CAPTAIN'S MANUAL

Chapter 1: Getting Started

Welcome, Recruit. Your journey begins with the Galactic Fundamentals. Follow these seven steps to secure your place in the stars.

Chapter 2: Navigation & Exploration

The galaxy is vast, consisting of thousands of sectors connected by warp gates. Navigating them efficiently is the difference between a successful captain and a drifting wreck.

Safe Zones vs. Wild Space

Federation Space (Sectors 1-10) is strictly policed. Attacks on other players here will result in immediate bounty and retaliation from Imperial Cruisers. Wild Space is everything else—here, the only law is yours.

Movement Costs

• Standard Warp: Costs 1 turn and fuel based on your ship's engine efficiency.
• Worm Drive: Allows instantaneous travel between distant gates but consumes significantly more fuel (50 units per jump by default).
• Towing: Towing a disabled ship or a captured vessel doubles your turn cost per warp.

Navigational Hazards (Navhaz): Sectors with high Navhaz can damage your ship upon entry. A Helmsman crew member or a Gravity Scanner can help you avoid these dangers.

Autopilot Systems

The Nav Computer includes an advanced Autopilot for long-distance travel. Note that Autopilot can only route through sectors you have previously visited.

• Standard Mode: The safe bet. Pauses at all points of interest (planets, ports, ships, mines). If your ship has a Nav Sentinel, Standard autopilot will also stop before any sector containing enemy fighters, sentry mines, or navigation hazards.
• Express Mode: High-speed travel that ignores stops. Warning: Use with caution, as it will not stop for hazardous sectors, enemy presence, or Nav Sentinel warnings.

Exploration Tools

To chart the unknown, wise captains invest in scanning tech (available at the Circuit Emporium):

• Gravity Scanner: Detects identifying mass signatures in adjacent sectors.
• Spectrographic Scanner: A more advanced scanner that provides detailed analysis of sector contents (anomalies, resources).
• Subspace Probes: Long-range drones that map distant sectors. Scanned sectors appear Yellow on the Starmap. Note: Probes are destroyed if they encounter hostile forces.

Chapter 3: The Merchant Life

Trading is the lifeblood of the galaxy. Buying low at production planets and selling high at industrial ports is the fastest way to wealth.

The Economic Cycle

Prices fluctuate daily. Each port classifies goods as Buying, Selling, or Neutral. Aim for Class 0 ports (Stardocks) for the best deals on equipment and specialized items.

Banking & Loans

The Galactic Bank offers interest on deposits, but beware of Bank Taxes. Good-aligned players with high credit balances will be taxed daily, though this increases your reputation with the Federation.

Need credits fast? Take out a Bank Loan. However, failing to repay your loan will attract the Repo Man. He will first seize your experimental equipment; if that doesn't cover the debt, he might seize your ship entirely.

Lenny's Repo Depot

Not everything Lenny confiscates disappears forever. Lenny's Repo Depot is a special port located somewhere in Ring 1 where players can buy repossessed items at 75% of market value. Stock depends on what Lenny has recently seized from delinquent captains, so inventory changes over time. It's a great place to find bargains on experimental equipment and ship components.

The Casino: Luck & Finance

For those seeking high stakes or a quick credit infusion, the Stardock Casino is more than just a place to gamble. It's a central hub for specialized banking and games of chance.

Trade Routes & Automation

Advanced captains utilize unused ships to maximize profit through automated Trade Routes. A trade route sends an unmanned ship back and forth along a set path each day, buying and selling goods at ports it encounters.

Colony Routes

Colony routes automate the delivery of colonists from Terra (Sector 1) to your planets. An unmanned ship picks up free colonists, follows a set path, deposits them on a target planet, and returns to Terra to repeat the cycle.

Chapter 4: Commanding Your Fleet

Your ship is your home, your weapon, and your shield. Different classes offer unique advantages in holds, combat odds, and special capabilities.

Core Statistics

• Holds: Capacity for fuel, organics, equipment, and colonists.
• Fighters: Your primary offensive and defensive strength.
• Shields: Protect your hull from direct damage.
• Offensive Odds: A multiplier for how effective your fighters are in combat.

Fleet Strategy: Repair or Sell?

When you capture or tow a ship to the Shipyards, you face a critical decision: Repair the vessel for your own fleet, or Sell it as-is? Repairing increases the sale value but requires an upfront credit investment. Evaluate the cost of repair against the potential profit margin before committing.

