Starports

Starports are advanced facilities offering services beyond standard ports. They’re your hub for upgrades, banking, ship purchases, missions, and recruitment.

Finding Starports

Federation Starports

• Location: Federation space (first 5% of sectors)
• Names: Federation Starbase Alpha, Beta, etc.
• Theme: Corporate, clean, organized

Pirate Havens

• Location: Pirate territories (~5% of sectors, randomly clustered)
• Names: Pirate Stronghold Shadow, Viper, etc.
• Theme: Criminal, rough, underground

Faction Parity

Both factions offer identical services with different branding:

The Six Places

Each starport has 6 “places”: specialized facilities for different services.

🏦 Banking

Federation Reserve Bank / The Vault

Store credits safely to protect against loss (future combat).

Services:

• Deposit: Store credits in your account
• Withdraw: Take credits back to ship
• Balance: View banked credits

Why use it:

• Safe storage (can’t be stolen)
• Passive interest (future)
• Required for large purchases

🔧 Shipyard

TriStar Shipyard / Blackheart Shipbreakers

Ship maintenance and upgrade hub.

Services:

1. Rename (1,000 credits) : Change your ship’s name : Personal touch

2. Repair (variable cost) : Full restoration: hull, shields, torpedoes to 100% : Cheaper than field repairs : One-click full service

3. Warp Drive : Install: 50,000 credits (Level 1) : Upgrade: 15,000 per level (up to Level 5) : Faster warps, better efficiency

4. Weapons Systems (Exponential cost: base × 1.4^level) : Fighters: Increase fighter capacity : Torpedoes: Increase torpedo capacity : Each upgrade adds +10 to base capacity

5. Cargo Holds (Exponential cost: base × 1.4^level) : Increase cargo capacity : More profit per trading run : Essential for traders

🚀 Ship Sales

Nebula Ship Sales / Prize Vessels

Buy new ships. Trade-in your current ship toward the purchase.

Ship Catalog:

• 15 Federation ships: Trading, War, Balanced classes
• 15 Pirate ships: Smuggling, Raider, Corsair classes
• 5 tiers per class: Level 2 through Level 6 ships

Ship Roles:

Pricing:

• Tier 1 (Level 2): 5,000 credits
• Tier 2 (Level 3): 15,000 credits
• Tier 3 (Level 4): 40,000 credits
• Tier 4 (Level 5): 100,000 credits
• Tier 5 (Level 6): 250,000 credits

Purchase Process:

1. Browse ships by role (grouped display)
2. View stats (shields, cargo, fighters, torpedoes)
3. See stock availability
4. Confirm purchase (trade-in old ship)

📋 Missions

Contract Office / The Bounty Board

Accept and manage missions.

Features:

• View Available Missions: All offered missions
• View Active Mission: Your current mission (1 max)
• Accept: Take on a mission
• Abandon: Drop your active mission (no penalty)

Mission Types:

• Trading: Deliver cargo
• Combat: Destroy enemies
• Exploration: Scout sectors
• Diplomacy: Deliver messages

See the Missions Guide for full details.

👥 Recruitment

Vanguard Colonial Recruitment / Crimson Crew Recruitment

Hire personnel for your ship.

Personnel Types:

1. Fighters: 500 credits each : Combat craft for defense and offense : Used in combat encounters : Restocked after battles

2. Workers: 300 credits each : Crew for ship operations (future) : Mining, salvage, production : Colony support

Purchase:

• Select quantity
• Confirm purchase
• Personnel added to ship immediately

📦 Tactical Supply

CoreStar Tactical Supply / Black Market Supply

Purchase deployable equipment.

Equipment Types:

1. Navigation Beacons: 2,500 credits each : Mark sectors for navigation : Share locations with allies (future) : Territory control markers

2. Proximity Mines: 5,000 credits each : Defensive weapons : Deploy in sectors to damage enemies (future) : Area denial

Purchase:

• Select item and quantity
• Confirm purchase
• Equipment added to ship inventory
• Deploy from Nav or Combat screen (future)

Using Starports

First Visit

1. Nav screen: Tap sector with starport
2. Warp to that sector
3. Starport icon appears in sector view
4. Tap Starport to open directory

Directory Screen

• Lists all 6 “places”
• Tap any place to open its modal
• Each place shows icon, name, description
• Modal opens full-screen for that service

Service Flow

1. Open place modal
2. Use service (deposit, upgrade, purchase, etc.)
3. Confirm action
4. See result and updated stats
5. Close modal to return to directory

Starport Strategy

Banking

• Deposit excess credits for safety
• Keep working capital on ship for trades
• Withdraw for large purchases

Upgrades

• Early game: Cargo holds (trading profit)
• Mid game: Warp drive (efficiency)
• Late game: Weapons (combat capability)

Ship Purchases

• Upgrade every 2-3 tiers (don’t overextend)
• Match ship to playstyle (trading vs combat)
• Save credits before upgrading

Missions

• Accept missions aligned with your activities
• Trading missions fit trading routes
• Combat missions require capable ship

Recruitment & Supply

• Keep fighters stocked for combat
• Workers useful for future features
• Beacons for marking territory
• Mines for defensive control

Tips

• Visit starports regularly for maintenance
• Repair cheaper here than at standard ports
• Banking protects against future piracy/loss
• Ship upgrades compound over time
• Faction doesn’t matter: services are identical
• Plan upgrades around your playstyle
• Don’t drain all credits: keep reserves