Progression
CyberIdle's economy operates on a two-layer architecture that creates constantly shifting puzzles. Understanding these systems is key to optimizing your ascent from street hacker to digital god.
The Core Loop
Two-Layer Architecture
The economy has two distinct layers that interact to create strategic depth:
Layer 1: Constraints
Gate HOW MUCH you can produce
Four meta-resources that limit your total operational capacity. These aren't consumed—they represent your empire's capacity to run operations.
- Credits — Currency for maintenance and operations
- Computation — Processing power for automation
- Intelligence — AI/worker capacity for complex tasks
- Energy — Power for all operations
Layer 2: Production
Determine WHAT you can produce
Materials that flow through supply chains. These are consumed and produced, transformed from raw salvage into advanced technology.
- Raw — Extracted from the environment
- Processed — Refined from raw materials
- Components — Assembled from processed goods
- Products — Complex multi-component items
Shifting Bottlenecks
The genius of the design: solving one constraint reveals the next challenge. What was impossible becomes trivial as new bottlenecks emerge.
You're broke. Need income to build, need buildings to earn. Bootstrap your way up.
Money flows freely, but processing power limits what you can automate.
Scale demands smarter systems. AI infrastructure becomes critical.
Stellar-scale operations need stellar-scale power. Build Dyson swarms.
All constraints overcome. You've won. Play for perfection.
Design Principles
- Bottlenecks are puzzles, not walls — Always solvable with strategic thinking
- Multiple viable paths — No single "correct" solution
- Previous constraints become trivial — Progress feels powerful
- Constraints gate quantity, not capability — Can always build one of anything
- Zero stress — No time pressure, no attacks, nothing is ever lost
See Also
- Ages of Progression — The 9-age journey
- Resources — Complete resource catalog
- Buildings — All production facilities
- Production Chains — Building your first chains