While there are a great many items in the game, most fall into a category defined as Type. Items of a type have similar properties or perform specific roles though their ratings may differ as might their construction.

Alloys are refined ores that are normally used to as a substitute for ores during manufacturing. They will only be used if there are no ores present.
1mu of alloy generally equates to multiple mu's of ore. As such they are cheaper to transport.

Some rare or unusual items may require alloys in their production rather than ores.

Armour is used by ships and platforms.
It is added to ships during the construction stage as per the requirements of the ship�s blueprint.
It need only be delivered to platforms to become active.
It has no use when in cargo or in a starbase.

Protection
Armour has a value representing its potential protective value when the position is covered in a single layer or armour. The value represents the maximum damage the armour will absorb from each incoming hit. On average its protection will be half the stated armour value (protection is based on a bell curve spread).
A ship with a single layer of armour with a value of 40 will have incoming strikes reduced by an average of 20 damage.

Penetration
Certain weapons modify armour values before determining damage reduction. Penetrating weapons will reduce the armour value while most proximity and high explosive weapons will increase the armour value.

Armour Layers
A ship constructed from Normal Hulls can have a single layer. The amount of individual armour plates is determined by the size of the ship. If this number of plates is installed during construction, the armour will have the total armour thickness.

The total number of layers a ship can have is based on the hulls the ship was built from:
Heavy � 2 layers
Normal � 1 layer
Light � 0.25 layer
Xlight � 0.125 layer

Platforms � 2 layers
Platforms can have more armour plates than are required to achieve two layers. The excess do not contribute to the thickness but it will mean that as the armour is destroyed, the platform will continue to benefit from two layers.
Note though that armour in excess of two layers is more easily damaged.

Damaging Armour
As armour absorbs damage, it will be destroyed. Some armour such as ablative has higher values but very low damage tolerance. They effectively burn off as they absorb damage.
As armour is lost the position will also loose armour thickness.

Platforms
When an armour plate is destroyed, it is removed from the platform inventory and no longer counts to the armour thickness. To replace it, more armour has to be delivered.
As multiple types of armour can be delivered to a platform, its overall thickness will be determined by the weighted average of the plates present.

Ships
Ships have armour installed during construction. When armour is damaged it has to be repaired, not replaced. This is done by visiting maintenance complexes through the use of patches.
The ship�s manifest shows how many patches are required.

Stealth
Some armour is designed to reduce the sensor profile of the ship. This armour only has a modest thickness of 20. The value of the armour instead determines the reduction in the profile of the ship.

These are unusual and often unique items that can be found in the game. Their purpose is generally explained in the tech manual for the item.
It this does not explain the item, it may be worth investigating.

Certain items cannot be produced without a blueprint. The blueprint represents knowledge, procedures, training and specialist tools.

Research
Blueprints are created through research. Most have supporting techs without which research is made harder or impossible.
Knowledge of most blueprints is required in order to initiate research.
GM Restricted
Certain blueprints can only be researched as a result of Game Master Intervention. You will be informed when this is possible, generally through in-game interaction.

Limits
Blueprints have a production limit appropriate to the item being produced. This might be a mass limit, a complex limit or a training limit.
This limit cannot be exceeded during a week.

Prototype
Each time the prototype is used there is a chance it will burn out based on the amount of construction and the limit measured as a percentage.

Exhaustive Use
Some blueprints require their exhaustive use to be effective. This will always be described as a result of special actions or in the tech manual for the item.

Bombers are automated attack craft that leave the parent position but remain under its control in order to engage enemy positions close up. They can be destroyed by point defence and interceptors and will be subject to this attrition each round of battle.
If the parent position is destroyed the bombers are also lost.
They are launched during the first round of battle, engage the target during rounds 2 and 3 and return to their parent position in the last round.
They do not require line of sigh (LOS) and will engage positions that cannot be targeted by beam weapons.

Planetary Based
These have orbital range and are used to engage static targets on the ground though they will engage ground parties that are currently in orbit or space [is this true?].
These can be launched while a base in protected by planetary shields.

Space
These are launched from hangers (items with fighter space capacity). Where insufficient capacity exists, fewer will be launched.
They will not be launched by a base that is being protected by planetary shields.
These can engage any positions that can normally be targeted by the parent position.

