Habs
This page discusses the game mechanics for habs. For a list of all hab modules in Terra Invicta, as well as their stats, see Hab Module List instead. For planning out your habs, see Hab Planner
Habitats, or habs, are space-based facilities operated by Factions. They are composed of modules. All modules have a core module; the size of the core determines the size of the hab. The size of the hab determines both how many modules you can have (4, 12 or 20, plus the core), and the maximum size of each module.
Habs may be founded in three ways. One is to launch the core module from Earth, using
Boost. This can take a lot of time if the location is far from the homeworld. A second is to develop and build kits that ships can deploy when they arrive in an orbit or land on a space body. A third is to found habs from other habs in the same planetary system that have a construction module.
Habs may be assaulted and captured by Marines from ships, although building barracks modules helps defend it. A councilor with a high
Command attribute leading an assault mission gives it a much greater chance of success.
Habs, like Fleets, belong directly to a faction. Your hab may be nominally operating under NASA or the United Nations, but what matters is that its people are really working for
The Academy,
The Resistance,
Project Exodus, etc.
Habs have a support cost drawn from space resources. If those are insufficient, then
Boost is used. And if you are out of both, or have insufficient
Mission Control, your hab is much more likely to suffer accidents, and be much more willing to switch allegiance to another faction.
Life Support
Each human at a hab requires 0.35
Water, 0.35
Volatiles, and 0.1
Money per year. This is approximately 0.029
Water, 0.029
Volatiles, and 0.008
Money per month. Agricultural modules cover
and
upkeeps for a certain number of crew in the hab.
Radiation Shielding
Some locations have
dangerous levels of natural radiation, and modules built in the location needs extra
Base Metals to protect crew and equipment from radiation. For example, every location on Mercury has
2x radiation modifier, which means the total mass of a module becomes double the amount of normal value and the difference is paid with
Base Metals. For example, a 200 Tons module becomes 400 Tons module on Mercury, and that 200 Tons of difference means an additional 20
Base Metals cost.
Construction Modifiers
Each hab module has a base construction time, measured in days. But the actual construction time can be modified in multiple ways:
- If the hab module is an upgrade of a previously built hab module in the same hab module slot, then the construction time (and resource costs) are multiplied by 2/3.
- If the hab contains one or more active modules that modify the construction time, then their bonuses are applied as follows:
- Sort the list of such modules in ascending order by their construction time modifier.
- For the i-th module in the list, multiply the construction time by (1 - (1 - construction time modifier) / i²).
- If the hab module requires materials to be
boosted from Earth, then add the time needed for the materials to travel from Earth to the hab.
Stations
Stations are built in an orbit. You can build various modules on them to get benefits, and some modules have additional benefits if the station is in one of the Earth's interface orbits.
When the game starts there are two existing tier 1 stations, each with a unique orbit around Earth: The International Space Station (controlled by the Academy), with two Solar Collectors and one Space Science Lab, and Tiangong Station (controlled by Project Exodus), with no modules beyond the core. Those two factions start with innate
boost income to support the upkeep of those staion.
A hostile fleet may board or destroy the station. But if the station has defense module(s), the hostile fleet should fight a battle first and destroy the defense module(s). When destroying undefended station, it takes 15 minutes per each tier of the module to destroy a module.
Stations use the following core modules. They require the council engineering project with the same name to be constructed.
| Module | Tier | Build Cost | Monthly Upkeep[1] |
|---|---|---|---|
| Platform Core |
1 | 2 | |
| Orbital Core |
2 | 10 | |
| Ring Core |
3 | 20 | |
| Automated Platform Core |
1 | 1 |
Particle Colliders
Particle Colliders are used to produce
Antimatter. They also produce Energy Research but once the bonus goes above 50% it suffers diminishing returns.
Colliders can only be built in orbit.
| Module | Tier | Build Cost | Monthly Upkeep | Monthly Income | Special rule |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Particle Collider |
1 | 6 |
2 |
| |
| Atomsmasher |
2 | 20 |
5 |
| |
| Supercollider |
3 | 120 |
10 |
|
Antimatter Capture
Antimatter capture modules can only be constructed in orbits that have
Antimatter. Only one antimatter capture module can operate in each antimatter orbit, regardless of faction.
