Colony Construction Colonies are built by laying tiles on a background, in a manner made famous by SimCity. Each colony is allowed a maximum of 16 tiles, and, with a few exceptions, there are ony 4 types of tile to choose from. You can select habitats, power plants, factories, and research labs. These facilities can be upgraded later in the game, as your technology improves. Habitats are needed to house colonists, of course, and produce units of 'life support' that are needed by other facilities.
Power plants produce units of energy, needed by other facilities, and also needed to fly ships.
Research labs generate research points in several scientific fields. At various times, your science advisor will inform you that someone has gotten a nifty idea for a new device. If you have the necessary research points, you can start 'inventing' the device, and a certain number of game turns later you will have it. The research tree is pretty well thought out. Each item has a cool picture, name, and brief description.