These are only needed on ships. Without one the ships runs at reduced efficiency, represented by a 200% normal crew factors required to run the ship.

The output of the bridge represents the reciprocal of the required crew factors.
A standard bridge has an output of 100 while an auxiliary bridge is 75, i.e. crew factors needed to run at 100% efficiency have been increased to 133%.

Insufficient bridge output will be shown on the manifest.

A larger compliment of troops can negate this shortfall, allowing the ship to run at normal efficiency.

Cryogenic interfaces are installed in ships.
They cannot be used by bases.
These reduce the decay rate of perishable trade goods in the ship's cargo.

Currently these are used in ground combat. Eventually though they are to be used against civilian factions.

These are described individually in their tech manual. They are generally used through special actions.

These represent standard people of various species. They do not have the specialised training to work in bases. They are not suited to combat.

There are various subtypes of civilian. The most common are colonists. These are considered the general public with modest skill levels that wish to move to a new world. More specialised civilians have their own subtype and represent specialists in a field. Some of these specialists will have wages.
Primarily they are seeded onto worlds being colonised using the integrate people to improve the economy of the world and establish a new government.

Civilians (Life-items)
These are considered private citizens with their own wealth and means but can be integrated using the integrated people order. As a life item however they can also be sold to worlds with a life demand (using weekly planetary trade) though in this case they are not considered permanent residents and will not contribute to the economy or population of the world.

Recruitment
Civilians can normally be obtained through planetary markets. The size of the population, species present and even government determine the quantity and type of civilians that can be purchased. This is not considered purchasing the people (slavery/indenture etc) but rather meeting the costs of relocating the civilians to another world.

Cryo-Colonists
Each species also has a cryo variant. Civilians and colonists can be cryogenically frozen in order to make them easier to transport (no longer require life support). The can be frozen or resuscitated using exchange complexes. They cannot be integrated into planetary populations in cryo-form.
If civilians (life-items) are cryogenically frozen, they will be resuscitated back into colonists, having lost their life-item status.

These are installed in ships. The output of the device represents the maximum surface area of a ship it can cloak.

Cloaking renders all scanning impossible. A cloaked ship cannot scan and in turn will not be scanned.

Activating
Actions performed while cloaked must be totally contained within the cloaking time. For example, cloaking for 10TU�s and attempting to perform a 20TU action will mean that the position will not be cloaked for the action.

Recharge
Cloaking produces a charge on a ship making it impossible to cloak again until the charge is decayed. This takes 300TU�s (1 Week).

This amount of time must be used prior to attempting to cloak again.
This can be confusing if the ship is not currently on 300TU�s available.

If a ship has 300TU�s available and cloak ready in 100TU�s, any action the ship performs will reduce the 100TU�s.
If the ship does not perform any actions on a day, the 100TU�s will also reduce by 60TU�s per day. Once it hits 0TU�s it is ready.

If 180TU�s to recharge show on a turn, but the ship only has 100TU�s available, doing nothing for a day will not reduce the 180TU�s until ready, but the TU�s available will increase to 160TU�s. Using TU�s will reduce the time till available.

Example
A ship lands while cloaking, using all available TU�s. The next day the ship the time until available will read 300TU�s and the ship will have 60TU�s available. If the ship uses the 60TU�s then it will have 0TU�s available, but the time until ready will be reduced to 240TU�s.
Being idle for a week will mean that the device will still show as needing 300TU�s until ready, while the ship has 300TU�s available. Using all these TU�s will make the cloaking device ready for the next day although the ship will only have 60TU�s available.

These are high intensity reaction drives capable of short bursts of acceleration. This makes them superior to standard thrust engines but only for combat as they are incapable of sustained output required for normal manoeuvring.

These are structures that perform roles within bases. They are built from modules though some specific ones may also require other items.

They can be either open or closed. Closed complexes do not perform their function during the week though may still require work hours.

Complexes can be demolished but only while the base is under complete control.

