Stations & Sector Infrastructure
A Sector Station is the regional headquarters of a sector. In v0.10.0 the station was reworked into a shared storage-and-logistics hub: a single big warehouse that every asteroid in the sector can draw from directly, plus the anchor point for free in-sector cargo delivery. One station serves a whole sector of asteroids, raises a small regional mining/refining bonus, and — apart from its own (reserved) module slots — gates nothing else in the game.
This page covers the base sector station, the shared resource pool, limpet logistics, the four specialization variants, and how all of this relates to sectors and expeditions.
What a Station Is (and Is Not)
A station is not a building you place on an asteroid surface. It is a
sector-level structure built and upgraded from the Projects → World panel.
Each owned station instance keeps its own resource pool (inv) and a
per-level storage cap, and it lists the asteroids it is connected to.
| A station does | A station does not |
|---|---|
| Provide a large shared resource pool for its sector | Gate the Science Dorm, Trade Lodge, Component Factory, or Cargo Shuttle Dock |
| Apply a regional mining and refining bonus to connected asteroids | Gate the Orbital Foundry mega project |
| Enable free, instant limpet delivery to asteroids in its sector | Gate access to dangerous / Beta-tier sectors |
| Raise sector-wide storage capacity (25,000 → 1,000,000) | Lock you out of building or running recipes |
| Reserve module slots (1 → 5) for a future expansion layer | Require manual collection or “managing” each asteroid |
Design note — the station soft-lock is gone. Earlier builds funnelled much of mid-game progression through “build your first station.” In v0.10.0 every one of those
firstStationBuilt/sectorStationrequirements was removed. The only thing the station will ever gate is its own station modules, which are deferred to a later update (themoduleSlotsfield is already reserved on each station level).
The Shared Resource Pool (Direct-Draw)
Every sector station is a shared warehouse. Any owned asteroid the station serves can build structures and run recipes drawing straight from the station’s pool — no shuttle trip required. This is the “direct-draw” model.
- Affordability for any build or recipe is checked against the asteroid’s own local stock plus its sector station’s pool.
- Spending drains the asteroid’s local stock first, then tops up from the station pool.
- Production output stays local. Buildings deposit what they make onto their own asteroid; you decide when to ship surplus up to the station pool.
- The empire-wide resource aggregate (the number shown in your Inventory) counts both asteroid inventories and every station pool.
availableForBuild(asteroid, resource) = asteroidStock + sectorStationPool
spendForBuild(): drain local stock first → then drain the station pool
In practice this means the station behaves like a sector-wide bank account: stockpile refined goods and components there once, and every asteroid in the sector can build from them instantly.
Storage Capacity by Level
The station’s pool has a hard cap that grows steeply with station level.
| Station Level | Storage Cap | Max Connected Asteroids | Module Slots (reserved) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 25,000 | 5 | 1 |
| 2 | 75,000 | 8 | 2 |
| 3 | 200,000 | 12 | 3 |
| 4 | 500,000 | 18 | 4 |
| 5 | 1,000,000 | 25 | 5 |
Limpets & Logistics
Stations are also the hub of the logistics network. How goods move depends on whether each endpoint is an asteroid or a station:
| Route | Cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Station → asteroid (same sector) | Free & instant — a “limpet” | The signature station delivery. Capacity-limited by the destination’s headroom; overflow bounces back. |
| Asteroid → station | Burns fuel (flight) | Origin asteroid needs a Cargo Shuttle Dock. |
| Asteroid → asteroid (same sector) | Burns fuel (flight) | Both must be in the same sector. |
| Station → station | Burns fuel (flight) | The only way to move goods between sectors. |
| Asteroid → anything in another sector | Not allowed | Asteroids can never shuttle out of their own sector. Route through a station. |
The takeaway: asteroids are confined to their sector, while stations are the gateways between sectors. Push surplus from asteroids up to the local station, hop it station-to-station across sectors, then let the destination station limpet it down to its asteroids for free.
How Stations Relate to Sectors
- One station per sector anchors that sector. Its
connectedAsteroidslist defines which asteroids share its pool and receive its limpets and bonuses. - The number of asteroids a station can connect grows with level (5 → 25).
- A sector’s danger tier, signature resources, and traits are described under Sectors; the station sits on top of all that as the sector’s storage and logistics backbone.
Where Did the “Manage” Panel Go?
The old per-asteroid “Manage” panel was retired in v0.10.0. There is no single asteroid-management screen anymore. Everything it used to do is now spread across purpose-built surfaces:
| Old “Manage” task | Now done in |
|---|---|
| Build structures on an asteroid | Asteroid surface “+ Build” drawer |
| Allocate a deposit / split mining | Mine Shaft modal on the asteroid |
| View / move stocks | Inventory panel |
| Assign crews | Dwarves panel |
| Build & upgrade stations | Projects → World panel |
Where Asteroids Come From
You do not buy asteroids. New asteroids are discovered via expeditions: completing an expedition has a chance (~18%) to discover a free, unowned asteroid in that expedition’s sector and grant it to you. (You can still claim known asteroids directly where available.) A bigger station — with more connection slots — is what lets a sector’s growing roster of discovered asteroids all share one pool.
