CAPTAIN'S MANUAL

Welcome to Sectorum

Sectorum is a persistent browser-based space trading, exploration, combat, and colonization game. You join a galaxy (a shared game world), command a ship, trade at ports, colonize planets, fight pirates and aliens, form corporations, and build wealth and reputation over days and weeks of play.

Each galaxy runs on a daily cycle called the Exturn (typically once per day around midnight Eastern Time). Between Exturns your turns regenerate, trade routes run, planets produce goods, and the universe evolves whether you are online or not.

Getting Started

Quick Start

1. Create an account and log in

From the home screen, create a Sectorum account with a unique Login ID and password. Email verification may be required before you can play.

2. Choose a galaxy

The galaxy list shows active galaxies with badges:

Galaxies may also be public or private (password required), and may use different elimination modes (see Death and Recovery).

3. Join the galaxy

When joining, you provide:

• Captain name — your identity in that galaxy
• Ship name — your starting vessel's name
• Galaxy password — if the galaxy is private
• Origin story — your starting ship and conditions (see below)

4. Complete First Flight

Dockmaster Jax greets new captains at Stardock with the First Flight tutorial. Follow his five-part quest line to learn navigation, trading, scanning, combat, and ship upgrades. Tutorial rewards include credits, a Gravity Scanner, a Bloom Missile, and more.

5. Seven habits of successful captains

1. Master the Nav Computer and Starmap — they are your primary navigation tools.
2. Trade — buy low, sell high at ports.
3. Upgrade your ship — holds, fighters, shields, and equipment at Stardock.
4. Claim a planet — colonists and citadels build long-term wealth.
5. Watch your alignment — your actions shape how the galaxy treats you.
6. Carry an Escape Pod — it preserves experience when your ship is destroyed (in most modes).
7. Bank excess credits — ship credits are vulnerable; bank balances survive ship loss.

Core Concepts

Galaxies & Your Player

Galaxies

Galaxy types

• PvP galaxies — full player-vs-player competition: attacks, raids, planet conquest, deployed fighters and mines, bounties, and alignment consequences all apply between real players.
• PvE galaxies — real players cannot harm other real players or their defenses. Pirates, aliens, NPCs, nav hazards, and PvE objectives still threaten you. PvE is not a safe mode.

Public and private galaxies

• Public — anyone with an account can join (subject to player cap).
• Private — requires the galaxy password set by the creator.

Galaxy badges and settings

When selecting a galaxy, look for:

• PvP / PvE badge
• Elimination mode — Standard, Easy, or Hardcore (affects death consequences)
• Player count and whether the galaxy is ready for join

Starting choices: Origin stories

When joining, choose one of three origin stories:

All origins receive an Escape Pod in inventory. Smuggler and Mercenary origins activate Lenny's Repo Challenge — a 50,000 credit debt with a 3-day window (see Banking and Recovery).

Imperial Space (Sectors 1–10)

The galactic core — also called Federation Space in older references — is heavily policed:

• Attacking most players here is blocked (defenders with alignment above −100 are protected).
• Port attacks, mine/fighter deployment, colonist bombing, and Red Matter are blocked.
• Navigation hazards are cleared each Exturn.
• Idle ships may be towed out after 60 minutes without owner activity (galaxy default).
• Attacks on players in this space can trigger police retaliation and bounties.

Good-aligned captains (alignment ≥ 100) may use a Worm Drive into Imperial Space without requiring a fighter beacon in the destination.

Your Player

Captain name and ship name

Set when joining a galaxy. Your captain name appears in logs, mail, and combat reports. Ship names identify your vessels in sector view.

Player level and experience

Experience is earned from combat, successful port robberies/steals, adventures, quests, trades (+1 XP per trade), and PvE objective kills. Experience is lost on failed rob/steal attempts.

23 levels exist on good/neutral and evil tracks, each with a rank title. Examples:

Higher levels require exponentially more experience.

Alignment

Alignment ranges from −1000 (evil) to +1000 (good):

• Good — alignment ≥ 100
• Evil — alignment ≤ −100
• Neutral — between −100 and +100

Alignment affects: alien reactions, Void Market access, rob/steal eligibility (must be ≤ −100), bank tax (good players with >100,000 bank credits pay 5% daily), Police HQ access, and kill/raid consequences.

Commissioned players

At Stardock → Imperial Police HQ (requires alignment ≥ 100 to enter), captains with alignment ≥ 500 may apply for an Imperial Commission:

• Grants commissioned status
• Raises alignment to at least 1,000 if lower
• Unlocks purchase of the Imperial Sovereign battleship

Federation Flight Permit (Rookie Protection)

New captains receive temporary protection while all of these are true:

• Account age under 48 hours
• Level under 5
• Alignment magnitude under 100

Protection effects:

• Cannot be attacked by other players
• Offensive, defensive, and toll fighters ignore you
• You cannot initiate attacks on players, ports, colonists, or deploy Red Matter

To engage in full combat, wait for the permit to expire or exceed level/alignment thresholds.

Turns & Exturn

Turns and Time

Turn regeneration

Turns are your most important resource. Most actions — warping, attacking, deploying fighters, port upgrades — cost turns.

