DATA ARCHIVE

Complete tactical and operational manual.

UNDER CONSTRUCTION

Please note that A Space Story is still in early development stages. While some parts are playable (predominantly Skirmishes), the RPG section is actively evolving and undergoing changes between each release.

About

Strategic data files on the key factions, organisations, and lifeforms of the known galaxy.

VORRATH

Vile. That should suffice. But for the purpose of this archive, they are a species of insectoids hell-bent on conquering the galaxy. They are ruled by a hive mind, and communicate telepathically with each other.

They are also known to be very aggressive, and will attack any ship that they encounter. We have no idea where they came from, but we know that they are not friendly.

MAARTANIAN

I know what you are thinking... but no, the Maartanians are not what they seem and they are certainly not from Mars. The translation device they shared with us during first contact, a wholly alien technology, simply refers to them as Maartanians.

Nobody has ever seen a Maartanian. Ever. Not from afar, not from close up. They are about as mysterious as they were when we first encountered them. They have, however, been of tremendous help against the Vorrath, that's for sure.

Little is known about their ships either. They appear in the blink of an eye, engage, destroy or disable the target, and then disappear. There is no trace, no debris, no radiation, no energy signature. Gone.

PLASMA WHALES

Nobody is sure where they come from, but they sure are pretty. Best not to get too close though, legend has it that a Vorrath commander tried to capture one and the whale promptly ate the entire fleet.

As far as we can tell, Plasma Whales freely navigate black holes, somehow immune to the immense gravitational pull. We have also observed them feeding on raw minerals and, occasionally, on damaged ships. Best not to become an irritant.

Plasma Whales are also known to excrete asteroids. It appears to be a by-product of their digestion. It has been hypothesised that the asteroid composition depends on the composition of the food the whale consumed. Further research is required to confirm this hypothesis.

In the early days, before we knew much about them, two showed up and spent about a month in close orbit to Earth. During that time, they consumed every last speck of space dust and debris in the Earth-Moon system. They left behind a number of small asteroids as the only evidence of their visit.

TERRAN

As humans expanded across the galaxy, they became known as Terran, in reference to their origin, Earth. The Terran are known for their ingenuity and their ability to adapt to new situations.

Terrans started mining strange asteroids that drifted into their territories. These asteroids contained exotic minerals that were used to develop new technologies. Only later did they realise these asteroids were in fact a by-product of Plasma Whale digestion.

Terran technology is based on the principles of resourcefulness and adaptability. They are known for their ability to utilise any resource they can find, and to adapt their technology to any situation.

Game Modes

Choose the operational parameters for your mission. A Space Story offers five distinct ways to interact with the universe:

SKIRMISH

The standard operational mode. You command a player-owned base with the objective of harvesting minerals and neutralizing the Vorrath presence in the sector.

  • Standard: Identical starting conditions for both factions.
  • Established Vorrath: The enemy starts with an economic advantage (5 miners + extra credits).
  • Inherited Fleet: Start with a small existing fleet (1 miner, 10 fighters) and a tactical advantage.
  • Late Game: Skip the early build-up; both factions start with significant infrastructure and forces.
  • Underdog: Begin with a heavily damaged station (25% health) against an active enemy fleet.
  • Defensive Stand: Build your defenses and survive multiple waves of enemy attacks to eliminate all enemy forces.
  • Race to Riches: Compete with the enemy faction to be the first to accumulate 1,000,000 credits.

AI VS AI (OBSERVER)

A simulation-focused variant of the skirmish engine. All factions (including the nominal player faction) are operating fully via automatic combat and economic AI.

  • Observe: Scroll, zoom and monitor dynamic empire battles hands-free.
  • Inspect Any Entity: Click on literally ANY ship or base on screen belonging to any faction to view detailed tactical data and specific treasury credits.
  • No Controls: Standard interaction buttons and build keys are locked down; you have no authority to interfere with AI maneuvers.

SANDBOX

A peaceful mode with no hostile threats. Perfect for observing the orbital mechanics of the universe or birthing Plasma Whales without the pressure of combat.

RPG MODE

Pilot a single Hero unit in a persistent, multi-sector campaign. Progress through tiered missions, earn XP, and level up your ship's capabilities as you navigate the Jump Gate network.

