Outposts, sometimes called Orbital Outposts to distinguish them from ground-based facilities like Surface Ports and Settlements, are relatively small and modular space stations. They differ significantly from the vastly larger Starports and Asteroid Bases, which are usually the major hubs within a system. Outposts have between three and five Landing Pads, no docking support for large ships, and minimal security emplacements and patrols. They also lack any rotating habitation structures to simulate gravity for occupants, and docked ships are held in place magnetically.
There are seven Outpost variants, each built to serve a specific economic role: Civilian, Commercial, Industrial, Military, Mining, Scientific, and Unsanctioned.
Name
Example
Image
Commercial Outpost
Civilian Outpost
Scientific Outpost
Canonn Institute, Col 285 Sector IX-T d3-43
Mining Outpost
Robigo Mines, Robigo
Industrial Outpost
al-Din Prospect, Alpha Centauri
Military Outpost
Unsanctioned Outpost
Notes[]
Based on the population data of systems that contain one Outpost and no other habitable structures, Outposts have an estimated population capacity ranging from as low as 10 to as high as 150,000, depending on their size and configuration.
Unsanctioned Outposts are usually run by Anarchy minor factions and almost always have an active black market. Coupled with Outposts' bare-bones security, they make ideal hubs for Smugglers looking to sell illegal goods or take on missions that involve retrieving illegal salvage. It is also one of the few places that sells E-Breaches.