History
Long ago the planet Sarnaut was a quiet and peaceful place. It
boasted numerous continents and climates and it was full of life. Many
great civilizations rose and fell throughout the years, such as the June
and the Zem. However, all that was changed by a magical substance known as the Astral.
In the year 4015 of the Old Era the Astral flooded into the
world. It was incredibly destructive in nature and it destroyed
everything it touched. Soon Sarnaut was shattered into thousands of
pieces. The small chunks of land that remained were named "allods" by their inhabitants, but even these refuges were slowly devoured by the Astral.
The Great Mages of Sarnaut dedicated themselves to preserving the
allods, and after many years they managed to shield the land from the
Astral. Life had been saved, but now a new problem persisted. There was
no way easy to move between the allods. Only the Great Mages were able
to teleport between them. Sarnaut's inhabitants became isolated from one
another, and life was harsh for hundreds of years.
This was completely changed with the invention of Astral ships. The first Astral ship was created when a Gibberling
fisherman's boat accidentally fell into the Astral. Instead of being
destroyed, the boat floated and remained completely unharmed. The cause
was a tiny stone in the bottom of the boat. The stone contained a metal
that was later named meteorite, and news of its properties quickly
spread throughout the allods. Thus began the Era of Astral Travel.
Gameplay
An Astral Ship is currently able to be crewed by a maximum of six
players at a time. These players must work together to ensure survival
and success in their voyage. The following ship positions are:
- Helmsman - Physically controls ship's spatial positioning.
- Navigator - Instructs the Helmsman on location and directions through sectors and hubs.
- Gunner - Gunners operate the cannons of the ship. Gunners also typically repair broken ship components when not in combat.
- Repair - Repairing ship parts can be performed by any ship occupant.
- Visor - A 'periscope' position. Offers a view of all demons, allods, and ships in the hub if they are in range.
Helmsman
Helmsmen have three tools to use: Their Helm, which controls yaw
(left and right); Their Motor control, which controls forward thrust;
and their Turbine, which controls ship elevation. The Turbine is used
very rarely, and elevating too high or too low can damage the ship
considerably. Helmsmen also aim the ship's artillery cannons, but cannot
fire them from the ship's bridge. Helmsman also have the ability to
steer the ship toward or away from enemies, as well as move the ship
from one hub of a sector to another via hub gates.
It is important for helmsmen remember that Astral hubs are shaped
like discs. They are short and cylindrical. Leaving the domain of the
hub (shown on the player's map) will cause damage to the ship and the
players on board. In addition, flying too high or too low may also
destroy a ship. Each hub has different ceiling and floor limits, so it's
generally safe not to exceed 100 yards in either direction. Also,
movement generates heat within the ship's reactor, and if the reactor's
heat is not monitored properly, a helmsman may inadvertently ramp up the
ship's core temperature at critical times. Slower movement and turns
may be necessary in combat situations.
Navigator
Navigators have access to a globe which shows all visited hubs in a
sector. They also have access to tools which can reveal nearby ships,
allods, and warp portals, hub gates, as well as controls describing ways
the ship to any of them. Good navigators should be in constant
communication with the pilot to make sure the ship is heading in the
right direction at all times.
Use of these controls cost Astral Emanations, which can be
gathered automatically by the ship from the dust of destroyed astral
demons. As such, it is necessary to "fuel" the navigation panel by
hunting and destroying demons throughout the Astral. A barrel of 10
Emanations can also be purchased from the Item Shop if necessary.
Gunner
Gunning on an Astral Ship is a complicated game of juggling positions
and making very quick and important decisions. Each Astral Ship holds
16 standard aimable cannons. Ship captains may choose to upgrade these
cannons to any specification they desire, provided they have the upgrade
crystals necessary. All cannons have long cooldown times, which
requires cannoneers to jump from cannon to cannon while firing at a
hostile target. Firing a cannon generates heat in the ship's reactor.
While some cannons have negligible heat gain, other ones (such as the
Sniper Cannon) generate it quite quickly, so it is important to be aware
how each cannon works before using them in combat. Cannon gunners
should note that firing a cannon that is severely damaged has a chance
of forcing the cannon to backfire on the ship, causing massive hull
damage. The shield will not protect the ship from these explosions,
because they happen inside of it.
Artillery can also be used. Artillery creates the most
substantial draw on the reactor, generating heat at an exponential rate.
