Creature Harvesting 1 (Source)
The formula without the harvest droid is:
Skill Factor * Creature Factor * Concentration Factor
Skill Factor is (Int(Harvest Skill)+100)/100. Since the decimals on the skills are removed, any decimals on the Veghash won't matter.
The Creature factor is entirely dependent on the creature's level. It's non-linear and is the same value as you get in scouting experience when harvesting. For example a level 5 creature has factor 34, while a level 30 creature has factor 371. For babies the factor is divided by 10.
And yes, meat, hide and bone has concentrations just like any other resource.
If you ever wondered why the same creature is reported as skinny when getting bone, but fat when getting hide, there's your answer. If you haven't used a survey tool, I suggest trying one to see how concentrations are spread out. Unlike minable resources, creature resources have a lower cap on the concentrations which they will never go below. The concentration stays for the duration of the spawn just like other resources. (A good tip when running harvest missions is to find the direction with the highest concentration and continue to use that until it despawns.)
Unfortunately there's no way to tell actual value of the concentration. The messages about skinny, normal and fat are the only clues beside calculating from how much you actually get. When the concentration factor gets below 9% it is reported as skinny, when it gets above 13.5% it is reported as fat. The highest I've seen is above 15%. (The actual concentration is probably much higher and is divided by a constant value to get the factor. But using these factors instead simplifies the formula.)
An example for harvesting a level 30 creature with Hunting 4 without Veghash and no droid:
The breakpoint for skinny/normal is: ((45+100)/100) * 371 * (9/100) = 48 units. The breakpoint for normal/fat is: ((45+100)/100) * 371 * (13.5/100) = 72 units. Which means you will get up to 48 when it's skinny, 48 to 72 when it's normal and 72 and above when it's fat.
I haven't done any testing with droids, but I believe they just add to your skill depending on the relation between your skill and the droid's harvest value.
Lunariel
