Warp Nexus
Last updated
Last updated
Warp Nexus is the first premiere game of the STARL Metaverse. It is an expansive and stunning space MMO where users can trade in a dynamic and reactive in-game economy, set out for dominance in space battles, meet (and play as) curious and complex alien species, customize a spaceship, and discover a rich story with missions to uncover the true nature of reality. Players can choose their own path through Warp Nexus, playing however they like, but not without consequence. The Warp Nexus universe reacts to every player's decisions, responding and shifting to create an ever-changing, dynamic system that feels alive and aware.
There is total freedom for players to engage with the Warp Nexus world and others in it however they wish. You may mine minerals from asteroids and either sell them at a station trading post, or you may bring them to players who have posted missions for a handsome reward. You could be a trader, hauling goods between stations to take advantage of price differences, but remaining vigilant against pirates and ambushes. Players can offer their services as protective escorts, accompanying traders and miners on their routes to guard them from attack. Or you may bust out your best eyepatch and hook hand, taking to the pirate life to plunder what is not yours (but soon will be).
There are many more ways you could choose to play. You may wish to explore new systems and pioneer discovery, build a guild empire and send others to do your bidding from your Guild Station, specialise in crafting particular items that you can sell for a hefty fee, or focus on creating diplomatic relationships between factions to form alliances or trade opportunities.
Any way to play is viable. A player can say "I don't want to craft or mine" and instead hunt down player ships carrying the goods they need to steal them. Players can set up ambushes, or pay their spy network to get tips on any transport ships carrying valuable goods. Being instanced instead of open world means that these encounters will be viable and occur frequently, making every trip away from the safety of a space station exciting and dangerous. Collect, take, or buy the parts you need and craft your own equipment to use or sell to other players.
The Warp Nexus universe reacts to every player choice and world event through the way it responds to changes in the economy, story decisions, or player activity. While other MMOs have static, consistent, repeatable paths to "grind" for in-game resources or money, Warp Nexus always remains dynamic and flexible so no two days are ever quite the same, keeping things interesting and engaging.
You may log in one day to find that demand for titanium is very high at one station, driving the price up significantly. This might motivate everyone to go out and mine some titanium to take advantage of this opportunity. By the next day, players might have delivered so much titanium to the station that the value of it there is very low or worthless. This means that each time a player logs in, they must look at the wider economy and what specific stations and posts are offering for materials, and make their daily choices based on what makes the most sense. Maybe today you haul goods between stations? Or go out and mine? Or if there's no goods to trade or move, maybe you offer your protection services to escort other players on missions and get paid to do so.
Let's take another example. A deep space outpost is being built which will allow a new material to be mined, bringing new craftable items with it. However, there is an alien species which wants the same material, so the question is whether the outpost can be finished before the aliens destroy it? If it is destroyed, players might have to visit the stations of the alien species to purchase the new material. If the outpost is successful, players can mine the materials themselves. The outcome is the same - a new material in the game - but the method of acquiring it changes based on what players did or did not do. The choices made here might also affect whether the alien species joins into a peaceful alliance with others, becoming a new species players can choose as their pilot, or whether they become an enemy that attacks players during missions.
Other players being able to influence the world and interact with each other means the universe responds through other humans and their behaviours as well, not just AI responses. This makes Warp Nexus a truly vibrant and alive place to explore and interact with.
The backbone of Warp Nexus is its intricate and reactive economy which responds to player actions, supply deficits and surplus, demand, and miscellaneous events in the Warp Nexus world.
Resources can be gathered many different ways, either by the player themselves doing some hard labour, or through collective guild efforts, or trading, or stealing, or even good luck. You may come across a derelict ship that you can scan for resources - just be aware in case it's a clever pirate trap. Resources will be required to craft every item in the game. Rarer or more advanced resources will require more advanced equipment to acquire it, necessitating constant improvement of your tools.
Trading will be a significant component of the Warp Nexus economy. Stations where one resource is plentiful may wish to trade with another station that has a resource they desire. Players can use their ships to transport these goods, or sell their items at stations where they can fetch a decent price for their work. You could also pay others to bring you a number of a particular resource and then sell it yourself at a higher price for a nice slice of profit. The ever-changing economy and value of goods in response to activities in the world means that your trade routes and the goods you seek will change day to day.
Everything you build in Warp Nexus requires finding the components and crafting it yourself, or buying and trading with other players. Some things will be rewarded through missions, such as the first mining missions which rewards a basic mining laser. When you want better items, you will need to look at the recipe, how its made, what is needed (such as iron, machine parts, electronics etc.) so you can go find those yourself. Alternatively, you have the option to look on the "stock market" for which stations have those parts and for what price. Players can then fly to different stations, collect the required parts, and take all the parts to the station that can build that item and build one for themselves.