It causes massive amounts of damage to enemies directly forward of the
ship, but must be used sparingly. A critical overheat could cause the
ship to explode. Aiming these artillery cannons is not possible via the
artillery itself. They always point forward, meaning the artillery
operator and the helmsman must work together to make the most of the
fire arc.
More information on cannon upgrading can be found at the Cannons page.
Repair
Repairing can be performed by anyone on the ship's party. Repair
Goblins on the lower deck of the Astral Ship can be picked up and
carried to damaged ship components. Once placed, they will continue to
repair all damaged equipment in a certain radius until they time out, at
which point they will return to the lower hold.
When shields take damage, they can be 'popped' to restore them to
complete charge. Doing this disables the shield for several seconds,
leaving that section of the ship vulnerable. Shield generators are
posted each side of the ship on the top deck.
Visor
The visor provides a tactical overview of the local hub. In addition,
the visor position has several abilities to augment the ship's
combative abilities. Examples include a scan for enemy ships in the hub,
repairing the most damaged shield, and pinging for demons in the hub.
These skills do not use emanations, but the rapid turn has a chance of
damaging the ship.
The most important feature of the visor is the ability to view
range toward various targets. Ship cannons can only reach a certain
distance, and it is most optimal to begin firing at a target as soon as
it enters the cannon's range. The Visor can also target a demon or enemy
astral ship. If it is a demon, the demon's picture and health will be
displayed to all players on the ship. If the target is a ship, the
ship's integrity and device statistics will be displayed to the Visor
operator.
Sectors
An Astral Sector is a section of Astral that is separate from all
other astral space, and includes many 'hubs', or circular discs in which
ships, demons, and allods can safely reside. Space outside of these
hubs is dangerous, glows a deathly red, and immediately destroys all
material that floats into it.
There are twelve sectors in Layer 1 of Astral. Each Sector offers
many pieces of gear, and sometimes offers unique gear. Each Sector also
holds host to different variations of powerful and deadly Astral Demons
that will attack your ship on sight.
Travel between sectors is facilitated by warp portals. Warp
portals are shaped like traditional black holes, and ship sensors are
now able to detect which sectors these portals lead to. These portals
may be two-way, in that they can be transitioned across from either
sector. They may also be one-way, in that they will drop a ship into the
other sector without a way to turn back. They are safe to travel though
with a protected Astral ship. However, demons are attracted to these
transitions, and often lie in ambush on either side of a portal in hopes
of halting or hindering an Astral voyage.
The layout and structure of a sector is unstable, and shifts
continuously. Every week, each sector will jumble its hubs, paths, and
warp portals. This makes mapping the Astral a near-futile effort.
However, every sector will include at least two two-way and one one-way
portals.
Discovering Far Astral Allods
The Astral is full of mysterious allods waiting to be discovered.
They feature a wide variety of different environments and monsters, and
each one is full of unique adventures. To find allods crews must
navigate their ship through the astral. After finding an allod, players
can dock their Astral ship and explore the allod on foot. The goal is to
make way to the bosses on the allod and kill them for their treasures.
Or just explore and have a good time!
Each allod is full of friendly creatures as well as hostile
monsters. These monsters can be killed by skilled adventurers for the
valuable treasure they hold. After gathering a treasure chest, it is
stored in their ship's treasure room. Once a crew brings their ship
safely back to their home port they can open all the treasure chests
they have found throughout their travels and divide the riches.
Claiming Your Share ~ Dividing the Loot
Venturing through the deep astral can lead to high danger and
high rewards... If you can keep them. Treasure can be obtained from
allods, astral monsters, and even enemy ships.
As various items are
looted, they will be stored in the ships treasure room until back at
your faction's port. Once there, the captain can visit the harbour
master to remove the loot from the treasure room and all within the
party can share the rewards.
- Your ship’s treasure room will store any loot acquired while in the Astral.
- If a ship is destroyed or Un-summoned prior to collecting the loot, all is lost!
Finding Shipwrecks
Shipwrecks are broken astral ships that are floating in the astral. Ships can drive over these broken ships to receive Wooden Hardware
which is used to repair the damages on your own ship. You can also sell
the hardware to an npc for a small chunk of gold. A stack of hardware
sells to an npc for 20 or 50 gold.
Whenever you go over a shipwreck the wooden hardware will go into
the ship owners inventory. And you will receive 10-20ish every time.
