Sliders are used to allocate a colony's output between ship construction, planetary defenses, factory construction, ecology, and research. Planetary population generates production, especially when assisted by factories. There is a limit on the number of factories a unit of population can operate, but building upgrades can increase this. Defence spending is used to build additional missile bases, upgrade missile bases or planetary shields. Military and spy maintenance is deducted from every colony's production. A planet's output can also be transferred to the treasury at a loss.