A completely disembodied feeling. I was floating in the dark. Or rather my mind was. No arms, no legs, no torso. I couldn’t feel my heartbeat or my breath. Nothing. Battling down the immediate and acute panic of feeling totally stuck and disembodied I focused on my thoughts. Right, you are in the game Kade. I felt like taking a deep breath but being a free floating consciousness threw a wrench into that reflex and the panic I just suppressed threatened to come back with a vengeance.

Then some kind of fade effect happened and suddenly words hung in front of me. I am saying ‘some kind’ because it is really weird to try to describe what you are without eyes and ‘hung’ but there was no reference to anything. So they just were. To be honest, this was the most surreal experience I ever had.

Black Space Character Creation

Initially your character in the game will be humanoid and carry a resemblance to your real world self. Over the course of the adventures you will make choices that can change your appearance as well as your species. 

Please be advised that we suggest you stick to your normal behavioral parameters as this will increase the immersion experience.

The same digitized voice I heard from my previous neural link interface was accompanying the words in the dark. While cool, it was an overall eerie experience and I had a sense of foreboding. This game would not be all Unicorns and rainbows. 

Please choose your first name:

Please choose your last name:

Please choose your callsign:

While first and last names have to be chosen at this point, a call sign can be chosen or earned through different actions and choices. If you do not want to assign a callsign at this time please skip this step.

Hmm, I thought about this for a moment. Normally once you gave your character a name, you could not change it anymore. It was how the database identified you and everything you did in game. So unless you deleted your character you were stuck with your name. So it had to be a good choice. 

I had different handles for different games although my overall Hub profile was under the name of Grant Fuller. The thing is that I identified with this persona quite a bit as it has become somewhat of a cover identity over the last 8 years. However… 

I came here to test the game and get away from the competitive gaming. But also to find something more and fun. To explore something and maybe find a new gaming home. So why not go with something new. That is what my gut told me and so far in my life it has advised me well. So, why not. Yes, to new beginnings.

“First name: Malcolm, last name: Solo, callsign: … “ I hesitated. 

I had never used a call sign other than my character name. Of course there were always some heroic names I could call myself. I could reuse callsigns of famous pilots or nicknames of military heroes. These were always popular choices. 

Nope, I decided, Malcolm Solo is the name and he doesn’t have a call sign. Let’s earn one. 

“No callsign selected.”

No callsign chosen. Please confirm.

“Confirmed.”

Thank you Malcolm Solo. 

 

Please choose your allegiance:

 

Therium Federation

Circle of Lords

Free Worlds Alliance
Unaffiliated

 

You are able to access basic information on each faction. 

 

If you skip this step the start of your career will increase in difficulty as you will be lacking any initial faction support.

 

Wow, I knew nothing of this game and the factions but was supposed to make a choice right now? Talk about buying the cat in a bag. If previous games were any indication, picking a faction would ally you with them. But that normally brought with it neutrality or even hostility with the other factions. 

Normally these games were constructed around the idea of a conflict taking place and then they dumped the new player right in the middle of it. He had some initial orientation period and then he was supposed to fight for or otherwise support his faction’s efforts. 

I didn’t have enough information to make a choice. Therium Federation sounded like some organized governmental structure while Circle Of Lords brought images of sword and magic wielding, armor clad medieval nobility. Not sure how that would look on a spaceship. Free Worlds was probably the suppressed underdog. Don’t get me wrong I love a good underdog story as much as the next guy but why would I make it hard on myself. 

“Therium Federation, more information.”

 

Therium Federation:

Loved and hated similarly throughout the galaxy. While the Therium Federation’s members and proponents cheer to their progressiveness, pragmatism and desire for expansion, their detractors complain about the constant meddling, politicking and expansion. 

While a lot can be said about the drive and the morals of the Therium Federation, the universal truth is: Profit comes first. The Federation is the driving factor behind any major business venture in the known universe.

Races affiliated with Therium Federation: Greys, Jei-Quate, Grelic, Fell

Major Corporations: NExT, Ars Megatech, UltraMall, Relen Medical, Torrell Exploration, Veshya Ardana

Below the text a table with more information about the races was displayed:

