Nav beacon

A Nav beacon is a deployable map-marker object. It does not provide radar coverage like a Satellite — its job is purely map labelling. Player deploys nav beacons to mark interesting positions; NPC factions deploy them as part of patrol-route definitions and territory boundary markers.

Inheritance: component → destructible → object → navbeacon. The datatype is empty — navbeacon adds zero properties; everything is inherited from object.

Related but separate: class.jumpbeacon is a distinct class (Pirate DLC) — player-deployable beacon that lets ships jump to it. They look similar in the UI but are different abstractions. See Gate for jumpbeacon coverage.

Properties

There are no nav-beacon-specific properties. All accessors are inherited from object:

Property	Source	Description
.sector / .zone / .position	object	Location
.owner / .trueowner	object	Deploying faction
.macro	component	Deployment macro
.knownname	component	Display name (player can rename via UI)
.hull / .hullpercentage	destructible	Damage state
.isclass.{class.navbeacon}	component	Type check (NOT .isclass.{class.gate}!)

Actions

Deploy a nav beacon (player gift / scripted)

<add_ammo
    object="player.ship"
    macro="ware.eq_arg_navbeacon_01.objectmacro"
    amount="1"/>

Same deployable pattern as Satellite: add_ammo macro= puts it in the player’s ammostorage; the player deploys it from the UI.

Direct-spawn via create_object

<create_object
    name="$Beacon"
    macro="macro.eq_arg_navbeacon_01_macro"
    owner="$Faction"
    sector="$Sector">
    <position x="0" y="0" z="0"/>
</create_object>

For NPCs and scripted placement.

Find all nav beacons in a sector

<find_object name="$Beacons"
    space="$Sector"
    class="class.navbeacon"
    multiple="true"/>

Events

Unlike Satellite (no dedicated event), nav beacon has a launch event:

Event	When	Notes
event_navbeacon_launched	Nav beacon deployed in a space	Filter by space= (sector/cluster/galaxy) or group=. event.param2.{1} is the new beacon. Vanilla rml_deploy_in_sectors.xml:107, rml_deployinplace.xml:210, x4ep1_mentor_subscription.xml:8533
event_object_destroyed	Nav beacon destroyed	Standard object event

The event_navbeacon_launched is the main hook modders use to react to player nav beacon placement (e.g., the Mentor Subscription quest in x4ep1_mentor_subscription.xml:8624 checks event.param2.{1}.isclass.navbeacon and .isplayerowned).

Common gotchas

• ⚠ Nav beacon ≠ jumpbeacon. class.navbeacon is a map marker. class.jumpbeacon is a Pirate DLC deployable that allows jumping. Don’t conflate them — isclass.navbeacon is FALSE for a jumpbeacon and vice versa.
• ⚠ Nav beacon ≠ gate. Nav beacons are not connectivity nodes; find_gate does not return them.
• ⚠ Nav beacon datatype is empty. No properties beyond inherited object accessors. Don’t expect .range, .power etc. like satellites have.
• ⚠ Same add_ammo macro= pattern as Satellite. Don’t try add_inventory ware= — it puts the ware in NPC inventory, not in the deployable bag. See Satellite gotchas.
• ⚠ NPC patrol nav beacons are not always visible to the player. Faction-owned nav beacons may be hidden until uncovered. Filter find_object results by .knowntoplayer if your mod wants only player-visible markers.
• ⚠ event_navbeacon_launched fires for ALL factions in scope. Check event.param2.{1}.isplayerowned before assuming the beacon is the player’s.
• ⚠ A nav beacon’s .knownname is the player’s free-text label. Empty before the player renames. Don’t depend on it for unique identification — use the object ref.

Examples

Example 1: Give the player a nav beacon

<add_ammo
    object="player.ship"
    macro="ware.eq_arg_navbeacon_01.objectmacro"
    amount="1"/>

<write_to_logbook
    text="'Nav beacon added to '
        + player.ship.knownname"/>

Example 2: React when the player deploys a nav beacon

<cue name="WatchPlayerBeacon" instantiate="true">
    <conditions>
        <event_navbeacon_launched space="player.galaxy"/>
        <check_value
            value="event.param2.{1}.isclass.navbeacon
                and event.param2.{1}.isplayerowned"/>
    </conditions>
    <actions>
        <write_to_logbook
            text="'Player placed nav beacon at '
                + event.param2.{1}.sector.knownname"/>
    </actions>
</cue>

Pattern from vanilla x4ep1_mentor_subscription.xml:8624.

Example 3: List all player nav beacons galaxy-wide

<find_object name="$AllBeacons"
    space="player.galaxy"
    class="class.navbeacon"
    multiple="true"/>

<create_list name="$Mine"/>

<do_for_each name="$beacon" in="$AllBeacons">
    <do_if value="$beacon.isplayerowned">
        <append_to_list name="$Mine" exact="$beacon"/>
    </do_if>
</do_for_each>

<write_to_logbook
    text="'Player has ' + $Mine.count + ' nav beacons'"/>

Architectural context

• How NPC patrol routes use nav beacons: Architectural overview Patrol coordination — patrol order definitions reference nav beacon group ids; planted beacons define waypoints.
• Subscription tie-in: The Mentor Subscription quest (x4ep1_mentor_subscription.xml) uses event_navbeacon_launched to gate progression on player exploration.

Related

• Satellite — sibling deployable, provides radar coverage (different role).
• Gate — class.jumpbeacon lives here, the connectivity-deployable.
• Resourceprobe — sibling deployable, scans for resources.
• Mine — sibling deployable, lays explosives.
• Sector — where nav beacons exist.
• Ware — ware.eq_arg_navbeacon_* is the inventory item.

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Pattern — empty datatype

Nav beacon is an example of a concrete object with no specific properties. Everything is inherited; the datatype exists only to give the object a distinct class for filtering. Same shape as Drop, some Adsign variants.