  • The Hero System: Your ship (Vanguard or Miner) carries over all experience, upgrades, hull integrity, and credits across every jump and save session.
  • The Sector Map: Explore a network of interconnected sectors. Every sector is "sticky"—the state of bases, friendly fleets, and environmental conditions are preserved whenever you jump between locations.
  • Jump Navigation: Large Jump Gates act as portals between sectors. Once near a gate, you can access the Jump Navigation Computer to plot a course and traverse the galaxy.
  • Sector Patrol: Establish a presence in the local sector.
    Goal: Neutralize the 4 Vorrath fighters patrolling the area.
    Challenge: You are solo against multiple interceptors. Use your superior maneuverability to pick them off one by one.
  • Mining Scout: Jumpstart the local economy.
    Goal: Harvest and personally deliver 2,000 credits worth of ore to the Martaanian station.
    Challenge: The station starts with zero credits. You must manually mine and deliver ore until the base has enough funds to automate its own miners and defense fleet. Only YOUR deliveries count toward the mission goal. Successfully completing this mission usually unlocks access to the wider sector network.

RAID

Squad-based tactical combat in compact interior and exterior environments. Deploy your squad, capture neutral towers, collect health packs and reinforcement crates, and eliminate all hostile forces to secure victory.

  • Squad Command: Control individual units or groups with click-to-move, drag-select, and 10 assignable control groups (Ctrl+0–9 to set, 0–9 to recall).
  • Factions: Choose Terran or Vorrath. Each faction fields leaders, grunts, marksmen, and medics with distinct unit stats and sprites.
  • Tower Capture: Neutral towers activate when a mobile unit enters within 1.5 tiles, flipping to the capturing faction. Captured towers auto-heal nearby friendlies (+15 HP every 2 seconds within 4 tiles) and revert to neutral if left unguarded.
  • Health Packs & Reinforcement Crates: Collect health packs to heal all nearby friendlies (+15 HP within 6 tiles). Reinforcement crates deploy 3–5 fresh soldiers of the collector's faction.
  • Medic Support: Medics automatically heal the closest wounded ally within 6 tiles (+10 HP every 30 seconds).
  • Fog of War: The map is revealed incrementally through unit line-of-sight. Towers only provide vision when a friendly mobile unit is nearby.

Interface Shortcuts

Utilize standard computer hardware intercepts to accelerate operations and expand scanning ranges.

  • Game Speed (Keys 1–9, 0): Forces global temporal adjustment. Keys 1 through 9 set standard speed factors (1.0x to 9.0x). Pressing 0 instantly routes extreme output, engaging a 10.0x simulation overdrive.
  • Tactical Overlay (TAB) [RPG Mode Only]: Toggles the primary vector scanner. This projects an instant sector-wide schematic, identifying relative vectors for friendly platforms, resource veins, and hostile signals on an integrated overlay plane.

Tactical Operations

Access the Tactics Menu inside operational command to alter standard fleet procedures.

  • Attack Enemy Bases: Commands your combat fleet to aggressively seek out and concentrate fire on opposing faction installations.
  • Attack Enemy Miners: Instructs tactical units to prioritize destroying vulnerable economic vessels first, crippling enemy credit harvesting capacity.
  • Attack Relay Station: Specific assault command designed to override baseline combat targets and forces focused destruction of orbital relays.
  • Guard Relay Station: Instructs defense squadrons to form a tightly tethered protective perimeter to safeguard local friendly infrastructure.
  • Miner Patrol: Tactic setting that assigns 50% of your available combat fighter force to break regular holding patterns and randomly patrol near your distant miners.
  • Miner Priority: Modifies long-range extraction routines, alternating logic between rapid returns versus high-volume payloads.
  • Red Alert: Immediately places the local sector state into active emergency readiness, unlocking advanced defensive response and forcing combat protocols.

Fundamental Operations

Success in the vacuum of space requires balance between economy and defense.

  • Resource Loop: Harvesters automatically seek out asteroids. Each asteroid contains finite minerals. Once full, harvesters return to base to deposit credits.
  • Research: Invest credits in the Research Terminal to upgrade station hull, laser range, and unit capacity.
  • Tactics: Deploy Phalanx formations to establish defensive perimeters or assign patrols to escort your harvester fleet.
  • Galactic Travel: In RPG mode, locate Jump Gates to travel between sectors. Inter-sector travel requires the Jump Navigation Computer, which provides a tactical view of the surrounding jump network.