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Star Citizen Mining Signature Value Analysis

Extraction Date: 2026-03-18 (SC Patch 4.7) Source: Game2.xml via unp4k-suite v3.13.66 from Data.p4k Extraction Tool: extract_all_signatures.py (sc_data_extractor project) Author: Mallachi

SC 4.7 Breaking Change: The old I/C/S/P/M/Q/E asteroid type system is completely removed. The new system uses per-mineral signatures — each mineral has a unique signature value that directly identifies it, regardless of whether it appears in an asteroid or a surface rock.

Table of Contents

  1. Summary of Findings
  2. SC 4.7 Changes vs 4.6
  3. Ship Mining — Per-Mineral Signatures
  4. Ground Deposits
  5. Salvage
  6. Undetectable Entities
  7. Signature Collisions
  8. Extraction Methodology
  9. DCB Parsing Technical Details

Summary of Findings

Quick Reference Table

Category Signature(s) Notes
Legendary minerals 3170, 3185, 3200 Quantainium, Stileron (Sileron ore), Savrilium
Epic minerals 3370, 3385, 3400 Ouratite, Riccite, Lindinium
Rare minerals 3540, 3555, 3570, 3585, 3600 Beryl, Taranite, Borase, Gold, Bexalite
Uncommon minerals 3825, 3840, 3855, 3870, 3885, 3900 Laranite, Aslarite, Titanium, Tungsten, Agricium, Torite
Common minerals 4180–4300 (15-step increments) Hephaestanite, Tin, Quartz, Corundum, Copper, Silicon, Iron, Aluminum, Ice
FPS Ground Deposit (small) 3000 Confirmed SC 4.7 DCB
ROC/GV Ground Deposit (large) 4000 Confirmed SC 4.7 DCB (was incorrectly 3000 in pre-4.7 DB)
Salvage Panels / Active Scrap 2000 Per panel
Small Wreck Debris 1700 Avenger-class hull pieces
Medium Wreck Debris 1850 Ares Inferno-class hull pieces
Large Wreck Debris 2400 C2 Hercules-class hull pieces
Capital Wreck Debris 3000 890 Jump-class — COLLISION with FPS ground deposit
Undetectable 0 Vlk Pearls, Vlk Irradiated Pearls, Flowstone

SC 4.7 Changes vs 4.6

Category SC 4.6 SC 4.7
Asteroid type system I/C/S/P/M/Q/E types with shared signatures REMOVED
Ship mining identification Type-based (e.g. C-type = 4700, E-type = 4900) Per-mineral unique signature
Rock composition Mixed minerals per asteroid type 100% single mineral per rock — signature IS the mineral
Surface deposits 4000 (all types, CIG bug) Still 4000, but now mineral-specific asteroids exist
FPS ground deposits 3000 3000 (unchanged)
ROC/GV ground deposits Listed as 3000 in old DB (incorrect) 4000 (confirmed, resolved discrepancy)
Salvage panels 2000 2000 (unchanged)
Salvage debris Not in game NEW — 1700 / 1850 / 2400 / 3000 by hull size
Signature 3000 collision FPS ground deposit only FPS ground deposit + Capital Wreck Debris (890 Jump)

Ship Mining — Per-Mineral Signatures

Ship mining only (Prospector, MOLE). The signature identifies the dominant mineral (40–80% composition). Rocks also contain secondary minerals (5–20%) — they are not pure. Applies to both asteroids and planetary surface rocks.

Source: mining_data-4.7.0-ptu.11450623.json (Miner's Refuge). Note: PTU build — compositions may differ slightly from live 4.7.

Legendary Tier (3170–3200)

Highest value minerals. Extremely rare spawns.

