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Stellar Crisis v3.0 FAQ (working draft)

PART I — OVERVIEW

[Draft Notes]

Updated 2/11/2000 — Miscellaneous questions, problems, and issues:

What is Stellar Crisis?

Stellar Crisis is a free, web-based, multi-player space-genre strategy game. Players manage vast interstellar empires, research key technologies, negotiate the hazards of inter-player political diplomacy, and wage war on their enemies.

What is Stellar Crisis v3?

Stellar Crisis v3 is an enhancement and extension of versions that went before, such as v2.8 and v2.9. Where v2.8 and v2.9 had numerous game features hardcoded into the system, v3.0 has a greater number of flexible settings known as series variables. As a consequence, a v3 server can simultaneously furnish a much wider variety of game configurations. If the server admin desires, some series can be configured to mimic v2.8, others to emulate v2.9, and still others to take advantage of features unique to v3.

Because this FAQ is intended to describe v3 as a whole, it will also describe v2.8 and v2.9. It does not describe Stellar Crisis MKII, Almonaster, or any other versions except v3.0 — and by corollary, v2.8 and v2.9.

Object of the Game

The primary goal is to prevent your home planet from being destroyed by hostile empires that are trying to "nuke you out of the game". An empire that avoids this fate and is still alive at the end of the game earns a "win". The game ends when there is only one surviving empire, or when there are several that are all allied with one another. In games that allow the Draw option, the game will end if all remaining players agree to draw, but in this case no "win" is awarded.

A secondary goal is eliminate other players, earning a "nuke" for each empire so removed. Note that "wins", "nukes", and "been nukeds" are entered into your empire's permanent record, visible to other players.

Learning, Understanding, and Mastering the Game

[This section, which must be written last, will offer several different approaches to learning the game. One approach will be much like the quick start section of the v2.8 faq, brief and to-the-point, but organized as a narrative paragraph with links to the screens and menus in the User Interface reference section of this document. Another paragraph will contain links to gain a deeper understanding of the topics covered under Dimensions of Play. The final paragraph of links covers the other technical reference sections (Series Variables and the Update Sequence). The section could conclude with some general advice and strategies, or again, links to such (possibly a PART IV?)].

PART II — DIMENSIONS OF PLAY

Economics

Economics might not be the only factor in determining the ultimate fate of an empire, but it is the most obvious. The Law of Brute Force states that the bigger an empire's economy, the more ships it can produce, and therefore the more power it wields. An empire can prevail against a larger enemy by gaining advantages in other dimensions of play, but to do so often requires a considerable amount of skill.

Resources

In both Stellar Crisis and the real world, scarce resources are the basic atoms of Economics. But only in SC can the relationship between all known atoms be sketched in a single sentence: an empire needs Agriculture to sustain Population, Population to produce Minerals and Fuel, and Minerals and Fuel to build and operate Ships. Ships, of course, are required to accomplish just about anything else (e.g. explore, colonize new territory, make contact with alien species, wage war, and hopefully win the game).

Resources are located on planetary systems; see the Map [link] and Systems [link] screens to learn how to read a system's resource ratings. The Agriculture, Mineral, and Fuel ratings of a system are reasonably stable through time, and change only as a result of deliberate actions like nuking and terraforming. In other words, these values do not change as a result of ordinary economic activity (production and consumption). However, a system's Population (if any) is not blessed with the same sort of stability and is subject to various adjustments each turn.

An empire normally starts the game controlling just one system, known as a homeworld. If the game is configured as a multi-home game, each player will own 2-3 homes (if any of these systems is nuked, their owner is eliminated from the game). Besides normal homeworlds and multi-homes, there are also two distinct species of non-home systems (which are initially unowned and unpopulated). The significance in distinguishing between these four classes of systems is that they vary in their resource parameters:

In order to gain control of a system (and its resources), an empire must either plant population on an unowned system with a colony ship, or else successfully invade an occupied planet with a troopship.

Agriculture (Ag)

Agriculture is a basic resource needed to sustain population, with one point of Ag supporting one point of Pop. An empire that has more Ag than Pop will experience growth, while one with less Ag will experience negative growth. The comparison between Ag and Pop is computed only at the level of an entire empire, not system by system. The resulting growth rate is then applied to the individual systems owned by that empire.

The total amount of agriculture produced by an empire is simply the sum of the Ag Ratings of the systems that the empire controls, plus any bonuses from trade. The amount of pop inhabiting a system does not affect the amount of ag that the system produces; the system always contributes the full value of its Ag Rating.

Population

Population requires Agriculture to survive, and constitutes the labor factor that produces Minerals and Fuel. In addition, a certain amount of population must be present on a system before that system can manufacture ships (Min Pop to Build). Population derives from four sources:

Minerals and Fuel

Minerals and fuel are the raw materials used to build, maintain, and operate ships. Lack of minerals will constrain the rate at which an empire may construct fully-effective ships, while lack of fuel will constrain an empire's absolute capacity for operating fully-effective ships. In many games — particularly those with a low Ship Limit — minerals are more important than fuel.

