From SporeWiki, the knowledge base dedicated to Spore

[edit] What They Do

Artifacts are remains of advanced civilizations that have become extinct, or space faring civilizations that have visited the area in question and then moved on, leaving behind an artifact for whatever reason. They can be beamed aboard the UFO when found, using a tractor beam and analyzed. It is likely this will grant the player new technologies or other bonuses, providing an alternate way to gain new technology rather than spending the resources to have your race research it.

It is not known whether players will be able to leave behind artifacts on deserted planets for other players to find, or if artifacts will only be placed by the computer when procedurally generating a system.

[edit] Where to Find Them

In the demo, Will Wright finds an artifact on an uninhabited planet, suggesting that they can be found anywhere. The planet was also very close to the sun and was an uninhabitable-looking lava world, suggesting that whoever placed the artifact had just turned up, left it there and then moved on, unless the planet's state was the product of some ancient accident.

[edit] See Also

• UFO