Sector Movement

Sector movement means ordering a ship across a system's 3x3 grid, watching it advance one sector every 5-second tick, guided by the presence rule.

Every order is a heading; the galaxy answers one sector at a time.

The Sector Grid

Every system is a 3x3 grid of sectors, and every ship you own sits in exactly one of them. Issue a move order to any sector in that grid and your ship sets a course, crossing the intervening sectors one at a time until it reaches its target.

Set several destinations in a row and hand the route to autopilot instead of issuing each move by hand, or watch the captain's log for arrival confirmation on every hop.

The Presence Rule

You can only view or act in a system where you already have a ship. Scouting ahead means committing a hull to the trip first; there is no free look at a system your fleet has not yet reached, and every scout you send is a real ship in real danger.

Crossing between systems entirely, rather than sector by sector within one, is a different order: see Gate Travel.

By the Numbers

Sector per tick — 1
Sectors per system — 3x3

Each 5-second tick advances your ship exactly one sector along its course. A three-sector move takes three ticks before arrival.