The archive is a collection of in-game lore that is built up by the player as they progress through the game. It is accessed via a new tab on the main menu, and comes partially completed. The rest of the archive is compiled through various means, including progression through ship tiers, destruction of enemies in Invasion and completion of PvE missions.
Examples of how each different section of the archive may work is given below:
Player Factions - The Empire, The Federation and Jericho:
Lore on each faction is obtained by advancing tiers - basic information on the Empire, Federation and Jericho is present in the archive from the start, and new information is added upon reaching Ranks 4, 7, 10 and 13 with each faction.
Advancing in this way would also unlock information about the sub-factions of each race.
Hostile Factions - Pirates, Cartel, Cybers and Aliens:
Lore on hostile factions is obtained through combat. Destroying, or assisting in the destruction of hostile ships, and for completing PvE missions themed around these factions.
For the purposes of factions, enemies are divided as follows:
Pirates: All hostile NPCs in Imperial space and Fort Muerto. PvE missions: Hidden Maintenance Shop and Pirate Base.
Cartel: All hostile NPCs in Federation space. PvE missions: Processing Rig, Ice Pits and Ellydium Raid (1st / 2nd round only).
Cybers: All hostile NPCs in Jericho space. PvE missions: Operation Red Haze.
Aliens: Biomorphs and Infected found in all incursions and Unknown Space. PvE missions: Ellydium Raid (3rd round only), Special Operations.
Specific enemies may have their own database entries. For example, the Defiler entry may require the player to successfully complete a Special Operations mission to unlock, whereas more generic information on the aliens may be obtained simply through exposure to them.
Ships:
All ships have three tiers of information; a basic overview, a detailed description, and a “secret lore”.
Basic overviews include the ship’s name and reference code, dimensions, weight, manufacturer, etc. and are available to all players regardless of progress.
Detailed description gives more history to the ship, and is obtained once you purchase the ship. Example details might include: “[Empire ship] was developed during the Third Bartle War, in response to unexpected, and significant technological advances made by the Jericho.” The goal of the detailed description is to give some sense of the ship’s history relative to the faction that made it, and each ship’s description should piece together to form a non-specific narrative, showing how each faction has advanced over time.
The “secret lore” is a personal narrative. There are three for each race - one that runs through the standard ships, one that runs through sub-faction one, and the final that runs through sub-faction two. The secret lore is intended to be a more “human” story, showing the life of a pilot within the universe.
Example Secret Lore narrative:
Dvergr Knight:
“We’ve been watching this supply line for weeks, and for what? I’m sick of flying this same route over and over. They have drones for this kind of thing! I want to see battle! I want to be a hero! I want my name spoken in awe by children across the Empire! I’m never going to be a hero if I’m stuck flying the same old convoy missions. Maybe it’s time I went freelance, joined the mercenaries out in the frontier…”
Diamond Dwarf:
“My hands won’t stop shaking. Two days into my new tour and our convoy was hit by a dozen raiders, well-armed and organised. If Wishbone hadn’t seen them coming… but it’s worth it. It’s so worth it! When we made it back to the dock the deck crew chanted our callsigns like we were heroes! We saved three lives and brought the cargo home safe! I’m finally making a difference!”
Magnetar:
"There are no more convoys now. Too dangerous, command says. The pirates have a base somewhere close to the outpost and our escorts are overwhelmed. I’ve been reassigned to a combat squadron, flying forward recon for Bulldog and Nailer. I light 'em up, they knock 'em down. Not much glory, but we can’t afford glory hounds now; the pirates are so bold they’re coming into range of the station’s turrets! I’ve got to keep my head. People are depending on me.
I’m so tired…"
King Nibelung:
“The pirates haven’t attacked in days. No-one knows why; it’s not like we found their base or anything. They just… stopped. We see them sometimes, the odd supply ship, or an under-strength patrol, but for the most part they’re just gone. Command’s considering opening the supply lines again and rotating us out. I’ve forgotten what downtime felt like.
I’m worried about Hammerhead and Wendigo. They were due back an hour ago. Be a damn shame for them to make it through the siege only to get picked off by some stragglers just before getting sent home.”
Jarl:
“Mayday! Mayday! This is Cobalt to any friendly ship! Warden Outpost ‘Vigilance’ is lost! Repeat, the outpost is lost! We’ve been overrun by… I don’t know what the hell they are! A damn capital ship appeared on top of us and fragged the damn station! My ship’s heavily damaged and I need support! Is anyone out there? Hello?
