Fleet Design & Management

Fleet Management

The Fleet Management panel provides a centralized interface for viewing, labeling, and automating all your fleets. Access it from the Combat Panel under Empire fleets > Manage fleets.

Fleet Labels

Every fleet can be assigned one of four labels to help organize your forces:

Labels are mostly cosmetic. Utility enables the Auto-Transport feature described below, and Offensive can gain a 50% stealth bonus to detectable scanner signature if you unlock Ghost Fleet in the Technology Tree. At TECH 3000, Defensive also becomes functional if you unlock Defense Matrix in the Technology Tree.

Empire fleet rosters (All Fleets, In-Action)

The All Fleets and In-Action Fleets pages (from the Combat panel) use Current Location for where the fleet is treated as operating from (while an ETA is counting down, that is usually the planet it left from), and Destination for the route target. If the fleet is not on a route, the destination cell is empty. This matches the information behind the optional [R] route shortcut in the orders column.

Manage Fleets UI

The panel has three tabs:

List Tab

A table showing every fleet you own with columns for name, label, size, capacity, cargo, current location, destination (when the fleet has an active route), orders, and automation controls. Each row has a dropdown to change the label, plus a per-fleet Defense Matrix on/off control for defensive fleets, with a Save button to persist changes. A label filter at the top lets you narrow the view.

When you load or deploy fleets, armies, or fleet cargo, validation errors appear immediately on that action page without clearing your selections. Successful actions refresh only the current panel so its capacity, cargo, and group lists show the latest server state.

Bulk Tab

Select multiple fleets via checkboxes, then apply a label change, mission assignment, and/or automation toggle to all selected fleets at once. The bulk table includes the same current location and destination columns as the list tab. This includes bulk Defense Matrix on/off for defensive fleets. Hold Shift and click another checkbox to apply the same checked state to every visible row between them.

Split Move

The Bulk tab also supports Split Move for sending many fleets to different coordinates in one submit.

• Check the fleets you want to move.
• Enable Split Move to reveal the per-fleet destination editor.
• Enter coordinates manually for each fleet, or fill them from your bookmarks and owned planets dropdowns.
• Use Collapse / Expand to hide or reopen the split editor without clearing the destinations you already entered.
• Split Move is coordinate-only. It does not assign missions; use the normal bulk move controls when you want all selected fleets to share one destination and optional mission.

Missions Tab

Create and manage missions directly from the Fleet Management page. The list view shows all your missions with origin, destination, and loop status. Click a mission name to edit it, or use the Create Mission button to define a new one. See the Missions article for details on creating mission routes.

Auto-Transport

Auto-Transport automates the repetitive cycle of hauling exium from mining colonies and credits from housing/city colonies to silo worlds.

See also Automated Transports for a standalone setup and mechanics reference.

Requirements

• The master toggle must be enabled (top of the Manage Fleets page)
• The fleet must have the Utility label
• All units in the fleet must have a hyperunit (required for hyperspace travel)
• You must own at least one silo world colony (planet type 41) with at least 1 silo built
• At least one exium mine must have exium above your configured Resource threshold, or one housing/city colony must have credits above it (default: 100,000; minimum: 50,000)

How It Works

Each battle turn, the game processes auto-transport fleets:

1. Enrollment: Idle utility fleets belonging to players with auto-transport enabled are automatically enrolled into the transport cycle.

1. Pickup Phase: The fleet first searches for the nearest safe, reachable exium mine above the threshold. Credit pickup is a strict fallback: housing/city colonies are considered only after inbound fleet capacity covers all qualifying reachable exium work. On arrival, the fleet loads exium first, then credits, up to its cargo capacity.

1. Delivery Phase: The fleet flies to the nearest reachable silo world by estimated travel time (ETA), using the same routing model as normal fleet movement (including stargates/wormholes and hop overhead), while skipping silo worlds that are currently blockaded. On arrival, it unloads all cargo into the colony's storage.

1. Repeat: After unloading, the fleet runs the same exium-first search. If no eligible source exists, it goes idle until colonies accumulate enough exium or credits.