Greyed out races can not be selected by players at the initial character creation.
Name	Strengths	Weakness	Faction	Resembles
Greys	- Analytical - Observant - Helpful - Reliable - Precise	- Skeptical - Fussy - Inflexible - Cold - Interfering	Therium Federation	A classic alien from the 20th century, 3-5 feet tall
Jei-Quate	- Diplomatic - Graceful - Peaceful - Idealistic - Hospitable	- Superficial - Vain - Indecisive - Unreliable	Therium Federation	Humanoid, 4-armed reptilians, 5-7 feet tall
Grelic	- Energetic - Clever - Imaginative - Witty - Adaptable	- Superficial - Impulsive - Restless - Devious - Indecisive	Therium Federation	Skin in shades of green and blue, pointed teeth, males with tusks, large ears, 3-4 feet tall
Fell	- Dependable - Persistent - Loyal - Patient - Generous	- Stubborn - Laziness - Possessive - Materialistic - Self-indulging	Therium Federation	Stout, heavy gravity built, thick arms and legs, rough fur over whole body, 3-5 feet tall

 

Okay, it seems like these were the capitalists of the Universe. Always pushing for more, making business their pleasure and trying to pull one over on everyone. I was sure associating with them would net me some credits in the long run but I wasn’t sure what it would do to how the rest of the Galaxy viewed me. 

Also I had no clue about the races, who I am sure had their own motivations and allegiances. And then there were the corporations. I assumed these were run by non-player characters or NPCs in short. They would probably buy and sell all the initial goodies to players and made sure that the “universe” kept spinning so players could enjoy their play time.

“Circle of Lords, more information.”

Circle of Lords

If the Therium Federation is considered to be the economical power in the universe, the Circle of Lords is the military power. Initially founded to counter the expansion desires of the Therium Federation and to protect the interest of the member species, it has become a power on its own.

Tightly organized military, highly functioning bureaucracy and a drive for technological advancement are the strengths of the Circle of Lords. While life in the CoL sectors might not be the most fun, their citizens enjoy safety and protection.

Races affiliated with Circle of Lords: Drak, Ulseo, Korim, Draur'ihr

Major Corporations: Rex Armory, Admin, Interplanetary Aid Consortium, Koren Shipyards, Alpha Tech

 

 

Ah, that would be the faction for all power players, PvPers and people that enjoyed a cannon measuring contest. While that spoke to my Grant alter ego, I wasn’t sure I wanted to continue the same way. Yes, delivering the biggest bang possible was always fun but I wanted something more. Besides, I was supposed to play who Malcolm Solo was and that faction didn’t particularly float my boat.

“Free Worlds Alliance, more Information.” 

Free Worlds Alliance

While the other two conglomerates are united under a common goal, the Free Worlds only united to maintain their independence. The races that make up the Free Worlds Alliance are fiercely independent and only banded together when it became clear that it would be impossible to maintain that independence in the face of the economical power of the Therium Federation and the military might of the Circle of Lords. 

The Alliance itself is best described as an uneasy compromise of an eclectic mix of members. As all want to maintain their independence they also resist following a common goal. However, once presented with a common enemy, infighting will stop for as long as it takes to put the adversary in its place. 

Affiliated Species: Gaddehm, Uqh, Sorren

Allied Species: Quirt

The Quirt have a special place in the Free Worlds Alliance. While not formally a member they are conducting their business in the FWA territory. As they are delivering ~80% of all minerals and metals used in the known universe, they enjoy a specific protected status.

Major Corporations: Solarwind Trading, Beth Labs, Mankale Group

Major corporations of contested legal standing: Fallen Angels, Tsunami Syndicate, Black Dragon, Serpentis, Loki’s Spawn

 

Finally. That’s more like it. This sounded just like the faction a certain Malcolm and a certain Solo would choose if they were to venture into deep space. Something between the Hippies that had founded their communes around the Cascade Volcanoes and the Wild West I had read about.

When I was younger I wanted to be just like this guy John Wayne and save the day with a pistol and then take my happy Indian princess and ride into the sunset. Well, maybe now was my chance. Although instead of riding, I would be flying into the dark unknown. Ha! Awesome.

“Unaffiliated, more Information.”

While unaffiliated players are your ultimate freelancers, they will receive no support at the beginning of their career.

With an unaffiliated start you can pick any race available to the players and will start in a city or town with a space port within the race’s sphere of influence. 

However you will lack any starting resources given to players that choose a starting faction. You are a drifter. If you feel like starting with only the clothes on your back, no money and no friends in a universe that really doesn’t care about you, then you should choose this option.

 

Wow. It looked like the devs really didn’t want players to pick this path. The amount of discouragement shining through just on the description alone. For a moment I was tempted. Often enough in my life people had told me something along the lines of: Either do this or… And nearly as often I went with ‘or’. Just because I hate when people throw out ultimatums. In my experience this was most of the time a scare tactic and when you actually went with that ‘or’ option people were seldom willing to follow through. 

Being the ultimate freelancer sounded like a great thing too. Imagine the whole universe being your oyster. You can do whatever you want, go wherever you please. 

