SALVAGE / VISUAL FIELD GUIDE

Your first Fortune salvage run

Watch scraping feedback and the external output separately. Flying, inspecting blocked freight and delivering material are different responsibilities, even when one person handles them.

BeginnerSolo practice; responsibilities can be shared5 min read

STEP 1 OF 4

Identify the head and the output before scraping

The historical Fortune Q&A specifies a single head without alternate scraping modes. Its rear cargo lift and filler room are separate from the automatic side output. The maintained salvage guide describes an external dispenser for up to twelve 1-SCU boxes for solo pilots.

The checked First Flight offer gives 30-day access to Golem, Fortune and Intrepid. It does not establish the activation clock or modification permissions. Inspect your actual entitlement and fit before buying equipment.

1
Inspect output before taking a wreck
Safely parked, identify the side output, any occupying freight and the route you will use to unload a box. Locate the actual filler controls without assuming a button position.
What you should see
You can distinguish collecting material, dispensing it and unloading it.
That did not happen
If the next material stage is unclear, rehearse one small output and unload with an experienced operator before paying for a larger wreck.
CIG Salvage and Repair Guide, maintained Alpha 4.4 onward reference; checked 15 October 2026

Read the complete guide as text

The same published instructions in one readable view. Use the steps above for controls and practice panels.

Identify the head and the output before scraping

Inspect output before taking a wreck

Safely parked, identify the side output, any occupying freight and the route you will use to unload a box. Locate the actual filler controls without assuming a button position.

Expected result: You can distinguish collecting material, dispensing it and unloading it.

If it did not work: If the next material stage is unclear, rehearse one small output and unload with an experienced operator before paying for a larger wreck.

Use one scraper and watch the recovered material

Shared control cards use the site’s inspected defaults: 4.9 LIVE, compared with 4.10 PTU. Each control card links its dated evidence. These are not an SC Nomads gameplay test of 4.10.2. Check your saved bindings if a result differs; suggest corrections through this guide’s normal peer review.

Apply the single-head exception here when following the broader salvage lesson: do not copy its dual-head focus or alternate-scraper comparison. SC Nomads exercise: work a small permitted patch, observe collection, then stop deliberately.

Enter salvage mode for the single head

Separate controls: M

From the salvage-capable position, use the shared M salvage-mode input and inspect the selected single scraper. This hull does not need the two-head focus command from the general lesson.

Expected result: Salvage controls and the intended single scraper are visible before you fire.

If it did not work: If a structural tool or different operator mode is selected, stop and check the current HUD and your saved salvage-mode binding.

Start scraping a small patch

Separate controls: Left mouse

Aim the focused scraper at usable surface within the displayed range and start the beam. Move deliberately across the hull while observing the surface and recovered-material readout.

Expected result: The worked surface becomes stripped and RMC increases in the buffer.

If it did not work: If the surface is already bare, move to unworked hull. If no material enters storage, check range, target suitability and available buffer space.

Stop before changing jobs or leaving the station

Separate controls: Left mouse

Stop the beam and confirm it is inactive before getting up to handle cargo or investigate a problem.

Expected result: The salvage system is no longer collecting while the operator is away.

If it did not work: A low yield or empty surface does not prove the beam is off. Check its visible firing state.

Check the side grids when output stalls

The Q&A says ordinary cargo on the side grids can occupy the space generated RMC boxes need. Automatic loading therefore does not make those grids free storage for unrelated freight.

SC Nomads check: stop collection, inspect the actual output and move supported boxes only while safely positioned. Do not infer spare production capacity from an apparently empty rear lift.

Diagnose one interrupted batch

Compare the material/buffer reading, visible output and occupied grid. Stop the beam before leaving the controls; clear the actual obstruction using suitable handling equipment, then recheck.

Expected result: You can identify whether output space was blocked and whether the next batch can proceed.

If it did not work: If output is still blocked, do not keep scraping into a full system. Recheck mode, storage and permissions before continuing.

Take a supported box and bring it clear

Controls in order: Left mouse then Mouse wheel

Aim a suitable tractor tool at the test box and engage it with the primary action. Move it clear of the floor. Use small wheel movements to adjust how far it is held.

Expected result: The whole container moves without scraping through a doorway or another box.

If it did not work: If the tool shows a mass or distance limit, use equipment capable of this load. A Multi-Tool and a MaxLift are not interchangeable for every container.

Confirm placement before releasing the next box

Place the container in a supported grid position, release the tractor, and inspect whether it stayed where intended. Walk the access route once before repeating.

Expected result: The box remains aboard and both the output area and your walking route are usable.

If it did not work: Loose or moving freight is not secured merely because it is inside the hull. Reposition the test box before loading over it.

Separate an RMC sale from structural refining

The maintained guide requires exporting remaining RMC before structural collection. Structural Rubble, Pieces and Salvage require a refinery step after freight-elevator unload to station inventory. They are not finished RMC; historical buffer and loose-stack totals are not a safe current payload plan.

SC Nomads exercise: identify the actual output material before choosing the receiving service. Use the linked structural steps for target clearance, unloading and refining rather than treating every recovered box as the same sale.

Choose the next service from the material name

Record the material and container count. Check the receiving service accepts that material; for structural output, complete the station unload before inspecting the refinery offer.

Expected result: You can point to the stored material and the actual next processing or sale step.

If it did not work: If the service cannot see the load, verify the destination inventory and accepted material. Do not destroy or abandon the load to fix an unexplained missing order.

Output identified
Remaining RMC handled before a structural switch
Unload verified
Sale or refinery step confirmed

Version history

Sources & guide information

Sources checked 15 October 2026. Historical Q&As and maintained guides; not gameplay tested on Alpha 4.10.2.. Reference information, not a claim of current-patch playtesting.

CIG Fortune Q&A, historical launch/design reference; checked 15 October 2026 CIG Salvage and Repair Guide, maintained Alpha 4.4 onward reference; checked 15 October 2026 RSI First Flight Pack, current offer checked 15 October 2026 CIG defaultProfile.xml, extracted by Subliminal: 4.9 LIVE defaults compared with 4.10 PTU, checked 13 Oct 2026 CIG defaultProfile.xml extracted by Subliminal: 4.9 LIVE with 4.10 PTU comparison, checked 14 October 2026