Turn costs (common actions)

Towing increases effective warp cost: turnsPerWarp + towed ship's turnsPerWarp (Chief Engineer reduction applies to your base only).

Login streak bonus

Awarded at Exturn based on consecutive login days:

Exturn

The Exturn runs once per day (configurable: full, half, or quarter day fractions). During Exturn:

• Planets produce goods and fighters; colonists grow or die
• Ports produce and upgrade; trade agreements execute
• Trade routes and colony routes run
• Bank tax, casino loan interest, and citadel treasury interest apply
• NPCs (aliens, pirates, police) move and act
• Protected Space clears deployed fighters and sentry mines
• Imperial Space tows idle ships

Online players receive warnings before and messages after Exturn.

Daily bonuses (experimental galaxies only)

In galaxies with experimental features enabled:

• Union Voucher — On Day 1, if your remaining turns drop below 20% of your daily limit, you receive a Union Voucher. Redeem it on Day 2+ for 500 turns, 25,000 credits, and a random premium crew member.
• Holo-Prediction Forecast — Same 20% trigger on Day 1; shows estimated overnight earnings from trade routes, colony routes, and citadel fighter production.

Daily Systems and Exturns

See Turns and Time for regeneration and Exturn phases.

Key overnight outcomes:

• Trade route profits or aborts
• Colony colonist deliveries
• Planet production and fighter manufacturing
• Port stock changes and price variance
• Loan interest and bank tax
• Citadel construction progress
• Protected Space fighter/mine clearing

Navigation & Exploration

Movement and Navigation

Standard warp

Move to an adjacent sector via the Nav Computer or Starmap. Costs turns and fuel based on your ship's efficiency and cargo weight.

Worm Drive

Jump to any previously visited sector along a calculated path:

• Fuel: 3 units per hop (default); Navigator crew halves fuel cost
• Turns: normal warp turn cost per hop
• Fighter beacon recommended in destination for safety warnings (not required for good-aligned Imperial Space entry)
• Good alignment (≥ 100) may worm into Imperial Space without a marker beacon

Towing

Attach a tractor beam to a disabled ship (yours or salvaged). The disabled ship follows you when you warp. Towing increases turn cost. Salvaging a disabled ship you do not own transfers ownership when you begin towing.

Docking and landing

• Dock at port: 0 turns
• Leave port: 1 turn
• Land on planet: 1 turn
• Launch from planet: 0 turns

Quantum Tunneler vs Worm Drive

• Quantum Tunneler — enter wormhole warps (blue links on the starmap); can bypass mines and blockades
• Worm Drive — jump to visited sectors without following warp paths

The Starmap

Finding your way

Open the Starmap from the Nav Computer or cockpit. The map shows:

• Green warps — lead to sectors you have visited
• Red warps — unexplored destinations
• Blue warps — wormholes (can lead anywhere)

Visited sectors and fog of war

You only see full detail in sectors you have entered. Subspace probes reveal distant sectors in yellow on the map until you visit them.

Starmap colors and asset indicators

When zoomed in, sector boxes show shape-coded asset markers (black-bordered for contrast):

Map notes (safety indicators)

Click the safety indicator on a sector to cycle: Green (Safe), Yellow (Warning), Red (Danger), or Off. Notes are private to you and persist in the database.

Promoted special-port labels

Artifact Exchange, Void Market, Lenny's Repo Depot, and certain spaceports show neon promoted tags on the starmap — visible even in unexplored sectors (the sector itself remains hidden until visited).

Autopilot

Constraints:

• Autopilot only routes through visited sectors
• There is no "Resume autopilot" — if stopped, set your destination again
• Arriving at the final destination switches to sector view

Nav Sentinel

Pre-warp scan of the target sector (requires Gravity or Spectrographic Scanner):

• Gravity Scanner: vague "anomaly detected" warning
• Spectrographic Scanner: specific threat counts (fighters, mines, nav hazard %)

Works on manual warps and Standard autopilot. Does not run during Express warps.

Sectors and Space Types

Tap the territory info icon in sector view for details about your current space type.

Navigation hazards (Navhaz)

Sectors with navhaz can damage your ship on entry. A Helmsman crew member auto-avoids hazards. Gravity scanning helps identify dangerous sectors. Gravity scans calculate a cumulative mass density for adjacent sectors using the following signatures:

Navhaz decreases each Exturn.

Sector exploration

Entering a sector marks it visited and updates your personal map data. Unexplored warps appear red until you traverse them.

Scanners and Equipment

Scanner bundling: Spectrographic Scanner includes a free Gravity Scanner if you lack one.

Non-removable equipment counts at 50% value on trade-in. Max 1 of each scanner/drive/tunneler per ship.

Skilled crew

Hire at specialty ports (e.g. The Rebel Android), find on adventures, or earn from quests.

Crew appear on Ship Inventory (MFD page 3) as Role (LastName).

Commanding Your Fleet

Ship class roles

Each ship class has distinct stats. Key fields:

Purchasable ship classes (Stardock)

Non-purchasable classes (hidden from shipyard): Training Drone, Escape Pod, Imperial Cruiser (NPC).

