Welcome to Loremakers: Community Questions, a series focused on answering your lore quandaries and conundrums. We’ve done a deep dive through the lore Ask A Dev section and selected ten questions to answer about the Star Citizen universe. All questions were edited for context and clarity but you can click on the topic to go directly to the original post and join the conversation. Also, the Narrative team plans to do one installment of Loremakers: Community Questions every quarter with the next entry scheduled for Tuesday, September 17th, so please join the discussion and drop any other questions you might have about the universe in our Ask A Dev forum.
NPC Mission Givers
Question: Why haven’t there been any new ‘hero’ NPCs added in a while? Receiving missions through the mobiGlas feels impersonal and doesn't encourage exploration.
Answer: There have been a lot of discussions about NPCs lately as the team works with Design to craft the ultimate 1.0 experience while also looking beyond to future updates. We can't really get into specifics now, but yes, the general goal is to promote more interactions in order to help make the universe (and the mission providers) feel more alive. That being said, it's not a trivial thing to add characters to the game, so we've been trying to figure out how to approach this in a scalable way that we will be able to support beyond 1.0. Less on the mission front, but the Narrative team has also been taking a larger role in developing the Social AI behaviors in the PU. While the stories and characters slated for 1.0 are still being kept under wraps, we are aiming to start bringing improvements and personality to the various landing zones into patches sooner.
Navy Exploration
Question: Does the exploratory division of the Navy compete with the private sector? Are they just looking for strategic advantages & jump points or does it include general exploration? Are they looking for the Krell system? Have they given up on looking for the jump point to Oretani system? Why don't the Navy just pay contractors to do the work? If something is found, does High Command plan to keep it a secret? How many secret jump points are the Navy actively using? Is the UEEN Pathfinders Division the new name for the Navy Exploratory Division or are they the same thing?
Answer: Exploration is an interesting facet of the ‘verse. There are a lot of great observations here across all those questions, so we’ll try to tackle it piece by piece.
First, we’re not 100% sure where the terms “Navy Exploratory Division” or UEEN Pathfinders Division came from. If you have a link to a source, please send it our way. We’ve mentioned Exploratory Squadrons in the Whitley’s Guide for the Terrapin, as well as the UEE Exploratory Services in the introduction of the Idris Corvette. There have also been broad mentions of military pathfinders throughout the years, but we also generically refer to explorers of all stripes as “pathfinders.”
The UEE Exploratory Services are not a branch of the military. The department is tasked with both discovering new systems and surveying those discovered by private pathfinders to evaluate whether it is viable for colonization or another purpose. In their primary function of general exploration, the UEE pathfinders do compete with private sector pathfinders, but exploration is a tricky business and it’s a big universe – so there’s plenty of room for everyone. Some of the pathfinders working for both the UEE and private companies might be freelance, but most organizations would also employ their own staff.
The military in general also operate pathfinding patrols, and are usually involved in exploring systems that have intrinsic military value, such as ones that lead into known Vanduul systems. Any such jump points would absolutely be kept secret, so there’s no telling how many are in use.
As far as the Krell system is concerned, we can neither confirm nor deny. If the UEE were to be looking for it, they wouldn’t be doing it publicly, as it would likely antagonize our Xi’an friends. Lastly, regarding the Oretani system, enough time has passed that there’s not as much enthusiasm around the search for it, so it’s likely that most efforts have died down, but there’s always hope.
Vanduul Aftermath
Question: In what state do Vanduul leave the planets they've harvested? Will the environment ever recover?
Answer: When the Vanduul Harvesters are finished with a planet, all that’s left is a scarred, barren world. It is highly likely these planets will never recover their vibrancy. It’s a core part of the tragedy of a Vanduul attack – that these targeted worlds are doomed to exist only as reminders of the Vanduul’s cruelty and voraciousness. To make matters worse, the Vanduul Clans use the resources they gather to fuel their continued advance and produce more weapons of war. Some terraforming scientists have been studying the possibility of revitalizing these worlds should the UEE retake them, but to date it remains beyond the current capabilities. That said, planets that have only partially harvested do have some hope of recovery which helps to drive some of the urgency of the war effort to push back the Vanduul.
