Extraction
Resources & mining — feed the line
Mining is time travel: you spend hours now so tomorrow’s fabricators hum without babysitting. SpaceCraft blends surface sweeps, rock cracking, fluid wrangling, and risky compounds that punish sloppy storage. This guide frames each layer as a logistics decision — what to pull, how to move it, when to refine, and who might shoot you for carrying it. Pair it with ship fits sized for the rocks you actually farm.
Planet mining
Planets sell fantasy — colorful horizons, storm audio, settlement sightlines — but pilots should think in pads, power, and escape lanes. Scout deposit clusters with quick flyovers, mark hazards (cliffs, fauna if present, weather debuffs), then stage ground extractors or handheld beams as the loop rewards. Keep a fuel margin for launch windows; gravity is never free even when it feels gentle.
Planetary stockpiles pair naturally with nearby bases so drones shorten the last mile. When markets swing, reread economy notes before stockpiling rare dust nobody buys.
Asteroid mining
Asteroids trade predictability for exposure — fewer terrain traps, more piracy geometry. Position your ship for escape vectors not screenshots. Use companion drones where allowed; they extend reach but broadcast presence. Crack rocks in controlled bursts to avoid debris storms that scar hull paint and patience.
Align haul frequency with corp escorts when moving high-value ore; solo runs are fine until they are not.
Fluids & gases
Gases compress profit and risk. Invest in rated tanks, bleed valves, and naming schemes that prevent “mystery pipe” incidents. Route cryogenic lines away from crew quarters; thermal gradients love ruining maintenance schedules. If you pipe into orbit, inspect seals after every jump — micro-stresses hide in gaskets.
Explosive materials
Explosives turn mistakes into fireworks. Store low and secured, separate oxidizers from fuels in both inventory and imagination. Label containers for pickup teams; mixed stacks cause drama. For combat applications, review combat pacing so you detonate with intent, not panic.
Refining & logistics
Raw ore is homework; refined goods pay rent. Queue refineries during offline hours if the sim allows, or rotate shifts with corp mates. Watch power draw spikes — brownouts recycle valuable batches into slag stories. Connect refinery outputs to fabrication lanes you already tested; novel alloys deserve small batch trials before mass production.
New players should anchor habits in the beginner’s guide before scaling industrial sprawl.