Resources
Nova Rift has 7 resources across two tiers. Basic resources (Food, Steel, Energy) are produced by buildings and flow continuously. Rare resources (Astromite, Quantarite) must be mined or traded, and can be refined into more valuable forms.
All Resources
Food
The most abundant resource. Consumed by your population and used in building construction. Produced by Hydroponic Farms.
Sources
- • Hydroponic Farm (building)
- • Asteroid mining
- • Trade
- • Portal missions
Used For
- • Building construction & upgrades
- • Unit training
- • Station relocation
Steel
Primary construction material. Required for almost every building, ship, and upgrade. Produced by Steel Foundries.
Sources
- • Steel Foundry (building)
- • Asteroid mining
- • Trade
- • Portal missions
Used For
- • Building construction & upgrades
- • Ship construction
- • Module crafting
- • Station relocation
Energy
Powers your infrastructure and fuels portal operations. Produced by Energy Plants. Portal travel consumes large amounts.
Sources
- • Energy Plant (building)
- • Asteroid mining
- • Trade
- • Portal missions
Used For
- • Building construction & upgrades
- • Portal travel
- • Manufacturing jobs
- • Station relocation
Astromite
A rare mineral found in asteroid fields. Required for advanced ships, modules, and AI Core manufacturing. Cannot be produced by buildings — must be mined or traded.
Sources
- • Asteroid mining (Deep Core nodes)
- • Portal missions (Rare+)
- • Trade
Used For
- • Advanced ship construction
- • AI Core manufacturing
- • High-tier module crafting
- • Advanced research
Quantarite
The rarest mineral in the galaxy. Found only in NULL_SEC asteroid fields and high-tier portal missions. Essential for end-game content.
Sources
- • NULL_SEC asteroid mining
- • Legendary portal missions
- • Trade
Used For
- • Titan construction
- • Dreadnought construction
- • Tier 4+ AI Cores
- • End-game research
Refined Astromite
Astromite processed through a Refinery. Significantly more valuable per unit than raw Astromite. Required for high-tier manufacturing.
Sources
- • Refinery (processes raw Astromite)
- • Trade
Used For
- • Cruiser & Battleship construction
- • Advanced modules
- • AI Core tiers 3+
Refined Quantarite
Processed Quantarite. Extremely valuable and difficult to produce. Only Industrial and Research doctrine players can refine efficiently.
Sources
- • Refinery (processes raw Quantarite)
- • Trade
Used For
- • Capital ship construction (Lancer, Dreadnought, Titan)
- • Tier 5+ AI Cores
The Economy Loop
1. Produce
Buildings generate Food, Steel, and Energy continuously. Upgrade them to increase your per-hour rate. Your production runs even while you're offline.
2. Mine & Gather
Send fleets to asteroid fields on the galaxy map. Mining ships extract Astromite, Quantarite, and bulk resources. Fleet cargo capacity limits each run.
3. Refine & Invest
Process rare ores through the Refinery into high-value refined forms. Invest resources into buildings, ships, research, and certifications to grow your empire.
How Production Works
Resource rates are calculated lazily
The server accumulates resources based on your production rate. You always receive the correct amount when you load the game — even if you were offline.
Building levels multiply rates
Each building level adds a flat production bonus. A level 5 Hydroponic Farm produces significantly more Food per hour than a level 1.
Doctrine bonuses stack multiplicatively
Industrial doctrine gets 2.5x resource production. Combined with building levels, Industrial players can produce massive amounts of basic resources.
Rare resources require an extraction building
Astromite and Quantarite cannot be produced by basic buildings. You need a Deep Core Extractor (Industrial) or must mine asteroids on the galaxy map.
Refining is a multiplier, not a producer
Refining does not create new resources — it converts raw Astromite/Quantarite into more valuable refined versions. You need a source of raw materials first.
Resource Tiers
| Resource | Tier | Primary Source | Relative Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Food | Basic | Hydroponic Farm | ★ |
| Steel | Basic | Steel Foundry | ★ |
| Energy | Basic | Energy Plant | ★ |
| Astromite | Rare | Asteroid Mining | ★★★ |
| Quantarite | Rare | NULL_SEC Mining | ★★★★★ |
| Refined Astromite | Processed | Refinery | ★★★★ |
| Refined Quantarite | Processed | Refinery | ★★★★★★ |