1. In order to have a strong economy, you need to have as many bases as possible.
Your economy is based on the structures you build, the trade you conduct, and the fleet you build to occupy other bases. The more structures you have, the more of each of these items you can have. Therefore you must have as many bases as possible. I am going to cover ground in the beginners guide here but it is important as selection of bases has a large bearing on their economic viability.
However you shouldn't just colonize any planet or moon you see. There are critical things to evaluate. First off not all planets are created equal. Other guides discuss what types are best but to save time, you should only colonize the following (in no particular order): Rocky, Tundra, Arid, Asteroid, Gaia, Crystalline. Every other planet type is an inferior version of one of these.
Planets provide more room that means more structures. However don't knock moons or asteroids as the cheaper defenses can pay off later. However to make an economic powerhouse out of these smaller types, you need to have an upgraded account so you can increase room via terraforming.
Now the location of base matters greatly. The left most orbital position (10, 11, 12, or 13 in coordinates) provide 1 extra solar energy so each solar plant produces the same as a fusion plant. Cheap energy is wonderful but it comes at the expense of fertility. You can replace the lost fertility with a biosphere modification but this takes up space. You have to judge whether the increased number of urban structures you have to build is offset by the cheap energy.
The 2nd and 3rd to the left orbital (20, 21, 22, 23 and 30, 31, 32, 33) provide increased fertility. This to me is the most valuable position as the cost of urban structures skyrockets. I always try to have my bases in this location.
I avoid the 4th and 5th from the left orbital (40, 41, 42, 43 and 50, 51, 52, 53). They provide cheaper gas and if you are in the 5th orbital, you can find the same cheap energy as the first orbital with gas plants instead of solar providing 4 energy.
The location of your bases (galaxy choice) also matters. Most NPO members and their bases are in the middle galaxies, A10-A19. It can be beneficial to have your bases outside these regions in order to have your bases desirable as trading partners. A00-A09 can be somewhat dangerous given fewer NPO members and many potential enemies. A20-A39 would probably be safer. In any event, spreading out some bases can be helpful in terms of security so it is difficult for all your bases to be conquered in a conflict allowing you to maintain economic health and therefore wartime production.
2. Structures to build once you have bases
Every base you build needs production and construction capacity. Before you can focus on economy, you have to have the ability to build economic structures. Try to get your base construction up above 50 before looking to build structures other than metal refineries and robotic factories. Nanite factories and Android factories can later provide enhanced production and construction capacity as well as an economic boost.
Don't overlook defense. A base economy is meaningless if an enemy occupies you. Try and stay up with the defensive minimums after you gain a minimal production. Shipyards and orbital shipyards are necessary to produce fleet to make defense so don't overlook them. On economic bases I still try to have at least 3 and often 6 shipyards so I can produce useful ships even in smaller quantities.
Now economic structures. The largest economic multiplier is the spaceport. It provides 2 economy and trade routes. A single spaceports allows 1 trade route that can easily provide 10, 20, or 30 plus credits per hour. 5 spaceports allow 2 trade routes, 10 spaceports allow 3 trade routes, and so on and so forth. Trade routes should be sent to distant bases belonging to other individuals.
The trade formula is
QUOTE
Income = Sqrt(Lowest Base Economy) * (1 + Sqrt(Distance)/75 + Sqrt(Players)/10)
The more players you have and more distance you have, the larger the credits per hour you will earn. Many players have 50, 60, even 70+ different trading partners which greatly increases the benefit of each trade route. Remember, unique partners + long distance = $$$. Build as many spaceports as you can afford focusing on achieving the benchmarks of 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30 spaceports. Every 5 spaceports you gain a trade route.
Economic centers pump up your economy 3 per structure. They cost a lot but pumping up your overall economy and enhancing your trade route production is beneficial.
Terraforming and Multilevel platforms. These are economic structures since they allow your bases size to increase allowing more structures to be built. If you are upgraded, terraforming is your friend and can turn virtually any base into an economic powerhouse. If your upgrade is running out, focus on building terraforming, as it will pay dividends later on. Space means you can build things that will provide you economic benefit
3. To UC, or not to UC
Many people swear by UCs as the primary method to increase your economy. In most cases this is true. Inactive players and UCs give you a pillage bonus, occupation bonus, debris all of which can increase your cash flow. If you see an undefended one, grab it.
However not all UCs are profitable. Some are downright nasty with large fleets or strong defenses. You have to calculate whether or not you will earn sufficient credits from the base (debris, pillage, credits per hour) to offset your losses. If you see lots of command centers, a large fleet, planetary shields and rings, you might consider skipping it. Just because something is a UC, doesn't mean it is worthwhile. Crippling your fleet for a UC can be counterproductive, especially if war is declared shortly after.
If there is an undefended one, go for it. Once you have a UC, you need to park sufficient forces on it, in order to maintain the occupation when the UC spawns a fleet (generally occurs every 3 or 4 days). Generally speaking, if you have a larger fleet than the UC spawned fleet it will not attack. You can then bring in a larger force to attack the UC fleet efficiently to minimize your losses. I would suggest you park an 8-10k fleet on any UC to be safe