I don’t want to die out here! someone! Anyone! Help me… please…”
Locations:
Locations could be handled either as individual maps, collections of maps, or both.
Individual maps would be unlocked simply by visiting them in Invasion, or potentially by completing specific objectives within each map (these would need to be added to the maps, and could be something as simple as one or more nav beacons that must be captured). Regions would work the same way, but require all maps within that region to be accessed.
Individual maps refers to each sector in Invasion - Ontregos Pass, Ontregos Drift, Iridium Mine, etc.
Regions refers to the collections of maps - all of the above are considered part of the “Ontregos” region.
The lore on these regions would detail whatever is considered potentially interesting to the players; history of colonisation / discovery, the role it plays in the faction’s wider plans, major events that took place there, etc.
PvE Missions:
Because PvE missions tend to focus on more significant events and operations than simply taking out a generic pirate officer, they are also worthy of greater focus within the lore.
For example, completing Blackwood Shipyard (perhaps multiple times) could lend more information about the Blackwood Corporation and the role it plays in the wider galaxy.
The link to the PvE missions need not be directly related to the factions involved. For example, completing the Processing Rig mission (a battle for control of an iridium mining platform) might detail more information about Iridium, its links to Aliens / Precursors, and its significance with regard to advanced technologies. Ice Reef or Hidden Maintenance Shop might reveal more information about Dreadnoughts in general.
Forward Fleet:
Completing missions in Forward Fleet could offer some information on your employers. This could potentially lead to new missions in-game (see “expanding the idea” below).
PvP and Archive Information:
PvP, while more limited in potential applications, still allows for potential sources of lore for the archive. Ideas for this include:
- Playing battles on PvP maps could unlock information about them. This is particularly good for curious maps like Pandora Anomaly, but it relies on frequent map rotation to allow players to get the best out of it.
- Capturing beacons or destroying Nav Stations might unlock information about the significance of these devices and how they relate to travel between sectors.
- Lore on famous mercenary groups or individuals could be unlocked by killing players. For example, lore on “Captain Aressa” might be unlocked either by scoring kills in Federation interceptors, or by killing Federation interceptors, or both.
Rewards:
As well as compiling information on the game’s background, achievements could be added related to your Archive progress.
Expanding the idea:
The Archive need not just be a static place where information is dumped; it acts as a natural jumping off point for wider narrative within the game, creating a “story mode” of sorts.
These story missions would typically follow the following pattern:
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Information is unlocked via collecting lore.
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A unique mission pops up. If this mission is refused, it can be accessed again from the archive at any time until it is completed.
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Completing this mission unlocks more information, and potentially more missions.
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Upon reaching the end of the narrative, a reward is given to the player. This might be a title, an achievement, credits, supplies, or a mixture of the above.
Example narrative mission:
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Collect lore on an “unknown” faction by completing ten Frontier Missions for them.
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A mercenary will contact you, voicing concerns about these mysterious contracts and ask you to rendezvous with them in a randomly chosen Rank 7 safe zone within Invasion.
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Accepting the mission and proceeding to the zone will result in a unique mission spawn. The player will locate a ship wreak with three “unknown mercenary” ships guarding it. Destroying these ships will drop data cores that the player (and only the player) can collect. Returning to the station will unlock the next stage.
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A new lore piece will unlock detailing some of the mercenary’s findings, which will mention unusual signals. The player will then receive a unique mission asking them to capture 12 Beacons in PvP mode to triangulate the source of these messages.
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Completing the contract reveals that several high ranking members of the “unknown” faction have been located, and are to be eliminated. A new contract unlocks, requiring the player to complete a Combat Recon mission (T3 or higher). Completing this rewards he player with a message that your allies were able to recover key information, and are now ready to mobilise.
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Completing the contract will unlock a unique Frontier mission - the player is asked to deploy six ships, Rank 7 or higher, to search the co-ordinates. The mission would last 8-12 hours. If failed, the mission can be repeated. If successful, the Frontier fleet reports it has obtained information on the group.
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Upon completion of the unique Frontier mission, lore on the “unknown” party is unlocked. In addition, a message is sent to the player from a member of the group stating that they respect your resourcefulness, and are willing to make a peace offering in return for your discretion, and an end to your interference. The player is rewarded with a lump sum bonus, and the “unknown” faction is revealed by name in future Frontier Missions.
Thoughts? Opinions? Delirious rantings?