Faster-than-light travel. A marvel of human ingenuity, one that is sparsely understood even today! And for you, Bridge Officer, it is at an arm's reach. Indeed, today, we will be looking at how the FTL Console works, and where you can travel with it.
Before going in, I should mention that this is an easy job, unlike piloting the ship. It doesn't need a separate crewmember, and it can be done by your superiors most of the time.
The FTL console, located on the Bridge, is your main way of directing the ship while FTL-ing. Usage of it is quite simple, but if you feel daunted by all screens, take a look below:
The Change Sector button lets you change the map over to see another Sector, but it doesn't move the ship itself.
The FTL drive is what makes the ship move into Bluespace, and cover the unimaginable distance between stars. It is located in Engineering, thus it requires the Engineers to spool it and charge it with phoron.
The Galaxy around us consists of an innumerable amount of Star Systems. Some of these Systems are far away from each other. But some are very close. So close, in fact, that FTL traversal between them doesn't take multiple life-times. These Systems are grouped into Sectors. The part of Space that you will be travelling in consists of multiple sectors:
The home of NovusCorp, and Humanity as a whole. Thanks to tireless efforts, the Syndies have been pushed back from here. Better not let them return!
No-man's-land. This group of Systems are a neutral zone between the bases of SolGov and the Syndicate, and as such, the place of most battles you will take part in. This, however, hasn't stopped some brave capitalists from set up shop, and sell questionably legal things. This Sector also contains a large group of unknown sectors, commonly referred to as 'The Black'. These sectors have yet to be explored by SolGov ships, meaning that they can hold numerous dangers, ranging from constant radstorms to a hidden syndicate starbase!
The farthest reaches of SolGov-controlled space, these territories are constantly under threat from the Syndicate and worse adversaries. Savage beasts, worse people, eldritch beings and other horrors await in the Rim of outer space.
The homeland of the Syndicate. This is where their “capital” resides. Only the finest of crews make it here, and even they don't come back.
The Hypergates are the way of traveling between two far away Sectors. They are located in special Star Systems, which are marked on the user interface. They are essentially giant teleporter gates for ships.
This is how you can use them:
You can also use wormholes to travel between Sectors:
A star with a few planets around it is called a Star System. Space combat is based on these Systems. In our time, an empire can consist of a handful of warships parked around a few stars and space stations. Your misson is to enter these systems, clear the enemy ships, and claim it as territory for NovusCorp and SolGov.
Jumping to a system is quite easy. You click on it on the map, then wait for the Drive to spool up (the green bar fills up as the engine charges) and click jump. You have a small window of time to cancel the jump, in case you messed up. The Engineers will need to respool the drive, though, which requires more power.
Helpfully, you needn't watch the news, or read history books to know who owns what sector. All you have to do is look at the Map on the FTL console:
So, as mentioned before, the color of the dots shows their alignment:
| Color | Alignment |
|---|---|
| Blue | Allied |
| Orange | Neutral |
| Red | Enemy |
| Black | Anomalous |
| White | Unclaimed |
Three more things:
This is what a System's alignment means in practice:
Friendly: SolGov space. You are safe here. Unless the Syndies invade.
Neutral: Empty Systems, ready to be claimed.
Enemy: Syndicate space. You are not welcome here.
Anomalous: Strange and unknown systems. Most likely empty of enemy presence, but often full of something worse…
The one place not corrupted by capitalism has been corrupted by capitalism. Some brave traders set up shop in the final frontier, ready to make some cash.
They can be traded with by hailing them on a DRADIS console. Once hailed, you can spend the cargo budget to buy new weaponry, fighters and even more. They can also give you tasks, the completion of which will give you a reward.
These sectors are important for one reason or another