Each subtype is given below:
Command
1 per 100 complexes are required to run at normal effeciency.
Cave
Provide line of defence and reduce the sensor profile of the base.
Dummy
Look like a normal complex for basic scans but are little more than cardboard.
Exchange
Not used in the game
Factory
Are used to produce items.
Mine
Can be assigned to planetary mineral deposits in order to produce ores.
Merch
Tap the local population for stellars and are used to sell items to them.
Shuttleport
Can transact with other positions within shuttle range. They can even iteract with other markets within range.
Planetary Shield
Boost shield depth providing there are still shield factors. When active they prevent naval weapons being fired and ground weapons suffer large accuracy penalties.
Teleport
As shuttle ports but have a system range. They can only be used for imports and cannot be used while the position is in a battle.
Shipyard
Used to construct and maintain ships. Similtaneous construction of multiple ships is possible.
Orbital Dock
Allows ships to land and take off without maneouver stress checks on worlds above their gravity rating.
Security
Used to improved security against agents and operatives and increase slave capacity.
Recruitment: Troops
Recruits mercenaries from the civilian population. A Native% in the population will reduce overall recruitment.
Recruitment: Employees
Recruits employees from the civilian population. A Native% in the population will reduce overall recruitment.
Resource
Can be assigned to resources that have been discovered through investigation.
Research
Any number can be assigned to work on a research project. Multiple projects can be carried out at the same time though multiple similtaneous projects for the same research project (itme number) are not possible.
Hiport
Allows positions in orbit to interact with the base for the purposes of transactions without the need to land. Cannot be used to when in space combat of when control of the base is not total.
University
Boost research into a specific project as defined by the university. Essentially the same as a scientist.

Not used in the game.

Drugs are similar to trade goods. They are sold to planetary populations through merchandising complexes. The amount received is based on the planet's economy and demand for drugs.
They can be classed as unique. Unique drugs have a planetary origin and the distance from source to selling location will increase the amount of stellars the civilian population will pay.

Currently they have no further effect in the game. They will be tied in with infrastructure and their importance increased.

Employees provide work hours within a base. The amount provided is based on the employee item.
Bases require work hours to run complexes. The total amount of work hours provided is measured against the total needed and the result is the % efficiency of the base. This % is applied to aspects such as production and capacity for the following week.
Work hours are also used to open, close and demolish complexes.
They are not required for the construction of complexes.

Wages
During weekly maintenance employees are paid wages based on the rate set by the governor (wage order).
Some employees have zero cost they are not paid wages and changes in wages for the base has no effect on them.

Underpaying employees will result employees producing fewer work hours per week.
Underpaying will also mean that some employees will quit.

Standard weekly employee wages are for starbases and .5 for outposts.

N.B. The 'set wages' order is per thousand employees - more than one player has issued the amount as , i.e. per 1000 employees - resulting in an exodus.

Overpaying personnel will result in a modest increase in work hours produced by employees.

Efficient
Employees that are classed as efficient are less effected by underpaying, i.e. they can be underpaid and will still produce almost as many work hours as when on normal pay.

Loyalty
Employees are not considered particularly loyal to the faction they work for. If a base is captured they will not become prisoners, but will continue working for the new owners.

Hiring and Firing
They can be recruited on worlds with sentient and advanced populations (not natives) using recruitment complexes: Employees.
The employee race will reflect the planetary population.
Once recruited, they can be transported out of the base to other locations if required. They can even be sold.

Native Employees
In some rare cases as determined through special actions the native population may be engaged as employees. These will invariable be classed as fixed items. This means that they cannot be transported out of the recruiting base.

These fire a ray of energy at a target during naval combat.
They can be mounted in ships, platforms and bases though in bases they will not fire if planetary shields are active.

Beam weapons rely on Line of Sight (LOS). Bases and landed positions can only use them against targets that are engaging them with LOS weapons.

They do not need to be recharged or require ammunition making them a low maintenance weapon.

Damage
They fire each round and will inflict their damage value. This will be reduced by shields, scintillators and armour or the position being hit.
Where they fire through an atmosphere whether into orbit or from orbit to a surface position, the optical depth of the planetary atmosphere will provide or add to the shield depth of the target.
Larger versions deliver higher damage values. This will allow them to penetrate thicker defences.
Smaller versions while delivering lower damage per weapon deliver larger damage to weapon mass ratios, making them the preferred option against soft targets.

These are used to determine the value of a mineral deposit through the prospect order.

Sensors are used to scan for ore amongst other things. The GPI sensor is designed specifically for this purpose, being more effective than standard sensors.
They do not contribute to normal sensor power.

These are installed on ships and reduce the time to land or dock.