Mineral Signature Secondary minerals
Quantainium 3170 + Beryl (10–20%)
Stileron (Sileron ore) 3185 + Taranite (10–20%)
Savrilium 3200 + Gold (10–20%)

Epic Tier (3370–3400)

Mineral Signature Secondary minerals
Ouratite 3370 + Agricium (10–20%)
Riccite 3385 + Laranite (10–20%)
Lindinium 3400 + Tungsten (10–20%)

Rare Tier (3540–3600)

Mineral Signature Secondary minerals
Beryl 3540 none (50–100% pure)
Taranite 3555 none (50–100% pure)
Borase 3570 + Gold (5–10%) + Bexalite (5–10%)
Gold 3585 + Borase (5–10%) + Bexalite (5–10%)
Bexalite 3600 + Gold (5–10%) + Borase (5–10%)

Uncommon Tier (3825–3900)

Mineral Signature Secondary minerals
Laranite 3825 + Tungsten (10–20%)
Aslarite 3840 + Titanium (5–10%) + Agricium (5–10%)
Titanium 3855 + Aslarite (5–10%) + Agricium (5–10%)
Tungsten 3870 + Laranite (10–20%)
Agricium 3885 + Titanium (5–10%) + Aslarite (5–10%)
Torite 3900 none (50–100% pure)

Common Tier (4180–4300)

Mineral Signature Secondary minerals
Hephaestanite 4180 + Quartz (5–10%) + Silicon (5–10%)
Tin 4195 + Copper (10–20%)
Quartz 4210 + Hephaestanite (5–10%) + Silicon (5–10%)
Corundum 4225 + Aluminium (10–20%)
Copper 4240 + Tin (10–20%)
Silicon 4255 + Hephaestanite (5–10%) + Quartz (5–10%)
Iron 4270 none (50–100% pure)
Aluminum 4285 + Corundum (10–20%)
Ice 4300 none (50–100% pure)

Ground Deposits

ROC or FPS mining. 100% single mineral per cluster. The signature identifies size only — not which mineral.

Small Deposits (FPS/Hand Mining) — Signature: 3000

Entity Pattern Signature Method
MineableRock_FPS_* 3000 FPS/Hand tool (can be vehicle-mined with skill)

Possible minerals: Hadanite, Dolivine, Aphorite, Beradom, Glacosite, Feynmaline, Jaclium, Sadaryx, Janalite, Saldynium, Carinite

Cluster rules:

  • Each cluster spawns ONE mineral type at 100% purity
  • A mineral spawns as either small OR large deposits, never both in same cluster

Large Deposits (ROC/Vehicle Mining) — Signature: 4000

Entity Pattern Signature Method
MineableRock_GroundVehicle_* 4000 ROC/Ground vehicle (can be FPS-mined collaboratively)

Possible minerals: Same list as small deposits above.

Note: Signature 4000 collides with old surface deposit entities. Context determines type — on a planet surface at ground level = ground deposit.

Resolved Discrepancy

The pre-4.7 database listed ROC/GV rocks as signature 3000. This was incorrect. The SC 4.7 DCB confirms 4000. The C-1 bug (wrong value in DB) is fixed.

Salvage

Salvage Panels / Active Scrap — Signature: 2000 per panel

Standard hull scraping panels. Total signature = 2000 × panel count.

Formula: panel_count = total_signature ÷ 2000

Covers: FPS salvage panels, SalvageScrap entities, SalvageableRepairable ship parts, generic metal pieces.

Wreck Debris — SC 4.7 New

Complete wreck hull pieces with size-based signatures. Added in SC 4.7 salvage gameplay update.

Size Class Signature Example Ship Method
Small 1700 Avenger Titan-class Tractor beam / collect
Medium 1850 Ares Inferno-class Tractor beam / collect
Large 2400 C2 Hercules-class Tractor beam / collect
Capital 3000 890 Jump-class Tractor beam / collect

Capital debris collision: Signature 3000 is shared between capital wreck debris and FPS small ground deposits. Cannot be resolved by scanner alone — context determines type (space = likely debris, planetary surface = likely ground deposit).

Undetectable Entities

These entities have signature 0 and will never appear on scanner.

Entity Category
Vlk Pearls Ground FPS
Vlk Irradiated Pearls Ground FPS
Flowstone Ground FPS

Signature Collisions

Signatures that map to more than one entity type. Cannot be resolved by value alone.

