NavCom Manual

Navigation And Automation

Route planning now uses shared server rules for manual travel, assisted routes, NPC movement, Trade Autopilot, and planetary logistics. Automation saves clicks, but it still spends normal resources and pauses for danger.

Course Plot

Route Priorities

Fastest

Minimizes cycles first, then fuel cells. Use it when time matters more than exposure.

Efficient

Minimizes fuel cells first, then cycles. Use it when fuel supply is tight or routes cross sparse markets.

Safest

Minimizes known route risk before cost. It considers explored hazards, outlaw/frontier exposure, wormholes, visible minefields, and known war pressure.

Memory Bound

NavCom uses only sectors and lanes already in your exploration memory. It does not reveal hidden sectors, unknown ports, or live ships before entry.

Persistent Travel

Assisted Routes

Engaging a route creates a server-owned assisted-route execution with a frozen known-sector path. The route console advances one authoritative hop at a time, survives browser refreshes, and can be cancelled explicitly.

Refresh RecoveryActive routes can resume after a browser refresh.
Outside MovementMoving outside the planned course interrupts the execution.
CompletionWhen the destination is reached, the route completes and the captain remains in that sector.
Preflight RiskThe route console keeps known risk visible while each hop still resolves live incidents on entry.

Route Risk

Travel Incidents

Manual and assisted movement share one ordered incident pipeline.

1. ValidateUniverse state, route edge, ship, and execution state are checked.
2. SpendCycles and fuel cells are consumed before route events resolve.
3. MinesBlockade mines roll first. Larger fields raise trigger chance; scanner and escape ratings reduce it.
4. HazardsEnvironmental checks are reported as a structured stage, ready for future balancing.
5. InterceptionOpposing-alignment NPCs can intercept and link directly into tactical briefing.
6. ReportThe structured travel report tells clients whether automation should continue or pause.

Living Traffic

NPC Operations

Assignments

NPCs now keep persistent goals, destinations, risk tolerance, home sectors, credits, and cargo state.

Roles

Rescue captains seek stranded ships; raiders and bounty hunters hunt eligible targets; patrols guard protected space; merchants, haulers, smugglers, and roaming captains follow role rules.

Movement

NPCs follow deterministic shortest paths with route restrictions by role. Sector presence and ship contacts show operation labels.

Player Risk

Opposing-alignment NPC interception remains chance-based and reduced by scanner and escape ratings.

Trade Hardware

Trade Autopilot

Trade Autopilot routes are persistent port-to-port circuits managed from Nav Computer. They require logistics-capable hardware and start only while docked at a known source port that sells the selected cargo.

Route Controls

Choose endpoints, cargo, quantity, priority, cadence, endpoint refueling, pause/resume state, and whether known danger is allowed.

Normal Costs

Automation consumes ordinary credits, cargo space, market stock, demand, fuel cells, cycles, and route risk.

Cadence

Each route advances only one action when its selected cadence is due: load, one sector hop, unload, or one return hop. The minimum cadence is five minutes, so a complete circuit takes several intervals.

Pause Conditions

Routes pause on incidents, captain deviation, depleted markets, insufficient credits/fuel/cycles/cargo, ownership changes, or other blockers.

Checking Progress

Route cards show the current phase, leg, completed trips, last status, and any blocking error. Refresh or reopen Nav Computer to retrieve worker progress; the current panel does not update itself while left open.

Stay On Course

Do not move the captain manually after commissioning a route. Leaving the expected source, destination, or route sector pauses automation for review.

Delivery Missions

A compatible Trade Autopilot route can advance an accepted Delivery mission. Its movement and trade actions consume the same mission cycle allowance as manual commands.

Prospect Barge

Planetary Logistics Core

Planetary Logistics Core is a separate Prospect Barge hardware slot for planet-to-port exports, port-to-planet supply, and planet-to-planet transfers.

AuthorizationPlanet endpoints must be personally owned or controlled by the captain's corporation.
Finite StoragePlanet stores and warehouse capacity are enforced. Full storage pauses the route.
Fuel Cargo RuleFuel cells can move as cargo only between planets. Port fuel remains reactor supply.
Same SectorSame-sector routes skip movement without inventing fuel or cycle costs.