The amount of natural antimatter production is so small that it is in practice useless. For example, medium earth orbit has 33a monthly output, which is 0.000000000000000033 units of antimatter per month with the 100% efficient Antimatter Farm doing the harvesting. The largest antimatter value in the solar system is medium Saturn orbit at 2p, which is 0.000000000002.
| Module | Tier | Build Cost | Monthly Upkeep | Monthly Income | Special Rule |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Antimatter Trap |
1 | 0.1 |
2 |
5 |
|
| Antimatter Harvester |
2 | 0.5 |
5 |
10 |
|
| Antimatter Farm |
3 | 4 |
10 |
15 |
|
Solar mirrors
| Module | Tier | Build Cost* | Monthly Upkeep | Special Rule |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Solar Mirror |
1 | 0.5 |
1 |
|
| Solar Mirror Array |
2 | 2.5 |
5 |
|
| Soletta |
3 | 20 |
10 |
|
| Automated Solar Mirror |
1 | 0.5 |
1 |
|
- Build cost scales with distance to the sun to model the fact that the mirrors need to be larger to collect the same amount of light
Campaign Modules
Campaign Modules are tier 3 modules that can only be constructed by certain factions once certain campaign objectives have been completed. Constructing it will allow the faction to complete its final objective.
| Module | Build Cost | Monthly Upkeep | Special Rule | Faction |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sentinel Complex |
20 |
20 |
|
|
| Interstellar Launch Facility |
2350 |
20 |
|
The Deep Space Telesope is a campaign tier 2 module only available to the
Project Exodus faction for its objectives. Its stats are comparable to the Space Science Research Center module.
| Module | Build Cost | Monthly Upkeep | Monthly Income | Special Rule | Faction |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Deep Space Telescope |
6 |
3 |
5 |
|
Bases
Bases are built at a hab site. A hab site should be surveyed first to build a base. Surveying can be done with a prospector probe or a ship with science module.
Bases use the following core modules. They require the council engineering project with the same name to be constructed.
| Module | Tier | Build Cost | Monthly Upkeep[1] |
|---|---|---|---|
| Outpost Core |
1 | 1 |
2 |
| Settlement Core |
2 | 5 |
3 |
| Colony Core |
3 | 40 |
4 |
| Automated Outpost Core |
1 | 0.8 |
1 |
Mining Complexes
Each base will have a Mining Deposit Access Point above the Core Module. Only Mining Complex modules can be constructed on it, which will produce the resources of the hab site. Its construction cost and power consumption are modified by mining modifier.
There is a soft limit on the number of
mining bases you can have. Going over it will require paying extra
Mission Control cost. This limit is raised by 3 with the
Mission to the Moon tech and
Mission to Mercury tech.
Mission to Mars,
Mission to the Asteroids,
Mission to Jupiter,
Mission to Saturn, and
Mission to the Outer Planets techs increases the limit by 6 each, for a maximum of 36 mines. This can then be raised further with every level of
Future Tech: Space Science.
Each additional mine beyond the initial limit has an escalating
Mission Control cost, The total
Mission Control penalty is ((# of mines over the cap)^2)/2, rounded down except when n=1, where
Mission Control penalty is 1 rather than 0.
So it goes as: 1 → 2 → 4 → 8 → 12 → 18 → 24 → 32...
Which means per-mine cost sequence is: 1 → 1 → 2 → 4 → 4 → 6 → 6 → 8 → ...
Mining modifier
This modifier is applied to the mining module's space resource build cost and
Power Consumption on respective celestial body. For example, the modifier for Mars is roughly 0.9342. So an Outpost Mining Complex that normally costs 2.5
2.5
19.75
0.25
and 10
instead costs roughly 2.34
2.34
18.45
0.23
and 9
.