Signature Colliding Types Resolution
3000 FPS Small Ground Deposit + Capital Wreck Debris (890 Jump) Context: space vs planet surface
4000 ROC/GV Large Ground Deposit + old generic surface entity bases Context: ground level vs surface rock

Extraction Methodology

Data Source

Mining signature values are compiled into Game2.dcb (DataCore Binary), a ~285 MB binary file inside Star Citizen's Data.p4k archive (142 GB). They are not present in any loose XML or JSON files within the p4k.

For SC 4.7, the extraction was performed by converting Game2.dcb to Game2.xml via unp4k-suite v3.13.66, then parsing the XML for signature-related struct values.

Entity-to-Signature Chain

Signature values are accessed through a 4-level component pointer chain in the DCB:

EntityClassDefinition (size=66 bytes)
  -> Components (StrongPointer ComplexArray @ offset 58, via strong pool)
    -> SSCSignatureSystemParams (size=121 bytes)
      -> radarProperties (inline StrongPointer @ byte 4)
        -> SSCRadarContactProperites (size=61 bytes)
          -> baseSignatureParams (inline StrongPointer @ byte 20)
            -> SSCSignatureSystemBaseSignatureParams (size=24 bytes)
              -> signatures (SimpleArray of Single @ byte 0)
                -> Single value pool [index 4 = cross section]

Critical Technical Note

SSCSignatureSystemBaseSignatureParams (BSP) instances have zero entries in the DCB strong pointer pool. They are accessed exclusively through inline StrongPointers embedded in the data section of parent structs. This is why initial extraction attempts that scanned the strong pool found nothing.

DCB Parsing Technical Details

Game2.dcb Format

  • Location: Data/Game2.dcb inside Data.p4k
  • Compression: ZStandard (compress_type 100)
  • Decompressed size: ~285 MB
  • Header: 120 bytes (30 × uint32)

Value Pool File Order

The value pools in the DCB file are laid out in a different order from the header count fields:

Header order: Bool, Int8, Int16, Int32, Int64, UInt8, UInt16, UInt32, UInt64, Single, ...
File order:   Int8, Int16, Int32, Int64, UInt8, UInt16, UInt32, UInt64, Bool, Single, ...

Boolean is stored after UInt64 in the file, not before Int8 as the header ordering suggests.

DataType Enum

Boolean=0x0001, SByte=0x0002, Int16=0x0003, Int32=0x0004, Int64=0x0005
Byte=0x0006,    UInt16=0x0007, UInt32=0x0008, UInt64=0x0009
String=0x000A,  Single=0x000B, Double=0x000C, Locale=0x000D
Guid=0x000E,    EnumChoice=0x000F
Class=0x0010,   StrongPointer=0x0110, WeakPointer=0x0210, Reference=0x0310

Signature Array Format

Each entity's signature is stored as an 8-element float32 array. The mining cross-section value is at index 4.

Index:  [  0,    1,    2,    3,      4,       5,  6,  7  ]
         EM?   IR?   CS?  Audio?  CrossSection  ?   ?   ?
Category Ch4 (CrossSection) Notes
Ship mining rocks mineral signature unique per mineral in SC 4.7
Ground deposit FPS small 3000 all minerals share this
Ground deposit ROC large 4000 all minerals share this
Salvage panels 2000 per panel
Wreck debris 1700 / 1850 / 2400 / 3000 per hull size class
Harvestable plants 2000 channel 4 and 5 both set
Undetectable 0 Vlk Pearls, Flowstone

Extraction Scripts

All scripts in C:\Users\larse\PycharmProjects\AREA52\sc_data_extractor\:

Script Purpose
extract_all_signatures.py Production extraction — follows full chain, outputs JSON
extract_47_mining_signatures.py SC 4.7-specific extraction from Game2.xml
investigate_47.py Phase 1–4 investigation: file recon, CryXmlB decode, DCB structs, location records
parse_dcb_v2.py General DCB parser with struct/property/record inspection

Document updated: 2026-03-18 Source: Game2.xml (unp4k-suite v3.13.66) from SC 4.7 Data.p4k Author: Mallachi