Hulls and armour are used during the construction of a ship. Maintaining and repairing ships requires patches.
The manifest states how many standard patches are required to restore the ship to perfect working order.

The output of the patch determines how many actual patches are required. Advanced patches have a higher output therefore fewer patches are required to complete repairs and maintenance.

Patch price can be set on starbases and visiting ships undergoing repairs and maintenance will automatically use patches in the base and be charged a fee per patch used.

A field is generated around the ship installed with these items that reduces the inertia of the vessel. This allows it to achieve higher levels of burst acceleration (and deceleration). As the field can only be maintained for pulses lasting seconds, its only viable use is during combat.
The effect is to increase the dodge of the vessel by the modified output of the installed damper.
Output is linear up to 50 hulls and drops to half at 100 hulls.

Only the best inertial damper is considered even if multiple dampers are installed.

These project a field around a vessel that dampens the phonic energy within the superstructure.
Installing one of these on a ship will reduce any integrity losses sustained by the vessel.
The output of the stabiliser is the percentage reduction of the integrity loss.

Interceptors are automated and self-propelled craft that engage bombers and other interceptors during combat.
Unlike bombers they fight in all four rounds of combat. While they act independently of the launching position, they will be destroyed if the launching position is destroyed.

Space Interceptors
These are launched from fighter bays and hangers, have space range combat and will engage bombers and interceptors with space range.
If the launching position�s bays are destroyed these will stop engaging.

Ground Interceptors
These will engage bombers and interceptors with ground and orbital range. They do not need to be launched from fighter bays or other forms of hangers.

Interspatial Resonance (ISR) is a means of travelling a large interplanetary distance at faster than light speed using micro-jumps.
While much more accurate than jumping between systems because the destination can be �seen� there are still margins of error that can be up to a few hundred kilometres.
This is only a concern where space is packed such as near celestial bodies as such drives are only used in open space and manoeuvring around celestial bodies requires reaction drives (thrust, landing engines).
The drive rating is the multiplier to the time to perform the micro-jump. The higher the drive rating, the slower the vessel.

Due to the strains that are put on ships, heavier hulls are required with faster drives.

Heavy hulls � 1, 2, 3, 4
Normal Hulls � 2, 3, 4
Light Hulls � 3, 4
Xlight Hulls - 4

Minimum Drives
1 drive per 10 hulls (round up) is required. Movement will still be attempted with insufficient drives but there is a chance of burn-out and loss of TU�s while the drives are re-aligned.

Multiple Installed Drives
Where multiple drive types are installed, the fastest ones will be used.

Jammers are used in order to prevent a position being scanned in detail. The total jammer output is measured against the sensor power of the scanning position to determine the level of information gained through the use of a detailed scan order.

Jump drives allow a ship to move from one star system to another without having to pass through the intervening space (though they do have to account for them when plotting a route � see below).
It achieves this through interspatial resonance (ISR). A jump field around the ship manipulates the localised region of space to mirror a point in space within a target system. The result is that the ship jumps into the new system.

Jump Distance
Jumps are measured in terms of distance, 4 being the maximum range.
Normally a star system will have a neighbour with a intervening distance of 1. Where five systems form a chain, a spaceship can jump from the system at one end to the last in a single jump.
For example in the Inner Capellan Periphery, a ship can jump from Capellan directly to Blagard without entering any of the intervening systems.

System Knowledge
Each jump requires a considerable amount of navigational data and computation based on localised subspace. This means that no two jumps are the same. Ships do not normally store the complex algorithms for calculating the parameters of a jump for security reasons. This means that capture of a ship does not reveal navigational charts.

Known Route
While knowledge of the destination system is required to jump into it, knowledge of all the intervening systems that together form a jump route is also required.
If in the above example, Adamski was not common knowledge; only ships with knowledge of Adamski could jump from systems on one side of Adamski to systems on the other.
This is because there is no direct path between Mattalot and Blagard.

Kinetic weapons use solid ammo that does not have any guidance system. The launcher accelerates the ammo along a barrel, generally through magnetic fields and shoots it at the target.
Once launched it either follows a parabolic trajectory if in a gravitational field or a straight line if in deep space.
An amount of ammo used per round is determined by the launcher.

Damage Determination
The launcher damage modifier is multiplied by the ammo damage to determine the total damage inflicted.