Resource Threshold

The resource threshold (default 100,000; minimum 50,000) is shared by both source types and applies independently to each resource. Stored exium at a mining colony or stored credits at a housing/city colony must be strictly greater than the value to trigger a route. It does not reserve that amount during loading. Adjust it in the master toggle section at the top of the Manage Fleets page.

Edge Cases

Tips

• Place silo worlds centrally relative to your mining colonies to minimize travel time.
• Larger fleets with more cargo capacity are more efficient transporters since they make fewer trips.
• Auto-transport respects the same routing as manual fleet movement, including stargates for shorter paths.
• You can monitor the current state of auto-transport fleets in the Manage Fleets list (the Auto-T column shows On/Off).
• Disabling the master toggle immediately resets all fleet auto-transport states to off.

Defense Matrix

Defense Matrix is a TECH 3000 technology-tree unlock that turns the Defensive fleet label into an automated response role.

Requirements

• You must unlock Defense Matrix in the Technology Tree.
• The fleet must have the Defensive label.
• The fleet-level Defense Matrix toggle must be On. Newly created or newly labeled defensive fleets start with this enabled by default.
• The fleet must be top-level, idle, and have no mission assigned.
• All units in the fleet must have a hyperunit.
• The threatened colony must be yours or occupied by you.
• The threat must be either a detected incoming enemy fleet or an enemy fleet already actively attacking that colony.

Controls

• You can toggle Defense Matrix on or off from the individual fleet screen for any owned defensive fleet once you have the unlock.
• The same per-fleet control is available in Manage Fleets on desktop and mobile.
• The Bulk tab also supports setting Defense Matrix to On or Off for multiple selected fleets at once.
• Select the unlocked Defense Matrix node in the Technology Tree to set your user-wide response margin from 0% to 100%. It defaults to 15%, producing a 115% total hull target.

How It Works

Each battle turn, after missions resolve and before battles begin:

1. The game checks colonies you own or occupy for both detected incoming enemy fleets and hostile fleets already actively attacking the planet.
2. It totals the hostile hull per threatened colony from both detected incoming fleets and active attackers already on-site.
3. It counts defensive fleets already at the colony or already traveling there.
4. If committed hull is below 100% plus your configured response margin of that threatened hostile hull, the nearest reachable idle defensive fleets with the fleet-level toggle enabled are rerouted there. The default 15% margin produces a 115% target.
5. Once they arrive, they hold position until you move them again or another future response redirects them.

Automated Transports

This page documents the in-game Auto-Transport feature on the Manage fleets screen. The wiki title uses "Automated Transports" for clarity, but the game UI labels the feature as Auto-Transport.

Overview

Automated transports are designed for players who routinely move exium from mining colonies and credits from housing/city colonies to silo worlds. Instead of manually loading a cargo fleet, plotting a route, unloading, and repeating the same trip, you can let Utility fleets handle the cycle automatically every battle turn.

This is most useful once your empire has active resource-producing colonies and at least one established storage world. It reduces repetitive logistics work while keeping exium ahead of credit pickup work.

Requirements

To participate in automated transport, all of the following must be true:

• The Auto-Transport master toggle at the top of the Manage fleets page must be turned on.
• The fleet must be labeled Utility.
• Every ship in the fleet must have hyperunit capability.
• You must own at least one pickup source: an exium mine with stored exium above the resource threshold, or a housing/city colony with stored credits above it.
• You must own at least one unoccupied silo world (planet type 41) with at least 1 silo built.
• The fleet must be idle and not loaded inside another fleet.

Automated transport only uses colonies that are still yours and not under occupation. Blockaded colonies and colonies with a charged planetary shield are not valid pickup or dropoff targets.

Setup

1. Open Combat Panel > Empire fleets > Manage fleets.
2. In the master control area at the top of the page, turn Auto-Transport on.
3. Set the Resource threshold value to at least 50,000. The same value applies independently to exium at mining colonies and credits at housing/city colonies.
4. In the fleet list or bulk tools, change the fleet label to Utility.
5. Make sure the fleet is built entirely from ships that can travel through hyperspace.

