Tell us about resource generation and item control.

When they started building their ships and environments, they created what they call the 'pipe system'. While it did its job quite well, it has become obsolete and is only used right now for a limited number of things. Therefore, they are creating a new system that will encompass all resource generation systems, such as power, fuel, coolant, ammo, etc.
This means that all the ship systems will be linked together (for example, if you don't have fuel, you are unable to generate power, so you cannot generate shields, etc.), and it will become likely to have cascade failures, even from small amounts of damage. Engineers will become very valuable, especially on large ships, as if you don't have a good engineer, you will run into issues when you're damaged, and they will cascade until you are unable to effectively control your ship.