Kinetic ammo is not affected by point defence, scintillators or interceptors.

Kinetic weapons consist of a linear accelerator that launches a mass of ammo at a target. The launchers are large compared to the size of the ammo launched.

Line of Sight (LOS)
As the ammo follows parabolic trajectories in gravitational fields, the weapons do not need line of sight in order to hit targets landed on a celestial body. This means that landed positions cannot engage positions using kinetic weaponry unless they are also engaging using LOS weapons such as energy weapons.

Determining Damage
The output of the kinetic weapon is multiplied by the damage of the ammo to determine the effective damage of the weapon.
While larger weapons have lower damage to mass ratios, the product does allow for penetration of much greater shield depths � useful when bombarding heavily shielded bases.

While korondite plates and other forms of stealth armour reduce the sensor profile of a ship, the korondite amplifier increases the effect.
When used however it destabilises the armour causing it to breakdown � reducing the overall sensor profile reduction with time.

These reduce the time required to land on a planet or dock with a landed position. Only the best one installed with have an effect.

Engines designed for use in gravity wells have fewer but larger jets and are generally mounted at one end of the ship. These allow the ship to be oriented with the large thrusters either in the direction of travel for taking off and or towards direction of travel in order to allow for rapid deceleration just before landing.
They are no use in combat where rapid changes in direction are more useful than overall speed and acceleration.

Launchers are required for firing self-propelled weapon systems such as missiles and torpedoes.
Each launcher can only fire specific missiles it is geared up for.
As the thrust and guidance is provided by the launcher, they are relatively small.
A launcher will fire a single missile per round of combat.

Load-out
Where there are a range of available missiles capable of being launched, they will be fired as per load-out settings on the position.

Launchers can be given ammunition preference through the use of Weapon Load Out order (WLO). If this has not been set, the launcher will fire a salvo of the largest quantity of ammunition available or part salvos if not. Setting WLO to zero for a launcher/ammunition combination will only remove the ammunition from the WLO preference list. Circumstance may still result in the ammunition being used if all preferences have been exhausted or no WLO exists.

Overkill
Where it is clear that the target will be destroyed without the requirement of launching the full spread missiles, an appropriate number will be held back.

Point Defence
Missiles are subject to point defence but not interceptors.

Line of Sight (LOS)
As missiles are self-propelled they do not need line of sight and can be used against landed targets. The target will not be able to engage with LOS weapons unless it is also being engaged with LOS weapons such as energy weapons.

Torpedoes
Torpedoes are a special case and require the engaging position to be engaged in close proximity. This is represented by difference in manoeuvrability of the two vessels. A difference greater than 1g results in an accuracy drop of 12.

Living merchandise covers anything that can be sold to a planet through the sell to local population under the category life.
Unlike trade goods in which the civilian population are responsible for the meeting the costs, life merchandise is more nebulous.
A world with a negligible population may still have a high life merchandise demand. In these cases it is considered more likely to be investment in the planet from third parties. It might even be civilians themselves, paying for their immigration and colonisation rights.

Civilians
Rather than sell civilians to a planet (considered to be colonisation permits and travel expenses paid by the civilians themselves), it is possible to seed civilians onto a planet through special actions. While no initial stellars are generated, the seeded civilians will improve the infrastructure and improve merchandising on the world.
The benefits of seeding civilians are based on the planet they are being seeded onto and the number of civilians being seeded.

Missiles are fired from launchers. One missile per round of combat is fired per launcher.

A construction module is a set of generic building materials required for the construction of a complex. There are a few different types, each having specialist materials required for certain complexes.
While there is some overlap in all the modules � power supplies, walls, living and working areas and stations and computing, each is heavily biased in a specific zone.
Each complex requires a differing number of modules for their construction. Factories for example rely on industrial modules � plant machinery, heavy lifters and refineries. Resource complexes are more geared towards light industry, freight and packaging and therefore require mostly basic and transport modules.

Nukes are weapons of mass destruction. They are large and unweildly. They are deployed by ships in starports and if successfully deployed they will explode causing damage to the base.
Successful deployment is based on the security of the base.
Damage is based on the nuke being deployed. Damage will be significantly higher if the world does not have an ISR field as this field dampens high energy discharges.

