Dyson Sphere Program is a sci-fi factory game where you play a space engineer for the alliance COSMO, building a Dyson Sphere, a huge structure that orbits a star and gathers its power. You start on one planet with a small workshop and Icarus, your mecha, which moves slowly and carries your supplies. Each session is mostly about pulling ore out of the ground, sending it along belts and through sorters into smelters and assemblers, and keeping that chain running so finished parts keep coming out the other end.
Research keeps that factory growing. Matrix Labs turn parts into science matrices and then use those matrices to unlock new technology, and each unlock opens new buildings, mecha upgrades or the next stage of production. Early on, that means building up basic parts and keeping matrix production steady. Later, it means technologies that let Icarus travel to other planets.
Once your home planet can't keep up, the work turns to scale. Planetary Logistics Stations move goods around one planet with drones, and Interstellar Logistics Stations use vessels to carry them between planets and star systems. The big goal is a Dyson Sphere that supplies stellar power, with Solar Sails and Small Carrier Rockets helping with construction. Depending on your mode and settings, a hostile faction called the Dark Fog can attack your factory from the ground and from space, and defensive buildings can push those attacks back.
- Developer
- Youthcat Studio
- Publisher
- Gamirror Games
- Release
- Steam Early Access: 2021-01-20
- Platforms
- Windows PC
Game data
Buildings
Buildings are the structures you place in Dyson Sphere Program to generate power, mine resources, move and store items, make products, run research, launch materials toward a Dyson Sphere and defend against Dark Fog. Most are unlocked through technology and crafted in Icarus's Replicator or an Assembling Machine before you place them. Some come in upgraded versions, such as belts, sorters and assemblers, and each newer version is built from the one before it.
Components
Components are the crafted materials that sit between raw resources and finished buildings, and their main job is feeding later recipes. They're made in smelters, refineries, chemical plants, assembling machines and the Miniature Particle Collider, starting from ores and other materials. Critical Photon is the exception, since a Ray Receiver makes it from Dyson Sphere energy rather than ingredients. Iron Ingot, Gear, Magnet, Magnetic Coil, Copper Ingot and Circuit Board are the early essentials, and later chains support research, logistics and Dyson Sphere construction.
Assembly and Advanced Recipes
Assembly and advanced recipes are the crafting formulas that Assembling Machines and a few special buildings use to make parts, buildings, ammunition and research matrices in Dyson Sphere Program. Most run in Assembling Machines, while Matrix Labs, the Miniature Particle Collider, Ray Receivers and Energy Exchangers have their own recipes. Most recipes unlock through research, and some items have a second, advanced route that uses different ingredients.
Smelting and Chemical Recipes
Smelting and chemical recipes turn ores, crude oil and other raw materials into the ingots, crystals, plastics and explosives that buildings and parts need. They run in smelters, the Oil Refinery, Chemical Plants, Quantum Chemical Plants and the Fractionator, and most are unlocked through research. Many also have an alternate route that saves a rare or bulky input.
Raw Resources
Raw resources are the basic materials in Dyson Sphere Program, from ores, liquids and gases to plants and Dark Fog drops. They come from mining machines, pumps, collectors and hand gathering, and they feed early factory lines and advanced recipes alike. Vein deposits run out, while oceans, giant planets and Dark Fog can keep supplying you over time.
End Products
End products are the crafted items you use yourself or feed straight into a game system, rather than mainly using them as ingredients. They cover fuel rods for Icarus and power plants, ammo and capsules for turrets, fleet units, logistics carriers, Dyson Sphere items, Proliferators and research matrices. Most are made in the assembling machines, while research matrices come from the Matrix Lab and Self-evolution Lab. Each group has a clear job, from powering Icarus and defending planets to moving items and driving research.
DSP gameplay tips
Keep fuel in Icarus's inventory. Icarus needs energy from fuel to carry out most of its actions, so it can stall an expedition if it runs low far from your base. Pack reserve fuel before any trip off your home planet.
Rotate each Mining Machine before you place it. When you place a Mining Machine, the game shows how much material it will extract, so turn it until its footprint reaches as many resource veins as possible. One miner serving more veins means more output from a single machine, which saves you from building extra ones.
Automate Magnetic Coils, Gears and Circuit Boards early. These parts feed early buildings and research chains, and the demand keeps coming back as you grow. A single assembler feeding a storage box is enough to start, so you aren't spending your time hand-crafting.
Automate blue matrices first, then red. A steady blue line keeps research running without you feeding labs by hand. Red matrices need Energetic Graphite and Hydrogen, and hydrogen comes out of oil processing, which can clog if you don't manage its outputs. If research stalls, check whether a Matrix Lab is set to produce or consume before you blame the belts.
Smelt titanium on site. When you reach a titanium planet, smelt Titanium Ore into Titanium Ingots before you carry it home. Ingots stack to the same amount as ore, but each ingot takes two ore to make, so smelting first effectively doubles the titanium you can fit in each inventory slot.
Check power while the factory is running. A power shortage is quiet: a miner slows, a smelter starves and research crawls, but no single machine looks guilty. Check the grid every time you add a production block, and if you use thermal power, check its fuel supply too. A grid that only looks fine when everything is stopped has no margin for the next expansion.