Buying, trade-in, and selling

• Buy price: Full shipBaseCost
• Trade-in credit: 50% of old ship base cost + 50% of non-removable equipment value (scanners, escape pod, quantum tunneler, etc.)
• Sell unmanned ship at Stardock: Same 50% formula
• Repair disabled ship: 20% of base cost (10% with Stellar Forge artifact aboard)
• Transfer items option: When buying a new ship, you are asked whether to transfer cargo and inventory. Choose "NO" to keep items on your old ship (or receive a 50% refund for moveable items when trading in).
• Fighter & shield transfer on trade-in: Fighters and shields from your old ship transfer to the new ship up to its class capacity. Only excess beyond the new ship's limits is refunded at 50%.

Escape pods

The Escape Pod item is the most important piece of equipment. When your current ship is destroyed:

• If you have an escape pod (or the galaxy uses Easy elimination mode), you spawn in a new Escape Pod ship at your last sector with half your ship credits (full credits if disabled instead of destroyed).
• The pod includes a Gravity Scanner by default.
• Kill rewards to your attacker are reduced to 33% of normal (XP and alignment).

Without an escape pod in Standard elimination mode: you receive a new starter ship at Sector 1 and are marked dead until next Exturn. In Hardcore mode: permanent elimination from the galaxy.

Ship passwords and boarding

Set a password on unmanned ships to prevent theft. Other players must board with the correct password before transferring inventory. Corporate ships: Members of the same corporation can board, tow, and transfer inventory with corporate ships without entering a password. Passwords still apply for players outside the corporation.

Mass transfer

The ALL CREW & ITEMS button on the ship-to-ship transfer screen moves all cargo, crew, trade goods, artifacts, and transferrable equipment from one ship to the other in one action. Use the direction toggle arrow to select which ship is the source.

Towing and disabled ships

See Death, Escape Pods, Disabled Ships, and Recovery and Disabled Ships.

The Merchant Life

Ports

Port types

Special ports block: rob, steal, upgrade, buy/sell ownership, rename. No fighter or mine deployment in special-port and spaceport hub sectors.

Port classifications (standard ports)

Each standard port buys (B) or sells (S) fuel, organics, and equipment:

Find ports that sell what you want to buy and buy what you want to sell.

Port trading

Price formula (per unit):

finalPrice = (basePrice + dayVariance) + stockAdjustment

Base prices (defaults): Fuel 24, Organics 91, Equipment 50. Daily variance swings ±18 credits. Stock levels push prices up or down.

Buying from port: pay unitPrice × quantity

Selling to port: receive unitPrice × quantity

• NPC (unowned) ports can go negative on credits when buying from you — debt repaid by future player purchases
• Player-owned ports enforce credit limits
• Merchant's Amulet artifact: 10% off commodity buys
• Successful trades grant +1 XP
• Port owner receives 5% commission on trades (to bank)

Port ownership

Buy unowned standard ports (not in Imperial Space or safe zones):

• Control security and defense upgrades (owner-only, max level 50 each)
• Collect port credits from productivity and trade
• Port sale returns 97.5% of computed value

Port upgrades

Port construction

Build new standard ports in eligible sectors. Requires turns and multi-day build time. Fun port names are assigned; you may rename on creation.

Port defense in combat

Port fighters and shields scale with defense level:

portFighters = 10,000 + 10,000 × (defenseLevel / 50)
portShields  = 5,000 + 5,000 × (defenseLevel / 50)
portOdds     = 1 + 2 × (defenseLevel / 50)

Robbing and stealing (evil only)

Requires alignment ≤ −100. Costs 5 turns each.

Safe rob amount: approximately experience ÷ 16.7 (at default settings)

Safe steal amount: approximately experience ÷ 15

Exceeding safe amounts increases bust chance (base 2%, modified by port security). Failure costs XP and goods. Repeat steal from same port = automatic bust.

Failed robberies that leave unpaid credit penalties may trigger an auto-bounty (2× unpaid remainder, 7-day expiration).

Trading

Basics

1. Find a port that sells a commodity cheaply
2. Buy with ship credits and hold space
3. Travel to a port that buys that commodity
4. Sell for profit

Prices change daily. Watch port stock levels — low stock raises buy prices; high stock lowers sell prices.

Trade routes (automation)

Unmanned ships run trade routes once per Exturn:

Setup:

1. Starmap → Trade Route button
2. New → select unmanned ship in highlighted sector
3. Click adjacent sectors to build path
4. Save → name route, set fuel/organics/equipment allocation %
5. Startup cost: holds × 50 credits

Operation:

• Runs at Exturn from route start sector
• Aborts on mines, aliens, or enemies (Captain crew prevents abort)
• Importer/Exporter crew: +30% profit; crew takes 10% commission
• Check Operations screen for results

Colony routes

Deliver colonists from Terra (Sector 1) to your planets:

1. Starmap → Colony Route button
2. Ship must be unmanned and in Sector 1
3. Build path to planet's sector
4. Select target planet; startup cost: holds × 50 credits
5. 1 colonist per hold carried; colonists are free from Terra

No crew commission on colony routes. Overpopulation (>50% capacity) increases death rates — plan deliveries carefully.

