Halcyon Online is set against the coldness of deep space, but irrespective of the loneliness, beacons of light stand against the darkness, illuminating celestial bodies throughout their systems, revealing beauty and despair in equal measure.
Celestial bodies in Halcyon Online represent a variety of locations that players can visit, and colonise, from planets near and far to their parent star, to moons – and more.
Stars
Stars are the parents of every system, bathing their children with light, and providing much-needed energy for various purposes. In late game, stars can also be harnessed to wield extraordinary power, providing the players (and their alliances) with a near-infinite resource that they can utilise for themselves, and against other players.
Planets and other bodies closer to stars receive a bonus to their solar energy output based on the insolation value of the planet. This value represents just how much solar energy that planet receives, as well as how hot that planet would be. Conversely, planets much further away possess lower insolation values, meaning players will need to find other ways of powering their colonies further out in the system.
Planets
Planets represent the main celestial body that players will colonise and exploit, providing resources, energy, and a place they can call home. Planets provide a number of different resources, but the 3 main ones are Materials, Energy, and Pylonium. Depending on the planet's distance from its parent star, the planet may be better utilised for energy production, mining of materials, or rarer resources found throughout the game.
Moons
Many planets within the galaxies of Halcyon Online will have 1 or more moons. These moons, just like planets, can be colonised and their resources utilised or traded. Moons are rich in raw materials and help to provide a secondary base of operations to their parent planets, often providing an influx of much-needed resources.
Due to the fact that moons are generally smaller than planets, they have less space through which to build a large colony, so players will find themselves using them purely as resource farms, or maxing out their production and ensuring resources are provided to the moon.
Asteroids
Some systems contain asteroid belts that are home to many asteroids ripe for resource exploitation. They are much smaller celestial bodies and have much less available space to achieve certain outcomes, so planning is key to having a successful asteroid colony. However, asteroids are also home to much rarer resources, so finding asteroids that contain those resources that your Empire needs, is crucial in advancing your technology, your fleets, and your Empire.
Asteroids are normally used to exploit a single resource found on that giant rock, but clever players will figure out interesting ways of utilising them beyond their resource potential!
Unknowns
There are other celestial bodies that players will find throughout Halcyon Online that are truly remarkable. They may provide unique missions, resources, available space for colony creation, or all of the above. These "unknowns" as we'll call them for now, will be expanded on in later articles, but know that they are pivotal for late-game Empire growth and advancement, and will become a central point of conflict in PvP galaxies.
Future planning
Halcyon Online has been developed so as to support all sorts of locations that players can visit, some of which won't make it into the game for some time yet as the game mechanics are actively being explored, but present really unique and interesting opportunities for players.
Rest assured, that as Halcyon Online grows and development continues, the game has a lot ahead in store for players, and I can't wait to share those details with you!