Star
This page is a Work in Progress as much of the lore/Development for the game is yet to be established.
A star is any massive gravitational self-luminous celestial body of gas that shines by radiation derived from its internal energy sources. Stars are predominantly the principal object found at the centre of Star Systems, where other astronomical bodies orbit them.
Gameplay
Stars are usually located at the centre of star systems as the main gravitational body, around which other astronomical bodies will orbit them. Stars keep theses systems together through gravity and other astrophysical concepts like the Roche Limit. Stars will have three zones within their area: the Lava Zone, the Habitable Zone and the Frost Line. These dictate generation of planets and other astronomical bodies within their system, specifically what types of these appear within certain distances.
Many stars will generate lightyears away from each other but can be observed from other systems. Without the usage of faster-than-light systems such as the Alcubierre Drive, travel between them would usually take many years ranging from several to entire centuries.
Generation
- Main page: Galaxy Generation
Stars populate the Milky Way and outer space in-game within a cubic area of 1 lightyear. Stars within 2000 ly of the Sol System are generated using the Real Stars DB, a SQL database created from the European Space Agency's Gaia Catalogue. Outside this area, stars generate on a seed system with varying characteristics and locations from a randomly generated seed. Some new star systems may generate within the area of the Real Stars database.
In future versions a star system designer tool is planned allowing game backers to create their own star systems, which will persist permanently in the in-game galaxy. Plans also feature set systems created by backers of Captain Tier or above that will feature in the game world.
Star Types
- Main page: Star types
An array of star types can be found in the galaxy. They are categorised by their class, size and how hot they are within their temperature range. A large amount of information can be viewed and sorted on the Sensors Station. Stars are sorted using real-world stellar Classification.
Stars in their main life cycle are sorted from hottest to coldest. The sequence is O-Type, B-Type, A-Type, F-Type, G-Type, K-Type and M-Type. Some stars will generate as Brown Dwarfs, which are yet to ignite. Their sequence is L-Type, T-Type and Y-Type. In future, player vessels will be able to discover stellar remnants in the galaxy in place of star systems, including White Dwarfs, Neutron Stars, and Black Holes. They will also be able to find T-Tauri stars (those in their early stages of formation) and Wolf-Rayet stars (those which are towards the end of their life cycles).
Sensors Data
Stars can currently undergo multiple sensor surveys within their vicinity. The XNAV Array will passively gather data on the star, including its star type, orbital characteristics, stellar temperature regions and physical characteristics. From long range surveys, the sensors will gather more information such as Spectral Analysis and Photosphere data. Whilst medium and short range surveys can be performed on stars, neither will yield any data on it. However, scanning a star in both is required to attain 100% survey data on its star system.
The following table presents the sensor data for stars and the sensors level/array used to gather it from them:
| Survey Level | Range | Array | Data Gathered |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | Default Overview | SCMI Array |
Overview
Orbital Characteristics
Stellar Temperature Regions
Physical Characteristics
|
| 1 | Long Range | SCMI Array |
Spectral Analysis
Photosphere
|
| 2 | Medium Range | MBIS Array |
No Data |
| 3 | Short Range | SATIR Array |
No Data |
Development
To be added