Wharf

A Wharf is a Station subtype that builds S and M class ships (fighters, corvettes, miners, transports) and equips them. Shipyards handle the larger L and XL classes. Most factions have one or more wharfs supplying their fighter fleets.

This page documents Wharf-specific behavior. For all general station behavior (creation, ownership, modules, hull, dockingbays, events, etc.), see the parent Station page.

Identification

Flag	Meaning
.iswharf	Currently a wharf (display-state)
.isplannedwharf	Planned to be a wharf (intent — true from construction-plan time)
.canbuildships	Has at least one ship-building module (true for wharfs AND shipyards)
.canequipships	Has at least one ship-equipping module (true for wharfs, shipyards, AND equipment docks)

For early detection during construction, use .isplannedwharf (vanilla factionlogic_stations.xml:223).

For “build any ship”, the canonical filter is .isshipyard or .iswharf — both can produce ships (vanilla diplomacy.xml:2514).

Properties (wharf-specific)

All wharf accessors live on the parent station datatype (scriptproperties.xml:848). There is no separate wharf datatype.

Property	Type	Description
.iswharf	bool	Currently a wharf
.isplannedwharf	bool	Planned/in-construction to be a wharf
.canbuildships	bool	Shared with Shipyard (any ship-building module qualifies)
.canbuildclass.{class}	bool	Test specific class — wharfs answer true for class.ship_s, .ship_m
.canbuildmacro.{macro}	bool	Test specific ship macro
.buildships.wares	warelist	All ship macros this wharf can build

Differentiating wharf from shipyard

A wharf typically has .canbuildclass.{class.ship_s} and .ship_m true; .ship_l and .ship_xl false. The reverse for a shipyard.

<!-- Pure wharf (S/M only) -->
<do_if value="$Station.iswharf
    and not $Station.canbuildclass.{class.ship_l}">
    <!-- ... -->
</do_if>

<!-- Hybrid station (S+M+L+XL build modules all installed) -->
<do_if value="$Station.iswharf and $Station.isshipyard">
    <!-- ... -->
</do_if>

Vanilla diplomacy.xml:2531-2532 accommodates hybrid stations explicitly.

Common wharf-relevant patterns

”Find a wharf that can build my fighter"

<find_station_by_true_owner name="$Wharfs"
    space="player.galaxy"
    multiple="true"
    sortbydistanceto="player.ship"/>

<set_value name="$found" exact="null"/>

<do_for_each name="$station" in="$Wharfs">
    <do_if value="$station.iswharf
        and $station.canbuildmacro.{$FighterMacro}">
        <set_value name="$found" exact="$station"/>
        <break/>
    </do_if>
</do_for_each>

"Is this where I should drop off rescued marines?”

<do_if value="$Station.iswharf or $Station.isshipyard">
    <!-- both have crew docks and equipment storage -->
</do_if>

Pattern from diplomacy.xml:2514.

”Did the player build a new wharf?”

<cue name="WatchPlayerWharf" instantiate="true">
    <conditions>
        <event_object_construction_sequence_created/>
        <check_value
            value="event.object.isclass.{class.station}
                and event.object.owner == faction.player
                and event.object.isplannedwharf
                and not event.object.iswharf"/>
    </conditions>
    <actions>
        <write_to_logbook
            text="'Player wharf construction began: '
                + event.object.knownname"/>
    </actions>
</cue>

Construction macros

Wharfs are constructed using:

• Group: wharf_<faction_3-letter-code> (e.g. wharf_arg, wharf_tel, wharf_par) in libraries/stationgroups.xml.
• Plan: e.g. arg_wharf, tel_wharf in libraries/constructionplans.xml.

When modding a new faction’s wharf, you add:

1. A <stationgroup> entry referencing fighter / transport build modules from libraries/modules.xml.
2. A <constructionplan> entry that builds those modules in sequence.
3. Optional <god> seed entry.

Common gotchas

• ⚠ .iswharf is FALSE during construction. Until the construction sequence completes the station is not yet a wharf at the display level. Use .isplannedwharf if you need to detect it early.
• ⚠ .canbuildships is TRUE for shipyards too. Means “has any ship-building module” — for wharf-only checks use .iswharf or .canbuildclass.{class.ship_s} with negative shipyard check.
• ⚠ Hybrid stations (wharf + shipyard) are valid. Both .iswharf and .isshipyard can be TRUE on the same station. Don’t write code assuming they’re mutually exclusive.
• ⚠ Wharfs typically can’t build capital ships even if you set_ship_wares_included. The build module installed has hard size-class limits — set_ship_wares_* only filters within what the module supports. To build XL, install a shipyard build module.
• ⚠ In X4 9.0, create_construction_sequence errors on staged stations. Same as Shipyard — guard with not $Station.hasstagedconstruction.
• ⚠ Don’t filter “buy ship” missions on .iswharf alone. Vanilla uses .iswharf or .isshipyard — missing one path will skip half the player’s options.

Architectural context

• How factions decide where to build wharfs: Architectural overview Faction economy — wharfs are placed near contested sectors where the faction expects to lose fighter waves.
• Construction sequence rendering: Architectural overview Station construction sequence — same pipeline as Shipyard.
• Fleet reconstitution: Architectural overview Fleet reconstitution — wharfs supply S/M replacements; shipyards supply L/XL.

Related

• Station — parent abstraction (all general properties/actions live there).
• Shipyard — sibling subtype, builds L/XL ships.
• Equipment dock — sibling subtype, only equips (cannot build from scratch).
• Faction — owner.
• Ware — ship_* ship wares.
• Macro — ship macro recipes.
• Build module — the contained part that does the actual construction.

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Pattern — IS-A subtype page

Same pattern as Shipyard — this page only documents Wharf-specific behavior. General station behavior lives on the parent Station page.