The resource threshold defaults to 100,000 and cannot be set below 50,000. A source must be strictly above the configured value, so exactly 50,000 is not eligible when the setting is 50,000. The threshold starts a route; it is not an amount deliberately left behind when the fleet loads.

Transport Cycle

Each battle turn, the game evaluates eligible fleets and advances the transport cycle:

1. Enrollment: Idle Utility fleets owned by players with Auto-Transport enabled can be enrolled automatically.
2. Pickup selection: The fleet first chooses the nearest safe, reachable exium source above the threshold. A credit source is considered only when inbound fleet capacity already covers every qualifying reachable exium source or no such exium route exists. Other fleets' inbound cargo capacity is reserved so several fleets can cover a large source without sending unnecessary duplicate trips.
3. Loading: On arrival, the fleet loads exium first, then credits, until its cargo capacity is full.
4. Dropoff selection: The fleet chooses the nearest reachable silo world by estimated travel time (ETA), using the same route model as normal fleet movement, while skipping silo worlds that are currently blockaded.
5. Unload: On arrival, the fleet unloads its cargo into the colony storage.
6. Repeat: After unloading, the fleet makes the same strict exium-first selection again. If no qualifying pickup source is available, it goes idle and can be enrolled again later.

A colony with both mining and housing/city development remains an exium target while its projected exium is above the threshold. Reservations consume projected cargo in loading order—exium first, then credits—matching what fleets do when they arrive.

Limits and Edge Cases

• Missions take priority. A fleet with a mission assigned will keep following the mission, and automated transport stays dormant until the mission is removed.
• Vacation mode pauses participation because idle fleets are not enrolled while the user is in vacation mode.
• Blockaded or shielded worlds are skipped. Pickup and dropoff targets with hostile fleets already in orbit or a charged planetary shield are ignored, and fleets reroute or retry later instead of assigning those worlds.
• No hyperunit capability disables the fleet for automated transport.
• No valid route disables the fleet if the system cannot find a reachable pickup source or silo world.
• Lost or occupied colonies disable the fleet when it reaches an invalid pickup or dropoff destination.
• No pickup sources above threshold sends the fleet idle until enough exium or credits accumulate for later re-enrollment.
• Full silo worlds cause a retry. If no reachable silo has enough free capacity for the full cargo, the fleet keeps its load and tries again on a later tick instead of disabling immediately.

Practical Tips

• Build silo worlds in central locations so transport fleets spend less time in transit.
• Use larger cargo fleets for automated transport because fewer trips means less idle overhead.
• Raise the threshold if your fleets keep making low-value runs from lightly stocked resource planets.
• Avoid assigning missions to your Utility fleets unless you intentionally want missions to override automated transport.
• Review your Fleet Management screen regularly so you can spot fleets that were delayed by blockade, lost colonies, or missing hyperunit capability.

Related Topics

• Fleet Management
• Trade
• Exium
• Credits
• Missions
• Buildings Guide
• Battle Turn

Missions

Missions are a set of movement orders that are carried out in the order given. The loading and unloading of resources can also be handled at every planet visited in the mission.

Missions most useful when setting up resource fleets to automatically transfer resources around your empire.

Missions can be created on the combat panel, then show at the top of the movement locations when moving a fleet. The process of creating is easy, you just enter (or select) the location of the planet that you would like to travel to, you can then chose to pass it, load or unload resources.

Missions can also be set to loop to ensure that they restart and continue until the fleet is either destroyed or ordered to do something else.

You should be aware when creating a mission that if you use an opponent planet in it, any land forces you have will be deployed on that planet as your fleet passes it, but the fleet will still move on, leaving the forces stranded.

Missions vs Auto-Transport

If a fleet has both a mission assigned and Auto-Transport enabled, the mission takes priority. The fleet will execute its mission orders each turn and the auto-transport state will remain dormant. Once the mission is unassigned, the fleet becomes eligible for auto-transport again.

Idle utility fleets are only enrolled into auto-transport if they have no mission assigned.