Frequently Asked Questions.

The game is written to be balanced, no secret passages to give advantage to any player.

If a player find a bug, it have to be reported immediately. Tell us in details so we can reproduce it. After we confirm it, you might be rewarded with a coupon.

But if a player is caught exploring a unknown bug, and don't report it, he/she will be reprehended by:

first occurrence: 48 hours account economy subtracted
second occurrence: 2 days suspension
third occurrence: the account will be terminated

No. Only one account per game server is allowed.
 
If you share the same computer or IP address with someone, you cannot be at the same places (astros, debris piles, etc.).
 
You cannot attack together, nor occupy each others bases. In essence, you cannot create multiple accounts for credit sharing.
 
Those that play at the same computer (brothers, sisters, couples) are most welcome to play with us but need to follow the above rules. We do not force you to have premium account.

All that is required to play Outer-core is a web browser with javascript and cookies enabled and an internet connection.

Outer-core is an MMOG (Massive Multiplayer Online Game), which you can play in your web browser for free.

This is a strategy space game, where you can build bases, improve it structures, build fleets, research new technologies, fight battles, make alliances, and a lot more.

You start with a skeleton fleet (colony ship, corvette and scouts), use it to build your first base in an empty astro.

Click on Fleets menu link

You will find one fleet, click on it. It have a Colony Ship, that is the ship you need to create new bases.

The scouts, you use to reach other regions and find a good empty astro.

On the fleet page, you will find the Move option. Change the coordinate to the desired astro address, and send your fleet there. Upon land, click Colonize option.

The bases defenses when damaged by an attack, will repair automatically every 5 minutes at the rate of 0.08%
 
That rate can be increased by researching Automated Repair, each level will add 0.01% per tick.
 
So if you have Automated Repair level 5, your repair rate per tick is 0.13%

You need to develop Subspace Communications, each level will grant one base to be linked to another.
 
The requirements to do the link is that each linking base need Research Labs level 18 minimum. The linked base (main lab base) need Research Labs level 24.
 
You can link several bases into one, or a base to another one having several sets of 2 or 3 bases.
 
Your linked bases active commanders will benefit the main lab by the sum of its levels elevated by 0.8.
Example: 5 bases with science secretary 5 levels each, the sum is 25.
25^0.8 = 13
You will get extra 13% discount to all researches, plus the main base science secretary and science minister if any.

Click on your starbase overview page, than the Move tab link

There you will find the coord field to its destination, also it will show this lines:

You have to wait or cancel all ongoing construction, production and research.
The starbase will be unusable (no construction, production or research) while moving.
Your starbase moves at speed 0.01 lightyears * aerospike tech level.
You cannot recall it after launched!
You cannot move it to another galaxy without a stargate.
Your starbases can only use your own stargates.

A quick way to order ships for production or manage production queues better is to use one of the Wildcards.
m - minute
h - hour
d - day
k - thousand
kk or M - million
and so on
 
Examples

30m = 30 minutes - to order selected units for a 30 minutes production cycle
(this will determine number of units closest to keep production queue busy for the period.)
 
2h = 2 hour - to order selected units for a 2 hour production cycle
(this will determine number of units closest to keep production queue busy for the period.)
 
1d = 1 day - to order selected units for a 1 day production cycle
(this will determine number of units closest to keep production queue busy for the period.)
 
3k = 3 thousand - to order 3,000 of selected units.
 
2kk (or 2M) = 2 million - to order 2,000,000 of selected units.
 

Spacegates increases your fleet speed by 100% per level

If you have spacegate level 2, your corvettes will depart 200% faster from that base

If you have a base and a starbase at the same astro, building spacegates on both astros will not stack. Each spacegate will be selectable in the Fleet Move page, where you can set separated fee for both spacegates, the smaller could cost less, and the biggest costing more to be used by non allied players.

On each base where you have a spacegate, click on the Base Overview page, then on the Options tab

There you can set if the spacegate will be public (available to other players), how much to charge for it in percentage, and the threshold (fleets under X size will not pay). You can also set who you dont want to use it.

There are astros that give you more economy or construction/production.

Crystallines are the best to economy; moon give 3 econ to your cristal processor structure, and planet give 4!

Metallic in the other hand give you more metal, so it make your base production and construction way faster. Moon give 4 metal and planet 5 metal. A metallic planet can easily reach production 600.

Check the Help about Terrains page to more details.

