Station

A Station is a persistent structure in space owned by a faction. Stations contain modules (production, docks, defence, habitation), employ NPCs, trade wares, and serve as hubs for ship operations.

Subtypes: Shipyard, Wharf, Equipment Dock, Trade Station, Defence Station, Production Factory, Pirate Base, Player Headquarters.

Contains: Modules, Dockareas, Build plot.

Properties

Most common accessors used by vanilla MD scripts and mods.

Property	Type	Description
`.faction` / `.owner`	faction	Current owning faction
`.trueowner`	faction	True owner — differs from `.faction` during boarding/capture
`.knownname`	string	Display name
`.sector`	sector	Containing Sector
`.zone`	zone	Containing Zone
`.modules`	list	All Modules of this station
`.container`	container	Aggregate inventory and value
`.container.value`	int (Cr)	Total value of modules + drones
`.cargo`	container	Cargo inventory
`.cargo.list`	list	List of wares in cargo
`.buildplot`	buildplot	Build plot info
`.buildplot.price`	int (Cr)	Build plot price
`.dockingbays`	list	Docking bays
`.crew`	list	NPC crew
`.workforce`	int	Current workforce
`.maxworkforce`	int	Maximum workforce
`.controlpost.manager`	npc	Station manager NPC
`.istradestation`	bool	Is a trade station
`.isfactionheadquarters`	bool	Is a faction HQ
`.isplannedshipyard`	bool	Is a planned shipyard
`.isplannedwharf`	bool	Is a planned wharf
`.isplanneddefencestation`	bool	Is a planned defence
`.hasfixedconstruction`	bool	Has fixed construction (cannot extend)
`.hasstagedconstruction`	bool	Has staged construction (X4 9.0+)

Actions

Create a station

<create_station name="$myStation"
    macro="..."
    faction="..."
    object="$sector"
    position="[x, y, z]"/>

Change owner

<set_owner object="$station" faction="faction.player"/>

For ships, use md.LIB_Generic.TransferShipOwnership (handles fleet detachment). For stations, <set_owner> is typically sufficient — but verify subordinate ship behaviors with your specific scenario.

Destroy

<destroy_object object="$station"/>

Find stations by faction

<find_station_by_true_owner name="$stations"
    faction="faction.argon"
    space="player.galaxy"/>

Filter for normal vs special stations

<do_if value="not $station.isplanneddefencestation
              and not $station.isplannedshipyard
              and not $station.isplannedwharf
              and not $station.istradestation
              and not $station.isfactionheadquarters">
    <!-- this is a normal production/storage station -->
</do_if>

This is the filter used by the Buy and Sell Stations mod to identify stations the player can buy or sell.

Libraries

Vanilla helpers for working with stations. Source: md/lib_generic.xml.

Library	Purpose	Source line
`md.LIB_Generic.FindNearestStationForFaction`	Closest station of given faction	1240
`md.LIB_Generic.FindStationsForFactionByDistance`	All stations sorted by distance	1270
`md.LIB_Generic.TransferStationOwnership`	Transfer with cleanup	1559
`md.LIB_Generic.SetStationMinHull`	Set hull floor	2971
`md.LIB_Generic.RequestObjectInvincibility`	Mark indestructible	3522
`md.FinaliseStations.NewStation_GenerateFactory_Signal`	Public API for finalizing a created station	finalisestations.xml:192

Events

Events that fire about stations.

Event	When	Notes
`event_object_destroyed`	Station destroyed	Filter by `event.object.isclass.{class.station}`
`event_object_changed_owner`	Ownership changed	—
`event_object_attacked`	Under attack	Fires from aiscript, not MD-side
`event_god_created_factory`	Engine-side new station spawn	`isgamestartgodentry=true/false` distinguishes initial seed from runtime

For galaxy-wide combat notifications, see Behavior → Order — aiscripts emit 'station_under_attack' signal to player.galaxy.

Common gotchas

⚠ <find_station> (without _by_true_owner) excludes player stations. Use find_station_by_true_owner or merge results from both.
⚠ Module recipes accessible via $Mod.macro.ware.resources — not $Mod.products.list.{1}.resources (returns null silently).
⚠ In X4 9.0, <create_construction_sequence> errors on stations with hasstagedconstruction=true — guard with <do_if value="not $Station.hasstagedconstruction">.
⚠ bare <set_player_target> for cross-cluster stations errors (not in player cluster). For galaxy-wide tracking use Guidance API.

Examples

Example 1: Find the player’s nearest Argon trade station

<run_actions ref="md.LIB_Generic.FindNearestStationForFaction"
    result="$nearest">
    <param name="Faction" value="faction.argon"/>
    <param name="Position" value="player.ship.position"/>
    <param name="Sector" value="player.ship.sector"/>
</run_actions>

<do_if value="@$nearest">
    <set_value name="$is_trade" exact="$nearest.istradestation"/>
</do_if>

Example 2: Listen for any station destruction in the galaxy

<cue name="WatchStationDestruction" instantiate="true">
    <conditions>
        <event_object_destroyed/>
        <check_value value="event.object.isclass.{class.station}"/>
    </conditions>
    <actions>
        <write_to_logbook
            text="'Station destroyed: ' + event.object.knownname"/>
    </actions>
</cue>

Example 3: Transfer ownership of a station with cleanup

<run_actions ref="md.LIB_Generic.TransferStationOwnership">
    <param name="Station" value="$capturedStation"/>
    <param name="NewOwner" value="faction.player"/>
</run_actions>

Architectural context

For deeper understanding of station-related subsystems:

How stations come into existence: Architectural overview Galaxy seeding (Tier 1) — covers god.xml, FinaliseStations pipeline, factionlogic_stations runtime spawner.
How factions decide when to build new stations: Architectural overview Faction economy — EvaluateSectorShortage formula and Request_Factory action.
Station construction rendering: Architectural overview Construction sequence — <create_construction_sequence> and <apply_construction_sequence>.

Module — building block of a station.
Shipyard — subtype, builds capital ships.
Sector — container.
Faction — owner.
Ware — what stations trade and produce.