¶ Nebulae
Nebulae are an important strategic part of Ferion. Each nebula has a different function and can change the strategic choices players make in the area around them.
¶ How do I find nebulae?
You will find them as gray clouds on the map. Once you fly to a nebula it will automatically be revealed what kind it is and what it does. Discovery happens slightly outside the effect radius, so you'll usually spot a nebula's identity before you enter its effects.
¶ Where do they spawn?
Each game places 10 nebulae in the largest empty areas between star clusters, well away from the galaxy edges. They never overlap, and their positions are fixed for the whole match.
¶ What types are there?
Each nebula is seeded with one of 5 types. There are 10 nebulae total and 5 types, so on any given map some types may show up multiple times and others not at all. Each type has a stable signature colour so players can identify the effect on sight.
¶ Veiled
Hides ships inside from enemy scanners regardless of scanner range. Useful for staging surprise attacks or escaping pursuit.
¶ Ferros Nr.6
Yields Ferros Nr.6 (level 3 alloy) once per week to ships parked inside that are fitted with a Nebular Harvester.
¶ Sjampoo
Yields Sjampoo (level 3 luminescent liquid) once per week to ships parked inside that are fitted with a Nebular Harvester.
¶ Texorrium
Yields Texorrium (level 3 volatile compound) once per week to ships parked inside that are fitted with a Nebular Harvester.
¶ Sanctuary
Demilitarized zone. Attacks against any target (ship, planet, portal) are blocked while the attacker is inside, and ongoing battles pause if either side enters.
¶ Bad effects
Every ship sitting in any nebula gets a weekly damage roll. We roll a d100 per ship; the result maps to a percentage of the ship's max hit points:
| d100 roll | Damage |
|---|---|
| 1 – 50 | 0% |
| 51 – 75 | 1% |
| 76 – 95 | 2% |
| 96 – 100 | 3% |
Damage has a floor of 1 HP whenever the roll lands above 0%, so even tiny hulls aren't immune. If a ship's HP would drop to or below zero it is destroyed. Players whose ships die that week receive a single aggregated "Ships lost in nebula" news item — one entry per player per week, regardless of how many ships were lost.
¶ How does harvesting from a nebula work?
- Research the Strange Matter Storages technology — this unlocks the Nebular Harvester ship component.
- Create a new ship design with a Nebular Harvester fitted (only one harvester fits per design — the hardware is enormous).
- Build a ship from that design.
- Fly the ship to an ore-yielding nebula (Ferros Nr.6, Sjampoo, or Texorrium). You need to be inside the effect radius — the dark circle — to count as harvesting.
- Wait a week, then check your storage page; the nebula's ore should start trickling in.
¶ How much ore can I harvest per week?
Three factors determine your weekly take:
- The nebula's weekly cap. Each ore-yielding nebula has a max output of 2 or 3 ore per week (rolled when the map is generated and fixed for the match).
- Per-ship cap. Each harvester can pull at most 0.1 ore per week. To approach a nebula's cap, you need more ships parked in it.
- Sharing. All harvesters in a nebula split the weekly cap equally if total demand exceeds it. If two players both park ships, both get a smaller slice — you don't get exclusive access just by being there first.
¶ FAQ
¶ Will my attack commands abort if my ship enters a Sanctuary nebula on the way?
No — only the final attack location matters. Passing through a Sanctuary nebula in transit is fine. If the target of the attack is inside the nebula (or if your ship is inside when the attack would resolve), then the attack is blocked.