Starbases (SB) are similar to bases but in orbit. You can build it the same way as bases, thru a Colony Ship.
Move it into an astro of your desire, and click the Build link in the Fleet Overview page.

You can have 1 starbase per base. The cost of your first starbase is 5,000$, to the next one it will increase by 50%, and so one to the 3rd, 4th, etc.

Over the starbases you cannot build these type of structures:

Urban Structures
Gas Plants
Hidro Plants
Metal Refineries
Crystal Mines
Command Centers
Terraform
Arcology
Biosphere Modification
Tele-Transport Pod
Capital

What starbases can build:

Automated Factories
Solar Plants
Fusion Plants
Antimatter Plants
Solar Satellite
Economic Centers
Nanite Factories
Orbital Base
Orbital Shipyards
Research Labs
Robotic Factories
Shipyards
Spaceports
Spacegate
Starbase

What starbases are good for:

Can be built over asteroid belts, bases cannot
Can be built on astros where there is already a base or other starbases
It generates 10~25 debris every full hour [beta universe only]
It generates debris at asteroid belts hourly by 25 per SB level
Good for producing ships near your enemies region or galaxy; restock FTs, HBs
Good for increasing your economy
Good for increasing your scanners capabilities
Good for increasing your research
Good for reinforcing your defenses
Can be moved

It gives you a estimative, what you will have after it is completed.

It is necessary to the system enable the queue links to the other structures that require the benefits of the previous one, like more power or population

If you have a few items on queue, and you add a Metal Refinery that increase your construction points, it may show a faster time than before to the previous queue items, it will be improved later

You need to build structures that generate Economy like Spaceports, Economy Centers and Capital.

Other structures also gives you economy; Urban Structures, Orbital Base, Shipyards, Orbital Shipyards, Orbital Base, Metal Refineries, Robotic Factories, Nanite Factories, Android Factories and Biosphere Modification.

One important point about Spaceports. The economy it brings is accumulative. Level 1 gives you 1 econ, level 2 more 2 econ, level 3 will result in 6 econ in total and so on.

Check this table:

Free accounts spaceports are limited to the amount of bases the player have. So if you have 5 bases, you cannot build spaceports level 6.
Premium accounts have no limits to build it, but the accumulative economy holds when the structure level reaches the player amount of bases.
if you have 8 bases, all additional spaceport levels higher than 8 will give the same econ as level 8: 36$, when you build another base, the bonus will increase accordingly.

Coupons are a dynamic mobile form of Premium Time.
You can purchase coupons, or get one for 2 days when your account reach level 15 and 30.
The advantage of coupons are that you can activate it when you see fit, or you can give it to other players.
A new feature has been added to coupons, it can now be used to double your income every hour, for 1 day for coupons of 2 days, 3 days for coupons of 5 days.
We also plan to implement some forms of win coupons, as in special missions, random events, loots, etc.

Every new player starts off with an premium account lasting 5 days (or 2 days to speed universe).
After those initial days, the account turns into a free account unless the owner of the account (or anyone else) upgrade it to Premium.

After your premium account expires your account becomes a free account, limited in some features.  Check the Premium page for the limitations.

You'll notice there are several alliances here.
You can either create your own or join one of the existing alliances that are already established.
You'll learn in time that an alliance can offer you brotherhood, guidance and safety. The only way to join an alliance is to request to join one (you will not receive an invitation).
To request to join an existing alliance, or create your own alliance, simply go to the Alliance link and select one in the list or create a new one where you will be the Alliance Master. You need to be 3 days account to create one.

An Alliance is a group of players, with common objectives, organized to better play the game.
They can protect each other, teach how to play, move as one to attack or defend against other players and alliances.

Deep Space Probe is a special ship with highly advanced scanners

It can detect the astros, bases and fleets from a region, and save it in the Probe DB

The data will be available for 30 days for premium accts or 10 days for free accts

You can also access your alliance probe data thru the same search form

This data will be used to assemble a View of the probed astros, with the intel (a picture) of the probe

Your probed regions will be highlighted at the galaxy map

You can search the Probe DB thru the Probe DB tab at any Astro

To repair a damaged ship, your fleet needs to be stationary; in orbit around an astro with repair ships or a friendly base (allied or your own).
Each repair tick (every 5 minutes) will fix your ships a bit (200$*[repair tech level] credits for the base, 10$*[repair tech level] credits for each repair ship).
A simple example, you have a Dreadnought damaged 50% in orbit one of your bases, where you have 10 repair ships and your repair tech is level 1.
Each damage point costs half the original ship price to be repaired
Then 50% damaged costs 10000/2*50%=2500$ to be fixed
Every 5 minutes, your repair capacity will be (200*1) + 10*(10*1)=300 credits
It will take 8.3 (9 actual) ticks to repair the Dread
You can check each fleets repair capacity in the Fleet Overview page, that page also shows each damaged ship, the cost to repair and how many ticks.