Officers differ from other items in that they use a unique reference for each officer as defined by the # symbol prior to the officer number. Each officer number is unique only to the position, not to the game. As such two positions can both have an officer #1.

Officers also differ from other items in that they can change. They can develop skills and when captured, become prisoners.
As prisoners they have no use to the owning position. The only realistic choice is to return them to their rightful affiliation or to dispose of them.

Transferring Officers
As officers do not have a standard item number, they cannot be placed on markets. When transferring officers between positions, always remember to use the #No.
If the officer to be delivered is #1, use #1 as the item. If the # is forgotten, then an attempt to deliver metals will be made.
Delivering officer #1 to another position that already has an officer #1 is possible. The officer being transferred will take the first available new #No.


Training
Training points are gained via civilian and naval activities. Each time any skills is raised by 1 lvl the training point to raise any skill in that category increase. Max skill lvl is 4.
Skill point progression is 1/2/4/8/8/8......
So lvl 3 Navigation + Lvl 2 Leadership costs ([1+2+4]+[8+8])
Training points are gained for combat and time spent on active starships
The 'Train Officer' order allows experience points to be spent at starbase training complexes to train your officers. The cost is [500/1000/2000/4000] stellars for each lvl of training (10% goes to starbase owner).
Officer Experience

Combat Experience per battle is:

• Took damage: 1pt
  
• Took damage > 25dmg/surface area: 1pt
  
• Did damage: 1pt
  
• Did damage > 25dmg/surface area: 1pt
  
• Destroyed an enemy: 1pt

• Dodge [+.5g dodge/lvl] (Ships only)
  
• Accuracy [+.5 acc/lvl]
  
• Fleeing [+.5g dodge when fleeing]
  
• Leadership [+5% crew factors per lvl]
  
• Sensors [+5% sensor power]
  
• Stealth [-5% Visiable Surface Area/lvl] (Ships only)
  

• Exploration [Flaged to GM]
  
• Trade [-1 Tus Transactions/lvl]
  
• Prospecting [-5% Tus/lvl]
  
• GPI [+25% GPI Sesnor factors/lvl]
  
• Navigation [+5% man speed per lvl]
  
• Jumping [-5% Jump time per lvl]/[LIST]
  
  

Operative items only exist on an inventory when the operative is not active. Each item represents a unique operative position in the game.
Once dropped into a base the item will not be shown on the inventory of the base.
While dropping operatives at a target base can be done using either the item number or the position number, transferring them between positions in their non-active form must use the item number.

Each operative can be equipped with only one piece of each item. Equipment improves their ability to perform their missions. This may improve chance of success, chance of avoiding capture or both. Some items are single use while others are permanent.
Where two items improve the same skill, only the best will be used.

Ores are the most common form of materials used in construction of items. They come in three types, metals, hydrocarbons and basic elements.
When production occurs it will always use ores first and only use more advanced substitution alloys if there are no appropriate ores present.

These allow the delivery of items to positions on the ground from the orbit or the same orbital quad. The destination positions can even be within the starport of another position even a hostile one.
If a base is involved in ground combat and has lost some control, it will not be able to accept deliveries via its hiport. Under these circumstances, deliveries can still be made through the use of drop pods.
Positions in ground combat have a maximum mass that can be delivered to them per day. This is based on their control factors.
Using the orbital drop order will automatically assign the correct quantity of drop pods to the mass being delivered.

Not used.

Currently not used in the game.

Plants represent unusual flora that has some specific use. This might be beneficial or detrimental. Details appertaining to the plant will be found in its tech manual.

These hulls are not designed for movement and associated torsions and stress. As such they have larger internal capacities than the equivalent ship hulls.
They can only be used to build platforms and once they are transferred to a platform they cannot normally be removed.

These launchers are geared to firing defence missiles. They are the last line of point defence, used after defence point weapons and only against incoming attacks that can be countered.
They are generally more effective than defence weapons, but require defence missiles.
Launchers with space range will only counter appropriate space range attacks.

These missiles are fired from launchers after all defence weapons have been exhausted during a round and there is still a threat that can be countered.
They are generally more effective at taking out larger incoming threats such as bombers.

These light rapid firing weapons counter specific incoming bomber and missile attacks.
They will be used prior to point defence missiles as they do not require ammo.
Point defence weapons with space range will only counter attacks with space range while point defence weapons with orbital range will counter bomber and missile attacks from planetary range weapons.

