Reverse engineering is the primary progression loop in DREADNOUGHT TARTARUS. Rather than spending experience on a skill tree, the player extracts intel from defeated opposition and turns it into new upgrades and additional armaments for the battleship. For wider game-loop framing, see the overview article; this page focuses on the progression mechanic.
Loop Overview
At a high level the loop is simple. The player engages enemy forces during the campaign's continuous advance, defeats them, and recovers intel from the wreckage and the systems they fielded. That intel is reverse engineered into new components that bolt into the dreadnought's existing modular layout, available on the planning screen the next time the player tunes their loadout. The loop runs through ongoing combat rather than a side activity, so there is no separate grinding mode and no detour away from the campaign to farm progression.
In the developer's second log on April 11, 2026, this progression loop is referred to as the "retrofit system," the in-build label for the path that converts intel from defeated enemies into new dreadnought armaments and modules. The same devlog reports the loop is fully implemented in the current alpha, alongside two playable levels and a complete end-to-end gameplay flow.
What it Unlocks
Reverse engineering feeds the modular customization layer of the TARTARUS. The rewards are new upgrades and additional armaments that slot into the same hardpoint and module system the player is already configuring before each engagement. The dreadnought's equipment categories include main cannons, missile systems, super weapons, carrier-based fighters, and support units, and reverse-engineered gear extends that catalogue rather than replacing it.
Because unlocked weapons drop into the existing loadout, they also work in tandem with the three firing modes assigned per hardpoint: Manual for hands-on aiming, Automatic for hands-off saturation, and Focus Fire for a coordinated strike that swings every weapon to the same heading at once. A cannon recovered through reverse engineering can be patched into any of the three styles.
Why Variety Matters
The four publicly described enemy categories cover very different kinds of force, from urban defense systems and human military units to gigantic monsters and extraterrestrial invasion units. Different categories field different technology, so engaging a wide spread of opposition is likely to produce a wider spread of intel and unlockable equipment. The structure encourages confronting the full range of threats rather than farming one soft target.
Across the Campaign
Progression compounds across the continuous campaign rather than resetting between zones. Intel pulled from the first stretch of the war can produce armaments still in active use much later, and a tool unlocked early can become a defining piece of the loadout by the end. Because the campaign is one continuous advance with no return-to-base loop, every reverse-engineered upgrade is carried forward indefinitely. The late-campaign dreadnought is, in effect, an answer to which fights the player took early.
Unconfirmed Details
Several specifics about how reverse engineering is implemented have not been disclosed yet. Open questions include:
Whether intel functions as a generic currency, a research tree with prerequisites, or a per-enemy unlock tied to the specific foe defeated.
Whether reverse-engineered equipment comes in named tiers or rarities, or a flat catalogue.
Specific costs or research durations involved in turning intel into equipment.
Whether the player can respec or roll back unlocked equipment after committing to it.
Whether the combat mech also benefits from reverse engineering, or only the dreadnought is upgraded through this loop.
Whether progression carries across runs or resets per campaign.