This is a really fun game! The art style, music and SFX really contribute to a nice and cozy atmosphere, which really compliments the ratio of how much you have to think versus how much you can turn your brain off.
My main gripe is something the dev is already aware of (we know each other), which is that it needs a tutorial. The game has a lot of intricate mechanics, and without knowing them, the game becomes a lot harder, and somewhat confusing. It would probably be easiest to integrate it into the first level, since it’s a fairly simple one.
I also think you need to be able to delete buildings. There were numerous times where I screwed myself over (especially while I was still learning how the game worked) to the point where it was easier to start the level over than to continue moving forward. It could be interesting if you could build nanobots that would eat the building over a certain amount of time and then destroy themselves? That way, there are still heavy consequences for how you place your buildings, but then if you absolutely need to, you can change the layout.
You could also potentially solve this problem by adding an element to the UI that tells you how many buildings you have, how many slots are available on a given planet, how much each planet is producing, etc.
One of my favorite mechanics is how what resources you can convert is entirely dependent on which planet you are on, forcing you to move around, and preventing you from automating the process entirely. It’s a lovely and welcome deviation from games like cookie clicker, whilst still having that kind of energy
(in other words, it’s like cookie clicker, but more engaging)
Fun game! Great work! Keep making games!