Distribution of the materials in the galaxy
Materials are required to build blocks. They are also required at shipyards to buy new ships. They increase in strength and cost with tiers, have different weights and can form different types of blocks. The material of a block also affects things like energy generated by Generators and the power of Shield Generators and Hyperspace Cores, but not the energy generated by Solar Panels or the thrust from Engines and Thrusters or the effectiveness of a Computer Core.
Types
There are 7 types of materials (in ascending strength):
Each material has a specific color. Asteroids containing a certain material are dyed in their material's color, as well as blocks made of that material.
Material Stats
Each material has a strength level. Starting with Titanium, each material is 50% stronger than its predecessor. This means, that, for example, a ship made of Titanium has 1.5 times more HP than a ship with the exact same shape that is made of Iron. Material costs are always constant, but the credit cost increases by 35% each tier.
Values given for a 1x1x1 size cube of generic hull.
| Material | Color | Mass | Durability | Credit Cost | Material Cost | Distance From Core |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Iron | 51 | 4 | 11.1111 | 5 | Ubiquitous | |
| Titanium | 30 | 6 | 15 | 5 | Ubiquitous | |
| Naonite | 33 | 9 | 20.25 | 5 | 375 | |
| Trinium | 21 | 13.5 | 27.3375 | 5 | 300 | |
| Xanion | 27 | 20.25 | 36.905625 | 5 | 200 | |
| Ogonite | 45 | 30.375 | 49.82259375 | 5 | Coreside of Barrier | |
| Avorion | 36 | 45.5625 | 67.2605015625 | 5 | Near the Core |
See the table at API:Material for more information and exact numbers from the game's code.
Avorion is approximately 11x stronger than Iron. Iron is the Heaviest, followed by Ogonite, Avorion, Naonite, Titanium, Xanion, and finally Trinium.
Acquisition
Materials can be acquired by mining asteroids that contain the material, salvaging wreckages of ships and stations constructed with it or visiting the Resource Depot in an appropriate region of the Galaxy to purchase them with credits.
Each material has a level of acquisition, depending on its type. This level is simply the number or index of the material, starting with Iron (level 0), up to Avorion (level 6). A mining laser can only successfully mine materials that are no more than one level above the material it is made of, and same is true for Salvaging lasers. Regardless of technology level and rarity grade, both Mining and Salvaging lasers made out of Titanium (level 1) can only extract Naonite (level 2), but not Trinium (level 3) and stronger materials, and they also will collect Iron (level 0) at an increased rate (will do more damage).
Distribution
The distribution of the materials depends on the position of the sector in the galaxy. Common materials like Iron or Titanium can be found at the edge of the galaxy, whereas the more advanced materials are only found in the central regions of the galaxy.
| Materials | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Iron | Titanium | Naonite | Trinium | Xanion | Ogonite | Avorion | |