mining Tech Comparison
Gas Giant Skimmers vs Void Core Extraction
Comparing the Gas Giant Skimmers (Tier 4) and Void Core Extraction (Tier 5), both mining technologies in Starforge MMO. Use this to decide which to queue first when your research lab can only run one project at a time.
Research Comparison
| Attribute | Gas Giant Skimmers | Void Core Extraction |
|---|---|---|
| Tier | T4 | T5 |
| Research time | 20▼ | 200 |
| metal cost | 40,000▼ | 350,000 |
| crystal cost | 20,000▼ | 175,000 |
| antimatter cost | 200▼ | 4,000 |
| dark matter cost | — | 5,000▼ |
| Effect | +30% gas production | +10000 all resources flat per hour |
▼ marks the lower resource / time cost. Cheaper isn't always better — weigh it against the effect each tech unlocks.
Gas Giant Skimmers
Atmospheric skimmer platforms harvest gas from gas giants. +30% gas output.
Unlocks buildings: gas skimmer
Requires: mining 3
Void Core Extraction
Mine resources directly from the quantum vacuum between star systems. Generates a flat +10,000 of all basic resources per hour empire-wide.
Unlocks buildings: void core extractor
Requires: mining 6, mining 5, science 5
Which Should You Research First?
The Gas Giant Skimmers is the lower-tier prerequisite step and typically comes first in the mining branch, opening the path toward Void Core Extraction.