Building a Sector Station
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Built from | Projects → World panel |
| Unlock requirement | A Cargo Shuttle Dock (Lv 1+) and 3 asteroids claimed |
| Build cost | 5,000 Iron · 2,000 Copper · 10,000 Credits |
| Build time | 3,600 s (1 hour) |
Sector Station Upgrade Track
Level 1 is paid as part of the build. Each later level costs Components, Station Parts, and Credits, and raises the regional mining/refining bonus.
| Level | Upgrade Cost | Mining Bonus | Refining Bonus | Max Connected | Storage Cap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | (included in build) | +10% | +10% | 5 | 25,000 |
| 2 | 500 Components · 50 Station Parts · 25,000 Cr | +15% | +15% | 8 | 75,000 |
| 3 | 1,200 Components · 120 Station Parts · 60,000 Cr | +20% | +20% | 12 | 200,000 |
| 4 | 3,000 Components · 300 Station Parts · 150,000 Cr | +28% | +28% | 18 | 500,000 |
| 5 | 7,500 Components · 750 Station Parts · 375,000 Cr | +38% | +38% | 25 | 1,000,000 |
The mining and refining multipliers apply to every connected asteroid in the sector.
Station Specializations
Beyond the base hub, the game data defines four specialization variants. A specialization is built on the same base cost as a sector station plus an extra one-time specialization cost, and it requires a research unlock. Each swaps the generic mining/refining bonus for a focused regional effect.
These variants and their bonuses live in the station data and are referenced by the live systems (for example, a Research Nexus grants connected Science Dorms a research-speed boost). Treat the unlock gates below as the documented prerequisites; the base sector station remains the primary structure you build in v0.10.0.
| Specialization | Research Unlock | Extra Specialization Cost | Focus |
|---|---|---|---|
| Industrial Hub | Industrial Protocols (Runic Engineering) | 2,000 Components · 500 Station Parts · 80,000 Cr | Refining throughput & output |
| Research Nexus | Arcane Coordination (Runic Engineering) | 1,500 Electronics · 400 Station Parts · 70,000 Cr | Research speed & queue slots |
| Trade Hub | Trade Contracts (Guild Administration) | 1,800 Components · 450 Station Parts · 90,000 Cr | Market sell/buy & event frequency |
| Military Outpost | Forward Base (Void Navigation) | 2,500 Machine Parts · 600 Station Parts · 100,000 Cr | Expedition risk, rewards & slots |
All four also require an existing sector station at Level 3 before specializing. Their regional bonuses scale across five levels:
Industrial Hub
| Level | Refining Throughput | Output Ratio | Refinery Upgrade Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | +35% | +20% | ×0.85 |
| 3 | +48% | +25% | ×0.80 |
| 5 | +70% | +32% | ×0.75 (+ automated refinery balancing) |
Research Nexus
| Level | Research Speed | Research Queue Slots |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | +40% | +2 |
| 3 | +58% | +3 |
| 5 | +85% | +4 (+ all-research cost ×0.80) |
Trade Hub
| Level | Sell Price | Buy Cost | Market Event Frequency |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | +30% | ×0.80 | +25% |
| 3 | +42% | ×0.75 | +36% |
| 5 | +60% | ×0.68 | +55% (+ interstellar trade routes) |
Military Outpost
| Level | Hazard Risk | Expedition Reward | Extra Expedition Slots |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ×0.75 | +20% | +1 |
| 3 | ×0.68 | +32% | +1 |
| 5 | ×0.55 | +50% | +2 (+ free in-sector rescues) |
The Deep Space Explorer
New in v0.15.0, the Deep Space Explorer is a single, relocatable mobile beachhead station. There can only ever be one — it is a unique unit, not a buildable per-sector structure. It is unlocked once you have a normal sector station built in Alpha.
Where an ordinary station is nailed to the sector it was built in, the Explorer is a forward operating base you can drop anywhere:
- Deploy it to any unlocked sector — including one where you own nothing yet. It does not need a claimed asteroid to anchor to.
- It auto-limpets to every asteroid you hold in that sector, and the limpet set is refreshed each tick as your holdings change.
- It can pull resources instantly from any of your other stations across sectors, drawing on the shared resource pool empire-wide rather than one sector’s warehouse.
Relocating (Move Explorer)
You relocate the Explorer through a move modal (“Move Explorer”). The same unit picks up and re-homes to the target sector; its cargo travels with it. A move is free and instant — there is no travel time — unlike parking a defence fleet, which does incur transit. This makes the Explorer the fastest way to establish presence in a freshly unlocked sector and start feeding limpets before you have built anything permanent.
Sector Raids & Station Durability
As of v0.16.0, holding a station is no longer purely passive. A sector station you hold beyond Alpha can be raided while you are online — see Sector Raids for the full mechanic.
A raiding fleet grinds down the station’s infrastructure durability by 1% per 15-minute tick while it goes un-repelled. Maximum durability scales with station level:
| Station Level | Max Infrastructure Durability |
|---|---|
| 1 | 500 |
| 2 | 900 |
| 3 | 1,500 |
| 4 | 2,400 |
| 5 | 4,000 |
Repair from the Defense panel at 2 Station Parts + 60 Credits per 1%. Below 25% durability the station is crippled until repaired. Full detail: Sector Raids.
Quick Reference
- A station is a shared warehouse + logistics hub for one sector, built from Projects → World.
- Asteroids direct-draw from the station pool to build and craft; output stays local until you ship it up.
- Limpets = free, instant station → asteroid delivery within the sector.
- Asteroids can’t leave their sector; stations bridge sectors (station → station flights).
- The station gates nothing except its own future module slots.
- New asteroids arrive via expedition discovery, and there is no longer a per-asteroid “Manage” panel.
See also: Sectors · Mega Projects · Research Tree · Automation & QoL