In my previous post (which you can click below), I talked briefly about player progression in Halcyon Online and what it looks like during the various phases of a player's empire. In this post, we're gonna talk specifically about Phase 1, a player's corporate Homeworld.
Why are we here, anyway?
I won't go too deep into the lore just yet (that's on its way!), but in short players are representing CEOs of massive corporations, that have been tasked with expanding the sphere of human influence, in order to continue humanity's survival. To help them, players are provided a small amount of starting resources, and then sent on their way to their allotted planet to begin the expansion.
In Halcyon Online, Humanity is now at a point where it can look to protect itself once more, against future catastrophes by expanding to the stars before its too late. But many years have passed, and many of the humans that fled aren't what they once were...
Kickstarting a planet
Players begin the game by selecting one of 3 planets, chosen at random, and spread across the Galaxy (or Sector, if they're playing Campaign mode). This provides players with an initial choice: where in the galaxy will they start, and what sort of planet will they start on? (More on planets and planet types in a future article).
A player's starting planet (which will usually be their homeworld), will impact the resources they have access to, as well as what neighboring features may be present within that planet's star system (such as . For example, they may choose a planet that is high in energy or metals, but does not boast a particularly great atmosphere for population growth. This would mean the player would need to focus on automation and robots, or population biodomes. Conversely, were a player to start on a planet with a healthy atmosphere and lots of organics, a large civilian population will most likely be the direction they take their empire, at least initially.
But your homeworld is about more than just your starting planet. It's also about kickstarting your corporation's technological prowess, intelligently managing the resources at your disposal, and working toward your first colony ship.
Preparing for expansion
Colony ships are expensive. They are enormous interstellar spacecraft that require a lot of raw materials to produce. Additionally, they need to take a lot with them to keep their crew alive, both for the long distance and time of space travel, as well as the monumental effort of establishing a new colony. Food, water & oxygen (represented simply as 'organics' within Halcyon Online) are required for a successful colonisation mission. And so, such a project takes a vast amount of resources for a fledgling corporate empire.
The objective for players in Phase 1 is to develop infrastructure to support their Homeworld's needs, research technology to develop spacecraft, and to amass enough resources to send a ship on it's first colonisation mission. During this time, players will construct infrastructure to produce energy for their Homeworld, setup mines to produce metals for infrastructure and production, as well as create agricultural projects to feed their growing population.
In short, there's a lot to do to establish your empire as a multiplanetary corporation.
Beyond the Homeworld
Phase 1 is all about developing your Homeworld and coming to grips with managing your planet's infrastructure, developing the right technological path for efficient progress, and preparing for your next planet.
In the next article, we'll talk about Phase 2, and why this particular phase is when Halcyon Online really comes alive.