Core Loop

The fundamental rhythm of CyberIdle: Build → Produce → Automate → Expand

1. Build

Place buildings on the hex grid. Each building serves a purpose—extracting raw resources, processing materials, or crafting complex products.

2. Produce

Buildings consume inputs and generate outputs automatically. Watch resources flow through your production chains, turning raw ore into valuable products.

3. Automate

As you progress, unlock automation systems. What once required manual attention now runs itself. You'll appreciate the convenience because you remember the tedium.

4. Expand

With automation handling basics, scale up. Add more production lines, unlock new tiers of technology, and push into new resource categories.

The Shifting Bottleneck

At any moment, one constraint dominates your empire. Breaking through reveals the next bottleneck, while the previous one becomes trivially easy.

The question should be: "How do I solve this?"
Not: "When can I afford this?"

Bottlenecks are puzzles, not timers. There's always a strategic solution—adding more buildings, optimizing ratios, or unlocking new technology that breaks the constraint entirely.

The Endless Cycle

The loop repeats at every scale. In Age 1, you're building scrap smelters. In Age 7, you're constructing Dyson swarms. The fundamental pattern remains:

Identify the bottleneck
Build infrastructure to address it
Automate the new systems
Expand to the next challenge

Each time you complete the cycle, you're solving a slightly more complex puzzle with more powerful tools.