Recycler & Scrap Conversion
The recycler is your emergency supply chain — not a replacement for trade or normal production. When you deliberately avoid the market but urgently need materials, you can harvest resource fields on the map and convert scrap at home.
Two buildings, one chain
- Recycler station at your location — launches recycler ships and receives raw scrap when they return.
- Scrap conversion plant — turns scrap into useful resources you choose in a carousel panel.
Both are special buildings (typically one of each per location). You also need a recycler ship built at the shipyard.
How a run works
- Start a recycler mission from the station panel — the system picks the nearest resource field with material left on your map.
- Your ship flies out, mines at a stand-off point until its cargo is full or the field is empty, then returns automatically.
- Scrap is credited when the ship unloads at your recycler station.
- At the conversion plant, start a task to transform scrap into the resource you need.
Fields deplete — they are not infinite farms. When empty, the ship comes home; you must start a new run manually for the next field.
Risks and role
Recycler convoys can be attacked like any fleet — you may lose cargo if the ship is destroyed. That is why this path is slow, investment-heavy, and risky compared to buying goods at the freeport.
Use it when you are cut off, boycotting trade, or bridging a short crisis — not as your main economy.