ship fabricator

The Ship Fabricator is a specialized building that constructs Elude-class ships by consuming required resources and power, then launches them as a payload in its forward direction. It functions like other unit-producing fabricators and refabricators but is dedicated to producing the Elude ship type. The building accepts the necessary item inputs and begins consuming electricity to craft the ship; once complete the ship is released forward and behaves as a normal unit.

The Ship Fabricator stores up to twice the items required for a single Elude: a full internal buffer holds 100 Beryllium and 140 Silicon, allowing production to continue briefly if supply is interrupted. While producing, the fabricator consumes continuous power; its power draw was reduced in Build 149 from 120 to 90 power units per second, improving efficiency compared with its initial implementation in Build 136 when the block was added.

• Place the fabricator with its front facing the desired launch direction; ships are spawned moving forward from that face.
• Keep conveyor and overflow routing in mind: because the fabricator stores up to twice the recipe, feeding it steadily with conveyors or loaders smooths production and prevents idle time.
• Maintain a stable power supply sized for the fabricator’s continuous draw during production; the reduced cost in later builds makes it easier to sustain multiple fabricators.
• Use positioning and defensive structures to protect fabricators, as they are high-value production points and can be targeted by enemy forces.