This modifier is applied before the radiation penalty multiplier to the hab module's total mass, and so they are in a sense, multiplicative. For example, the modifier for Mercury is roughly 1.9641, and the Radiation penalty is
2×. A Colony Mining Complex normally costs 100
100
790
10
and 200
. Applying the mining modifier changes this to roughly 196.41
196.41
1551.64
19.64
and 393
. This means the mass of the Colony Mining Complex changes from the original 10000 Tons to 19641 Tons after the mining modifier. Applying the
2× Radiation penalty to this mass of 19641 Tons results in a total mass of 39282 Tons, with all this additional mass being paid for by an additional 1964.1
Base Metals. So the total costs of the Colony Mining Complex on Mercury is roughly 196.41
196.41
3515.74
19.64
and 393
.
Mining modifier is increased by several factors, which are: escape velocity of the celestial body, atmosphere of the celestial body, escape velocity from the planet it's orbiting at the body's orbit (if the celestial body is a moon), escape velocity from the sun at its orbit (does not count if luna), and the distance from the Sun to the celestial body.
The table below shows mining modifiers on notable celestial bodies.
| Celestial Body | Mining Modifier |
|---|---|
| Luna | 0.5077 |
| Mars | 0.9342 |
| Ceres | 0.7699 |
| Mercury | 1.9641 |
| Callisto | 0.9123 |
| Io | 1.4960 |
| Titan | 0.8865 |
| Pluto | 1.5029 |
Modules
Most hab modules consume power. You must build sufficient power-generating modules to accommodate your other modules. Modules may be turned off to reduce power consumption, although certain modules must remain on if there is power to support them in the hab.
Hab modules are added to habs either by shipping them from Earth using boost or building them out of space materials. Some modules have upgrade paths to larger versions; upgrading a module in this way is done at a discount.
| Tier 1 | Tier 2 | Tier 3 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Module | Effects | Module | Effects | Module | Effects |
| Supply Depot* |
Build cost: 0.15 Monthly expenses: 3 Crew Special Rule:
|
cannot be upgraded | |||
| Space Dock |
Build cost: 1.6 Monthly expenses: 1 Special Rule:
|
Shipyard |
Build cost: 8 Monthly expenses: 3 Special Rule:
|
Spaceworks |
Build cost: 64 Monthly expenses: 10 Special Rule:
|
| Construction Module |
Build cost: 0.75 Monthly expenses: 3 Special Rule:
|
Nanofactory |
Build cost: 3.75 Monthly expenses: 10 Monthly income: 90 Special Rule:
|
Nanofacturing Complex |
Build cost: 30 Monthly expenses: 20 Monthly income: 300 Special Rule:
|
| Quarters |
Build cost: 0.6 Monthly expenses: 0.1 Monthly income: 3 Special Rule:
|
Residential Module |
Build cost: 3 Monthly expenses: 3 Monthly income: 12 Special Rule:
|
Civilian Complex |
Build cost: 24 Monthly expenses: 10 Monthly income: 40 Special Rule:
|
| Hydroponics Bay |
Build cost: 6 Monthly expenses: 10 Special Rule:
|
Farm |
Build cost: 30 Monthly expenses: 40 Special Rule:
|
Agriculture Complex |
Build cost: 240 Monthly expenses: 120 Special Rule:
|
| Marine Platoon Barracks |
Build cost: 2.4 Monthly expenses: 3 Monthly income: 2 Special Rule:
|
Marine Company Barracks |
Build cost: 12 Monthly expenses: 10 Monthly income: 6 Special Rule:
|
Marine Battalion Barracks |
Build cost: 96 Monthly expenses: 30 Monthly income: 12 Special Rule:
|
| built from tier 2 | Skunkworks |
Build cost: 2.5 Monthly expenses: 10 Monthly income: 1 Special Rule: |
Foundry |
Build cost: 20 Monthly expenses: 30 Monthly income: 2 Special Rule: | |
| built from tier 2 | Research Campus |
Build cost: 15 Monthly expenses: 30 Monthly income: 60 Special Rule: |
Research University |
Build cost: 120 Monthly expenses: 100 Monthly income: 200 Special Rule: | |
| built from tier 2 | Operations Center |
Build cost: 10 Monthly expenses: 30 Monthly income: 4 Special Rule:
|
Command Center |
Build cost: 80 Monthly expenses: 100 Monthly income: 10 Special Rule:
| |
- exist in an automated version.
