Expedition Fleet Composition & Support Mechanics

This page describes how fleet composition affects Expedition outcomes, including:

Return-type specialist ships (Relic, Monument, Nano, Tech Boost)
Probe (Find Chance bonus)
Exploration Ship (Quantity & Quality bonus)
Combat ship discovery logic
Fleet size and cargo impact

All bonuses use diminishing returns and are capped.

1. Return Type Specialists (Max +10%)

Each expedition reward type can be influenced by a specific support ship.

Only one ship type applies per outcome roll. If multiple specialist ships are present, only the one matching the rolled reward type is used.

Reward Type	Specialist Ship	Effect
Relics	Orbital Refinery	Increases relic return rate
Monuments	Advanced Recycler	Increases monument return rate
Nano	Planetary Harvester	Increases nano return rate
Tech Boosts	Frigate	Increases tech boost return rate

Bonus Formula (1–1000 ships, capped at +10%)

Let:

n = number of matching specialist ships sent  
cap = 0.10 (10%)  
k = ramp constant (controls scaling speed)

bonus(n) = cap × ( n / (n + k) )

finalRate = baseRate × (1 + bonus(n))

Recommended k values:

Orbital Refinery (Relics): k = 220
Advanced Recycler (Monuments): k = 170
Planetary Harvester (Nano): k = 120
Frigate (Tech Boosts): k = 150

This provides smooth scaling, diminishing returns, and a hard +10% cap.

2. Probe – Find Chance Bonus (Max +10%)

Probes increase the overall chance of discovering anything during an expedition (events, resources, ships).

Only Probe count is considered for this effect.

Formula

Let:

n = number of Probes sent  
cap = 0.10  
k = 150

bonus(n) = cap × ( n / (n + k) )

finalFindChance = baseFindChance × (1 + bonus(n))

The bonus approaches but never exceeds +10%.

3. Exploration Ship – Quantity & Quality Bonus (Max +100%)

Exploration Ships increase:

Quantity of findings (resources and ships)
Quality tier probability of rewards

This effect scales logarithmically and caps at +100%.

Formula (Implementation)

private calculateExplorerBonus(explorerCount: number): number {
    if (explorerCount === 0) return 0;

    const rawBonus = Math.log2(explorerCount + 1) * 10;
    return Math.min(100, rawBonus) / 100; 
}

Mathematical Representation

bonus(n) = min(100, log2(n + 1) × 10) / 100

Applied as:

finalQuantity = baseQuantity × (1 + bonus)  
qualityWeight = baseQualityWeight × (1 + bonus)

This bonus affects both resource amounts and reward tier distribution.

4. Combat Ship Discovery Logic

Combat ship types influence which ships can be discovered during expeditions.

The discovery pool depends on the highest-tier combat ship sent.

Examples:

Sending Kamikaze allows discovery of Kamikaze or Fighter-class ships.
Sending Battleship enables discovery of higher-tier ships such as Destroyers or Frigates.

Higher-tier ships unlock access to stronger discovery pools.

5. Overall Fleet Size Impact

Total fleet size increases:

Total resource volume discovered
Total ships recovered

Larger fleets yield larger results, subject to expedition limits.

6. Cargo Requirement

Cargo ships are required to retrieve discovered resources and ships.

If insufficient cargo capacity is sent:

Excess resources are lost
Excess recovered ships cannot be returned

Sending additional cargo ships increases maximum retrievable loot.

7. Stacking Rules Summary

Probe bonus applies to overall find chance (max +10%).
Specialist return-type bonus applies only to its matching reward roll (max +10%).
Exploration Ship bonus affects quantity and quality (max +100%).
Only one specialist ship type applies per reward roll.
Effects from Probe, Specialist ship, and Exploration Ship stack multiplicatively.
Combat ships determine ship discovery pool.
Cargo capacity limits how much can be brought back.

8. Example Fleet Scenario

Fleet sent:

200 Orbital Refineries
150 Probes
50 Exploration Ships
300 Frigates
400 Cargo Ships

If expedition rolls Relics:

Orbital Refinery bonus applied to relic rate
Probe bonus applied to find chance
Explorer bonus applied to quantity & quality
Frigate bonus ignored (not a Tech roll)
Cargo capacity determines final loot returned

This system rewards strategic fleet composition while preventing runaway scaling.