Gathering & scanning

Resources in the game come from three sources in a zone: ore deposits, plants, and deployables. This page explains how each works and how the collection loop goes.

UI locations follow the client UI overview: scanning and harvest actions live in the undocked actions list (top-right while in a zone). Yield numbers per resource type are in the generated tables: Content → Ores and Content → Plants. Mechanics below are confirmed against the server implementation.

The basic loop

Undock and move into a zone (see movement).
Scan the area with your robot's scanner module.
Collect — harvest ore, pick plant fruit, or strip deployables.
Dock and deliver your cargo to a base container.

Ore deposits

Ore exists in the ground as deposits (nodes) scattered across the zone.
To find and record them you need a geo-scanner module fitted on your active robot. A scan produces a scan result; you then upload it, which stores it in your personal mineral-scan list.
Your stored scan results can be listed, moved, deleted, or converted into items (the "mineral scan" items used for processing/production).

flowchart TD
    A["Undock and move to a deposit\n(scan results or known node)"] --> T{"Ore type"}
    T -->|solid| S["Target and mine each tile\nof the field one by one"]
    T -->|liquid| L["Mine continuously from the whole\nfield as long as cargo lasts"]
    S --> F["Node depletes tile by tile"]
    L --> F
    F --> R{"Node below its threshold?"}
    R -->|yes| G["Node is removed; the zone\nregenerates a new one over time"]
    R -->|no| A

Deposits are finite: each node holds a limited total amount. When a node is mined below its threshold it is removed, and the zone regenerates new nodes over time up to its configured maximum. How nodes are placed and how plant populations are maintained — with real zones as worked examples — is in Zones → Generation.
Solid vs liquid ores. Solid ores deplete tile by tile — you target and mine each tile of the field until it's empty. Liquid ores draw from the whole field, so your miner can run continuously as long as you have cargo. That ease is exactly why liquid ores tend to be worth less: less skill and attention to mine.

Plant & ore stats at a glance

Ore and plant behaviour is driven by per-type rule data. The fields that matter to a player:

Field	What it means in-game
`fertility`	How common the type is — higher value = the zone tries to keep more of it around
`growRate`	How many growth cycles a plant must sit in each stage before advancing (higher = slower)
`spreading`	Whether the type grows in clusters (groups) or scattered
`killDistance`	Minimum spacing between two plants of the same type
`slope` / `minSlope`	The ground steepness the plant will grow on
`allowedAltitudeLow/High`	The elevation band where the plant can grow
`allowedWaterLevelLow/High`	Distance-from-shore band (creates coastal vegetation)
`fruitingState`	Which growth stage the plant must reach before it produces (is harvestable)
`fruitDefinition` / `fruitAmount`	What the plant yields and the base amount
`maxAmount`	Cap on how many of this type exist in a processing area
`health`	Hit points per growth stage (higher stages can be tougher)
`damageScale`	Damage resistance of the plant
`playerSeeded`	The plant only exists where a player planted it
`onlyOnUnprotectedZone`	Only grows on unprotected (beta/gamma-class) zones

The full field-by-field reference (types, defaults, storage, and how the zone tick uses them) is in Formats → Plant fields.

Plants

Plants grow over time through a sequence of stages. Each stage takes a number of growth cycles (growRate) before the plant randomly advances.
A plant only produces fruit once it reaches its fruiting stage — immature plants are not harvestable.
The zone maintains plant populations toward a fertility target: if a patch of ground is under-planted for its fertility level, new plants sprout; the type chosen weighs each species' fertility, and spreading biases new growth toward existing clusters.

flowchart TD
    A["Find a plant (scan or sight)"] --> G{"Growth stage"}
    G -->|immature| W["Not harvestable yet —\nwait out its growRate cycles"]
    W --> G
    G -->|fruiting stage| H["Harvest: fruit x fruitAmount\ninto your cargo"]
    H --> Z["Zone keeps the population toward\nthe fertility target: new plants sprout,\nbiased toward existing clusters"]
    Z --> A

Some plants are player-seeded (they only exist in player gardens) and some are unprotected-zone only.
Plants can be damaged and killed; their health and damageScale determine how hard that is.

Deployables

Deployables are placed objects in a zone (see Power base stations for the structure side). Some can be stripped for materials. Stripping rules and per-type yields are in the generated tables: Content → Ores and Content → Plants.

flowchart LR
    A["Locate a deployable\n(structure / placeable object)"] --> B["Strip it for materials\n(per-type yields in the generated tables)"]
    B --> C["Materials to your cargo"]
    C --> D["Object depleted or destroyed"]

Kiosks

A kiosk is a mission-related structure: you submit items to it (in range) as part of a mission. It is not a gathering source on its own — see missions.

Practical notes

Scanning requires the module — no geo-scanner fitted, no scan results.
Scan results are yours — they live per character and are not shared.
Ore nodes respawn, but slowly — if an area is bare, the deposit is gone, not hidden. Regeneration restores the node count, not instantly.
Harvest what's mature — fruiting-stage plants give the full yield; younger stages give nothing.