Colonization
You need a fleet containing at least 1 Outpost Ship or 1 Colonisation Ship. The Outpost Ship is much cheaper so it's suitable during early game.
Colonization with an Outpost Ship
The Outpost Ship is more a flying building then a real ship. As soon as you colonise, the ship lands, and becomes the outpost you see in the finished buildings list on your planet building page. When you deploy the outpost ship, your new planet gets these resources and buildings to start:
10,000  Metal |
8,000  Mineral |
2,000  Food |
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|
1 Metal Mine |
1 Mineral Extractor |
2 Farms |
1 Solar Generator |
Colonization with a Colonisation Ship
The Colonisation Ship is very expansive and requires a Space Dock. As soon as you colonise, the ship lands and is disbanded to create your colony. Its advantage is that your new planet will already have:
150,000  workers |
50,000 Metal |
30,000 Mineral |
20,000 Food |
30  energy |
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Colony |
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2 Core Metal Mines |
2 Core Mineral Extractors |
2 Hydroponics Labs |
2 Solar Arrays |
1 habitat |
