¶ Overview
Every item and equipment in Celestial Frontier that can be created by players starts with gathering the raw materials from resource nodes. There are two types of resource nodes, Mineable Rocks (AKA: Asteroids) and Damator Pockets. Asteroids are mined using both Logisitic Drones (LD) and Mining Drones (MD). Damator Pockets are where you can collect damator using a Damator Collector (DC), no other equipment is required.
Note that if you forget to put a LD on your ship then you won't be able to gather unprocessed ore from an asteroid.
¶ Navigation
As you can see in the image below, the resource nodes all have a cube icon and have a randomly generated ID. In the image you can see a DRQMIOX and a M293QDE. Note that a Mineable Rock will always start with an 'M' and a Damator Pocket will always start with a 'D'.
In order to gather from either type of node you will need to have a ship within a specific maximum range determined by which tools you are gathering with:
- Damator Collector: 25km
- Mining & Logistic Drones: 12.5km
Note that your starter ship has 2 hardpoints, one set up for Damator and the other set up for Mining. If you can position yourself correctly, you can collect both Damator and Unprocessed Ore at the same time!
¶ Node Characteristics
¶ Mineable Rocks
INGAME TEXT(Can replace with image): Mineable Rocks are asteroids that contain unprocessed ore. Unprocessed ore can be harvested using Mining Drones that are installed in a Hardpoint on any ship or station.
Once collected, Unprocessed Ore can be refined in an Engineering Facility using an Ore Crusher. Once processed, the processed ore can be forged in a Fincture and Infused in a Mechantery to increase its usefulness.
As you can see on the left hand side of the below image, a Mineable Rock provides unprocessed ore. In this case, the unprocessed ore is named Athaesten. You can also see that each unit of the ore takes up 0.004m3 volume and weighs 28.82 kg. When processed through an Ore Crusher (OC) at an Engineering Facility, you will obtain the listed Refineables. You can obtain more information about the unprocessed and processed ores by clicking on the INFO link.
Examining what ores you can obtain and what characteristics the final processed metal will have is important for planning ahead and ensuring you can make full use of what you have gathered.
An example of useful information available on the asteroid itself would be the Hardness and Strength values. These play a role in the calculations for how long it takes a mining droid to mine a unit of unprocessed ore from the asteroid.
(image here)
¶ Damator Pockets
IN GAME TEXT (Can replace with image): Damator Pockets are pools of highly condensed mass that has formed within an unknown layer of space. Damator is not able to be seen, smelled, or touched. Damator exists outside of the realm of our perception and can only be harvested using specially designed Damator Collectors.
Once collected, Damator can be refined in an Engineering Facility using a Trong Refinery to process the Damator int usable materials. Damator often has incredible power density and so it is often used to create Power Cores or Reactors.
(image here)
QUOTE FROM THE DEV: Damator is a 4th dimensional entity discovered during the 22nd century. Scientists found a way to harvest mass from what appeared to be a vacuum. The discovery of this mass proved the existence of the 4th dimension and revolutionized space flight. Not only were humans then able to harness this stuff as a power source, but they were also able to utilize damator to build what is effectively an "oar" that can press against other 4th dimensional mass in space.
¶ First time gathering
See the tutorial section on gathing ore: https://wiki.celestialfrontier.com/en/launch/tutorial#mining-your-first-ore
It will walk you through how to undock your ship, how to find and navigate to a Mineable Rock and how to gather ore. The same principles apply to collecting Damator with a DC, you just have to use the other hardpoint.