I need several grades of planets. Like You start with an outpost, then upgrade it to settlement, then colony, then world. I look for names of these :)

Around 4-6 levels would be sufficient.

My list (I don't like it too much):

- outpost

- settlement

- colony (not sure why colony should be "better" than settlement...)

- world (don't like it, too generic)

- core world

Station | Outpost Planet

Colony | Colonized Planet

Society | Socialized Planet

Province | Provincial Planet

Capitol | Capitol planet

Or:

Outpost / Station

Colony

District Planet

Integrated Planet

Imperialized Planet

Also, depending on what you want to convey, Ecumenopolis means 'planet-wide city' (like Trantor or Coruscant, depending on your choice of geekdom. ).

Maybe mix planet and world (like planet is less and world is more)?

- outpost

- colony

- district/provincial planet

- imperial world

I personally use:

- Outpost

- Colony

- Production Center

- Metropolis

- Capitol

but these may not apply perfectly to your particular game?

I would say it's all a process of colonization, once people start settling. More specific terms to indicate the state of the planet and it's capabilities may be more useful.

-Possession (Held territory without a permanent presence)

-Outpost (Minimal Permanent manned presence)

-Mandate (The beginnings of a colony, where there has been a mandate to settle the region)

-Dependency (A start up colony that's still dependent on the mother nation for essentials)

-Protectorate (A colony that is self sufficient, except for in terms of military defenses)

-Stronghold (A colony that has achieved self-defensive capabilities)

-Capital (A fully developed world that can also colonize and protect others, capable of serving as the center of your empire in that region)

Can someone squeeze something more out of the topic? I need these :)

• Outpost
• Station
• Colony
• Occupied world
• Citadel world

• Minor station
• Major station
• Minor colony
• Major colony
• Minor world
• Major world

• Outpost planet
• Station planet
• Colonized planet
• Established planet
• Capitalized planet

What about telling us where you currently stand, and what you don't like about it? What are the benefits that each level brings?

We're kinda shooting in the dark here!

Sure :)

Overall, the mood I look for is of a huge bureaucratic empire (100-200 planets owned by the player/empire). All these planets are posessions of the empire (so no world names like "protectorate" which will be used for aliens who agreed to pay the tribute). These worlds have different grades (the names I look for) which describe how advanced/developed is the world compared to other worlds in the empire and how far from the center (capital world with thge imperial throne) the planet is (core vs frontier). Also, I don't exactly strive for a heavy technological mood, more like bureaucracy, governors appointed by the emperor, too many planets for the emperor to control them directly, court cliques/factions, maybe even slightly feudal (but only slightly), the imperial senate.

Technically & ideally I would need:

- some outpost that holds only supply depots but no civilians or industry

- colony/settlement, something that just stared and barely can be called a real world

- world that is far away from the center, some frontier one

- frontier standard developed world (developed but far away and therefore with poor communication with the capital)

- core standard developed world (in a reasonable distance from the capital planet, core world)

- important world (like a sector administration center)

- very important world (like the second capital, max 5 of these total)

- the imperial capital (only one)

LIKE:
Provincial Planet (I like that it indicates clearly that it's "less important planet", provincial, not core/central).
District Planet
Metropolis
Possession (althrogh it's a claim to a planet)
Minor world
Major world
Occupied world (but there are too many "world" types of names, kind of confusing...)
Station

DISLIKE:
Socialized Planet
Imperialized Planet
Capitol planet / Capital (there can be only one, you start with it)
Production Center (too technical)
Protectorate, Dependency, Mandate (political name, not a world that belongs to the empire already)
Stronghold (sound military like, not like a civilian planet)
Capitalized planet

How many capitals are there in the United States?

So you're actually looking for two separate 'grades'.

One is the distance from the core

One that is the current population/administration state of the planet

You may even want a third grade, just for ambience, stating the physical size of the planet. It doesn't even need to affect the gameplay.

Then you mix them together to form the actual title, or else display them separately.

"[status] [location] planet" or "[status] [location] [size-name]"

"Occupied frontier planet"

"Settled core planet"

I suggest:

Size grade:

• minor ____ planet (minor [fringe] planet), alternatively, "______ planetoid"
• ____ planet
• ____ world

Occupation grade:

• Posted / Stationed / Depot)
• Settled
• Colonized
• Established
• Bureaucratic
• Administrated
• Imperial Capital

Is the 'location' grade supposed to be the fringes of your empire, or the fringes of the galaxy? Naming differs between the two.

Location grade: (if galactic fringe)

- Fringe planet

- Distant planet

- Planet (just planet)

- Inner planet

- Core planet

Location grade: (if your empire's fringe)

- Frontier planet

- Border planet

- Provincial planet

- Planet (just planet)

- Central planet

This gives you things like:

Colonized minor provincial planet (alternatively, Colonized provincial planetoid)

Established border world

Administrated fringe planet

This is incredibly simple to code, adds alot to the ambience, and (I think) satisfies your requirements.

You can even use similar techniques (with more complex generation rules, but still not complex to code) to generate flavor text descriptions of planets.

• Depot - Totally or nearly unmanned location. Only serves as an extention of your realm. You do not technically own it, but for the purposes of internal economy system, the game considers this place as a part of your connected realm. Basically a shortcut through uncolonized stars without colonizing anything and costing little at the same time. Then again anyone can take that location away by simply building a settlement of the next level of settlement there. Also, depots of several non-hostile countries could exists on the same planet at the same time.
• Permanent settlement - A location that is permanently inhabited, It can be anything to one village to the capital.

Now, the sub-divisions of the permanent settlement:

• Expedition - a very small handful of people, who are dependant on the upkeep of the empire. Does not contain enough people to sustain a permanent self growing location without immigration. Population growth done though the voluntary travel of people to there. Or as a deportation location, where people are sent without their concent and have do by with whatever they have been given. State funded professional base building. Science expedition? Enterprenour expedition? Military expedition? Could used to assess the local resources.
• Enclave - can sustain itself without immigration and supplies. Starts to create output of its most abundant resource.
• Settlement - most of the important strategic locations are secured and no other empire can no longer do their stuff here without military action.
• Colony - this place is through its birth pains and is starting to do, what the original designation was. Is offically a part of the empire.
• World - a working economy. Not a strain on the system. Entirely integrated into your empire. Considerable population. A core world one would say.
• ...-center - a center of its designation. Your capital would be Administrative-center. Your world with the biggest trading world would be Trade-center. And so on.