Economy & Law

Banking, Loans, and Credits

Galactic Bank

Access at any port via bank transactions:

• Deposit/withdraw between ship credits and bank balance
• No interest on deposits
• Safety: Ship destruction loses 50% of ship credits; bank credits are safe
• Tax: Good-aligned players with bank balance > 100,000 pay 5% daily tax (+1 alignment per 1,500 credits taxed)

Stardock casino loans

Taking a loan adds upfront interest to balance (30% of principal for good/neutral; 7.5% for evil).

Repo Man (day 5+): Lenny confiscates credits (leaving 500), fuel, organics, equipment, holds, fighters, and shields at 25% of base commodity prices.

Mafia flag: Debt 8+ days past max may mark you wanted; extreme debt can destroy your ship.

Casino loans use net worth (ship value + bank) rather than standard credit checks.

Lenny's Repo Depot

Located in Ring 1. Buy repossessed equipment at 75% of market value. Stock changes as Lenny seizes items from delinquent captains. Auto-docks on arrival.

Lenny's origin-story debt

Smuggler/Mercenary origins: 50,000 credit debt, 3-day window.

• Repay via Stardock loans or earned credits
• After 3 days: if you have debt + 20% inconvenience fee in ship credits, Lenny takes the money and leaves your ship
• Otherwise: ship repossessed, replaced with a starter junker

Stardock and Special Ports

Stardock

Your home base. Services include:

• Shipyard — buy, sell, repair ships
• Circuit Emporium — scanners, worm drives, missiles, equipment
• Fighters and shields — combat supplies
• Casino — games and loans (minimum wager $100)
• Imperial Police HQ — bounties and commission (alignment ≥ 100 to enter)
• Crew hiring — e.g. at "The Rebel Android"
• Bank — deposits and withdrawals

Artifact Exchange

1–2 per galaxy in Ring 2 or deeper. Look for THE RELIQUARY or ARCHON'S VAULT on the starmap. Sell artifacts for fixed prices (see Artifacts). Auto-docks on arrival.

Void Market (Smuggler's Den)

• Access: alignment ≤ −100 (good-aligned captains are turned away)
• Player marketplace: list inventory items for 500–250,000 credits (15% sale fee)
• Tips board: post messages for 1,000 credits
• Names like THE VOID MARKET, NEMO'S EXCHANGE, BLACKDOCK 9

Galactic Hub

Sector 1 (Terra) serves as the colonist source for colony routes and the heart of Imperial Space.

Corporations

Forming and joining

• Form: 100 credits, unique name; founder becomes CEO
• Max members: 5
• Invites and CEO election supported

Corporation Directory

The View Corporations directory displays corporations as tiles with their logo, corporation name, CEO, and a CEO mail shortcut. Select a tile to open a larger detail view with the full member list. Use the refresh control to retrieve current corporation and membership information.

Custom Corporation Logos

Subscribers with an active Private Galaxy entitlement can upload a custom logo for their corporation. The logo is displayed to all players anywhere your corporation appears in the game.

Uploading a Logo

• Open your Corporation screen and use the Upload Logo option.
• Accepted formats: PNG, JPG, and WebP. Maximum file size: 2 MB. Maximum source dimensions: 4096 × 4096.
• The server automatically resizes and crops your image to 128 × 128 pixels and converts it to PNG.
• After uploading, your logo enters a Pending state and must be approved by a moderator before it becomes visible.

Replacing a Logo

• You can upload a new logo at any time. The new logo enters Pending review while your current approved logo continues to display.
• If the new logo is approved, it replaces your current logo immediately and the old files are deleted.
• If the new logo is rejected, your current logo remains unchanged.

Applying and Removing

• As the CEO, open your corporation and use the Apply Logo control beside Corporation Main Menu in the lower operations panel. The logo is not applied automatically after approval.
• Use Remove Logo to return a corporation to the default logo.
• One approved logo applies to all your corporations across all galaxies.

Subscription and Grace Period

• Your custom logo is only visible while your Private Galaxy subscription is active.
• If your subscription expires or lapses, your logo immediately stops displaying and all corporations fall back to the default logo.
• Your logo and data are kept for a 30-day grace period. If you renew within 30 days, your logo is restored automatically.
• After 30 days without renewal, your logo files are permanently deleted.

Deleting Your Logo

• Use the Delete Logo option to permanently remove your uploaded logo. This clears the logo from all corporations in all galaxies immediately.
• This action requires explicit confirmation and cannot be undone.

Limits

• Maximum 5 uploads per day.
• A 1-hour cooldown applies after a logo is rejected before you can upload again.
• Images flagged by moderators as abusive are permanently blocked from re-upload.

Corporate assets

Corporate ownership uses blue starmap indicators. CEO required for Executive Leviathan purchase.

Casinos

Located at Stardock. Minimum wager: $100.

Gambler's Advantage: Casino loans based on net worth, bypassing standard credit checks. Repay at Stardock or face Lenny's Repo Man.

