Board Thread:Questions and Answers/@comment-116.251.22.2-20161021062946/@comment-122.58.239.177-20161122234313

Engineers are people (ai, not real) who will improve your ship for the cost of micromaterals and sometimes commities. Commodities have to be purchased at a starport. Micromaterals have to be found via other means (eg. Mining, blowing up ships etc). Each micromateral counts as 3t of cargo (meaning you get a raito 3:1 tonnes of micromaterals. [3 tonnes for every 1 tonne collected]). When you give micromaterals to the enginners, the game will choose a random value of all the effects that modification can give you. You will get secondary effects and for weapons and experimental effect. Keep in mind that not all engineers can upgrade everything. Some of them will be out-of-the-way places (eg Maia).

Be warned: When you are hauling these, be prepared to be interdicted at all times. Pirates will do ANYTHING and I mean anything to get their hands on micromaterals.