For this week’s update, I thought it would be nice to talk a bit about the world that Lamplight Station takes place in. We’re aiming to have the game firmly rooted in an interesting narrative, so filling out the details and rules of the universe are an important step.
The Universe
Lamplight Station takes place in our universe, in the far future. Mankind has long since left earth and populated large portions of the milky way galaxy. Earth itself, our cradle of civilization, is of little importance to the vast majority of humanity, save for historians.
Economy
Like the age of earth exploration, trade and industry are huge drivers. Corporations and trade conglomerates are powerful entities. While governments exist and exert high levels of control across limited areas of colonized space, the day to day realities of much of humanity are affected far more by the machinations of corporate entities than that of governments. Companies own and operate ships, cities, space stations and even whole planets where hundreds of thousands, or millions of people live out their lives.
Starting life as a terraforming company, Typhon Geometrics is now a massive industrial conglomerate employing millions. At this size, it is merely an average sized corporation in the pan-galactic trade zone.
Some corps are industrial, much like the mining towns of the old American west, others area akin to massive housing developments which provide desired location and amenities in exchange for what amounts to a rental, or work agreement.
Travel
Travel at above light speed is apparently not something that humanity has unlocked the secrets of. Trips can take month, or years. Cryosleep, VR immersion, and cloning are all strategies employed to make these trips bearable, or even possible.
Because of the effects of relativity, travel at these speeds has consequences: you may return after a years long journey to find your friends and family have aged years more than you. To your perspective you’ve traveled into the future. For this reason, it is not uncommon for family and friends to plan travels together, either on the same vessel or separately, to keep their time frames in sync.