Before anything is done in the realm of terraforming, you must find the appropriate planet to terraform. There's quite a lot of such planets, and, in fact, any planet with a solid surface could be considered prime terraforming material. However, there are two criteria that should force you to choose which planet to terraform and colonize first. They are location and the color of spice. Location for a number of reasons including acting as a buffer and refuel stop, and color of spice because it is important to production.

So! You've found your real estate. It has a great location and the best kind of spice that you require. Now, all you have to do is terraform it! Terraforming is broken up into 3 easy steps, each of which must be repeated to raise the planet's colonial capacity. These steps are changing the conditions, adding flora, and adding fauna. Each is essential to the livelihood of the planet, and must be completed as soon as possible! Therefore, if you are going out to terraform, make sure you bring at least one of every kind of planet (small, medium, large), two herbivore species, and one carni/omnivore species.

Changing the planet's conditions is the most involved and potentially expensive part of the terraforming process. Each planet has two ratings: temperature and atmospheric density. Temperature is how hot or cold the planet is, and atmospheric density is how much air the planet has. The more dense it is, the more clouds there are. For each of these attributes, there are two ways to change them. There are one shot items that hit the surface and change the conditions is large bursts, and then there are ray items that can be used continually but drain your energy like crazy. In early game, the disposables are easily what you want (never terraforming until you get them severly hinders you), but as soon as you have a large battery, you should plunk down the money for the rays. They make terraforming away from civilized systems far easier, and are much easier on your wallet as well. Finally, each concentric ring is a single terraforming level. T3 is the highest, and would be the "bullseye" if the conditions graph was a dartboard. You can make a mad dash for T3 if you want, you will just need 9 unique plant species (3 of each size). So completing the levels one at a time is the most preferable course of action.

Upon reaching the optimal atmospheric density and temperature (represented by concentric circles in your food web display), you will gain the ability to place flora and fauna. First plant the plants, because if they are not there first, your planet will kill the creatures you try to place on it. Upon placing the flora, the T-score will stabilize, meaning you can leave the system, come back, and the planet will still be the same (where if you don't place plants, it will drift out of the T-score area). After placing the plants, you may now place the creatures. Herbivores first, then the omni/carnivores. Keep in mind that you much hold down the tractor beam until the creature has its feet firmly on the planet, or it will die.

Upon completing a food chain, you may place a single colony! This colony, as mentioned for those being the East India Company, provide you with trading services as well as spice production. As soon as the planet has three full food chains, you can place as many colonies as you want, but three should produce all the spice you need, so don't bother. Managing your colony is much like managing a city in Civilization Stage, albeit with a few differences. First of all, factories generate spice, not money. Secondly, you can't construct land, air, or sea units, although if you choose some for that colony, they will auto-produce.

Along with terraforming a planet comes a few responsibilities. For one, if you complete at least one food chain, you should complete them all, both to gain progress for a badge and to increase spice. For another, you will be called upon to save the planet from eco-disasters, where a particular species is sick or rampaging and you have to kill the afflicted members. Beyond this, though, terraformed and colonized planets are mostly self-sufficient, and will pay out dividends to you on a regular basis in the form of the almighty spice production.

For those more interested in the aesthetic value of terraforming, fear not. There's a variety of planet-sculpting tools to be found around the universe. They do things such as change the mountains into tentacles, make the ground pink, or make the sky red. There's also a variety of terrain deformation tools available for purchase as you level up your badges, such as raise and lower ground and Terran terrain types, such as plateaus.

Terraforming is little more than a means to the colonization end, but it can be fun in its own right. Fiddling around with the structure of a planet's ecology is, for some reason, deeply satisfying. Even with no goal, sometimes it can just be loads of fun to make a planet suitable for life. And if left that way, life may indeed develop. With or without your help. For those more inclined to explore, though, your day has almost arrived. Just a little while longer!