The mineral production and fuel production of a system are limited by the population actually present on that system. This means that a system's mineral production is the lesser of its Mineral Rating and its Population, while its fuel production is the lesser of its Fuel Rating and Population. An empire's Total Minerals and Total Fuel are simply the sum of production across its systems, plus any bonuses for trade.

An empire's consumption of minerals and fuel depends on the ships that it builds and operates. Each ship requires a certain amount of minerals to build, and a combination of minerals and fuel to operate. These costs vary according to ship type and Battle Rank (BR).
Build, Maintenance, and Fuel Costs as a Function of Battle Rank (BR)
Type of Cost Resource Required One Ship Costs
Build Cost Minerals (BR + 4)² + Added Build Cost (for that ship type)
Maintenance Cost Minerals 2 x BR + Added Maintenance Cost (for that ship type)

Even if negative, the Added Maintenance Cost will not reduce a ship's Maintenance Cost below 2 — every ship costs something!
Fuel Cost Fuel A ship's fuel cost is always double the maintenance cost, except for satellites and minefields, which consume no fuel

Key Ratios

The pulse of an empire's overall economy can be measured by an assortment of indicators, expressed as ratios. Besides acting as simple indicators, these ratios have specific effects on the game.
 
Ratio Formula What it Indicates
Ag
Ratio		 (Total Ag + 0.1)
——————————————————
(Total Pop + 0.1)		 Whether an empire has sufficient agriculture to feed its population, and hence whether the population is growing or shrinking (and how quickly)
Maint
Ratio		 (Total Minerals + 0.1)
——————————————————
(Total Build Cost + Total Maint Cost + 0.1)		 Whether the state of repair of an empire's ships and scheduled builds is currently improving or deteriorating (and how quickly)
Fuel Ratio (Total Fuel + 0.1)
——————————————————
(Total Fuel Cost + 0.1)		 Whether an empire's economy is capable of keeping its existing ships at peak operating efficiency (and to what extent)
Tech Ratio (Total Build Cost + Total Maint Cost + Total Fuel Cost + 0.1)
——————————————————
(Total Minerals + Total Fuel + 0.1)		 How much of an empire's economy is devoted to building and operating ships (as opposed to new research)

 
Ratio Game Effect Rule
Ag 
Ratio		 Controls population growth of owned systems The population of each owned system changes next turn as follows:

Updated Pop = Ag Ratio x Current Pop

subject to the Max Pop that the player has set for that system
Maint
Ratio		 Controls rate of repair of ships and scheduled builds Each ship's BR changes next turn as follows:

Updated BR = Maint Ratio x Current BR

subject to the Max BR of that ship
Fuel Ratio Modifies the combat effectiveness of ships If Fuel Ratio is one or greater, ships entering combat next turn fight normally.

If Fuel Ratio is less than one, ships entering combat next turn fight as follows:

Effective BR = Fuel Ratio x Updated BR
Tech
Ratio		 Determines the empire's rate of tech advancement The empire's Tech Level (TL) changes next turn as follows:

Updated TL = Current TL + (1 - Tech Ratio) * Tech Advance

where the Tech Advance Rate is a series-dependent variable

 

Managing an Economy

Technology

Introduction

Technology is one of the most fascinating dimensions of the Stellar Crisis game system.  Simple to understand, but difficult to master, Tech requires hard choices of newbies and veterans alike.  Often, these choices directly affect the outcome of the game.  They generally fall into two categories:

Tech Level

An empire's state of technological advancement, or lack thereof,  is measured by a number called Tech Level (TL).  An empire's TL is determined as follows:

Diplomacy

Although Stellar Crisis is about building ships, colonizing planets, and nuking opponents, one of the most important factors in determining your fate in the game is your skill with diplomacy. If you are good at winning people over to your cause, then you will do well. Of course, a large economy and sizeable fleet has a certain charm of its own.

Stellar Crisis has two dimensions to Diplomacy. The first is defined by Diplomatic States and Offers — formal constructs that have concrete effects on the game. The second is essentially free-form, and consists of talking to the other empires.