Power Modules
| Tier 1 | Tier 2 | Tier 3 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Module | Effects | Module | Effects | Module | Effects |
| Fission Pile* |
Build cost: 0.2 Monthly expenses: 2 Monthly income: 20 Special Rule: |
Fission Reactor Array |
Build cost: 1 Monthly expenses: 6 Monthly income: 85 Special Rule: |
Fission Reactor Farm |
Build cost: 8 Monthly expenses: 18 Monthly income: 250 Special Rule: |
| Heavy Fission Pile |
Build cost: 0.4 Monthly expenses: 3 Monthly income: 30 Special Rule: |
Heavy Fission Reactor Array |
Build cost: 2 Monthly expenses: 8 Monthly income: 128 Special Rule: |
Heavy Fission Reactor Farm |
Build cost: 16 Monthly expenses: 24 Monthly income: 375 Special Rule: |
| Fusion Pile |
Build cost: 0.3 Monthly expenses: 3 Monthly income: 40 Special Rule: |
Fusion Reactor Array |
Build cost: 1.5 Monthly expenses: 10 Monthly income: 170 Special Rule: |
Fusion Reactor Farm |
Build cost: 12 Monthly expenses: 30 Monthly income: 500 Special Rule: |
| Heavy Fusion Pile |
Build cost: 0.6 Monthly expenses: 5 Monthly income: 70 Special Rule: |
Heavy Fusion Reactor Array |
Build cost: 3 Monthly expenses: 12 Monthly income: 300 Special Rule: |
Heavy Fusion Reactor Farm |
Build cost: 24 Monthly expenses: 36 Monthly income: 900 Special Rule: |
| Solar Collector* |
Build cost: 0.3 Monthly expenses: 1 Monthly income: 20 Special Rule:
|
Solar Array |
Build cost: 1.5 Monthly expenses: 3 Monthly income: 80 Special Rule:
|
Solar Farm |
Build cost: 12 Monthly expenses: 5 Monthly income: 240 Special Rule:
|
- exist in an automated version.
Power Modules produce
Power to the hab. Solar power modules have different output defending on the solar power module multiplier of the location which represent how much solar power it received from the Sun on average. Here is a list of the solar power multiplier for different locations in the solar system.
| Location | Solar Multiplier | Power T1 | Power T2 | Power T3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury Surface | 334% | 67 | 267 | 801 |
| Mercury Low orbit | 604% | 121 | 483 | 1449 |
| Mercury High orbit | 641% | 128 | 513 | 1538 |
| Venus Low orbit | 173% | 35 | 138 | 415 |
| Venus High orbit | 190% | 38 | 152 | 456 |
| Earth Low orbit | 76% | 15 | 61 | 182 |
| Earth High orbit | 98% | 19 | 78 | 234 |
| Luna Surface | 50% | 10 | 40 | 120 |
| Luna Low Orbit | 78% | 16 | 62 | 187 |
| Luna High Orbit | 98% | 20 | 78 | 235 |
| Mars Surface | 16% | 3 | 13 | 39 |
| Mars Low orbit | 33% | 7 | 27 | 80 |
| Mars High orbit | 43% | 9 | 34 | 102 |
Defense Modules
Defense modules house weapons to defend habs and prevent enemy Assault Hab fleet operations.
When built on surface bases they house 2 surface-to-orbit laser cannons and will fire at fleets that begin bombardment. They upgrade automatically when one of those global techs are researched:
Arc lasers,
Phased-Array Lasers,
Visible Combat Lasers,
Ultraviolet Combat Lasers. They also upgrade to use the best armor researched that does not cost exotics, which greatly increases their armor. See Ship Armor List for details.
