Preparing Starfall Tactics for the Alpha: New race, NPC Factions, and their role in the UniverseSubscribe to RSS

In the beginning of 2016 we started creating a huge Galaxy Conquest mode for Starfall Tactics. Back then, there were only some planets, stars and dark space - the Galaxy was empty and looked just like the usual boring outer space: no warp gates, fuel depots, bases, pirates, stations, nebulas and even no asteroid fields. A year later we already have all of this and even more: colonies, freighters, pirate bases, Faction territory wars, House (guild) system, reputation system and some mystery fleets - still, all of this is just a basis for other cool planned stuff we want to implement and a good chance to test all mechanics. Now, after we precisely checked it in several tests with your help and chosen the right path for  the MMO mode in Starfall Tactics, a lot of great features can be added.

MMO statistics menu (not actual screenshot, sketch)

We already showed you a short list of upcoming features and you also can always check the Roadmap here. Still, here is a brief list of planned content for the MMO part of Starfall Tactics:

• Character Progression
  • Ship Progression
  • Detachment Progression
• New economy and planet colonization
• House progression and extended management
• New NPC factions
• Questing system
• NPC's
• Crafting system
• Exploration events
• Seasonal system for Galaxy Conquest
• Resource collection (e.g. mining)
• and more.

Some things here also involve a lot of related mechanics and work, and not everything will be implemented at once - some aspects will only be seen at later stages, beta version of Starfall Tactics or even at release - remember that we are constantly improving existing content and adding something new. So get ready for surprises!

NPC Factions and races - changes and newcomers

Let's start from pretty unexpected additions: NPC factions which even include the whole new race. They are not just going to fight against you in random locations, but are also bringing new features and action into space. We have about 6 (do you feel excited, huh?) new factions in mind, so in this article we're talking only about the first of them and Pirate Faction changes.

Noxophytes

The first sketch of Noxophytes race

Imagine huge space creatures, which are able to survive and move in open space. And now imagine, how they playfully bite through your favorite battleship and infect the entire planet - these are Noxophites. Creatures so giantlike, that they even might not know that humanity exists.

Noxophytes are a race of space parasites, living on the border of the Galaxy and slowly spreading around it. It remains unknown, why they choose colonized planets as their targets - is it a conscious choice, or inhabited worlds are just casual victims on their way to saturation? However, since the first contact, these monsters are increasingly being noticed in habitable systems where they devour all that will not have time to get out of their way. However, their real target is not at all those fools who, by presumption or carelessness, risk to challenge these monsters - the way of the noxophyte always leads to the planet. A planet infected by such a parasite is doomed for a long and painful death, gently enveloping it from various sides, Noxophyte gradually "digests" it.

Nevertheless, there are rumors about Great Chieftain Khaeeti, who headed the united Deprived fleet, and managed to destroy the Noxophyte worm before he managed to infect the planet.

In Starfall Tactics, you have to fight against Noxophytes of various forms: from small treacherous frigate-sized creatures, to giant worms, which are hard to defeat on your own. Later we are going to show and tell about them  - and now you can enjoy watching some sketches of these beautiful creatures!

Pirate Bands

"Dozens of pirate Commanders from all over the Galaxy fighting as one, side by side...it's quite a strange situation for this type of people!" - we once thought. So, the Team came to a decision to separate them into several huge bands with their own organization, ships, weapons and, in general, just different fleets and behavior.

They are still outlaws, trying to survive at the expense of others and get what they want by force: so they rob planets, attack civil fleets, raid faction systems and establish Pirate bases. But each band will differ from others in the following ways:

• Screechers are real madmen who don't see much difference between attacking a vulnerable freighter, or a government patrol. And even though they don't have access to high technologies, their rage bordering with insanity and impressive numbers make this band a serious threat, capable of destroying any fleet they can get to.
• On the flip side of the coin are the Nebulords, who follow something that only vaguely resemble their own code of honor. They do not attack warships, since they have only a ghost of a chance to hit a rewarding jackpot, they do not rob planets in order to escape unnecessary civilian casualties and do not touch commanders' fleets. Their goal - freighters with its' cargo compartments, where you can frequently find something valuable. Someone can blame this gang for cowardice, but they are rather driven by cold math and pure pursuit of wealth.
• Finally, the history of the third band goes into the depths of history, when Vanguard and Eclipse Inc. were not yet ready to be at each other's throats. It was in those times, in the year 2853, when some of the military researches were declared "inhumane" and "contrary to human nature". But some scientists continued their researches. Soon there was a wave of arrests, but several scientists managed to escape to the periphery of inhabited systems, where one could not be afraid of the harsh hand of the law. It was there that the organization "P.Y.R.A.M.I.D." was founded. Nowadays ideological descendants of those scientists are still developing technologies, which will make unprepared reader's hair stand. They raid inhabited planets from time to time, looking for resources that can help continue their research.

Of course, that's not full information about it - we are going to tell you more about each band later and show their fleet and buildings once they are ready.

New NPC Factions

Apart from these changes, we are planning to add more NPC factions, which will open new ways for interacting with the Galaxy - Traders, Smugglers and Miners.

Traders are busy with transporting resources and selling various goods:

• You can purchase goods from them and, sometimes, you can get rare resources from traders.
• You can attack them and try to steal resources, but it can be a very hard task.
• As pirates, they are also going to have levels.
• High-level traders can cause some problems to infrastructure and economy.

Smugglers can already be seen in the game - that's them, controlling the Black Markets where you previously could purchase blueprints and sell dublicates. Now they are going to have more presence in the Galaxy, so get ready to see them flying across the Galaxy and doing their dirty business.

Miners are a faction of people who earn a living by mining, have their own special fleet for it and stations where they keep resources. They are peaceful and don't engage in battles, but still can defend themselves - however, you can try to rob them, attack a station or... partner with them to get some resources and other benefits.

Some factions will be implemented sooner, some - later, and with time we will be lifting the veil and bringing more and more curious facts about these factions, along with nice 3D models, concepts and, perhaps some background - get ready!

So... When can we try it?

You frequently ask us when we will launch a next test for Starfall Tactics and why we haven't done it yet, as more than a month has past since our previous test. Well, as you can see, there is a lot of important changes we should implement - and that's not all: we are also working on many other features for the MMO mode, which will fill it with life and many things to do nights and days. So, watch out for the next huge article to come out - we are going to announce the biggest part of upcoming changes and content for the MMO part of the game!