Diplomatic States

A Diplomatic State formally defines the relationship between two empires. Such states fall on a linear continuum of friendliness that ranges from Zero Contact to Alliance. The Diplomatic State between two empires is determined by whether or not they have met each other in the game, and if so, their respective Offers to one another. The least friendly offer determines the state that will take effect at the start of the next turn.
State Explanation
Zero Contact This state applies when two empires haven't yet made "first contact". Such empires are ignorant of one another, and cannot send each other private messages.
First Contact This isn't really a full-blown "state", but an important moment of transition. First contact is a consequence of exploration, and occurs when two empires have ships in the same system (ship-to-ship contact), or when one has ships in a system owned by the other (ship-to-system contact). As first contact is made, two things happen:
  • The two empires are added to each other's Diplomacy Screen. This means that for the rest of the game, each will have access to certain information about the other empire. If the game allows Truce, Trade, and/or Alliance, then the empires may also use the Diplomacy Screen to send each other private messages.
  • The two empires immediately and automatically move to a state of War. This means that if first contact included some form of ship-to-ship contact, combat will occur. It's comforting to know that all species operate under a simple, universal assumption — if you can't identify it, then shoot first, and ask questions later :-).
War If ships belonging to Warring empires are located in the same system, then they will fight as described in the combat section. While at War, empires may nuke one another's systems.
Truce While at Truce, ships will not fight, and the nuke option is not available.
Trade Same as Truce, plus each empire gains a 10% bonus to agriculture, minerals, and fuel (see Economics). 
Alliance Same as Trade, except that if all remaining empires are at alliance with one another, then the game ends with a win for each of them.

Diplomatic Offers

Each empire can make formal Diplomatic Offers to the other empires it has encountered.
 
Current State May Offer
War War, Truce, Draw, or Surrender
Truce War, Truce, or Trade
Trade Truce, Trade, or Alliance
Alliance Trade or Alliance

The State between two empires is computed at the start of each turn, and is set equal to the least friendly of the offers (i.e. the one closest to War). Two special offers require some additional explanation:
 
Offer Explanation
Draw An offer of War, plus a statement that you believe a stalemate has been reached, and are willing to have the game end without a win. If all players choose Draw, then the game ends without a win for any of them.
Surrender An offer of War, combined with an order to honorably abdicate control of your empire (perhaps the situation is hopeless, or you are unable to continue playing the game). When update occurs, your empire will be treated as if it had been nuked. Credit for the nuke varies according to circumstances:
  • The first empire to colonize your homeworld will get credit for the nuke
  • If the game ends with a single winner before your homeworld is colonized, the winning empire gets credit for the nuke
  • If the game ends with multiple winners before your homeworld is colonized, the nuke is not credited to any specific empire

Game Types

Each series may have a different range of diplomatic options available. Here are some common game types:
 
Grudge A one-on-one game, i.e. two player Blood game.
Team Grudge A two-on-two game, i.e. a four player Alliance game. Typically these games are pre-arranged, so it is probably best not to enter one that has already been started unless you are invited.
Blood A game where private messages, and offers of Truce, Trade, and Alliance are not allowed. Such a game can only have a single winner.
Cutthroat Truce and Trade are allowed, but Alliance is not. Such a game can have only a single winner.
Alliance Truce, Trade, and Alliance are allowed. The number of allies allowed is limited by a series variable called Max Allies. If you offer alliance to more empires than allowed, the game will automatically reduce your offers to some of the empires.

Diplomacy Screen

The diplomacy screen contains information about each of the empires that you have encountered so far in the game. It looks something like:
Empire Alien Economic Military They Offer You Offer Status Access
Ares 5 0 War Truce N/A 0 sec ago
Wins Nukes Nuked Ruined Max Econ Max Mil Ready
16 24 4 1 336 80 Yes

An explanation of the fields:

Empire
The name of the empire whose information you are seeing.
Alien
The empire's icon, which is used on the map page.
Economic
The current size of the empire's economy. This is their agriculture, minerals, and fuel added together, divided by 100 and then truncated.
Military
The empire's military strength at the beginning of the turn. The military strength is the square of each ship added together, divided by 50 and then truncated. If the build visibility option is enabled then this is their military strength at the beginning of the turn, plus the military strength of their scheduled builds.
They Offer
What diplomatic status the empire is currently offering you.
You Offer
A menu of your choices of diplomatic status to offer the other empire.
Status
The diplomatic status between your empires as of the beginning of the turn.
Access
When the other empire last submitted a command.
Wins/Nukes/Nuked/Ruined/Max Econ/Max Mil
Statistics of the empire on this server.
Ready
If the empire is ready for the next turn to occur.

Sending Messages

At the bottom of the diplomacy screen is a message area that can be used to send messages to your allies and enemies. Note that you cannot send private messages to empires that you have not encountered in the game. Private messages are disallowed entirely in Blood games (see Game Types).
 
 

System Features

Resources are located on planetary systems. Therefore an overview of the features of systems is in order. Every system has three values which describe the production potential for that system: an Agriculture Rating, a Mineral Rating, and a Fuel Rating. If owned, the planet will also have Population. A sample system is shown below, as it would appear on a player's Map Screen.

77 12
43 50
(9) (0)
System 94,83

Reading from left to right and top to bottom, the numbers represent the following features of the system:

At the very bottom is the name of the system. In this case, the system is named after its coordinates (x=94, y=83), but the owner can rename the system at any time. The image of the eye is the icon of the player that owns the system, while the green dash on the right indicates the presence of a "jump point" which leads to another system (95,83), and can be explored with a science ship.

Timing (Update Sequence)