When built on stations they house 2 anti-ship weapons: 1 laser battery (laser / arc laser / phaser) and 1 projectile battery (gun / rail / coil / plasma). In addition, they also house 1 point defense turret (40mm autocannon / laser / arc laser / phaser). Station defense modules have low armor, only 5 * tier, and this value cannot be increased. Stations with defense modules will take part in space battles. They upgrade automatically when new faction projects that unlock hull weapons are researched. They also upgrade to use the best armor researched that does not cost exotics, which greatly increases their health. See Ship Armor List for details.
| Module | Tier | Weapon Size | Build Cost | Monthly Upkeep | Special rule |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Point Defense Array |
1 | Small | 2.2 |
2 |
|
| Layered Defense Array |
2 | Medium | 11 |
10 |
|
| Battlestations |
3 | Large | 88 |
30 |
|
Administration Modules
Administration modules help with faction management. Each hab may only have one administration module.
| Module | Tier | Build Cost | Monthly Upkeep | Monthly Income | Special rule |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Administration Node |
1 | 0.24 |
10 |
| |
| Administration Tower |
2 | 1.2 |
30 |
1 |
|
| Administration Complex |
3 | 9.6 |
90 |
2 |
|
Science Modules
Science Modules produce Research in a certain field and have additinal effects if built in Earth interface orbit. Once the research bonus goes above 50% it suffers diminishing returns.
| Tier 1 | Tier 2 | Tier 3 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Module | Effects | Module | Effects | Module | Effects |
| Energy Lab |
Build cost: 0.4 Monthly expenses: 2 Monthly income: 5 Special Rule:
|
Energy Research Center |
Build cost: 2 Monthly expenses: 6 Monthly income: 10 Special Rule:
|
Energy Institute |
Build cost: 16 Monthly expenses: 18 Monthly income: 15 Special Rule:
|
| Information Science Lab |
Build cost: 0.8 Monthly expenses: 2 Monthly income: 5 Special Rule:
|
Information Science Research Center |
Build cost: 4 Monthly expenses: 6 Monthly income: 10 Special Rule:
|
Information Science Institute |
Build cost: 32 Monthly expenses: 18 Monthly income: 15 Special Rule:
|
| Life Science Lab |
Build cost: 0.1 Monthly expenses: 2 Monthly income: 5 Special Rule:
|
Life Science Research Center |
Build cost: 0.5 Monthly expenses: 6 Monthly income: 10 Special Rule:
|
Life Science Institute |
Build cost: 4 Monthly expenses: 18 Monthly income: 15 Special Rule:
|
| Materials Lab |
Build cost: 0.04 Monthly expenses: 2 Monthly income: 5 Special Rule:
|
Materials Research Center |
Build cost: 0.2 Monthly expenses: 6 Monthly income: 10 Special Rule:
|
Materials Institute |
Build cost: 1.6 Monthly expenses: 18 Monthly income: 15 Special Rule:
|
| Military Science Lab |
Build cost: 0.7 Monthly expenses: 2 Monthly income: 5 Special Rule:
|
Military Science Research Center |
Build cost: 3.5 Monthly expenses: 6 Monthly income: 10 Special Rule:
|
Military Science Institute |
Build cost: 28 Monthly expenses: 18 Monthly income: 15 Special Rule:
|
| Space Science Lab |
Build cost: 0.6 Monthly expenses: 2 Monthly income: 5 Special Rule:
|
Space Science Research Center |
Build cost: 3 Monthly expenses: 6 Monthly income: 10 Special Rule:
|
Space Science Institute |
Build cost: 24 Monthly expenses: 18 Monthly income: 15 Special Rule:
|
| Xenology Lab |
Build cost: 0.6 Monthly expenses: 2 Monthly income: 5 Special Rule:
|
Xenoscience Research Center |
Build cost: 3 Monthly expenses: 6 Monthly income: 10 Special Rule:
|
Xenoscience Institute |
Build cost: 24 Monthly expenses: 18 Monthly income: 15 Special Rule:
|
| Social Science Lab |
Build cost: 0.38 Monthly expenses: 3 Monthly income: 5 Special Rule:
|
Social Science Research Center |
Build cost: 1.88 Monthly expenses: 8 Monthly income: 10 Special Rule:
|
Social Science Institute |
Build cost: 15 Monthly expenses: 24 Monthly income: 15 Special Rule:
|
| Climate Lab |
Build cost: 0.4 Monthly expenses: 2 Monthly income: 5 Special Rule:
|
Climate Research Center |
Build cost: 2 Monthly expenses: 6 Monthly income: 10 Special Rule:
|
Climate Institute |
Build cost: 16 Monthly expenses: 20 Monthly income: 15 Special Rule:
|
Civilian Modules
Civilian Modules must be constructed either in stations in Earth or Luna orbit or on bases on celestial bodies with enough population. They cannot be build in irradiated locations.
