The Belt Moves

The asteroid belt is not a static map. In v0.9.3, asteroids drift. The Yarkovsky effect — a real orbital mechanics phenomenon where thermal radiation pressure slowly nudges small bodies — is now simulated. Smaller, darker asteroids migrate faster. Your carefully planned mining routes will break over time.

Yarkovsky Thermal Drift

Every asteroid in the belt now has a drift vector computed from its size and albedo. The effect is subtle at first — you won't notice in the first few game-days. But over longer sessions, the belt reshuffles. An asteroid that was convenient yesterday is drifting sunward today. Your haulers adapt their routes, or they don't. The belt doesn't care.

This is the kind of detail that makes Cultures of the Belt feel like a simulation, not a spreadsheet. The physics is approximate, but the consequences are real.