mining Settlement | Settlement | Extraction | Planet, moon | 2 | First station | Medium | ||
| Small Industrial Settlement | Settlement | Industrial | Planet, moon | 1 | First station | Medium | ||
| Medium Industrial Settlement | Settlement | Industrial | Planet, moon | 1 | First station | Medium | ||
| Large Industrial Settlement | Settlement | Industrial | Planet, moon | 2 | First station | Medium | ||
| Small Military Settlement | Settlement | Military | Planet, moon | 1 | First station | Medium | ||
| Medium Military Settlement | Settlement | Military | Planet, moon | 1 | First station | Medium | ||
| Large Military Settlement | Settlement | Military | Planet, moon | 2 | First station | Medium | ||
| Small scientific settlement | Settlement | Research Bio | Planet, moon | 2 | First station | Medium | ||
| Medium scientific settlement | Settlement | Research Bio | Planet, moon | 2 | First station | Medium | ||
| Large scientific settlement | Settlement | Research Bio | Planet, moon | 2 | First station | Medium | ||
| Small tourism settlement | Settlement | Tourism | Planet, moon | 2 | First station | Medium | ||
| Medium tourism settlement | Settlement | Tourism | Planet, moon | 2 | First station | Medium | ||
| Large tourism settlement | Settlement | Tourism | Planet, moon | 2 | First station | Medium | ||
| Extraction hub | Hub | Planet, moon | 2 | Small/Medium/Large Mining Settlement | Large | |||
| Civilian Hub | Hub | Planet, moon | 2 | Small/Medium/Large Agricultural Settlement | Large | |||
| Exploration hub | Hub | Planet, moon | 2 | Communication Station | Large | |||
| Outpost hub | Hub | Planet, moon | 2 | Space farm | Large | |||
| Scientific hub | Hub | Planet, moon | 2 | First station | Large | |||
| Military hub | Hub | Planet, moon | 2 | Military | Large | |||
| Refinery hub | Hub | Planet, moon | 2 | First station | Large | |||
| High tech hub | Hub | Planet, moon | 2 | First station | Large | |||
| Industrial hub | Hub | Planet, moon | 2 | Mining outpost | Large |
Economy
All facilities are interlinked with the system economy.[5] The facility types that you place dictate the economy in that system.[2] Mining facilities means the local economy will be a mining economy.[5] Same for agriculture etc.[5] This determines the goods for construction and economic output such as high-tech or agribusiness.[6][4] The economic progression requires smaller locations first to support large locations.[4] The ports bring in population and economic drive.[5] An anarchy system has reduced security.[5]
Factions
SC is seamlessly connected with Powerplay and the Background Simulation.[4] Unpopulated systems are unaligned. A newly colonized system only has the faction from which the colonisation claim was purchased.[4] So if you buy a claim from a preferred faction then it will be brought over to your system.[5] If a different Powerplay faction conquers the system then the architect remains in control of the system development and resources.[4] The architect stays the same forever.[8] Your faction would lose influence in the system. Anyone can enter the system.[5]
While colonising a system you can push your chosen Power into that system. Expand your Power's influence and create a new civilization. Each system has an associated value. Every system is unique to some extend which is represented in system colonisation. This can influence your system of choice.[2] Built-up systems can influence the political state of the game based on the facilities.[6]
Expansion
Expanding The Bubble with colonies can have a galaxy wide effect. For example new trade routes for traders, new hubs for explorers that you can use as a home base before going into deep space.[2] By having mini-Bubbles with various economies you can haul goods faster to build new colonies.[4] Long-range colonization in deep space means going back to the Core Systems for goods is a long trip.[5]
Features
A list of features:
- A player-driven way to expand the Bubble and colonise new systems[9]
- At launch, you can only start from the Bubble, but you can expand from the systems.[8]
- Claiming a system is first come, first serve. Only one at a time, with a time limit to follow through on a claim.[8]
- May only expand into empty systems.[8]
- Players can colonise unpopulated systems within a certain distance of populated systems[9]
- Players can claim multiple systems, but one at a time. The primary starport must be built before a player can colonise another system.[9]
- No crazy credits for a colony, but it does require lots of commodities.[8]
- After colonising a system, they can build a starport[9]
- After the starport is built, players can expand within the system: build new assets such as settlements, outposts etc. which dictates the economy of the system.[9]
- No colony upkeep costs[8]
- No limit for how many systems you can be the Architect, assuming you met the initial conditions per system.[8]
- If you want to colonize with your faction, your faction must be within range of the system that you want to colonize. So you may need to use the BGS to get them in range.[8]
- Commander name is displayed in the system.[8]
- These are PVE activities. Players cannot blockade, attack or destroy a colonized system.[8]
- No tool to create a trade route, but you can affect trade by setting the economy of the systems.[8]
- Once the system architect moves on, the system development stays as it is with an active BGS.[8]
- You stay the System Architect of all your colonies forever.[8]
- You can return to edit, add more to one of your old colonies.[8]
Development
Since 2019, there was speculation about a new feature such as Base Building. System Colonisation was unveiled during the Frontier Unlocked #10 livestream on 30 October 2024.[9][2] Frontier's Arthur Tolmie said in Frontier Unlocked #1 (January 2024) that this new feature will be released "this year".[10] It was delayed to early 2025.[5]
Beta
The Trailblazers update featuring the System Colonisation beta was released on 26 February 2025.[3] What you do during the beta stays in-game.[8] Frontier will check that it works correctly, including the tools, make adjustments while gathering data and feedback from players.[5]
Videos
Gallery
- Space Depot
- Space Depot closeup
Colonisation Ship
Trailblazers key art
References
- 1 2 System Colonisation - Elite Dangerous, Facebook Page - 30 October 2024
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Frontier Unlocked #10 - Twitch - 30 October 2024
- 1 2 Elite Dangerous | Trailblazers - ED website - 26 Feb 2025
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 New Colonisation Mechanic First Look - DPPS - 27 November 3310
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 Elite Dangerous | Frontier Unlocked Highlight | System Colonisation - YouTube - 27 Nov 2024
- 1 2 3 4 Elite Dangerous will let players colonize the Milky Way in 2025 - Polygon - 31 Oct 2024
- ↑ ELITE DANGEROUS - Colonization In-Depth Look - Commander Exorcist - YouTube - 27 Nov 2024
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Frontier Unwrapped 🎄 | Planet Coaster 2, Elite Dangerous news and more from Planet Zoo! - 19 Dec 2024 - YouTube
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 New Colonisation Mechanic First Look - DPSS - Elite Dangerous Squadron - 30 October 2024
- ↑ Frontier Unlocked #1 - 31 Jan 2024 - Twitch