Balancing · Refinement
Refinement and phase transfer
The economy tracks both tier and matter state. Refinement raises tier inside one matter state; phase transfer changes matter state via dedicated constructions only.
Every resource stack is identified by three pieces: resource id, tier, and matter state (solid, liquid, gas, plasma). Raw resources have a canonical matter state (pig-iron and crystal are solid; frubin is liquid; orizin is gas; frurozin is plasma).
Refineries do not change matter state. If a recipe runs in a liquid refinery, its inputs and outputs are liquid. If you want a solid, you convert it with a phase converter - not by hoping a recipe "casts" it silently.
Explicit recipes (like alloys and vapors) combine specific input resources, but they still follow the same rule: the recipe's required matter state applies to inputs and output alike.
System overview
Pan and zoom the diagram. Select a node to read the rule it represents.
Refinement does not change matter state. Phase changes only happen via phase converters.
- A stack is (resourceId, tier, matterState).
- Refinement increases tier within the same matterState.
- Converters move a stack between matter states at the same tier.
Rules (no surprises)
- Stable identity — A resource stack is defined by (resource id, tier, matter state). The UI should never drop the matter state when it matters.
- Refinement stays in phase — Refineries increase tier within one matter state (solid refinery → solid outputs; liquid refinery → liquid outputs; and so on).
- Phase change is explicit — Matter state changes only happen via the dedicated phase-converter constructions.
- Explicit recipes still obey phase — Alloys, vapors, and other explicit recipes are executed in a specific matter state and do not silently cast outputs into a different state.
FAQ
Why do I sometimes see a phase-conversion step in a requirement tree?
If a cost requires a specific matter state, and you only have the same resource+tier in a different matter state, the planner will show the shortest converter path.
This is intentional - it makes phase requirements visible instead of silently failing.
Does tier change the natural matter state of a resource?
Raw resources keep their canonical matter state across tiers. Compounds inherit their matter state from the refinement recipe that produces them.
If you need a different matter state, you convert the stack explicitly.
This page is a reference for the current alpha. It is meant to match the live ruleset and the planner logic, not an aspirational design doc.