When a political account is created, an appropriate item (usually a troop) is nominated to become the political.
This item is changed into a political item with its own name and stats.
This item can be moved just like any other item.
The presence of the political position item can sometimes influence a special action if appropriate.

A principle is a fundamental level of technology that covers a range of fields with similar criteria but only to non-commercial levels. This esoteric information normally forms the basis for further research into principles and narrower fields called techs.
Research into principles cannot be initiated without the presence of directly underlying principles that have been tooled.
A principle is not just data, but also represents associated specialist equipment such as particle accelerators, incubation chambers, null-field generators etc.

These represent trained troops (i.e. non-mercs) that have been captured in battle.
Special actions can sometimes be used to convert them to mercenaries or civilians, depending on circumstances.
They may also have some propaganda value.
Note that these are different to prisoner officers. Prisoner officers are unique items that retain their identity.

These are installed by ships to avoid or leave combat. They are exhausted after use. They will significantly increase the speed of the ship during combat in order to flee. The minimum number required to escape while achieving the best results will be used, i.e. reducing rounds of fire to zero if possible.

These contribute to research, improving the amount of mass produced during conversions. During conversion they add their bonus to the conversion level. They will not improve mass produced above 100mu�s.
They will only contribute to projects that they have a bonus in or are directly supported by their field of expertise.
For example, a scientist with a principle bonus will not contribute to blueprint research.
As they only come into effect during conversions, where there are weeks between conversions they can move to other locations that are conducting similar research and add to conversions there.

Scintillators use field effects to levitate fine reflective dust particles. These scatter coherent emf attacks, reducing their effects, i.e. reduce incoming energy weapon damage.
The average thickness (see combat) of the scintillator field is applied directly against each energy weapon attack.

The total output of the installed sensors determines the sensor power. Sensor power to total output is logarithmic. Doubling total output does not double sensor power.
Under all circumstances only the sensor power of a position is used, not the total output.
Sensor power is used in combat to determine peak targeting bonus and offset dodge penalty to targeting.
It is modified by the sensor profile of a position to determine the % chance of scanning a position when the two positions pass within sensor range.
It is also used to for GPI�ing � detecting and roughly evaluating the minerals on a planet�s surface.

Scanning consists of two parts, range of the sensors and chance of passing within sensor range.
These increase the range of sensors by detecting faint fluctuations wider areas space in order to determine the presence of positions within the location.
They are normally used on platforms in order to detect ships entering the orbital quadrant.

These are an invisible field that covers the outer hull of a ship, platform or base. The sum of the output of all the shields, called the shield factors determines the shield thickness. The relationship is non-linear.
The thickness of the shields reduces incoming damage for all attacks. The amount of damage stopped ranges from zero to the shield thickness although on average damage reduction will be half the shield thickness (the reduction spread is a bell-curve).
Armour Factor of weapons (their ability to penetrate) will modify this thickness up (for proximity and poorly penetrating weapons) or down (for armour piercing weapons).
As shields stop damage, they are themselves weakened. The damage reduction is applied to the sheild factors (unmodified by Armour Factors greater than 1). As the shield factors decrease, so too does the total shield depth.
The factors can be recharged by shield generators, but only to the maximum factors (sum of the output of all the shields) - see below.
Starbase Shield Complexes
These increase the shield depth by up to 200 providing shield factors are positive. They also have other effects � see Complexes: Starbase Shields, above.

Shield generators restore total shield factors that have been reduced due to absorbing incoming damage.
The total output of all the shield generators is the amount by which the shield factors are increased each round of combat (or the equivalent of 4 times the total output per day without combat).
The shield output however cannot be increased to more than the maximum shield factors.

Modulators modify the factor to depth relationship. They can increase of decrease the depth on ships and platforms. The side-effect of this is that the damage absorbed will change as to will the effect on shield factors. Only the modulator with the highest output will be used.

Computers act as crew, providing crew factors for use on a ship (they are not used on platforms).
A ship needs at least one sentient life form to provide crew factors, a ship cannot be run with only computers.

