Automation

Automations run on the server, so they keep working while the game is closed.

A saved Command Center query can also run on its own on a timer.

Attack automation

A planet keeps sending its stockpile to a target whenever it builds up to a threshold you choose, anywhere from 100 to 10,000 probes. The lowest you can set rises with the planet's own level, up to 1,000 at level 10. Set one up by holding SPACE while dragging, or from the radial menu: toggle Auto, then drag the dial to pick the threshold.

Pointed at a sun, the probes convert to super-probes on arrival like any other send. Pointed across a galaxy border, the relay pays the toll every time it fires, which raises its floor to up to 1,000 right after the border opens.

A meteorite cannot be an automation target, since it expires within the hour.

A base carries no automation of its own, but it is a valid relay target, which is how you keep one supplied.

Sun automation

A sun forwards its garrison once it reaches a threshold you pick, to another sun or to a black hole. Aimed at a sun the dial runs from 1 to 10,000 super-probes. At the bottom of it the sun forwards as soon as it has anything, which is how you keep reinforcements moving toward a front; higher up it banks the garrison and sends it in one piece. Aimed at a black hole the dial starts at 100 instead, because super-probes convert to megaprobes on arrival.

Holding SPACE while dragging from a sun sets the lowest threshold it can take. Use the dial's Auto to pick a higher one.

A relay, planet or sun, cannot fire again sooner than 60 seconds after its last firing.

Upgrade automation

A planet upgrades itself as soon as it has enough probes, so your empire keeps growing while you are away. It cannot be set on a meteorite, which can never be upgraded. A planet on Auto can be topped up to its next level in one drag with C held, and the upgrade fires on arrival rather than waiting for the planet to produce the rest.

Auto switches itself off once a planet reaches level 10: there is nothing left to buy.

Automation is cleared when a body changes hands, whether it was conquered or given to a clanmate. The new owner sets their own.

Action bursts are throttled

The server limits how many actions one account may fire in quick succession. Playing normally never reaches the limit; scripted traffic does. Trip it and actions are refused for a few seconds, with a countdown at the bottom of the map.

Selecting a group and acting on it counts as one action, not one per body, so a box-select over a hundred planets costs the same as a single click. Automations cost nothing at all.

Browser check

Creating an account and acting in the game both need a recent check that a browser is doing it. The check runs in the background and you will normally never see it.

Now and then it asks for a click. A box appears in the middle of the screen; confirm it and play continues where it left off.

Automations and production are never checked. They run on the server, so a planet keeps upgrading itself and a relay keeps firing while you are away, however long ago your last check was.

If a script blocker stops the check from finishing, your actions are refused. Allow challenges.cloudflare.com and reload.