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Resources and Logistics
September 29, 2026 at 12:09 AM
Initial version (2026-09-29)
The economy in D.O.R.F. Real-Time Strategic Conflict depends on moving materials as much as on collecting them. The developers have said that resources do not go into a global pool. Raw material is taken from an extractor to a refinery, processed there, and then physically carried to the factories that need it. Base layout matters as a result, and the official description of the game says efficient layouts are rewarded.
The game had not been released as of September 2026, and there was no public demo. Everything on this page describes systems as the developers have explained them in development updates and replies to players, and several parts were reworked as recently as May 2026. Numbers such as costs and income rates have not been published and should be treated as unknown.
The resources below are the ones the developers have named. Materiel was originally called scrap, and the developers said in 2023 that raw Materiel is the better description because it covers more than battlefield scrap.
Resource | How It Is Obtained | What It Is Used For | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
Oil and Fuel | Pumped from oil deposits by a derrick built on top | Every faction uses Fuel, which is spent on units (June 2026) | Oil pools cannot be destroyed but run dry if mined long enough. Losing the derrick only loses the oil stored inside it at the time |
Materiel (scrap) | Harvested from scrap piles on the map, destroyed units, wreckage, derelicts, civilian vehicles and plane wrecks | Raw material processed into war material for the factories | Resource nodes treat salvage value and hit points as the same thing, so shooting a node also uses it up |
Ore | Mined from veins underground by tunneling | Counted as part of Materiel | Tied to the planned subterranean layer, which had not been shown working in any update up to September 2026 |
Power | Mobile power generators | Supplies advanced Tesla Units and boosts nearby production structures | Used only by The Collective since the May 2026 rework. It works as a range check rather than a stockpile |
Authority | Destroying enemies and completing objectives; some maps may grant it for capturing specific structures | Off-map call-ins such as airstrikes, plus unlocking special units and research | Not mined or processed and has no logistics attached to it |
Recruits | Arrive as reinforcements | Converted into infantry, vehicle crews and building staff | One Recruit makes one infantryman; a vehicle needs several as crew |
Oil deposits behave like permanent pools that slowly deplete. The derrick sitting on a deposit can be destroyed and rebuilt, and the deposit keeps its oil when that happens; only what the derrick was holding is lost. In a June 2026 reply the developers confirmed that every faction uses Fuel, including the Collective, because it is the resource spent on units. A December 2025 development update also mentions capturable off-shore oil rigs, covered on the Naval Warfare page.
Materiel comes from two broad sources. Scrap is gathered from piles that already sit on the map and from the remains of destroyed units. Metal ore is meant to be mined by tunneling under the map and digging out veins. The developers described ore mining in 2023 but noted then that the underground feature was not yet implemented, and no update through September 2026 has confirmed it as implemented.
In December 2023 the developers ruled out structures that generate resources endlessly, saying they would not fit the logistics design. Instead, maps are meant to hold large piles to extract from, plus underground mines worked by units.
Power used to apply to every faction. The May 2026 development update removed it for the Union of Imperial States and the Warband Tribes, because it added complexity without adding much to play. The Collective keeps it in a simplified form: mobile power generators feed Tesla Units and make nearby production structures more efficient, and a unit or building is either in range of a generator or it is not. The old Powerplant and wind turbine artwork now appears only as map decoration.
Authority is the odd one out. It is not harvested or transported, and it is earned by fighting: destroying enemy forces and completing objectives. The developers said in 2023 that some maps may also award it for capturing particular structures that have no other use. It pays for off-map abilities such as airstrikes and unlocks special units and research. How it ties into the current design is described on the Support Powers page.
Recruits are reinforcements treated as a resource. One Recruit becomes one infantryman, while vehicles need several to form a crew, and vehicles are always built with their full crew. Recruits also staff buildings. The developers have described this as a kind of unit cap in the sense that every unit costs Recruits, but there is no fixed upper limit on army size.
