Hexes
From Fleets Game Guide
Systems (also know as sectors / hexes) are sub-divisions of zones that players are able to travel through and capture. Players interact with systems in many ways, from collecting resources to building outposts to surveying and exploring.
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Attributes
All systems have five attributes: visibility, defensibility, ore, crystal, and fuel. These attributes are random, but are weighted toward certain values based on the system's type.
Raw Materials
The attributes that indicate resource density (ore, crystal, and fuel) determine how much of each resource the system's controller can extract from it each tick. Without any development, a system provides 10 times it's resource density. For example, a system with 70% ore, 30% crystal, and 0% fuel would provide 7 ore, 3 crystal, and 0 fuel every tick. In addition to the passive income provided by controlling a system, a player can extract more resources by building an outpost or a mining satellite in the system and by moving a support carrier to the system. A flagship or outpost that has the capability of extracting resources also has a resource rate that indicates mining capacity. The total amount extracted each tick can be calculated in the following manner:
resource density x resource rate
Additionally, a system's raw material attributes can be permanently increased through surveying.
Visibility
The visibility attribute indicates how difficult it is to get an accurate reading on the ships in a system from a scan. The lower the visibility the higher the margin of error in the scan results. Flagships and outposts are able to counteract low visibility by increasing their sensor strength. The sensor strength is added to the systems visibility when determining the accuracy of the scan.
For more information visit the pages on visibility and scanning and flagships.
Control
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System control is a fundamental aspect of fleets. Border disputes are common and system control allows players to gather the resources that are necessary to build up their armada. Systems may either be player controlled or neutral. The color of the border and the system's icon indicate who currently controls a specific system. A player's own systems are white, hostile systems are red, allied systems are blue, and neutral systems are gray. Each player may choose an icon to represent their empire, and every controlled system contains the icon of the player who controls it.
Site Range
Most ships have a sight range of one, outposts have a range of 2, and defense platforms' range is 3. This means that they are able to see any activity in their system and any surrounding systems that many hexes away. Flagships can increase their sight range through upgrades, and items thereby enabling them to see into systems that are 2 or 3 spaces away.
Capturing
Players are able to capture systems by sending a fleet of any size into unclaimed or enemy controlled systems. Fleets may only move into systems from a system they own, so the speed of ships is effectively reduced to one while they are capturing systems. Hexes are captured after combat each tick when there are no enemy ships remaining in the contested system. When capturing systems, it takes one tick to change from enemy controlled to neutral and another tick to change from neutral to captured. This means that it generally takes two ticks to capture an enemy system and only one tick to capture a neutral system.
Benefits
Controlling systems provides many tactical advantages to the player that controls them. Since players have full visibility into systems that they have captured, they are helpful as a buffer between empires. While opponents are spending time capturing systems, the defending player can see the encroachment and mobilize their defenses. Additionally, ships can only move at full speed through systems that they control, making it much easier to send reinforcements through controlled systems.
