Post-Training Systems: Cloning, Contracts & Game License Tiers
Type: Systems — Core Gameplay Mechanic (Death/Cloning, Contracts, Licensing) Author: Perry Jones Published: Aug 8, 2022 Source: Medium Status: Canon (published) — direct sequel to Player Experience & Onboarding
Training Track Completion
Each of the 5 Training Tracks has 3 basic scenarios that must all be completed. Upon finishing all 5 Tracks, Starfleet Captains are awarded a cruiser upgrade; all other roles receive no ship upgrade.
Ship Replacement After Training
From this point on, all non-Starfleet-Captain players must buy ships, with one exception: on death/ship destruction, a player may request a free corvette hull from the nearest friendly station (weapons, upgrades, and specialty items are not included and must be repurchased/refitted).
Cloning System
- On character death, consciousness transfers to one of the player's 3 starting clones
- Players designate clone storage location(s) — may be one location or spread across several
- Clones require clone-vat facilities to be stored without degradation/injury
- Additional clones beyond the starting 3 can be purchased on the Market
- Bodily enhancements are lost on death unless previously installed on an existing (backup) clone
- Exception: the NetCom neurochip is automatically installed on every clone and at every person's birth — never lost
Starfleet Captains get special treatment: they respawn at their Fleet Starbase (if MACOFS) or an equivalent designated location for other starnations, with Starfleet providing as many clones as necessary and fully rebuilding/reassigning a replacement ship (same weapons/systems/ upgrades as the lost ship) — though any cargo aboard the lost ship is gone for good.
Contracts System
Beyond Tasks/Missions/Quests/Epic Arcs (see Player Experience & Onboarding), players can browse and claim Contracts on the Market — some free, some requiring a fee to obtain. Claiming a Contract removes it from availability unless the claiming player fails to complete it. All Contracts carry some award, paid on completion and return to the issuing station/location.
Contract purposes include: bounty, assassination, mining, trading, exploring, FPS, industrial, business, espionage, fishing, farming, trophy hunting, stealing property/ships, base/station raiding, area piracy, capturing a mine/asteroid/planet/moon/station/ship, research, bribing officials, and more.
Special Contract types:
- Bounty Contract: may only target a player (Level 3+) or NPC who wronged the contract's creator (injury, property/ship damage, theft of property/territory, etc.)
- Assassination Contract: may only target a Level 5+ player or NPC; no other creation requirements, but the award must be 1,000,000+ credits (may substitute/combine ships, weapons, equipment, Skill Books, or Skill Points for credits)
- Blueprint Contract: commissions Research + Blueprint creation; finished Blueprint delivers to the Contract Maker
Licensing Notes
- Reselling any purchased Market item doesn't require a Production and Sales License
- Mining without a Production and Sales License requires either completing Mining Contracts, or buying the $5 Plesorus Mining Frigate
✅ Game License Tier System — Fully Resolved (Tiers 1–8)
This resolves the previously-flagged open question about how the "Tier 1–4" game-license system (seen on the official site) relates to other license references. Confirmed structure, Tier 1 (cheapest) through Tier 8 (most expensive):
| Tier | Example Licenses/Purchases | Price (example) |
|---|---|---|
| — | Table License | $1 |
| — | Plesorus Mining Frigate | $5 |
| 1 | Restaurant License, Engineering and Research Company License, Buy a Planet | $25 (Restaurant example) |
| 2 | Production and Sales License, Buy a Building | — |
| 3 | Starport License, Building License, Buy a Solar System, Create a Solar System | — |
| 4 | StarBuilder License | — |
| 5 | Starship Construction Company License, Construction Company License, buy 12,544 sq meters | — |
| 6 | Hotel License, Buy a Small City | — |
| 7 | Banking License, Casino License, buy 12,544 sq km in Kila Vas | — |
| 8 | Ultra Game License (bundles 3× Tier 7 + 4× Tier 6 + 4× Tier 5 + 5× Tier 3 + 3× Tier 2 + 4× Tier 1) | $250,000 |
Transferability rules:
- The Tier 8 (Ultra) License holder may sell, rent, or trade any of the subordinate licenses bundled within it
- The Tier 4 (StarBuilder) License holder may NOT sell, trade, or rent any subordinate licenses included with it
- Income expectations for a License Holder scale with the License's cost
Worldbuilding Significance
- Fully resolves the license-tier system referenced elsewhere in the archive, connecting the "Tier 1–4" official-site references to a much larger Tier 1–8 structure
- Establishes cloning/respawn mechanics with real narrative stakes (lost cargo, lost unbacked enhancements)
- Confirms MACOFS operates Starfleet infrastructure (Fleet Starbases) — ties Starfleet directly to MACOFS as an institution
Open Questions
- The stated counts of bundled licenses per tier in the Ultra License (e.g., "5 Tier 3 Licenses" listing only 4 named items) don't cleanly match the number of items listed — logged as published, not corrected; may imply some items can be selected multiple times to reach the stated count
- Exact prices for Tiers 2–7 individually (only Tier 1 and Tier 8 examples given) not specified
- What is the "$5 Plesorus Mining Frigate" exactly — a ship, a license, or both bundled together? Ambiguous in the source.