Special Systems

Upgrade your ship with specialized tech found at high-end stardocks:

• Quantum Tunneler: Allows you to bypass enemy blockades and mines.
• Cloaking Device: Makes you invisible to standard long-range scans, though it drains fuel every turn.
• Worm Drive: Essential for jumping across the galaxy without following standard warp paths.
• Nav Sentinel: Performs a real-time scan of each sector before you warp into it. Requires a Gravity or Spectrographic Scanner to function.
  • With a Gravity Scanner: warns of a vague "anomaly detected" if danger is present.
  • With a Spectrographic Scanner: shows specific threats — enemy fighter count, sentry mine count, and navigation hazard percentage.
  • Works on manual warps (sector display and starmap) and Standard autopilot. Does not activate during Express warps.
  • During Standard autopilot, the ship will automatically stop one sector before the danger and disengage autopilot with a warning.

Chapter 5: Planetary Management

Colonizing planets allows you to produce resources and build a sovereign base. Managing your population is key to productivity.

Colonist Growth & Production

Population grows based on birth rates but can be devastated by disease or hunger. Overpopulation (over 50% capacity) significantly increases death rates. A Medical Officer crew member can halve these losses.

Planet Classes & Specializations

Not all worlds are created equal. Choosing the right class for your colony determines its production efficiency and defensive capabilities.

Planetary Defense Strength

Planetary defenses are significantly more robust than ship-based systems. A key tactical metric to remember: 1 Planetary Shield is equivalent to 10 Ship Shields. This massive defensive multiplier makes established planets difficult to crack without specialized heavy weaponry.

Citadel Construction & Rush Production

Building a Citadel is essential for protecting your planet. Construction times vary by planet class and citadel level — harder planet classes and higher levels take longer to build. In general, expect anywhere from a few days for a basic Level 1 citadel up to about a week for higher-level fortifications.

Chapter 6: Combat & Survival

Space is dangerous. Combat in Sectorum is fast, tactical, and often lethal.

The Landing Phase Sequence

When attempting to land on a hostile planet, the following occurs:

1. Ion Cannon Salvo: The planet fires its cannons first, damaging your shields and fighters.
2. Planetary Shields: The planet's shields absorb a portion of your incoming fire. 1 Planetary Shield = 10 Ship Shields.
3. Fighter Engagement: Your fighters battle the planetary defense force. Offensive odds and tactical officers play a crucial role here.

Specialized Weaponry

Ship Surrender

When you encounter hostile Toll Fighters or Defensive Fighters, you don't always have to fight. You can choose to surrender your ship instead. Surrendering transfers your entire ship — including all cargo, fighters, shields, and equipment — to the fighter owner. You will be placed in an escape pod in the same sector. Ship passwords are removed upon surrender, and the fighter owner receives a notification.

Attack Sector Fighters

You can now attack Offensive, Defensive, and Toll Fighters directly from the sector display, without needing to re-enter the sector. This uses the existing combat system.

Survival Mechanics

If your ship is destroyed, you are dead. Unless you have an Escape Pod. Always keep one in your inventory—it's the only thing that will save your experience and alignment if your ship explodes. Escape pods come equipped with a Gravity Scanner by default, so you can still navigate safely while getting back on your feet.

Chapter 7: Economy & Law

The alignment system tracks your actions. Every merchant you raid or planet you save shifts your standing between Good and Evil.

The Galactic Bank

The Bank is the safest place for your credits. While it offers no interest, it protects your wealth from destruction.

• Safety: If your ship is destroyed, you lose 50% of the credits in your hold. Banked credits remain safe.
• Taxation: Accounts with over 100,000 credits are subject to a nightly 5% tax to fund the war effort.

Police & The Commission

The Galactic Police enforce order in Federation space. Their headquarters serves as a hub for law-abiding captains.

• Entry Requirement: You must have a positive alignment of at least 100 to dock.
• Imperial Commission: Requires 500+ Alignment. Grants the title of Commissioner, an alignment boost to 1,000, and access to the Imperial Sovereign battleship.

Bounty Hunting

The Police HQ allows you to post and claim bounties on outlaw players.

• Posting: You can place a price on a rival's head for actions like theft or planet conquest.
• Claiming: Destroying a wanted player's ship allows you to claim their bounty at HQ.
• Port Auto-Bounties: If a player fails a robbery attempt and can't cover the credit penalty, the port will automatically post a bounty on them. The bounty reward is 2× the unpaid remainder, funded by the port, with a 7-day expiration. A galaxy news entry announces the bounty to all players.

Corporations

Corporations allow players to pool resources and dominate sectors together.

High alignment unlocks titles like Galactic Hero. Low alignment makes you a Foe of the People.

Subspace Communications

Staying connected is vital in a galaxy of rival captains.