Bounties

Post and claim at Imperial Police HQ (Stardock, alignment ≥ 100):

• Police bounties — on evil players
• Underground bounties — from criminal contacts

Destroying a wanted player's ship lets you claim the bounty. Bounty Hunter crew: +50% payout.

Auto-bounties: Failed port robberies with unpaid penalties spawn bounties at 2× remainder, announced in galaxy news.

Logs, Mail, Rumors, and News

Filter the galaxy log to find your port upgrades or track rival activity.

Planetary Management

Planets

Planet classes

Claiming planets

Land on an unowned planet and claim it. Corporation members may choose personal or corporate ownership. In PvE galaxies, other players cannot claim your planets.

Colonist assignment

Assign colonists to fuel, organics, or equipment production. Production per Exturn:

units = floor((assignedColonists / colonistsNeeded) × exturnPct)
capped at maxProduction × exturnPct
+10% if Production Bonus active

Population: Birth rate ~18/1000, death rate ~8/1000. Overpopulation (>50% capacity) increases deaths. Medical Officer bonus halves death rates.

Terra adds 2,000 free colonists per day (× exturn fraction).

Excess colonists or goods above class caps are lost at Exturn — rebalance before the tick.

Fighter production

With citadel level 2+ and toggle enabled, planets produce fighters from assigned colonists (TW-style fig factors). Toggle pauses fighter creation without stopping commodity accumulation.

Planetary bonuses (permanent)

Land once with specialized crew to unlock permanent planet flags:

Bonuses persist even if the ship leaves or is destroyed.

Citadels (levels 1–6)

Construction takes multiple days (varies by planet class and level).

Rush production — once per Exturn day, pay to subtract 1 construction day:

Planetary defenses

1 planetary shield ≈ 10 ship shields in combat. Ion cannons fire on sector entry and during landing. Combat computers intercept attackers. Tractor beams (level 6) affect sector traffic.

Trade agreements

Your planet auto-trades with a port in the same sector during Exturn:

• You need not own the port
• Set % of production to sell and % of proceeds to buy
• Leftover credits go to citadel treasury
• Blocked if enemies present or port under construction

Planetary worm drive (citadel level 4+)

Warp the planet (and docked ships) to a visited sector:

• 40 turns and 400 fuel per hop (defaults)
• Destination must contain your fighter beacon

Red Matter

Obliterates a planet after a deployment delay. Blocked in Imperial Space, safe zones, PvE player planets, and under rookie protection.

Homeworlds

Alien homeworld planets spawn with citadel 6, massive resources, and fighter pools. Conquering clears the homeworld flag and is a major achievement.

Colonists and Production

See Planets above for assignment, growth, caps, and bonuses.

Colony route workflow: Unmanned ship in Sector 1 → path to planet → delivers 1 colonist per hold per Exturn cycle → returns to Terra.

Medical Officer is the most valuable crew member for long-term colony health.

Combat & Survival

Combat

Space combat is fast and lethal. Understand each combat type before engaging.

Core combat formula

attackerStrength = ceil(fightersUsed × (offensiveOdds + tacticalBonus))
defenderStrength = ceil(defenders × (offensiveOdds + tacticalBonus))

Tactical Officer: +0.5 offensive odds.

Unpiloted ships: defend at 50% offensive odds; destroying them grants no kill XP or alignment to the attacker.

Disable vs destroy: If damage exceeds (maxFighters + maxShields) × 5% threshold → destroyed; otherwise → disabled.

Kill rewards: ~16% of victim XP, ~33% of victim alignment (×33% if victim escapes in pod).

Starting a fight: +10 XP, −10 alignment for attacker (before resolution).

Ship-to-ship combat

Movement is blocked while an attack is actively resolving and becomes available immediately after the combat result is complete.

Where: Same sector (space); both ships on planet surface (neither in citadel); attacker in space vs defender docked at port.

Cost: 5 turns. Cannot attack: cloaked ships, ships being towed, your own ships, rookie-protected players, PvE allies.

Raid (5 turns): Steals credits, goods, fighters, shields, and inventory up to a cap based on experience and raid type. Nebula Cloak doubles raid odds; Security Chief halves them. After a successful raid, there is a 5-minute cooldown before you can raid the same target again. If the raid fails, the defending ship executes an emergency evasion maneuver, immediately warping away instead of attacking you.

Surrender: Only available vs defensive or toll fighters on sector entry — not in ship-to-ship combat.

Sector entry combat (phase order)

When you warp into a sector:

1. Nav hazard damage (if triggered)
2. Tracking mine attaches (hidden; one at a time)
3. Sentry mines detonate (50% of mines, rounded down; Mimic Crystal halves detonations)
4. Ion cannons from hostile planets (citadel 3+)
5. Offensive fighters auto-attack
6. Defensive fighters — ATTACK / RETREAT / SURRENDER
7. Toll fighters — PAY (5 credits/fighter) / ATTACK / RETREAT / SURRENDER
8. Stay or go — if threats remain

Retreat returns you to your previous sector at warp turn cost.

Surrender to fighters: entire ship transfers to fighter owner; you get an escape pod with 0 credits.

Direct fighter attack: Use sector display to attack offensive/defensive/toll fighters without re-warping.