Hulls represent both the outer shell of a ship and the inner structures including hatches, access passages, walls, mounts for equipment, power plants and the very basics of what are required to be a ship.
Heavier hulls while containing more material are in fact smaller than lighter hulls. This is because they use denser alloys and reinforced outer hulls in order to be more durable and resist stress and damage.
Lighter hulls are thinner, use vacuum foams and are designed to enclose a much larger volume. They are designed for carrying cargo but sacrifice durability and damage resistance.
Ships are designed to distribute all stress, damage and load throughout the hulls. As such, ships can only be constructed from hulls with the same item number. Not even hulls of the same type but different mk can be used on the same ship.

This is a generic term for something that needs to be installed into a ship in order to function.
Generally speaking it covers things such as living space such as quarter and cargo space such as holds and magazines.

Slaves provide work-hours but are unpaid. They require control factors provided by troops to prevent them revolting and fighting for their freedom. The amount of control factors required can be reduced by having security complexes.
The amount of slaves a base can safely have, i.e. its slave capacity, is shown on the manifest.

Slave Revolts
If you have more crew factors than you have slaves there will not be a revolt. The more security complex you have the more effective the crew factors will be at containing slaves.
Each active security complex adds 100% to your crew's effectiveness per 1000 slaves (up to a maximum of +200% bonus).
So if you have 10 security complexes and 20000 slaves then you get +50% bonus to your crew factors for dealing with slaves.
It takes a minimum of 5 weeks for slaves to revolt and there are warnings each week.

Not used in the game.

Keys are used to activate stargates. Each gate has a unique key and this key is required to be installed into a ship in order to be used. It use is part of the Enter Stargate order.

A landed ship or ground party can use stealth netting to reduce its sensor profile.
The amount of mu�s required is equal to its surface area. It can be used through the Use Item order.
Stealth netting can be gathered in through the same order by checking the Stop Using parameter.
Moving while still having the netting in place will destroy it.

The item when installed will reduce the time required to take-off into orbit based on the item output. Only one device is needed and only the one with the highest output will count.

The accuracy of weapons fired against enemy positions is modified by the targeting computers of a position. The total output of the targeting computers is used to determine the bonus. The total output to bonus ratio is non-linear, i.e. doubling the quantity of computers will not always double the targeting bonus.
Sensors also limit the targeting bonus as they can only work on the incoming data.

While Principles cover the general scientific field in its esoteric form, a Technique quantifies and applies specific areas of the field for practical uses.
They also support Blueprints and it is generally the case that not having an underlying Technique (commonly truncated to just Tech) will make research very difficult.

Thrust engines are the standard type and are equally good in both combat and planetary manoeuvring.
The total output of the thrust engines (plus applicable Landing or Combat) determines the G rating for the ship which is in turn used to determine its manoeuvring speed and combat speed.

Tractor beams are used in combat to reduce the manoeuvrability of an enemy vessel. Each hit modifies its dodge on the next round of combat.
Note that this does not specifically reduce the inherent dodge bonus applied to torpedoes fired between two positions with a large speed difference, i.e. a platform cannot use tractor beams to hold a target stationary in order to guarantee hits with a salvo of torpedoes.

This covers a range of items that are desired by civilian populations throughout the Peripheries.
The amount that civilians are prepared to pay are based on the value at source (output) of the items.
For certain items with a unique origin this will be modified by the distance between the origin and the place the items are being sold.
Some items may also be more appealing to a specific species in which case the price will be modified again based on the proportion of the species present on the world where the items are being sold.

A troop provides crew factors required to fly ships and use ordnance and control factors required to capture or defend a position from enemy troops.
Crew factors will be modified if the crew are used on ships designed for a different species.
A troop is also considered to be equipped to operate in any environment.
Control factors represent the optimum at their prefered spread and will be halved for each step away.
Troops can be trained from mercenaries through training complexes (requiring blueprints). Once trained they are loyal to a position and if captured become prisoners whereas mercenaries will defect to the enemy.

This covers a range of items from tanks and defence bunkers through to shuttles and ground transport trucks.
They are all designed to work in any planetary environment, from gas giants through to ocean worlds, even icy moons.
They also range from stationary through to shuttle capable.
Shuttle capable vehicles can move between linked celestial bodies, i.e. between a planet and its moons. They can even enter and leave orbit.

Navigators reduce the time to transit a wormhole.

A stabiliser when installed reduces the integrity loss suffered during a transit of a wormhole. Only the best stabiliser is considered.