• Email: Secure, private messaging between two captains.
• Subspace Broadcast: A public message sent to all captains in the galaxy. Useful for announcements, trade offers, or declarations of war.

Chapter 8: Quests & Artifacts

Beyond simple trading, the galaxy offers rare artifacts and skilled crew members to enhance your capabilities.

Artifacts of Power

Ancient relics found in Navhaz or through deep-space missions:

• Celestial Compass: Instant travel to any known sector.
• Gravity Sphere: Forces enemy ships to spend 25% of their fuel just to leave the sector.
• Nebular Prism: Reduces turn and fuel costs for jumps.

Skilled Crew

Hiring specialists provides passive bonuses:

• Tactical Officer: Increases combat odds by 50%.
• Chief Engineer: Regenerates shields and fighters daily.
• Helmsman: Automatically avoids Navhaz on sector entry.
• Bounty Hunter: 50% bonus on all bounties collected.

Alien Communication

Alien encounters are more than random events — how aliens respond to you depends on your relationship, reputation, and what you're carrying.

Chapter 9: Tips from the Universe

Wisdom collected from seasoned captains across the Sectorum. Review these regularly to stay alive and profitable.

• When you first create a new planet, it has no defenses. Populate it with colonists and start working on a Citadel as soon as possible!
• Warps leading to sectors you have visited will be marked in green; if they are red, it means you have never been there before!
• Wormhole warps are colored blue. Wormholes can lead to ANYWHERE in the Sectorum. Be careful!
• You need a Quantum Tunneler to enter a wormhole, which is different then a Worm Drive. You can buy one at Stardock.
• Some ships have an autopilot, allowing you to travel many sectors at once.
• When using the autopilot, you can skip sectors marked with yellow/red markers.
• If you see an alien that doesn't like you, you have 2.5 seconds to warp away before they attack.
• Some ships have stealth capability, which uses fuel on movement but prevents other players from seeing you for 2.5 seconds after sector entry.
• There are many kinds of jobs you can do in the Sectorum! You can be a Trader, Alien Diplomat, Artifact Dealer, Taxi Driver. You can even be an Archaeologist!
• You can attempt to board enemy ships and steal from them. But make sure you have stealth capability or you will likely be attacked.
• You can mark dangerous sectors on the starmap by clicking on the circle in the top right of the sector.
• If you do not have an Escape Pod when your ship is destroyed, you will be killed, and cannot come back into the game until after the next Exturn (12AM EST).
• Pulse Explorers are the fastest ship in the game. And they come with Stealth capability. But they do not have an Escape Pod!
• When another ship in your sector has the Gravity Sphere artifact, movement will cost an extra 25% of your fuel!
• When another ship in your sector has the Quantum Key artifact, it will steal 25% of your credits!
• Stealing from ports is looked down upon by the Imperial Police. But it can be a good way to get money, for an evil trader.
• Each alien species produces a unique Trade Good which is desired by other alien species. Trading between aliens is one of the most lucrative ways to earn money in the Sectorum.
• Some aliens will attack you on sight. But if you have an alien crew member or passenger on board belonging to their species, they will leave you alone.
• Some aliens will attack you on sight. But if you have Trade Good they want, they will leave you alone.
• Once you trade with an alien, their species will consider you friendly. Unless you attack them in any way. In which case, they will always hate you.
• If you attack an alien, they will always hate you.
• ABC: Always Be Cloaking. If you have a cloaking device, use it. It will prevent other players from seeing and attacking you.
• Gravity scan is a good way to prevent being blown up. If a sector is higher than 100, it *might* be dangerous.
• Always explore the galaxy! You never know what you might find. Adventures await and rare prizes can be found.
• A few ships are Worm Drive capable, which allows you to travel to any previously explored sector at the cost of fuel rather than turns.
• Each crew position has a unique ability. Some are more useful than others, depending on your style of gameplay.
• If you are going the traditional trader route, buy low, sell high, and trade with aliens to maximize your profits.
• The police can grant you a commission if you are a good player. This will allow you to purchase one of the most powerful ships in the game.
• Spectro scanning, unlike gravity scanning, is a precise way to find out exactly what is in a sector before you enter it.
• Trade routes are a great way to make money while you are offline. You can set up a trade route by clicking on the "Trade Route" button on the starmap.
• Casino gambling is a great way to make money. But it is also a great way to lose money. Be careful, you don't want to end up owing money to Lenny.
• If you're desperate for money, you can always take out a loan at the casino. But be careful, you will have to pay it back with interest!
• If you find disabled ships in space, you can tow them to Stardock and sell them for a profit, or fix them up and keep them for yourself.
• Aliens speaking jibberish? Certain artifacts and crew members can help you understand them.
• Password your ship! If you don't, other players can steal it from you.
• Gravity scanning costs much less turns than spectro scanning.
• Marker beacons are a great way to leave messages for other players in a particular sector. Think of them like intergalactic billboards.
• If you are in an escape pod, you should immediately return to Stardock and purchase a new ship or swap it for the pitty ship.
• Shields, Fighters, and Holds can be purchased at the port in Sector 1. But you can also find them in adventures, or steal them from other players using stealth.
• If you're going to use the Worm Drive, make sure you have a fighter in the destination sector as a beacon. While not necessary, it will make trip life safer.
• You will pay tax on money in the bank over a certain amount. If you don't want to pay tax, store it in your planet citadel and make some interest too!
• If you owe money to the casino for too long, they'll send Lenny to collect. While he may seem like a nice guy, he always gets his money one way or another.
• When you buy a new ship, all cargo that can be transferred to the new ship will be transferred, including credits. Some installed items, like gravity scanners and quantum tunnelers, are not transferrable.
• Crew members are vital to your success due to their myriad of abilities. You can hire them at "The Rebel Android". You can also find them in adventures, and sometimes as rewards for quests.
• When you attack another ship, the results are determined by your combat rating vs the other ship's combat rating. Your combat rating is: (shields + fighters) * (combat odds). Some crew members and artifacts can change the odds as well.
• All ships have a maximum number of bloom missiles, sentry and tracking mines, and marker beacons. Scanners, drives, and tunnelers have a max of 1 (extras don't do anything for your ship).
• You can see all your active quests on the "Operations" screen!
• You can see all your planets, ships, ports, mines, trade routes, and trackers on the "Operations" screen!
• Artifacts have special powers that can give you an advantage over your competitors. They are scattered throughout the galaxy!