Port combat

Where: Wild space (not Imperial Space or safe zones). Attacker in space.

• Attack port itself: 5 turns; port fights back with defense-level fighters/shields
• Destroy port: +100 XP, −100 alignment; navhaz +5 debris
• Attack docked ship from space: allowed
• Docked ship cannot attack outward — launch first

Planet landing combat

Landing on a hostile planet triggers automatic defense:

1. Air ion cannon salvo
2. Planetary shields (citadel 5+)
3. Ground ion cannon
4. Offensive fighters (ground odds 2.0×)
5. Defensive fighters (ground odds 3.0×)
6. Successful landing

Planet surface combat

Ships landed on the same planet may attack/raid each other if neither is inside the citadel. Citadel grants immunity.

Colonist bombing

attackcolonists from planet surface: kills 700–1,000 colonists per fighter used. Alignment penalty. Blocked in protected spaces, PvE player planets, and rookie protection.

Planet conquest

Clear planetary defenses and claim ownership. Ships inside the citadel do not block claiming, but are evicted to orbit upon successful claim.

PvE hostile objectives

Pirate Nests and Alien Outposts appear in PvE galaxies (red threat frame). Attack to reduce structure; guards may spawn. Clearing grants credits and XP (scaled by threat level), and an objective goes into a cooldown phase before respawning.

PvE Contract Board

In PvE galaxies, dock at a space port and open its Contract Board to accept bounties. Each eligible port offers up to 3 contracts, and a player may hold up to 5 accepted contracts. Contracts can cover general Pirate or Alien hunts, a specific hostile target, or clearing Hostile Objectives. Progress is tracked automatically. Return to the port that issued a completed contract to claim its threat-scaled credit and XP reward. Use the close icon in the board header to return to port operations.

PvE Regional Escalation

Player actions in PvE galaxies—including Pirate and Alien kills, nest damage, and objective clears—cause Regional Escalation to accumulate within local box sectors. Escalation naturally decays during exturns. Areas with high escalation feature increased NPC activity and spawning pressure. Escalation levels for visited or active-contract target sectors and active discovered objectives are displayed dynamically on the Starmap (where escalated sectors feature highlighted borders and known objectives show custom icons) and under the sector title in the Sector HUD.

PvE Corporation Objectives

Corporations in PvE galaxies can collaborate on shared Corporation Objectives (accessible via the Corporation screen's "Objectives" button). The system maintains 3 active corporation-wide goals and replaces completed goals automatically. Contributions from qualifying members are tracked dynamically. To prevent camping, members can contribute to an objective at most 3 times from any single sector. Completed objectives remain claimable for 48 hours; contributors receive a bounded share of the credits and XP based on their credited contribution, while zero-contribution members receive no reward.

Battle reports

Combat results appear in Battle Report dialogs (sector entry report, landing report, ship contact). Read them for exact losses, pod/disable outcomes, and remaining threats.

Fighters, Mines, and Sector Defenses

Fighter deployment modes

One owner's fighter stack per sector. Personal fighters hostile to other players; corporate fighters hostile to other corporations.

Deployment blocked: Imperial Space, safe zones, all special ports and spaceport hubs.

Mines

Max 99 mines per sector (10% of that in Protected Space). Cannot mix another player's sentry stack in the same sector.

Marker beacons

Leave messages in sectors. Required as warp target for planetary worm drive. Good-aligned captains use marker beacons for safe Imperial Space worm jumps.

Photon missiles

Disable sentry mines, fighters, and ion cannons for ~60 seconds without destroying them.

Mine disruptors

Destroy all mines in an adjacent sector. In PvE, cannot clear other real players' mines.

Bloom missiles

Create a random planet type in your current sector. Heavy crowding in a sector skews results toward gaseous/glacial planets (junk drift). The tutorial Bloom Missile is guaranteed to generate an Earth-like planet. Blocked in Imperial Space, safe zones, and Protected Space.

Red Matter

Obliterates any planet after deployment delay. Use with extreme caution.

Galaxy Administration

Administrators can select Configure beside a galaxy on the Active Galaxies screen to manage its settings. The configuration screen displays a loading indicator while retrieving the full property list. If loading fails, use Retry to request the settings again or Close to return to the galaxy list.

Private Hosted Galaxies

Sectorum supports player-hosted private galaxies for a monthly subscription fee. This allows you to run your own persistent retro space-trading galaxy for your friends, corporation, or small community.

Features & Limits

• 1 Active Galaxy: Each subscription allows you to host 1 active private galaxy at a time.
• Password Protection: Secure your galaxy with an encrypted password so only invited players can join.
• Preset Setup: You choose a safe configuration preset when the galaxy is created.
• Simple Dashboard: After creation, the private galaxy dashboard lets you delete the hosted galaxy or close the dashboard.
• No Pay-to-Win: Subscribing to host a galaxy grants no advantages in public galaxies.
• Custom Corporation Logos: Your subscription also unlocks the ability to upload a custom logo for your corporations. See Custom Corporation Logos in the Corporations section for full details.

