Gameplay Foundations for Star Atlas

As Star Atlas ramps up towards a playable alpha release, they released a blog post outlining what they see as the foundations of gameplay for their game. With military, economic, and political phases of gameplay, Star Atlas should have a place for many different kinds of gamers.

Players can choose their own role in Star Atlas, a 4x, space-based MMO game currently in development. The game aims to be wide enough to have room for many different playstyles. From those who want to pilot a single ship, to those who wish to command fleets or rule worlds. Players make their own way in the game, from trader, to pirate, to land baron, to self-declared king!

The three gameplay foundations are military gameplay, economic gameplay, and political gameplay.

Military Conflicts

Players in Star Atlas can command a fleet. This can be a single ship, or a vast armada. Military conflicts range in a similar scale. Players can play as mercenaries, pirates, and even support fleets. Whether in missions or Faction combat, there will be a need for all of these roles at some point.

And there will also be plenty of choices in regards to ship customization. Not only with the standard ability to fit different systems and modules, but also Crew skill and a crafting system allows even further customization

Crew members gain experience and learn different skills, affecting the ship’s performance. In addition, captains will have special modules they can craft, personalizing their fleet with their own special touches..

Players start off flying missions in safe zones as they get used to the game or a new ship configuration. But for the greatest rewards, they will need to venture out into more dangerous territories, including zones where they could potentially lose their Crew and Ship NFTs forever!

Economic Playstyle

Star Atlas will feature a free market economy. Players must find resources, craft ships, and build their own economy. Ships need fuel and food to function, creating a constant cycle of production.

The first game iteration will include twenty-two (22) different resources. Resources not only need to be found and harvested, but they also need to be transported to production areas for refinement and further use. Some resources will be rarer, and maybe even restricted to certain sectors of the game.

Playing as a merchant is a viable role in the game, and likely many players and guilds will find themselves specializing in certain markets or production chains.

Political Governance

Star Atlas also features player governance. Lock POLIS, the game’s governance token to earn voting power. Players receive bonus voting power if they lock up their tokens for longer time periods. As much as a 10x bonus for a 5 year lockup period. This provides more voting weight to those invested in the long-term success of the game.

Star Atlas includes both factional politics and regional politics.The game features three factions, MUD, ONI, and Uster. Players must choose a faction to join.

Players guide factions by voting on objectives, building mega-projects, setting taxes on regions they control, and making diplomatic decisions. At game start the Council of Peace keeps everyone loosely aligned. But over time, expect the goals of the three factions to drift into conflict with each other. Conflict which can be managed via military, economic, and political means!

Regional Politics involve governance over one or more star systems. Overseen by the Council of Peace, regional decisions involve local taxes, creating quests and other incentives for players to visit, and maintaining their own police force and diplomatic status.

When Alpha?

Star Atlas has not released any official dates for alpha or beta tests. They do provide regular story and development updates. Their latest includes a ton of information including more on the foundations of gameplay, latest progress reports from the dev teams, a new lore story, and more. Read it now for all of the latest happenings in Star Atlas!