Design Gaps
This page tracks playstyles that currently have no dedicated mechanical support in the game's designed systems.
These are not urgent design problems. They are known gaps — archetypes players will naturally want to pursue that the current system designs do not yet serve. Recording them here ensures they are not forgotten when future systems are being planned.
Explorer
The explorer archetype depends on a survey and mapping system that does not yet exist.
An explorer can currently stake early claims on stellar objects, but the distinctive advantages of the playstyle — revealing unknown system properties, trading survey data, leveraging information asymmetry — have no mechanical backing.
Systems needed: - Survey mechanics (what a fleet must do to reveal a system or stellar object's properties) - Map discovery model (what information is hidden at game start, and how it is revealed) - Information trading (whether and how survey data can be sold or shared)
See Explorer.
Diplomat / Power Broker
The diplomat archetype depends on a relationship and alliance system that does not yet exist.
A diplomat can currently make informal arrangements with other players through direct communication, but there is no game mechanic that makes agreements binding, tracks obligations, or rewards sustained cooperation.
Systems needed: - Formal agreement types (non-aggression pacts, trade agreements, mutual defence treaties) - Relationship and reputation tracking - Consequences for breaking agreements
Pirate / Raider
The pirate archetype has partial support — gateway blockading is described in Inter-Region Movement, and transit events are an open question in Transit Events — but dedicated raiding and interdiction mechanics are not yet designed.
Systems needed: - Fleet interdiction rules (intercepting a fleet in transit) - Raiding mechanics (attacking a holding to extract resources or damage infrastructure without occupation) - Diplomatic consequences for piracy
See Pirate / Raider.
Defender / Warlord
The defender archetype has partial support through fleet anchoring and gateway control, but dedicated fortification mechanics and contracted defense are not yet designed.
Systems needed: - Fortification infrastructure (buildings or installations that modify defensive strength) - Contracted defense mechanics (formal or informal agreements to garrison or protect another player's assets)
See Defender / Warlord.
Headhunter
The headhunter archetype depends on a contract system and reputation mechanic that do not yet exist.
A headhunter can currently operate as a social construct — making arrangements through direct player communication — but the role lacks game-enforced identity without formal mechanics.
Systems needed: - Contract board (formal posting, acceptance, and resolution of player-to-player contracts) - Fulfillment verification (game-recorded confirmation that a contract was completed) - Reputation system (visible fulfillment history that builds trust with potential contractors) - Escrow or payment mechanics (ensuring the contractor is paid on verified completion)
See Headhunter.
Information and Fog of War
Several archetypes — Explorer, Headhunter, Pirate, Diplomat — depend on an information asymmetry model that does not yet exist.
Currently, there is no fog of war system. Fleet movements and system states are visible without restriction. For information to be valuable as a resource (something an explorer can sell, a pirate can buy, a diplomat can use as leverage), fleet movements in unprobed systems must be hidden by default.
Systems needed: - Fog of war model (what is visible by default vs. what requires active intelligence gathering) - Probe mechanics (how fleet intelligence is gathered, including probe types and tiers) - Information as a tradeable resource (how intelligence can be packaged, sold, or shared between players) - Intelligence decay (how quickly information becomes stale and loses value)
This is a foundational design commitment that affects multiple archetypes and the feel of the game at the strategic level.