Galaxy Presets

When creating a private galaxy, you can choose from safe configuration presets:

Billing & Lapses

If you cancel your subscription, your galaxy remains active and playable until the end of the current billing period. Once the period expires, or if your subscription lapses due to payment failure, your hosted galaxy will be locked and unavailable for play, but it will not be immediately deleted. You can restore access by updating your billing information via the Manage Billing portal.

PvE Galaxies

PvP galaxies (classic)

PvE galaxies (cooperative)

Private property still matters — PvE prevents harm, not access to others' assets.

PvE threat levels

Direct PvE kill rewards are capped (e.g. up to 60 XP / 12,000 credits at high threat).

Quests & Artifacts

Quests and Tutorials

First Flight (Dockmaster Jax)

Standard on all galaxies.

Tutorial objects spawn automatically when quests are active. If a step seems missing, re-open the quest dialog or revisit the target sector — the game can repair missing tutorial objects.

Training Drone: Tutorial-only target in Sector 12. Completing Part 4 prevents respawn. Attack works in protected space.

Caprica quest

• Find map fragments through sector adventures
• Accept quest to receive encrypted starmap clues
• Discover and enter the safe-zone sector containing planet Caprica
• Reward: 100,000 credits (+ Fortune's Beacon bonus if equipped)

Spoiler-safe: follow fragment clues on the starmap; the quest tracks progress in your quest log.

Quest UI

Active and completed quests appear on the Operations screen. Dialog NPCs offer accept/complete flows with reward popups.

Aliens and NPCs

Alien species

Ten alien factions (Gorgon, Veloix, Craw, Nyx, Krell, Yykkllyyxx, Eebeeb, Vortron, Zephyr, Zorax) with alignment tendencies (good, evil, neutral) and unique trade goods.

Alien relationships

Friendly (heart icon) if any:

• Trade allies (completed a trade)
• Crew member of that species aboard
• Cosmic Resonator artifact
• Carrying their desired trade good
• Reputation match (good aliens: alignment ≥ 1,000; evil: ≤ −1,000; neutral: XP ≥ 1,000)

Hostile (red !) if:

• On their permanent enemy list (you attacked them)
• Alignment clash (with XP ≥ 100)
• Rookie status (neutral aliens dislike XP < 100)

Profile screen lists Friendly Aliens and Enemy Aliens.

Hostile alien behavior

~2.5 second delay after sector entry, then:

• ~50% attack (25% with Captain crew)
• ~25% warp away
• ~20% hostile hail

Blocked by Diplomat crew, Imperial/safe space, or Cosmic Resonator. One action roll per visit.

Alien communication

• HELLO opens dialogue; trade allies get personalized greetings
• TELL ME MORE / WARN ME for lore and intel
• Messages start 60% scrambled, improving 15% per turn (Communications Officer or Mind Melder for instant translation)

Pirates and police

Pirates roam, attack, and respawn. Police enforce order in Federation space. Both are NPC threats unaffected by PvE player-protection rules.

Other NPCs

Karen, Scraps, Tinfoil Tom, and Blorp are recurring NPC characters with unique behaviors. Tinfoil Tom flees rather than fighting.

Artifacts

Finding artifacts

Sector adventures (navhaz searches), quests, and exploration rewards.

Artifact effects (examples)

Selling at Artifact Exchange

Consider keeping artifacts with strong passive effects rather than selling.

Death & Recovery

Elimination modes

When your ship is destroyed (with escape pod)

• Escape to last sector in a new Escape Pod
• Half ship credits retained
• XP and alignment preserved (attacker gets reduced kill rewards)

When your ship is disabled

• Ship stays in sector; fighters/shields → 0; unboardable
• Ship credits halved; escape pod item removed from hull
• You are ejected (usually into escape pod)
• Hull keeps fuel, holds, and equipment
• Anyone can tow it — act fast

Recovery checklist

1. TRANSFER valuables off disabled ship via Ship Contact
2. Get a tow-capable ship (escape pods cannot tow)
3. TOW to Stardock
4. Repair (20% base cost) or sell (50% payout) at Ship Ops
5. Restock fighters, shields, and new escape pod

Salvaging others' disabled ships

Tow to Stardock; ownership transfers when towing begins. Repair for your fleet or sell for profit.

Lenny and casino recovery

Pay debts before repo deadlines. Lenny's Repo Depot may have your seized equipment at discount.

UI & Workflow

Key screens

Status MFD pages: Page 1 ship status, Page 2 navigation, Page 3 ship inventory (crew and equipment).

Stretch UI: The interface adapts to landscape and portrait; tooltips on ship portraits explain piloted/friendly/hostile status. NPC ships (Police, Karen, Scraps, Tinfoil Tom, Blorp) are never labeled hostile.

Common workflows

Find a port: Starmap search, spectrographic scan adjacent sectors, or explore outward from Sector 1.

Trade goods: Dock (0 turns) → buy/sell commodities → check hold space and port credits.

Buy a ship: Stardock → Shipyard → select class → trade-in applied automatically.

Buy fighters and shields: Stardock commodity menu or any port selling them.

Explore safely: Gravity scan (free) → Standard autopilot → Nav Sentinel → avoid red warps until ready.

