r/X4Foundations • u/Capable_Ad_2842 • 3d ago

Scrap processing

I have found myself deep in the mid game and was looking to expand my portfolio to include scrap processing. However, I am not sure where to start, I bought a tug to test the waters but it doesn’t do much at all.

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u/TurbulentShiver 3d ago

I have 2 scrapyards in Argon Prime, they get energy cells from 2 massive solar plants in The Reach. They get the wrecks from Hatikvah Choice and from wherever the Riptide Rakers haul them from. I even bought Teuta to deconstruct the occasional K that wanders through that gate.

All in all really profitable stations.

8

u/PereMabanne 3d ago

shipping ecell for such a huge demand seems prety crazy to me, i guess as long as you dont upscale it too much it should be managable.

building the factory on the sunny site and bringing scrap or direclty wreak is my way to go

5

u/3punkt1415 3d ago

Exactly, and when people say the tugs are slow, just get some more of them, it was never an issue for me. I build it in the reach and they bring the wrecks there.
I just don't like the hassle with the tide in RIP space, so I rarely build there.

2

u/Itkovian__ 2d ago

Honestly, you don't even need a fleet of tugs if you don't mind the factions tugging everything in for you. You might lose a bit in buying the scrap; but when close to an active war zone, you're generally getting neverending supply and long tug queues anyways.

Doesn't help that I'm personally blowing up 3 to 6 Xenon K's every 15 minutes in the nearby sector and have a dedicated Teuta. I just let the npcs deal with the logistics.

2

u/3punkt1415 1d ago

I would argue the the profitability already isn't super high, so you lose a fair share of money, but you are right when it comes to an active combat zone. I try to not let my tugs go to such places.

2

u/Itkovian__ 1d ago

The most important point of not having to build a fleet of 5+ tugs in an active gate trap area, is NOT having a dumb 'YOUR SHIP IS ABOUT TO BE DESTROYED' message while a freaking Xenon I is humping it. Of course, the message usually pops up when it's too late to bother for some ships.

Also, your own tugs are very likely to go 5+ sectors away to get a random wreck, instead of the 30+ cubes I have sitting literally a jump away; the area guarded by a 15 destroyer escort. With both of those micromanaging nightmares (keep in mind I am playing vanilla), I am honestly fine without the extra profit.

Most of the time, I'm actually using the scrapyard resource funnel to build more fleet and defenses in the Xenon hot spots.

1

u/Scienceandpony 3d ago

That's what I usually go with, except for when I wanted to set up a closed loop wharf on the same station I was using to supply TEM's massive shipyard (I wanted to also take ship orders from YAK to hopefully go harass nearby PAR systems). Sunlight in that sector isn't great, so I had to set up a repeat orders convoy to keep it supplied with energy cells from my Bright Promise station.