Any number, the limits here are how many astros you can have fleet on orbit.

The limit is your computer tech level, and your number of bases * 2.
Exemple:

10 bases *2 + tech 15 = 35.

Occupations don't count, so if you have 10 occupations, your limit will extend by 10.

The defense ship is a very useful addition to any fleet.
It extends its shields to protect smaller ships, such as fighters, bombers, and heavy bombers.
When you are attacking, you do not need to enter a number into the defense ship field; it will act automatically, even if the units are in another fleet in orbit of the same astro.
Example:

• You have 2 fleets on an astro, 1 of which has 10 defense ships.

• An enemy player lands and attacks your second fleet, which is composed by 200 fighters.
• The shield distribution will be:
• total of defense ships * it shields / total of small ships * hangar space needed
• 10 * 40 / 200 * 1
• 400 / 200 = 2
• However, there is a top limit, defense ships cannot extend the shields to cover more than 2 shield per ship.
• because of this, your Fighters would fight as 4/4 (2) [ attack/defense (shield) ].
• The Defense Ship shielding will be higher based on your Shielding tech.

The Gateships are equivalent to Space Gates level 1, but mobile.
 
If you have a gate ship over one astro, any of your fleets or fleets from your alliance can benefits the speed boost (+100% speed).
It is not an accumulative bonus, several gateships wont make it faster.
 

While a fleet is heading to a coordinate, you can recall it any time.
The fleet will turn back to the original coordinate. Then, you can recall again turning back to the first destination! And so on, and on...

Yes, it is called Waypoints.
In the Move Fleet page, you can inform more than one coordinat, or select more than one option in the Coords List with your bases, fleets, bookmarks and occupations.
After reaching the first destination, your fleet will wait the auto-launch that happen every 5 minutes server time (0m, 5m, 10m, ...)
You can use it to take the advantage of a base with Jump Gate, or more than one base, to finally reach your intended destination.

Alliance level = (sum(fleet) + avg(tech^1.2) + 100*(sum(econ)) ^ 0.225

Alliance economy = Sum of members economy

Alliance tech = Sum of members tech

Alliance fleet = Sum of members fleet

Player Level = (fleet + tech + economy*100 + defense/10) ^ 0.225
Player Defense = Total credits expended on bases defenses
Player Tech = Total of credits expended on research
Player Economy = Total of bases economies
Fleet = Total of credits spent on the current ships of the player

While a BORC base is occupied, its stability reduces 2% per day, when it reach 0%, the base is disbanded. A BORC base that is not occupied but have stability under 100%, will recover 1% per day.

The iCORE alliance are the automated players (artificial intelligence)
BORG is the most advanced player, have really high tech and very strong bases
BORC and the others are the cannon fodder, BORC inherits deactivated users bases, so it is a good thing for hinting and hitting its bases
Also, there is a protection system reagarding BORC bases, if your level is above 20, you cannot occupy BORC bases that has Economy under the double of your level value. So if your level is 30, BORC bases economy under 60 are safe from you

there are 3 possibilities:

- when a fleet is destroyed (the amount resulted is bases on the owner armour tech level *2 in percentage)
- when a fleet is disbanded (generates 50% the fleet size in debris)
- asteroid belts release 10 to 25 debri per hour until the debris belt depletes (except argos server)
-- also, if the asteroid belt has a Starbase, the debris released is increased by 25 debris per SB level.

Note the difference between Debris and Debris belt. The first one is available to be recycled, the other one need a SB.

Debris are a very useful resource. They can be recycled and transformed into credits.

To recycle you need to build the Recycler Ship or Heavy Recycler Ship.

Those ships can recycle 10 and 15 debri hourly (on the half-hour) respectively.

The Recycler ship engines use aerospike technology, so it can't travel to other galaxies without a Space Gate.

The Heavy unit use hyperdrive engine, so it can reach other galaxies by itself.