At the same time, if my experience from other games was any indication, to go where you want to and to do what you want to, you need to actually be able to do that. Plus, this was a space game. Sitting in some town with a spaceport didn’t seem that exciting. The scene from the trailer popped into my mind… I want to fly space ships! I guess I could always hire on as a crew member on a ship. But I would probably be the lowest of the low then. 

In the end I decided that I rather work for the underdogs of the universe than making myself the ultimate underdog. Yeah, to be fair, there was a whole lot of hesitation. Just because someone told me don’t do it made me want to do it plus the start sounded like a cool experience but I needed to make up my mind.

“Allegiance: Free Worlds Alliance!” 

 

Free Worlds Alliance chosen. Please confirm.

 

“Confirmed.”

 

A player starting in the Free Worlds Alliance may further choose to either belong to the Sorren or to the Quirt. 

Attention: Choosing Quirt Starting Scenario increases difficulty. Only advised for seasoned players.

 

Look at that. Again with the scare tactics. Nope, not this time friendly neighborhood AI. I already decided not to follow the unaffiliated path. Should I take the easier way out here too? 

At the same time there was a consideration to be made. Apparently I would enjoy special protection status. This alone would seem like it couldn’t be that hard. And considering that 80% of the mineral and ore seemed to be mined by the Quirt, I could see that this would probably still be a monetarily sound decision. However, would I enjoy living with the mole people? Which begged the question: How did mining, and for that matter crafting work in this game?

Suck it AI! I am going to find out!

“Starting Scenario Quirt.”

 

Starting Scenario chosen: Free World Alliance - Quirt

Attention: Choosing Quirt Starting Scenario increases difficulty. Only advised for seasoned players.

Please confirm.

 

“Confirmed.”

For about a second everything died down and I was again enveloped by complete darkness. My anticipation had grown to the barely containable going through all these prompts. 

Scanning user and user data files to estimate physical statistics distribution and initial skill assignment.

 

The message blinked a few times before being replaced with my starting character overview:

 

You may redistribute your starting stats if you so chose. Current ratio is 1:1.

 

This program tried to be funny. Not only did the computer think of me as weak but pretty, I also had enough intelligence and memory to remember that fact pretty well. As for the skills I wasn’t sure what my mileage on them would be.

At least I had Small Arms, Coordination and Teamwork. These skills seemed useful for self-preservation and any future exploits in the game. I assumed that the skill list would grow over time. Piloting was also included but then again I assumed that every player received this skill considering this was a space game. 

Thinking about it… I could see where these skills might have been influenced by my real and gaming life. I was decently fit but my last 8 years of gaming hadn’t done anything to keep my physical strength of my constitution up. Who would go to the gym if you could be as strong as you wanted in the games you played. Intelligence, Charisma, Perception and Memory seemed to be where the game thought I was okay but then again, I am sure that the stats could go way higher. Lower Willpower didn’t come much as a surprise either. There was not one diet in existence that I actually stuck to. 

My skills seemed to also stem from my time as a cop and my gaming accomplishments. I remember that I came in 3rd place in a dogfighting tournament of “Planes of World War 2”. Maybe that was where my piloting skill came actually from. Whatever, speculation didn’t get me anywhere. The question was, did I want to redistribute my stat points? 1:1 ratio meant that I could decrease one and increase another at the same rate. 

In my gaming experience it didn’t pay to be a middle of the road Jack of all trades. It made starting easier but later this became a hindrance because stats that weren’t needed took up points. Plus the conversion ratio normally worked against you too. For example up to 10 you needed one stat point to increase strength by one point but between 10 and 20 you might need 2 points to get a +1 increase. 

The fact that I just got offered to up a stat as high as I wanted for a 1:1 conversion seemed too good to be true. On the other hand, I had no clue how much each stat would impact my game, what skills would check them and how often I needed them. So sticking every point into Endurance would probably make me pretty tough and I could run a triathlon and probably win if I could still figure out where the finish line was with Intelligence 0.

I weighed all these thoughts for a few moments and then decided against a redistribution. Let me do what the game suggested and be me. Then we go from there. I actually wanted to play this for fun and not for work. Min-Maxing or getting the maximum return with the minimum investment was great in normal gaming scenarios but it also often pigeonholed people into certain play styles and that was no fun. Let me be my own man. Or my own space-cowboy-pirate-cyborg for that matter.

“Stats and Skills accepted, no changes required.”

Loading Starting Scenario

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Generating Character Storyline

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Character Insertion Complete

 

The blackness became once more absolute. Then slowly it faded. At the same time the disembodied feeling subsided. Suddenly a bright flash and I could feel again.