Archive / Systems

Player Experience & New Player Onboarding

Type: Systems — Core Gameplay Mechanic (Onboarding, Training, Economy) Author: Perry Jones Published: Aug 8, 2022 Source: Medium Status: Canon (published)

Player Entry Year — Historical Record

This article is the original source confirming: players originally entered in game year 1988 (the year after World War 3 ended); as of a 2024 revision, entry moved to 1984, a WW3 ceasefire period used for rebuilding armed/space forces. ✅ Both figures are now superseded — current canon (per a creator decision made directly in this archive session) is January 1977, near the start of WW3. See World War 3 for the full, up-to-date record.

Starting Conditions

  • All players except Starfleet Captains begin with a frigate and 1 million Helvatica Dollars/Stellar Credits
  • Starfleet Captains begin with a destroyer
  • Initial campaign: defend an NPC mining crew from pirates in a nearby solar system (3 escalating/de-escalating battles based on win/loss)
  • Players are neuro-chipped, enabling NetCom (universal think-to- communicate network) and guided instruction from an AI "Executive Officer" and their neurochip for basic tasks (piloting, navigation, docking, walking, station interaction)
  • No permanent residence is required (the ship can serve as home), but options include station/city apartments, planetary homes (farms, ranches, mansions), moon/asteroid habitats, and rented space (hotels, casinos, campgrounds) — players may also design/build their own residence once skilled and land-owning
  • Players begin with 4 NPC "friends" — available for emergencies, FPS backup, short-term loans, or acting as a wingman
  • 1988 first-year salary reference: $540,000/year (historical figure tied to the now-superseded 1988 entry year)
  • Starting $1,000,000 can go toward body enhancements, personal weapons/equipment, Skill Books, or ship upgrades
  • Annual salary (role-appropriate) is paid in 12 monthly installments from account creation

The Five New-Player Training Tracks

Must complete all five (in any order) to progress: Mining, Exploring, Ship Combat, FPS (urban setting), Industrial/Business.

  • Exploring: survey solar systems/planets/moons/asteroid belts; deep planetary survey covers year length, rotation, axial tilt, moon count, flora/fauna, hydrosphere %, and presence of intelligent life
  • Mining: swap to mining modules, survey and mine a moon/asteroid belt under a Mining Contract, deliver full cargo to the Contract Maker
  • Ship Combat: contracted/government pirate-clearing; upgrade weapons, sensors, comms as skills allow
  • FPS: 5-man squad clears an area of enemy NPCs; ingress via dropship → vehicle → on-foot approach; keeps assigned armor/weapons on completion
  • Industrial/Business: learn the Market and Stock Market; buy/use blueprints, acquire materials, manufacture and list products

Blueprint & Manufacturing System

A Blueprint is required to manufacture anything in-game.

  • Creating an Original Blueprint requires Research Skill, Intelligence and/or Coding Skill, time proportional to product level, and Skill/ Experience Points
  • Original Blueprint: up to 100 runs, up to 5 units/run, no upper limit on total runs
  • Blueprint Copy: 1/5 the time and Skill Points of an original, no Experience Points required, capped at 20 runs / 4 units per run
  • Blueprints can be sold on the Market with a Production and Sales License

Combat Damage Types

  • Electromagnetic (EM): damages shields; once shields are down, damages electrical systems (weapons, propulsion, anything electric) — minimal effect on armor/hull
  • Heat: affects missiles, rockets, unshielded drones — minimal effect on shields or shielded targets
  • Explosive: affects shields, electrical systems, propulsion, weapons, armor, AND hull — the most broadly damaging type
  • Weapons can be configured to target a specific damage type for bonus effect against that category

Skills System

  • Skills are learned via purchased Skill Books, trained at 1 point per real-world second
  • Up to 5 skills may be trained simultaneously, but only if each is in a different Training Track
  • Skill Points come from completing Training Tracks, general play hours, defeating opponents, exploration, bounty hunting, FPS, etc.
  • Skill Point "neurochips" (bundled skill point packages) can be purchased on the Market

Missions, Tasks, Quests, Epic Arcs, Storylines

A tiered content/reward system, assigned via an Agent (in-person or NetCom):

  • Task: single action, low risk/reward, never awards a ship
  • Mission: single action, higher risk/reward than a Task; high-risk Missions may award a ship
  • Quest: multiple Missions combined with exploration/retrieval/combat; rewards given per completed stage
  • Epic Arc: tied to a Training Track + a Storyline; multiple Quests/ Missions; always awards at least one ship on completion

Player-created content rewards (paid to the designing player):

  • Task: 100,000 credits
  • Mission: 1,000,000 credits
  • Quest: 10,000,000 credits
  • Mission-within-an-Epic-Arc: 3,000,000 credits
  • Quest-within-an-Epic-Arc: 20,000,000 credits (requires adherence to a Training Track AND a Storyline)
  • Storyline (background/history content for a person, place, state, or activity, reviewed and accepted by game moderators): 40,000,000 credits

Economy & Currency

  • ✅ Confirms and reinforces the established exchange rate: 1 USD = 1,000,000 Stellar Credits or Helvatica Dollars (matches the rate already confirmed via Corporation Purchase Tiers)
  • ⚠️ Correction: Stellar Credits and Helvatica Dollars are NOT the same currency — they are two distinct currencies, interchangeable on a strict 1:1 basis, but with different issuers and purposes. See Stellar Credit for the full distinction (the Stellar Credit was created as a "politically neutral" alternative to the state-issued Helvatica Dollar).
  • Market prices fluctuate with in-game and external player supply/demand
  • Any item listed for sale anywhere is simultaneously mirrored on the Helvatica (Kila Vas) Market — buyers travel to the seller's deposit location to collect
  • Selling doesn't require a Production and Sales License; only manufacturing/blueprint sales do
  • After completing all 5 Training Tracks, players must obtain a Game License to unlock most in-game income sources — ties directly to the Tier 1–4 game-license system referenced on the official site

Worldbuilding Significance

  • Directly confirms and sources the previously-only-search-glimpsed 1988 and 1984 player-entry-year figures — both now formally superseded by the creator's January 1977 decision
  • Confirms Stellar Credit ↔ Helvatica Dollar as two distinct, 1:1-interchangeable currencies (not a synonym pair) — see Stellar Credit

Open Questions

  • Full mapping between "Game License" tiers here and the "Tier 1–4" system seen on the official site not yet fully cross-referenced