No two items are exactly alike, so there’s a number of statistics on an item (such as refire rate, energy usage, range, bullet lifetime etc.). This means that every time you craft an item the stats you get are a little bit different. Even if you build an item, it may not be the perfect combination of stats so you may want to keep trying until you get one exactly the way you like it. You can compare any item to what you have equipped to see which attributes are better or worse and decide if this item is an upgrade for you.
Sometimes when you destroy another ship parts may also be recoverable as salvage. You can bring these broken items and repair them using the same materials you would craft them from. The advantage of repairing an item is you can see its exact statistics before repairing it to know if it's an improvement over what you already have.
Missions in Warp Nexus can be generated in multiple ways.
Economy made: If a station runs out of titanium (for example), the game AI might generate missions for players to acquire titanium and bring it back to that particular station.
Player made: Players can create their own missions for others. If they need a resource, like uranium, to build a new weapon but they can't access uranium with their current equipment, they may put a call out to other players to bring them uranium for a fee. Players can also make a mission for themselves. If you have plans to transport items, make your own mission and have others escort you to your destination.
Guild made: Similar to player made missions, an entire guild might post a mission for a large amount of resources that require many people to bring them significant amounts, for significant payment of course.
World made: Players can take part in main world story missions that shift direction based on how players choose to address an issue or engage an event. Story progression in Warp Nexus is not static or on set tracks, it will shift and change based on player engagement and actions. Every choice has a consequence - some that may be expected, others that may come with ironic twists. There are consequences for failing missions, but also sometimes for succeeding at them.
Guilds can band together to create Stations, resource intensive constructions that take a lot of time and effort, but unlock the ability to craft many more items and facilities, bringing in revenue (and likely more members).
Guilds could decide to all work together, compete, or band together against another guild or guilds, forming alliances. Players make all these decisions; there is no requirement to be friends or adversaries with anyone. Guilds can focus on working together to expand their ability or power. If some new weapon or machinery is released, or they want to upgrade to be able to craft it, they may need to add sections or production facilities onto their Guild Station. Such activities require a significant amount of resources, and therefore a significant amount of cooperation. There may be a rare material only available in some PVP areas of the game, so the guild needs to coordinate to go and get it together while looking out for other guilds wanting to do the same.
One guild that owns a station might specialise in crafting engines, and another might focus on weapons, another doing shields, meaning everyone can be trading with each other, while at the same time be fighting over the resources to build those things. Only the first tier of items and commodities are built by the various species stations. Everything beyond is built only by players from guild stations.
To expand a guild’s station is completed via missions. Adding a manufacturing center, additional power or more storage all take significant materials that must be brought to the station to facilitate it’s growth. These missions can be public or private to the guild as desired.
It's not all work and no play however. Guilds need entertainment as well. Like everything else in Warp Nexus, even entertainment affects the economy. The happiness of your guild station can improve the quality and quantity of goods produced when manufacturing. So have that drink, dance another jig and produce the finest equipment in Known Space.
Warp Nexus will contain many different, truly unique alien species for players to interact with, and even choose as their pilot character. There are no statistical differences between species, just different visual unlocks. In Warp Nexus, you are those species, but certain costumes and player customizations can be unlocked for use on your character that appears in the wider STARL Metaverse once you exit Warp Nexus.
Some aliens may be friends, some may be foes, some may be a interesting blend of both. More can be learned about each of them by entering the Warp Nexus hall.
Your ship will have three primary weapon types, each with advantages and drawbacks.
Beam Weapons: These are easier to aim but have a short range and use energy. Low shields damage, high armor damage perfect for getting in close when their shields are down.
Ammo Weapons: Energy use is low, while range is long, but ammo is consumed. Low armor damage, high shields damage these are best used when an enemy is far away.
Energy Weapons: These use a lot of energy, fire slowly, have a shorter range but do a lot of damage if you hit your target. All weapons do a combination of energy and physical damage Energy weapons are good against armor and shields, they just consume vast amounts of energy so watch your capacitor levels or you will be left unable to fire.
Players will also be able to acquire and fire missiles which do different damage to different things - some may impact shields more, while others affect armor. There are also counter measures to missiles so it's not as simple as fire and forget. You can also break missile lock by avoiding line of sight. If their targeting computer can’t see you, it can’t lock on. There will also be non-combat items for use like a mining laser which can be upgraded with the right materials, allowing players to mine new materials.
You can assign weapons to any or all of 3 weapon groups. Balance energy usage with damage to mix and match your best weapon combinations. Being selective when you attack enemies is important as you'll need to use the right weapons for that particular encounter. Each encounter will have different enemies that have various strengths and weaknesses depending on their equipment and statistics.
With the freedom of Warp Nexus, players could even choose (if they wish) to maximise their armor statistics and physically ram other ships to cause damage. There are a near limitless number of playstyle options.
