Compare an OGame upgrade’s cost with the useful production it adds. A higher-level mine is not automatically the best next investment, and the cheapest building may not remove the bottleneck holding your account back.
This economy guide explains a simple payback calculation, the information to keep in an OGame spreadsheet and when construction infrastructure deserves a place in the plan.
Measure income under comparable conditions
Record production by planet and resource. Note energy supply, operating percentages and temporary bonuses. Comparing a fully powered mine with an energy-limited mine without recording the difference produces a misleading ranking.
Use one time unit consistently. If costs are divided by hourly production, the answer is in hours, not days.
A simple payback formula
Payback in days = equivalent upgrade cost / equivalent additional daily production.
Consider a hypothetical upgrade costing 1,200,000 equivalent units and adding 20,000 per day: simple payback is 60 days. An alternative costing 700,000 and adding 14,000 per day has a 50-day payback. Under those assumptions, the second recovers its cost sooner.
These are invented figures, not current OGame prices. This basic calculation does not automatically account for construction delay, future bonuses or risk.
Keep metal, crystal and deuterium visible
If you convert resources into a common value, declare the exchange assumptions. The rate should reflect your situation and applicable trading rules rather than an unexplained universal constant.
Alternatively, keep separate cost and gain columns for all three resources. This makes shortages visible even when a single payback number would hide them.
What to include in an OGame Excel sheet
| Field | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Planet, building and next level | Identify the exact investment. |
| Costs by resource | Show what must be collected. |
| Current and projected production | Calculate the additional income. |
| Energy requirement | Include supporting infrastructure. |
| Construction time | Record when the benefit begins. |
| Payback and reason | Rank options while preserving strategic context. |
Energy is part of the mine’s price
If an upgrade needs more energy, compare the complete package. A mine with attractive theoretical payback may become less appealing once you include the infrastructure required to run it properly.
Also consider whether the supporting units or arrangement increase exposure. Maximum displayed production is not the same as income you can maintain reliably.
Robotics Factory and Nanite Factory
Construction infrastructure addresses time rather than directly adding mine income. Origin’s building tutorial describes Robotics Factory as a prerequisite for later infrastructure and Nanite Factory as reducing building, ship and defence construction times.
Before investing, check current requirements in your technology tree. Ask whether construction time is actually the constraint: accelerating a queue provides little immediate help if you cannot afford the next item.
Compare a practical horizon, such as the next several planned upgrades. Estimate the time saved and what earlier completion would let you do. Do not compare a factory with a mine using production payback alone, because they solve different problems.
Compare empire-wide benefits correctly
When research or another bonus affects several planets, add the relevant production change across the empire. Judging it only from the main planet can understate its value.
Check current percentages in the game rather than combining a modern account with an old formula table. Class changes and temporary effects should be recorded explicitly.
Trading and the resource bottleneck
A trade may make the next project possible, but assess its complete cost and compliance with community rules. Compare the resources given, transport requirements and what you can build afterwards. Do not assume that the first offered rate is the best use of your stock.
Payback does not decide everything
Transport capacity, expansion prerequisites or a time-critical objective can justify choosing a slower-payback investment. Record that reason. A good plan explains the exception instead of pretending every choice maximises the same metric.
Update the table after important bonus or server changes, test one calculation against the game and separate permanent gains from temporary boosts. The result should be a revisable decision list, not a fixed build order that ignores how your account develops.
Related OGame guides
- OGame Servers and Universes: How to Choose the Right Settings
- OGame Defence Guide: Build for Profit Denial, Not an Invincible Bunker
- OGame ACS Guide: Joint Attacks, Defence and Fleet Coordination
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