There are two types of ship modification:
Modifications done to the Player Ship
You can have modifications done to the Skunk by landing on a platform and talking with a Mechanic on a station platform. Note that the Mechanic has to actually perform changes to your ship, so this has to be done face-to-face while docked.
Not all modifications are available with all mechanics. However, mechanics always have supplies of everything that they sell, and acquisition of any purchased modifications is always assured and instantaneous.
Repairs
Over the course of play, it is possible to get your ship damaged. Engineers can repair the hull of your ship as well as bring any damaged ship components back on-line.
Engineers can be found by docking in Repair Docks on stations. Repair Docks are denoted by a wrench icon on the surface of stations.
Purchasing Engines, Shields, or Weapons
The Skunk has particular slots for engines, shields, or weapons. It is possible to purchase new engines, shields, or weapons for your ship.
Please note that if slots of a type are full, and a new component of that type is purchased, an old component of the same type is replaced. (If, for example, you already have two shield generators and purchase another one, the new shield generator replaces one of your old ones.)
Purchasing Software
It is possible to purchase software that extends your ship's capabilities in various areas.
Weapon Mods
Over the course of the game, you could pick up various weapon modification packages that were made by different people in the X Universe. These weapon modifications always apply a fixed set of modifications to a particular weapon type. If you have a weapon modification as well as the type of weapon that weapon mod can be applied to, you can have the weapon mod installed by a Mechanic.
Other Modifications to the Player Ship
- Purchasing Ability Drones
Additional drones to expand the player's capabilities can be purchased from Drone Dealers. Please note that some drone types are illegal! Such purchases can be done by remote or by talking to Drone Dealers face-to-face. - Purchasing Missiles
Additional missiles can be purchased from Arms Dealers. Such purchases can be done by remote or by talking to Arms Dealers face-to-face. - Recruiting Marines
Marines can be recruited to board and capture other ships. They can be recruited by talking with a Recruiting Officer. Such transactions can be done by remote or by talking to Recruiting Officers face-to-face.
Modifications done to other Player-Owned Ships
Modifications to other ships that you own are done by talking with a ship trader who trades ships of the correct size (Small ship traders for small and medium ships, ship traders marked (L) for large ships, ship traders marked (XL) for extra-large ships).
Note that modifications for these ships use resources produced in the economy. Therefore, the time it takes to apply modifications largely depends on the shipyard's stockpiles of resources necessary for those modifications.
Repairs
Engineers working aboard capital ships can gradually repair the ships that they are on. Please note, however, that, due to size restrictions, engineers cannot work on fighters and other small or medium ships.
It is also possible to have ship traders repair ships that you own. If ships are heavily damaged, this is often faster than waiting for their engineers to finish repairs.
Purchasing Additional Turrets
It is possible to purchase ships with less than a full complement of turrets. You can later contact a ship trader at a shipyard to have more turrets installed.
Purchasing and Equipping Additional Drones
Large and Extra-large ships can equip drones of various types. At shipyards, it is possible to purchase more drones, or replace a ship's existing drones with drones that are better, or have other functionality. Contact a ship trader at your local shipyard to see what drones they have on offer.
Purchasing and Equipping Additional Missiles
Unlike your ship, other ships have missile launchers that only fire a particular kind of missile. These missile launchers require ammunition of the particular types they need in order to fire. It is possible to order more missiles from ship traders.
Refueling
When using jump drives to travel between Sectors, capital ships use jump fuel to reduce the time needed to charge up their jump drives.
It is possible to set a ship's captain to automatically refuel via that captain's Details. (This option is inactive by default.)
It is also possible to tell a ship's captain to top off that ship's fuel supply immediately by issuing a “Refuel” command.
In the event that a ship is not authorized to automatically refuel, runs out of fuel, and has to jump, the ship's captain will ask you for your permission to refuel. If this permission is not given, that ship will proceed with the jump procedure, but will require a slower charge-up time of around ten minutes.