Materials

Template:UpdateMeMaterials are small elements that can be found from a variety of sources that can be used to maintain or enhance the abilities of your ship and SRV.

File:Polonium-Material-and-SRV.png

Polonium and SRV

They do not take up space in cargo racks. Instead, materials have a separate inventory, and are only stored in tiny quantities. The maximum that can be carried at once is 1000 units.

They are currently used for 2 main purposes: Synthesis and Engineering

Materials can be classified into 1 of 3 categories:

• Raw: Basic, naturally occurring, chemical elements. Used in synthesis and in many Engineer Blueprints.

Sources: Surface prospecting, asteroid mining.

• Manufactured: Only used in Engineer Blueprints.

Sources: Ship salvage, Unidentified Signal Sources

• Data: Only used in Engineer Blueprints

Sources: Ship scanning, planetary outposts, Encoded Emissions Sources Within each category, materials come in various grades representing their rarity (1 = Very Common, up to 5 = Very Rare), with rarer materials providing greater effects when used.

Materials remain available when switching between vehicles, and in the case of vehicle destruction they are saved by the pilot's escape system.

Raw Material Sources

File:Geo and Bio Materials.jpg

Geo and bio materials study

Material sources on planets and moons can be located by use of the Wave Scanner of an SRV. When they are destroyed by weapons fire from a ship or SRV they explode into chunks of materials, which can be collected using a ship or SRV's Cargo Scoop.

The type of materials vary depending on the geology of the body, the type of world it is and where it is situated. As well as sources which are natural parts of the body, there are meteorites which fell from space, cargo racks of downed ships, and perhaps other more mysterious sources to be found (e.g. alien structures).

Material sources discovered so far are:

• Outcrop
  • Common Outcrop - contains non metals
  • Metallic Outcrop - contains metals
• Meteorites:
  • Bronzite Chondrite
  • Mesosiderite
  • Metallic Meteorite
• Cargo Rack

Raw materials are also dropped by asteroids when mining. When a prospector reports on an asteroid's content, it will also show it's 'Material Content' - Low, Medium, or High. The higher the material content, the higher the likelihood of it dropping rare materials.

List of Raw Materials

Name	Grade	Found in	Used in
Antimony	Very Rare	Mesosiderite Metallic Meteorite	Small Calibre Munitions Large Calibre Munitions
Arsenic	Common	Outcrop Bronzite Chondrite Mesosiderite Metallic Meteorite	SRV Refuel FSD Injection Explosives Munitions Large Calibre Munitions
Cadmium	Rare	Mesosiderite Metallic Meteorite	FSD Injection Plasma Munitions
Carbon	Very common	Outcrop Bronzite Chondrite Mesosiderite Metallic Meteorite	Explosives Munitions Large Calibre Munitions
Chromium	Common	Outcrop Bronzite Chondrite Mesosiderite Metallic Meteorite	AFM Refill SRV Repair
Germanium	Common	Mesosiderite Metallic Meteorite	FSD Injection
Iron	Very common	Outcrop Bronzite Chondrite Mesosiderite Metallic Meteorite	SRV Repair Plasma Munitions Explosives Munitions Small Calibre Munitions High Velocity Munitions
Manganese	Common	Outcrop Bronzite Chondrite Mesosiderite Metallic Meteorite Cargo Rack	SRV Ammo Restock SRV Repair Plasma Munitions AFM Refill
Mercury	Rare	Mesosiderite Outcrop	Explosives Munitions Small Calibre Munitions Large Calibre Munitions SRV Refuel
Molybdenum	Rare	Outcrop Bronzite Chondrite Mesosiderite Metallic Meteorite	SRV Ammo Restock SRV Repair Plasma Munitions AFM Refill
Nickel	Very common	Outcrop Bronzite Chondrite Mesosiderite Metallic Meteorite	SRV Repair Plasma Munitions Explosives Munitions Small Calibre Munitions Large Calibre Munitions AFM Refill
Niobium	Rare	Outcrop Bronzite Chondrite Mesosiderite Metallic Meteorite	FSD Injection Explosives Munitions
Phosphorus	Very common	Outcrop Bronzite Chondrite Mesosiderite Metallic Meteorite	SRV Ammo Restock SRV Repair Plasma Munitions Explosives Munitions Small Calibre Munitions Large Calibre Munitions
Polonium	Very rare	Metallic Meteorite Outcrop	FSD Injection Explosives Munitions
Ruthenium	Very rare	Metallic Meteorite	AFM Refill
Selenium	Common	Outcrop Bronzite Chondrite Mesosiderite Metallic Meteorite	SRV Ammo Restock Plasma Munitions Small Calibre Munitions
Sulphur	Very common	Outcrop Bronzite Chondrite Mesosiderite Metallic Meteorite	SRV Ammo Restock SRV Repair Plasma Munitions Explosives Munitions Small Calibre Munitions Large Calibre Munitions
Technetium	Very Rare	Metallic Meteorite Bronzite Chondrite	SRV Ammo Restock SRV Refuel Plasma Munitions
Tellurium	Very rare	Mesosiderite Metallic Meteorite	SRV Repair AFM Refill
Tin	Rare	Bronzite Chondrite Mesosiderite Metallic Meteorite	Large Calibre Munitions AFM Refill
Tungsten	Rare	Mesosiderite Metallic Meteorite Outcrop	SRV Repair Small Calibre Munitions High Velocity Munitions Large Calibre Munitions
Vanadium	Common	Outcrop Bronzite Chondrite Mesosiderite Metallic Meteorite Cargo Rack	SRV Repair FSD Injection High Velocity Munitions AFM Refill
Yttrium	Very rare	Bronzite Chondrite Mesosiderite Metallic Meteorite	FSD Injection High Velocity Munitions
Zinc	Common	Outcrop Bronzite Chondrite Mesosiderite Metallic Meteorite Cargo Rack	SRV Repair AFM Refill Small Calibre Munitions Large Calibre Munitions
Zirconium	Common	Mesosiderite Outcrop	Small Calibre Munitions High Velocity Munitions Large Calibre Munitions AFM Refill