Because nothing sits in a shared pool, each stage of the chain needs something to carry material along it. In 2023 the developers mentioned transport units and faction-specific methods such as conveyor lines. The store page describes building supply lines and logistics networks to turn raw material into war material and deliver it to factories, and structures can be rotated to different facings to help with layout. The developers said in February 2026 that there was still a lot of work to do before the whole system functioned in game, and that they hoped to make a video guide explaining it.
In the May 2026 development update the developers said the earlier logistics setup had produced gameplay that felt too busy, with overlapping systems doing the same job and some that were tedious to deal with. They moved some systems around and made others faction-exclusive. The changes described were mostly about the Empire faction.
Element | Before the Rework | After the Rework (May 2026) |
|---|---|---|
Forklifts | Bound to the main HQ and also supplied construction sites | Bound to individual production structures; they move resources from a stockpile to that structure when it needs them. They work automatically and are not player-controlled |
Workers | Only helped with construction | Carry supplies directly. The developers plan smarter behavior so workers check whether supplies are already on the way before leaving |
Base size | Hard limit on base size | No hard limit. Base size is shaped by how efficient the layout is, and more advanced construction vehicles help with building at long range |
Oil transport | Not covered in the update | Trucks move resources between oil deposits and refineries automatically, possibly as a stopgap until rail logic is added |
Power | Resource for all factions | Collective only |
Pipelines and Conveyor Lines | Part of the earlier logistics design | Being rethought after a flaw was found in how their placement worked. Placement may be restricted. This mostly affects the Empire and the Warband |
Pipelines matter beyond the economy as well. In December 2025 the developers explained that the flow simulation built for pipeline structures would be adapted to move water across the terrain, which is covered on the Terrain and Environment page.
After the rework, each faction moves its resources in its own way. The developers said the Collective's mobile structures make pipelines and conveyor lines impractical for it.
Faction | Supply Method (as of May 2026) |
|---|---|
Forklifts tied to production structures, Workers carrying supplies, automated trucks between oil deposits and refineries, and pipelines and conveyor lines (under review) | |
Underground tunnels between buildings, with distance still affecting efficiency. Supply vehicles run automatically between deposits and refineries and are meant to travel with armed escort; fuel supply vehicles often carry flame weapons. Tunnel networks can link two entrances across the map for hidden supply lines, and supply units choose the tunnels over surface routes when they can | |
Mobile logistics hubs use automated aerial drones to deliver resources to nearby mobile factories. Logistics walkers build walls, gates and turrets, and distant logistics walkers can be linked by supply lines flown by larger aircraft. Mobile power generators provide Power |
Water may also play a part. The developers have said reinforcements from off the map will sometimes arrive by water, that special naval cargo units will carry supplies and resources between bases, and that salvage ships are likely to double as transports and minesweepers.
Salvage is a large part of how Materiel is meant to be gathered, and a lot of what appears on a map can be broken down for it.
Source | What the Developers Have Said |
|---|---|
Scrap piles | Existing piles on the map can be collected by resource units |
Civilian vehicles | Buses, semi trucks and trailers such as fuel tankers, freight trailers and mobile homes can be hauled back to base by resource units and turned into resources (April 2026) |
Trailers with cargo | Some trailers contain supplies and fuel that can be used |
Derelicts | Large derelicts can be salvaged by resource units, though weapons fire also damages or destroys them |
Wreckage | Destroyed vehicles and structures leave wreckage that can be salvaged and turned back into resources |
Plane wrecks | Old plane wrecks placed on maps can be harvested (April 2026) |
In November 2025 the developers said units can be retired to get resources back. Infantry and vehicle crews return Recruits. Asked whether retiring a veteran should also pay out Authority, they said they were not sure. See Veterancy for how experience is tied to crews.
As of October 2023, skirmish already had options for starting resources, but no setting to change the total amount of resources on a map. The developers said a resource multiplier would not be hard to add. Other match options are listed on the Game Modes page.