Claim a planet: Land → claim dialog → assign colonists → start citadel.

Trade route: Starmap → Trade Route mode → unmanned ship → path → save with allocation %.

Colony route: Starmap → Colony Route → ship in Sector 1 → path to planet → select target.

Join/form corporation: Operations or corporation menu → form (100 credits) or accept invite.

Recover fighters/mines: Operations → FIGHTERS or MINES tab → select sector → recover.

Read combat reports: After sector entry or battle, review Battle Report dialog before choosing RETREAT/STAY.

Recover after death: Escape pod → warp to Stardock → buy ship → reinstall escape pod.

Recover disabled ship: Transfer valuables → tow → Stardock → Repair in Ship Ops.

Tips from the Universe

Tips for New Captains

• Complete First Flight before exploring deep space
• Keep an escape pod installed at all times
• Bank credits above what you need for trading
• Gravity scan before entering unknown adjacent sectors (free)
• Password unmanned ships
• Use Standard autopilot, not Express, until you know the route
• Trade with aliens — cross-species trade goods are highly profitable
• Do not attack aliens you want as friends — enemy list is permanent
• Cloak if you have the device — prevents 2.5s visibility on sector entry
• Red warps are unexplored; green are safe paths you've charted
• Check Operations for quests, routes, planets, and deployed assets

Advanced Strategy

• Pair trade routes with Importer/Exporter crew on short complementary port loops
• Citadel treasury for tax-free wealth at 4% interest
• Corporate fortress planets in strategic sectors with toll fighters
• Spectro scan before worm-driving into unknown space
• Port ownership on busy trade lanes for commission income
• Planetary trade agreements to automate planet-port arbitrage
• PvE objective farming in Aggressive/Extreme galaxies for capped but steady rewards
• Commission + Imperial Sovereign for endgame PvP power projection
• Artifact economy — adventure for relics, sell duplicates at Exchange

Glossary

Frequently Asked Questions

Why can't I attack this player?

Possible reasons: PvE galaxy protection, rookie protection (Federation Flight Permit), target in Imperial Space with good alignment, target is cloaked, you are towing/been towed, or target is an ally/NPC type blocked by rules.

Why can't I dock here?

Void Market requires alignment ≤ −100. Some ports are restricted by game state. Cleanhands cannot dock at Void Market.

Why can't I claim this planet?

Planet may be NPC-owned, already owned, protected in PvE, or you lack landing rights. Homeworlds require defeating defenses first.

Why did autopilot stop?

Standard mode stops at points of interest, Nav Sentinel warnings, mines, fighters, or hazards. The halt dialog shows how many ships are in the sector and labels genuinely hostile ones (pirates, enemy aliens, opposing players). Friendly NPCs like Police, Karen, Scraps, and Tinfoil Tom are not counted as hostile. Path is cleared — set destination again. No resume button.

Why did my trade route fail?

Ship aborted due to mines, aliens, enemies, or insufficient turns/fuel. Assign a Captain crew to the route ship to reduce aborts.

Why did my colony route fail?

Ship not in Sector 1 at Exturn start, path blocked, or insufficient turns. Verify route configuration in Operations.

Why did I lose my ship?

Destroyed in combat, nav hazard, mine detonation, casino repo, Lenny repo, or hardcore elimination. Check battle report or galaxy log.

Why am I in an escape pod?

Your ship was destroyed or disabled and you had an escape pod (or Easy mode). Pod spawns at last sector with minimal armament.

Why is my ship disabled?

Damage exceeded disable threshold but not destruction. Fighters/shields zeroed; repair at Stardock.

Why are some sectors unsafe?

Nav hazards, deployed mines/fighters, hostile aliens, pirates, or PvE objectives. Scan before entering.

Why can't I deploy fighters or mines here?

Imperial Space, safe zones, special ports, and spaceport hubs block deployment. Protected Space also clears fighters/sentry mines each Exturn.

Why does a port have negative credits?

NPC ports can accumulate debt when buying from players. Future sales repay it. Player-owned ports cannot go negative.

Why did my casino loan get repossessed?

Loan unpaid for 5+ days. Lenny seizes goods. Repay at Stardock before day 5 to avoid repo.

What is the difference between PvE and PvP?

PvP allows full player combat and conquest. PvE blocks real-player harm but NPC threats remain significant.

What does alignment affect?

Alien reactions, rob/steal access, bank tax, Police HQ, Void Market, commission eligibility, and kill penalties.

What does experience affect?

Level, rank title, safe rob/steal amounts, and some alien reactions.

What should I do first?

Log in → join galaxy → talk to Dockmaster Jax → complete First Flight → trade at ports → install escape pod → explore outward from Sector 1.

Does upgrading a port only increase security?

No. Upgrade Port increases capacity and productivity. Security and Defense are separate owner-only upgrades.

Can I resume autopilot?

No. Re-engage from the starmap after stops.

Where do I see my crew?

Ship Inventory (Status MFD page 3), transfer screens, and hire menus at ports.

© 2026 Sectorum Galactic Command. This manual reflects current game behavior; mechanics may vary slightly per galaxy configuration.