Manufactured Material Sources

Manufactured materials can be provided as mission rewards, salvaged from destroyed ships, or from a variety of sources.

Degraded Emissions

The most common type of signal source, found almost anywhere in populated space - shipping lanes, deep space, planetary orbit, etc...

Contains: basic loot, such as common manufactured materials and cargo canisters.

Encoded Emissions

A less frequently occurring signal source type, found almost anywhere in populated space.

Contains: a Private Data Beacon (or sometimes a satellite, when found around populated Earthlike worlds) which can be scanned for a random data reward, along with common and rare materials.

High Grade Emissions

A rare signal type found in deep space, or around planets, of populated systems. To find one, travel 200 LS above the orbital plane of any populated star system. Your location should show you as being in 'Deep Space'. High grade emissions will spawn here along with other signal types. Higher population system spawn signal types more frequently.

Contains: Contains 3-5 units of very rare materials appropriate to the system state and government.

Combat Aftermath

A signal type found only in Shipping Lanes (the direct route from the current system's primary star to a Starport).

Contains: 5-8 materials of varying grades from a destroyed ship.

Data Sources

Data can be acquired by scanning various suitable source types:

Ships

Target any ship (either in Supercruise or sub-light speeds) and centre it in your field of view. Your ship will scan it automatically, and sometimes you will receive data.

Satellites

Found in Encoded Emissions signal sources around populated Earthlike worlds, or at some installations. As with ships, target it and centre it in your field of view. Your ship will scan it automatically, and you will receive data (often rare or very rare).

Planetary Outposts

Planetary outposts (not Starports) typically have 1 or more data points that can be scanned with your SRV's Data Link Scanner. They come in 3 security levels (Low, Medium, High) and 3 sizes (Small '+', Medium '++', and Large '+++'). Higher security outposts provide rarer data, but also have stronger defences.

Wakes

Frame shift drive wakes are a good source of frame shift related data. You must scan the wake with a Frame Shift Wake Scanner to retrieve this data.

Mission Rewards

Some missions offer data as part of the mission rewards. However, it is difficult to predict what missions are available at starports, let alone predict what data will be provided as a reward, so it is not recommended that you rely on these when looking for specific data types. Nevertheless, they are good way to acquire data when not looking for specific data types.

References

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