| Tier 1 | Tier 2 | Tier 3 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Module | Effects | Module | Effects | Module | Effects |
| Tourist Berth |
Build cost: 0.23 Monthly expenses: 0.2 Monthly income: 20 Special Rule:
|
Space Hotel |
Build cost: 7.5 Monthly expenses: 3 Monthly income: 120 Special Rule:
|
Space Resort |
Build cost: 60 Monthly expenses: 10 Monthly income: 400 Special Rule:
|
| Broadcast Outlet |
Build cost: 1.05 Monthly expenses: 4 Monthly income: 1 Special Rule:
|
Communications Hub |
Build cost: 5.25 Monthly expenses: 20 Monthly income: 3 Special Rule:
|
Media Center |
Build cost: 42 Monthly expenses: 100 Monthly income: 10 Special Rule:
|
| Listening Post |
Build cost: 0.25 Monthly expenses: 5 Monthly income: 1 Special Rule:
|
Reconnaissance Array |
Build cost: 1.25 Monthly expenses: 15 Monthly income: 2 Special Rule:
|
Argus Complex |
Build cost: 10 Monthly expenses: 30 Monthly income: 3 Special Rule:
|
| built from tier 2 | Medical Center |
Build cost: 29.6 Monthly expenses: 5 Monthly income: 90 Special Rule:
|
Space Hospital |
Build cost: 236.8 Monthly expenses: 15 Monthly income: 300 Special Rule:
| |
Finding the UI
Once you have the prerequisites of a Hab space station, deselect (click x) on any agents. Zoom out until the borders and icons on Earth aren't shown. Then click on Earth, it will zoom in a bit and a small icon of a space station with a + will appear at the bottom where commands normally are.
Capturing Habs
| Success Level | Capture Method | Can Happen to Alien Habs? |
|---|---|---|
| -1 | Normal Success on a Marine Assault. | Yes |
| 0 | Critical Success on a Marine Assault. | Yes |
| 1 | Normal Success on a Councilor Assault Enemy Space Asset mission. | Yes |
| 2 | Normal Success on a Councilor Control Space Asset mission. | No |
| Hab defects to faction in a random event. | No | |
| 3 | Critical Success on a Councilor Assault Enemy Space Asset mission. | Yes |
| 4 | Critical Success on a Councilor Control Space Asset mission. | No |
| 5 | Hab traded to faction. | No |
| Reward or Penalty Category | Reward Amount | Valid Success Levels |
|---|---|---|
| Reveal all Target Councilors to Capturing Faction | All | |
| Release every |
All | |
| Gain Intel on Target Faction | 2 × Hab Tier | -1 |
| 5 × Hab Tier | 0 | |
| 10 × Hab Tier | 1 | |
| 15 × Hab Tier | 2 | |
| 20 × Hab Tier | 3 | |
| 30 × Hab Tier | 4 | |
| Destroy All Story Modules | All | |
| Destroy All Marine Modules | -1, 0, 1, 3 | |
| Destroy Other Non-Core Modules | 10% Chance × (4 - Success Level) Each | -1, 0, 1, 3 |
| Sabotage Project Research of Target Faction | Success Level × 3 Months of Hab Research |
1, 2, 3, 4 |
| Capturing Faction Gains Bonus Research |
Amount Sabotaged from Target Faction | 1, 2, 3, 4 |
| Apply |
Duration: Success Level × 1.5 Months | 2, 4 |
| If Hab produces Research |
2, 3, 4 | |
See Aliens#Alien_Habs for the rewards given when capturing an alien hab.
| Terra Invicta mechanics | |
|---|---|
| Factions | |
| Council | |
| Earth | |
| Space | |
| Aliens | |
| Modding & Settings | |


