Better Planet Automation evaluates the suitability of a planet for producing a particular resource by checking its habitability and its production and upkeep modifiers.

Better Planet Automation prioritizes planets with the lowest level capital buildings, even when they would otherwise be considered less suitable, as long as they do have the appropriate designation for the resource being developed. There is an optional configuration setting to prioritize low level capitals even when doing so requires ignoring designations. Anything built because of this that does not fit a planet's designation will eventually be automatically scrapped once the capital building is upgraded, as long as automatic scrapping is not disabled.

The calculation starts with the planet's habitability for your main species. Accounting for different species having different climate preferences is complex and not implemented.

Bonuses to resource production that apply to the specific planet and resource are added to the habitability. Reductions in upkeep for the relevant jobs are also added, but counted at half value. A -20% upkeep cost reduction is counted the same as a +10% production bonus.

This calculation uses the modifier values calculated by the game, and thus inherently accounts for all possible sources of modifiers. The values checked do not depend on species, so habitability does not get double counted via its effects.

Modifiers from the planet's designation are included in this calculation. If the planet is not designated for the resource, it is evaluated by the bonus it could have from an appropriate designation.

Bonuses from unrestricted buildings are ignored, as other planets can build to match those.

For basic resources, each district slot of that type above 8 is counted as a +5% bonus, and a planet with fewer than 8 slots has its suitability reduced to match the fraction of 8 slots that it has. A planet with only 4 generator district slots counts as having half the suitability for energy of an otherwise identical planet with 8. Planets with uncapped basic resource districts count the uncapped districts the same as a +50% bonus.

Ringworlds and habitats that can build research districts are counted as having an additional +50% bonus for research.


Better Planet Automation will normally scrap buildings and districts that are not useful, or would be better located elsewhere. It will ask for confirmation first, and you can choose to delay it for a year, or to never scrap that specific thing, or even disable automatic scrapping completely.

To avoid causing excessive unrest due to unemployment, planets with less than 50% stability will never automatically scrap anything.

To avoid causing excessive unemployment due to outpacing construction, if total unemployment in your empire exceeds total free jobs in your empire then Better Planet Automation will not scrap job sources.

Provided that total unemployment is at or below total free jobs, and you have more than your minimum income for a resource, Better Planet Automation will search for the least suitable planet that:

• Has at least 50% stability.
  
• Is not where new production of that resource would be built, unless your income is above your maximum.
  
• Is not specialized for the resource, unless your income is above your wanted goal.
  
• Has not auto-scrapped anything in the last 2 months.
  
• And has something giving jobs for that resource that it could scrap.

If Better Planet Automation finds such a planet, and you have enough margin above your minimum income that scrapping something will not drop your income below minimum, then it will scrap one district or building to reduce jobs for that resource, which will be rebuilt elsewhere on a more suitable planet if you are below your wanted goal.

Better Planet Automation will never scrap more than one building or district per month.

Better Planet Automation will also scrap buildings and districts that provide primarily housing, amenities, or crime reduction when the planet has a large enough excess that the reduction will have no effect. For things that provide multiple of those categories, such as Hive Districts and Nexus Districts, it will only scrap if all relevant categories (plus building slots) have a sufficient excess. It will also scrap Commercial Zones and similar buildings that are generally considered bad, but only if the jobs they provide are not worked.

Better Planet Automation will scrap Robot Assembly Plants if your configuration disallows them, or if a planet has also built Clone Vats to replace them. It will scrap Slave Processing Facility if your configuration disallows them or the planet has fewer than 3 slave pops.

Buildings that produce resources directly, independent of jobs, will never be automatically scrapped.