Externer Inhalt robertsspaceindustries.comInhalte von externen Seiten werden ohne Ihre Zustimmung nicht automatisch geladen und angezeigt.Signage in the 'verse
Question: Is there a universal language for traffic signs across the UEE?
Answer: We’re not the best team to tackle this, so we reached out to Art Director of Visual Identity, Nicolas Fortin. Here’s what he had to say in answer:
"We have started on a convention for safety signage in general, but there is still quite a lot of work to do on this front.
At the moment we are designing these signs with a local flavor approach while doing our best to maintain a certain level of consistency throughout Stanton... Pyro will have a different feel of course, as would other star systems.
There is a lot of legacy material in the game that we have to compose with too but the plan and intention is to bring more structure and consistency to these types of assets in game."
So, there you have it. Narrative works closely with branding to help review these signs and make sure they’re recognizable, while still feeling distinct, to our far-future setting.
Where is the Imperator?
Question: Where is the Imperator? Four years into her term and there's been little word of what she's doing. Is she aware of what's happening in Stanton / Pyro? XenoThreat? Did she get her AI legislation through the Senate?
Answer: While Imperator Addison has been busy, the administration has been met with frustration as many of their initiatives have encountered roadblocks. Probably the most noticeable change in the Empire so far has been the continued improvement of xeno-diplomatic relations, which are viewed as stronger than ever before. On the technology front, the ”Better Today Act'' to allow additional AI research did pass but in a heavily modified form that deeply weakened the proposed initiative. One major change was that a senate committee has to approve all AI research and so for they have only approved one project relating to improving intersystem communication.
The growing crime issue has drawn much of the Imperator’s attention away from other campaign goals, and she is stuck in a difficult place of maintaining the war against the Vanduul while trying to protect the people of the Empire. Her desired expansion of the Education budget was put on hold in favor of allocating additional resources to security spending. Additionally, recent reports have begun to indicate that there may be some unforeseen issues with the regen technology that would not only be a significant blow to her administration but Humanity itself. We will have to keep an eye out to see how that story develops…
Unions During the Messer Regime
Question: What was the relationship between the Messer Regime and the various unions/guilds? Many authoritarian governments, in their pursuit of keeping the working class oppressed, have chosen to significantly weaken or dissolve any existing guilds and unions. In Star Citizen organizations such as the United Resource Workers fought for workers' rights for centuries before Ivar Messer installed himself as the first Imperator. How did he and his successors deal with them and vice versa?
Answer: The Messer regime definitely used their power and authority to control and influence unions and guilds across the UEE. One example established in lore involves the Interstellar Transport Guild (ITG). Founded in 2391, the ITG fought and defended hauler’s rights for over a century before Ivar Messar came to power. Yet, the guild came under fire in the early 2690s when haulers in Terra filed a series of lawsuits that exposed a massive corruption scandal where ITG officials secretly funneled member dues to pro-Messer political candidates and organizations.
This subversive influence of the ITG illustrates how the Messer regime probably dealt with most of the major, established unions. Allowing entrenched pro-worker organizations to exist and operate provided their members the illusion of power. In reality, Messer sycophants and spies would infiltrate or be installed into these groups to monitor and control their actions. Then, during some particularly dark periods, guild members classified by the regime as ‘agitators’ would be offered special jobs, or simply easily tracked, only to ‘disappear’ or fall victim to some unfortunate fate.
While it was advantageous for the Messer regime to keep legacy unions around, they also used their influence to crush groups trying to establish themselves. Many of these new labor organizations had their origins in or around Terra. To keep them from spreading, the Messer regime went on the offensive in both overt and covert ways. They banned certain organizations by labeling them as fronts for gangs or the Xi’an. On the secretive side of things, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of 2806 exposed that the regime threatened to reduce the government contracts awarded to major companies, like Aegis and CDS, if any of their operations worked with these newer labor groups.
