Space Industry Guide

Introduction

The space industry system gives players ways to build careers beyond combat. You can become a miner, surveyor, hauler, refiner, engineer, shipwright, or trader. You may specialize in one profession or take part in several stages of production.

The Industrial Process

Most industrial activity follows the same basic chain:

Salvaged materials from destroyed ships can also enter the production chain, giving combat pilots and salvagers another way to contribute.

Getting Started

A beginning industrial pilot needs:

• A ship capable of carrying industrial equipment
• An installed mining emitter or mining laser
• Available cargo space
• A crew member operating the appropriate engineering or industrial station

Surveying Space

Before mining, you must locate a resource site.

This searches nearby space for possible mining locations, including:

• Asteroid fields
• Dense asteroid clusters
• Comets and volatile bodies
• Planetary ring deposits
• Debris belts

Better survey scanners and stronger Ship Systems checks reveal more detailed information about discovered sites.

Viewing Resource Contacts

Depending on your survey result, a contact may reveal:

• Distance and broad site type
• Principal resource family
• Hazard rating
• Approximate resource grade
• Richness and remaining reserve
• Detailed composition after an exceptional survey

Mining Resources

Once you have selected a resource contact, begin extraction with:

Mining can continue over several extraction cycles. It stops when:

• Your cargo becomes full
• The deposit is depleted
• Your ship leaves mining range
• Your ship moves faster than the safe extraction limit
• The operator leaves the station
• Your ship enters combat
• A required module becomes unavailable
• You manually stop the operation

Checking Mining Status

Status information may include:

• Current target
• Extraction rate
• Heat or instability
• Estimated remaining reserve
• Available cargo space
• The reason mining stopped

Stopping Safely

Mining Modes

Cargo and Resource Quality

Industrial resources use cargo volume. Bulky ore may occupy far more room than compact electronic materials. Mining automatically stops when no additional material can fit.

Resource Grades

Material grade improves refining efficiency. It does not automatically create permanently stronger products.

Mining Hazards

Industrial sites can contain dangers such as:

• Debris impacts
• Static discharge
• Unstable asteroid rotation
• Volatile pockets
• Temporary scanner interference

Failed checks may cause:

• A lost extraction cycle
• Additional waste
• Minor hull or shield damage
• Temporary module shutdown
• Forced interruption until the ship repositions

Mining Ships

Prospector

• Low entry requirements
• Strong survey capability
• One or two industrial mounts
• Modest ore capacity
• Agile enough to escape danger

Excavator

• Improved extraction efficiency
• More cargo capacity
• Multiple industrial mounts
• Better stabilization
• Limited combat armament

Larger mining barges and refinery tenders may appear later as group mining and advanced industrial gameplay expand.

Mining and Industrial Equipment

Refining

Raw resources are processed into standardized industrial commodities.

Refining is a timed job rather than an instant conversion. Better refining skill improves efficiency and reduces waste. Failure lowers output rather than destroying an entire valuable batch.

Facility Types

• Compact Ship Refinery: Basic recipes with lower yield and higher operating cost.
• Planetary or Station Refinery: Normal recipes and normal yield.
• Industrial Structure: Planned future facility for high-volume processing.

Manufacturing

Refined commodities can be converted into components and ship modules. Common component types include:

• Hull plating and structural members
• Control circuitry
• Sensor components
• Drive components
• Shield and weapon components
• Power-distribution components
• Habitat and life-support packages

Engineers use known module patterns at valid engineering facilities to create unique modules that preserve their craftsmanship and optimization.

Ship Construction

Constructing a ship requires:

• A learned hull blueprint
• Bulk structural materials
• Circuitry and subsystem packages
• A valid shipyard
• A shipwright to oversee construction

When completed, the project creates a normal persistent ship at the shipyard. The ship belongs to the intended owner and can be used like any other player ship.

Constructed ships normally begin with stock systems unless the recipe specifically includes crafted modules.

Blueprints and Patterns

Players must learn a design before constructing it.

• Hull Blueprint: Used to construct a ship hull.
• Module Pattern: Used to manufacture a ship module.
• Improvement Schematic: Existing consumable used for direct ship improvements.

Possible sources include:

• Faction and shipyard vendors
• Salvage and exploration
• Artisan progression
• Quests and events

Craftsmanship

Quality is determined by milestone checks during fabrication, integration, calibration, testing, and commissioning. Better skill, facilities, assistants, and materials improve the chance of a superior result, but Masterwork quality is never unlimited or automatic.

Hull Optimizations

• Reinforced frame
• Expanded cargo hold
• Serviceable construction
• Responsive controls
• Tuned propulsion
• Modular frame
• Industrial frame

Module Optimizations

• Compact
• Calibrated
• Installer-friendly
• Rugged
• Efficient

Persistent Projects and Contracts

Large industrial jobs are stored as persistent projects. They survive disconnects, interruptions, and server reboots.

Projects Can Track

• The owner and intended recipient
• The selected blueprint and optimization
• Required materials and credits
• Current construction phase
• Contributors and foreman
• Craftsmanship results
• Completed output

Construction Contracts

A contract may specify:

• The customer
• The requested product
• The selected optimization
• The quoted fee
• Customer-supplied materials
• The delivery recipient

Materials and credits can be placed into project escrow so both customer and builder are protected while work is underway.

Command Reference

Tips for New Industrial Pilots

• Begin with a survey scanner and basic mining emitter.
• Use Standard mode until you understand site hazards and cargo limits.
• Upgrade to a Prospector when you want stronger surveying and safer entry-level mining.
• Watch cargo volume carefully because bulky ore fills holds quickly.
• Use Precision mode on valuable deposits where waste matters.
• Use Strip mode only when faster output is worth the additional danger and depletion.
• Refining usually adds more value than selling raw ore immediately.
• Save useful salvage because industrial recipes can use recovered materials.
• Work with haulers, refiners, engineers, and shipwrights on larger projects.
• Inspect crafted products to see their quality, optimization, and exact benefits.

The space industry rewards exploration, cooperation, logistics, and craftsmanship. Whether you want to become a solo prospector or help build large ships for other players, every stage of production can become a profession of its own.