Corebound
The first playable battle
The battle prototype is playable at /play/. You set up your fleet on the grid, pick a doctrine and two abilities, choose one of five test opponents and watch the battle – at normal speed, two or four times faster, or straight to the result.
What you can do
- Place ships by picking a class and tapping a slot. Your 12 command points decide how many fit.
- Pick a doctrine: Balanced, Focus fire, Intercept or Advance, plus a retreat threshold.
- Trigger abilities live: EMP on an enemy row, Emergency jump for badly damaged ships, or a Focus order on one target. The battle waits while you choose.
- Watch the replay – it plays out exactly as before.
What changed on the way
Our first numbers made fighters far too strong. A swarm of cheap ships that dodge a third of all shots won nearly every battle. Fighters now fire half as often, cruisers hit harder, and frigates give their neighbours real shields. Ships also stopped wasting shots on targets that are about to explode.
What it means for strategy
We let five test formations fight each other a thousand times in each role. None of them wins everything; each one has a formation that beats it nearly every time. The new chapter Strategies in the guide has the full table.
One thing to keep in mind: a wall of frigates can hold until the clock runs out, and then the defender wins. Bring cruisers or an EMP.
Next
The galaxy: a hex map, your flagship, sectors to take and resources to collect.