This Week in the Galaxy: The Universe Is About to Get Much Bigger

🛸 A Living Space Experience

Space has always been an important part of the game, but it is becoming far more dynamic.

We have continued refining the entire ship system, making space travel smoother, combat more engaging, and starship management more reliable than ever before.

Ships now exist as persistent vessels within the galaxy rather than as collections of disconnected systems. This opens the door for more advanced gameplay while making everyday activities such as launching, docking, hyperspace travel, towing, and combat feel more polished and consistent.

NPC ships have also become a little smarter, with more ship AI improvements coming. Some will peacefully go about their business, while others may actively hunt their prey, creating more interesting encounters throughout known space.

Builders now have significantly improved tools for placing ships throughout the galaxy, allowing the universe to feel more populated and alive than ever before.

🪐 The Beginning of the Galactic Economy

Perhaps the biggest addition on the horizon is the new Space Industry system.

For the first time, players will be able to carve out careers that have nothing to do with bounty hunting or combat.

• Survey unexplored regions of space
• Discover asteroid fields and hidden resource deposits
• Mine valuable ores and rare materials
• Refine raw resources into industrial commodities
• Manufacture ship components
• Build specialized ship modules
• Construct entirely new player-owned starships

Rather than simply purchasing everything from NPC vendors, players will become a driving force behind the economy.

The new industrial system is designed to support all of these playstyles—and many more.

🚀 New Mining Ships and Industrial Equipment

Industry is not just another crafting profession. Dedicated mining vessels are here, each designed for different roles.

Prospector-class ships will excel at exploration and surveying, while larger industrial vessels will focus on extracting huge quantities of ore.

Specialized industrial equipment includes:

• Survey scanners
• Mining emitters
• Precision cutters
• Strip-mining arrays
• Collector systems
• Stabilization equipment
• Dedicated ore holds
• Compact onboard refineries

Even standard ships will be able to participate by installing the proper equipment, allowing every pilot to get involved regardless of their preferred vessel.

🔧 Craftsmanship Matters

One of the most exciting additions coming with industry is true player craftsmanship.

Instead of every manufactured item being identical, skilled engineers and shipwrights will have opportunities to create equipment that stands above ordinary production.

Superior craftsmanship will not simply create random bonuses. Builders will choose how they want to specialize their creations.

• A custom-built freighter might feature expanded cargo capacity.
• A fighter could emphasize handling and maneuverability.
• Mining equipment might be tuned for maximum efficiency or improved reliability.

This means master craftsmen can develop reputations of their own, with players seeking out specific builders known for producing exceptional equipment.

🌐 A True Player-Driven Economy

Industry is designed around cooperation. Different professions naturally feed into one another:

• Prospectors discover new resource sites.
• Miners extract raw materials.
• Haulers transport valuable cargo.
• Refiners process industrial commodities.
• Engineers manufacture modules.
• Shipwrights build ships.
• Traders connect buyers and sellers.

Construction contracts will also allow players to hire one another to manufacture equipment and starships, creating entirely new opportunities for commerce throughout the galaxy.

🏙️ Player Housing Begins

Life in the galaxy is not all about flying starships.

We have also implemented a brand new neighborhood housing system. Players can purchase homes within player neighborhoods, expand them room by room, customize room titles and descriptions, invite guests, and create homes that reflect their own style.

Storage has also received a major overhaul. Each house can contain multiple persistent storage chests capable of safely holding valuables, containers, and nested items, giving collectors and decorators far more freedom than before.

The system has been designed so homes only exist while occupied, allowing neighborhoods to scale efficiently without sacrificing persistence.

💽 Better Persistence Everywhere

A huge amount of work has gone into improving how the game saves information.

The new persistence system stores virtually every detail about your items and equipment much more reliably than before.

• Containers now properly preserve their contents.
• Banks can safely hold containers.
• Nested objects remain intact inside persistent storage.
• Objects survive server restarts more consistently.

These improvements may not always be immediately visible, but they provide the stable foundation needed for many of the larger features currently in development.

🤖 Smarter Ships, Better Performance

Ship interiors have also received a complete modernization.

Instead of every player ship permanently occupying world rooms, interiors are now generated only when someone boards the vessel.

This allows far more ships to exist in the galaxy while greatly reducing unnecessary resource usage.

For players, everything remains seamless: you board your ship, its interior is there waiting for you, and when everyone leaves it quietly unloads until it is needed again.