Balancing · Fleets
Decay salvage
Idle hull loss is not always a total wipe. When a ship fully decays on the map, part of its fitted value can remain on the orbit tile as a salvage pile - if someone finds it in time.
Decay salvage is the recovery loop on top of fleet hull decay. The physical stack is global: every commander shares the same coordinates and remaining cargo. Intel is private: you only see a pile in your residue list after your fleet runs a residue scan while orbiting nearby.
Collection is contested. Multiple fleets can discover the same stack. Each claim pass pulls material into whichever fleet is adjacent, has a salvage siphon fitted, and still has storage bays with free capacity for that matter class.
Numbers below mirror the live shipDecayResidue config and component stats. When balancing changes, this page updates with the code.
Shared stacks, private intel
Stacks spawn when a ship is fully removed by idle decay while its fleet is orbiting. Repeat losses on the same tile merge into one available stack. Discovery does not reserve the pile for you - it only adds a row to your map residue list and pins.
- Spawn cap
- 10%
- Recovery per trip
- 5–10%
- Stack lifetime
- 90 d
The salvage loop
Three beats: spawn from decay, discover with scanners, collect with a siphon. Fuel and decay timers still matter - salvage rewards commanders who patrol decay lanes, not only homeworld industry.
1. Spawn
On full idle decay loss, the server rolls a pile up to 10% of fitted build costs plus cargo aboard at loss. Multiple decays on the same orbit tile merge into one stack until it is depleted.
2. Discover
Fit a residue scanner Mk1, Mk2, or Mk3 and run Residue scan from the fleet HUD while orbiting. Chebyshev reach is 9×9, 17×17, or 25×25 tiles for the three marks. Only you receive the intel row and map pin.
3. Collect
Move adjacent (within one Chebyshev tile), fit a salvage siphon, and claim. Each pass moves a slice of the pile into fleet cargo based on the research level baked into your scanner when it was crafted - 5% at level 1 scaling toward 10% at max research.
Modules and research
Decay-residue-scanning is the research track. Scanner marks gate on research level; the salvage siphon gates at level 2. Craft new scanner modules after advancing research - recovery badges come from moduleResearchLevel at assemble time, not your live lab level during the claim.
Residue scanner Mk1
Requires decay-residue-scanning level 1. Scans a 9×9 Chebyshev footprint (radius 4). Entry-level patrol fit for nearby decay lanes.
Residue scanner Mk2
Requires decay-residue-scanning level 3. Scans 17×17 tiles (radius 8). Better reach for covering beacon lanes and idle parking spots.
Residue scanner Mk3
Requires decay-residue-scanning level 5. Scans 25×25 tiles (radius 12). Serious refined-material investment - craft after you commit to salvage as a map role.
Salvage siphon
Requires decay-residue-scanning level 2. Mandatory for collection - scanners alone only reveal piles. Pair with storage bays that match the matter classes you expect to recover (solid, liquid, gas, plasma).
Recovery percent is frozen on the scanner module when it is crafted or assembled onto a ship. Upgrading lab research later does not retroactively buff old modules - rebuild or fit fresh scanners for higher recovery badges.
Contested collection
There is no personal lock on a stack after discovery. Rival fleets can scan the same pile, park adjacent, and claim on the same tick window if they have siphon capacity. Practical tips:
- Run scans after you hear decay alerts on tiles you care about - idle losses are public drama.
- Bring spare storage class capacity; claims skip matter classes with zero fitted bays and report CARGO_CLASS_NOT_FITTED.
- Partial claims leave remainder on the tile until someone depletes it or the stack TTL expires.
- The residue overlay lists every stack you have discovered, with row previews and remaining totals.
Alpha honesty
Decay salvage is live for spawn, scan, claim, the residue list overlay, and map pins for stacks you have discovered. A scheduler-driven TTL sweeper removes stacks older than the configured lifetime (90 days in the current alpha ruleset).
Why ships rot in the first place
Salvage only appears after idle hull decay completes. Fuel still decides whether you can rotate fleets away from maintenance coverage.
- Spawn cap is 10% of fitted build costs plus cargo at loss (maxRecoveryFraction).
- Claim recovery scales 5% at scanner module research level 1 to 10% at level 5, relative to the spawn cap.
- Scan footprints: Mk1 9×9, Mk2 17×17, Mk3 25×25 Chebyshev tiles (component radius 4 / 8 / 12).
- Claim requires Chebyshev distance ≤ 1 from the stack tile, a salvage siphon, and free storage bays per matter class.
- Story and intent: /blog/decay-residue-salvage-august-2026.