Externer Inhalt robertsspaceindustries.comInhalte von externen Seiten werden ohne Ihre Zustimmung nicht automatisch geladen und angezeigt.Lost Colony Ships
Question: The Whitley's Guide on the Vulture mentions that:
“In 2932, an Aegis Dynamics Reclaimer, the General Dogsbody, made history with the single most profitable salvage mission in human history when it discovered and recovered a failed 22nd-century colony ship adrift in deep space.”
22nd Century implies a date looking like 21XX; however, Artemis -- the most famous of the interstellar colony ships -- launched in 2232. Was it intended for the discovery to have been a failed 23rd-century colony ship? Or were there other colony ships (interstellar OR only interplanetary in nature) launched before Artemis?
I'm assuming that you did not intend to solve the mystery of the Artemis as a side note in Whitley's Guide... so perhaps we could know more about the other colony ships that were sent, and especially the one that was found here?
Answer: Your instincts are right. Artemis is not the colony ship found and salvaged by General Dogsbody. Artemis was but one of several colony ships Humanity sent into deep space in the late 22nd and early 23rd centuries. Prior to Nick Croshaw becoming the first person to successfully survive a roundtrip through a jump point in 2271, these ventures were seen as Humanity’s best chance at expanding our footprint in the universe. While the Artemis remains the most famous due to the ship being monitored and piloted by Janus, which at the time was the most complex AI system ever created by Humans. The ship’s sudden disappearance fourteen years prior to the expected date led to widespread speculation that the AI was at fault which galvanized anti-AI attitudes and legislation that persists to this day in the UEE. For this reason, Artemis is still remembered in the current UEE and spotlighted by the lore.
The lore hasn’t focused much on the other colony ships, but it’s a potentially rich area for us to dig into. The exact number launched remains a mystery due to several factors, including lost records due to data corruption. Also confusing the matter is that these colony ships were sent by a variety of corporate interests and individual nations in an era before the creation of the United Nations of Earth. Details about most of these ships, including their intended destinations, reasons for going, crew manifests, and supplies onboard, have been lost to time and would hamper the chances of their eventual discovery.
People's Alliance Locations
Question: Is there a space station the People's Alliance lives in? Do they have any sort of militia or navy? Have they built anything beyond Levski?
Answer: The People's Alliance notably inhabit the asteroid base of Levski, which was the site of their proposed 'new society' established to escape from the authoritarianism of the Messers.
They would have a security force to help protect Levski, but in keeping with their general ethos, it would be a purely defensive force and probably use lethal force as a last resort. As we start diving into the Nyx as a system, fictionally it would make sense that they would have settlements outside of Levski in the system to help sustain themselves whether its mining outposts or the like, but we'll have to keep you posted.
The Moraine
Question: Is it intended for this faction to have any representation outside of Nyx, and can we expect to see any info on them prior to or upon release of Nyx?
Answer: Our current intention is for the Moraine to remain specific to Nyx. They serve as a solid counterpoint to the People’s Alliance and occupy an interesting part of the “system geography” through their headquarters on the Glaciem Ring in Nyx. In addition, with their intense family focus, it’s unlikely the Moraine would grow so large as to expand beyond Nyx. Expect to see more of them as we work towards the system’s release in game.
What Hunts the Stormwals
Question: What hunts the Stormwal?
Answer: For the most part, stormwals don't have predators. Like the blue whale on Earth, they are so enormous that it takes a huge amount of effort to kill them. Predators don't really like putting more work into killing than they put into eating. Humans, who have the benefit of ships and weapons to do the job for them, are about the only things out there that prey on stormwals. Let's hope that they don't end up hunting them to extinction.
There ARE creatures out there that eat stormwals, if you'd like a little more insight into Crusader's food chain. When a stormwal dies of old age or injury, the internal mechanisms that keep it afloat slowly break down, and it begins a gradual descent into the crushing depths of Crusader. Scavengers, zooplankton, kiami, and other organisms begin to feed off the dead stormwal as it falls. This in turn causes a spike in reproductive activity. It's a real boon to the ecosystem.