Frequently Asked Questions

Does "upgrading a port" only increase its security?

No. There are three separate port actions:

• Upgrade Port (the main UPGRADE PORT button) does not increase security. You pay credits and add pending upgrades (a percentage). Over time, that increases the port's max holds (fuel, organics, equipment) and productivity % (up to 100%). Anyone docked at the port can do this; you don't need to own the port.
• Upgrade Port Security is owner-only and directly raises Security Level (up to 50).
• Upgrade Port Defense is owner-only and directly raises Defense Level (up to 50).

The main "Upgrade Port" action is about capacity and productivity; security and defense are separate, owner-only upgrades.

Is there a way to see which port I upgraded (without purchasing it)?

Not in a dedicated list. When you use "Upgrade Port", the server adds a galaxy log entry (e.g. "[Your name] upgrades [Port name]."), so you can check the galaxy log. When you visit a port that still has pending upgrades, the port screen shows "PORT IS UPGRADING: X DAYS REM". There is no in-game "my upgraded ports" list—only the log and what you see when you dock.

What are the benefits of purchasing a port?

When you buy an unowned standard port (outside Imperial space and safe zones):

• Ownership: Only you can use Upgrade Port Security and Upgrade Port Defense (capped at 50).
• Economics: You see and control Credits on Port and Productivity %. The port gains credits over time from productivity and trade; that money is visible and usable by you as owner.
• Combat / bounties: Your port can be the target of bounties (rob credits, steal holds, destroy port). Defending it is your concern; attackers may lose alignment and you can gain XP/alignment when defending.
• Selling: You can sell the port later for a fraction of its value.

Is there a way to resume autopilot?

No. When autopilot stops (e.g. enemy mines, fighters, ion cannons, navhaz, Nav Sentinel warnings, or stopping at a port/planet in Standard mode), the path and destination are cleared. There is no "Resume autopilot" button. To continue to the same place: open the starmap, set the autopilot target again (same sector if you want), and engage autopilot (EXPRESS or STANDARD) again.

Can we access the list of tips?

Yes. The tips are in the game manual. Open the Manual in the game and go to the section called Tips from the Universe.

Can we see our crewmembers?

Yes. Crewmembers appear in several places:

• Ship Inventory (Status MFD, Page 3): The main place to see them. Cycle through the Multi-Function Display (MFD) pages on the main screen until you reach "SHIP INVENTORY" (Page 3). Crew are listed there as Role (LastName).
• Transfer / Jettison screens: When transferring items to another ship or jettisoning cargo, crew show up in the list (if they are not essential/locked).
• Port / Planet shops: When hiring crew (e.g. at "The Rebel Android"), they appear in the shop list with portrait and details.

Crew are treated as special inventory items, so they appear on most inventory-related screens.

Technical Reference

Player Ranks

Crew Member Bonuses