Greetings from the void, Captains!

As we ramp up for the launch of Star Traders: Frontiers, we are hard at work on meshing and improving the game’s narrative core and underlying sandbox. This is an area where we’ve received a lot of questions and we are excited to share our approach to weaving together a dynamic sandbox environment with multiple, progressing storylines.

Let’s try to get down to brass tacks and avoid the marketing jibber jabber.

A Mighty Sandbox

Star Traders: Frontiers is first and foremost an open world sandbox game full of dynamic actors and forces. In this sandbox, you have extensive freedom to run your ship and crew any way you want -- to be a spy, smuggler, pirate, loyal military officer, faction zealot or infamous criminal. You can explore, profit, terrorize, or be the champion of any faction you choose to craft your own destiny. As you navigate the world, your actions tie into a set of layered simulations -- political, economic, rumored events and personal goals. The major factions within the world vie on political and economic level and your allies and enemies are actors within those same simulations. These individual allies and enemies will work toward the larger faction goals but also strive to achieve their own personal goals.

A vignette storyline, crafted by a KickStarter backer - blurred to avoid spoilers

These actors need your help, just as you need the crucial services they offer, so you’ll find your Captain drawn into the larger dynamic context over and over again through these contacts. Each layer of the simulation will affect the others as it plays out -- economic pressures can cause conflicts, and conflicts can kill or empower contacts, and contacts can cause conflicts, economic shortages or pay fleets of privateers to harass their enemies. We’ve worked hard to ensure that the sandbox alone is a lively, ever-changing and fun galaxy in which to explore, plunder and battle.

A larger storyline wrapped around the start of an era - blurred to avoid spoilers

Narrative Eras

Our second goal was to infuse Frontiers with storylines that share the rich lore of the universe and to highlight how the Star Trader’s world, society, laws and technology are all going through times of radical change. These storylines will also include the Templar Knights, Zendu Arbiters and familiar faces from other games, like Templar Battleforce. The storylines will range from self-contained vignettes about human struggles to larger arcs involving quadrant-wide conflicts, shifts and catastrophes.

When we launch Frontiers into early access, we will have a small slice of the total story design ready and available in the game -- basically the first “era” of the storyline which will set up the other major arcs. Much more will be incoming as we build out toward the game’s full launch. Completing Early Access means finalizing the game’s storylines, vignettes (mid-length arcs with multiple choices and outcomes) and eras (major happenings with lots of angles and ways to get involved.) We will have the first 2 of 10 eras available when the game launches, and the first 5 vignettes in the game. Relying on the game’s underlying sandbox, all storylines are added using proc gen and are optional. They will resolve with or without your input once they start in the game based on the current state of the simulations.

One defining aspect is that even if you are following the storylines, you have to play the sandbox. You have to find ways to make money, survive, travel, and keep your head above water politically. You will need more allies than you gain through the storylines and as you play, the line between storyline and sandbox will continue to blur as the storyline contacts play in the simulation and have long-term goals as well.

Thanks to everyone sharing questions, comments and their excitement about Frontiers upcoming launch! We're going to be very active and very busy during the EA phase, just as we have been through our multi-month alpha. We can't wait to open the galaxy up to all of you!

In the meantime, boot up Templar Battleforce to help get yourself immersed in the story. Some of our alpha captain's sailed through the Cirm Sector yesterday in Frontiers.

http://store.steampowered.com/app/370020/Templar_Battleforce/

Cory and Andrew Trese
Trese Brothers Games