The capital city of the Celestine Ascendancy presents a neon face to the rest of the galaxy. Litharge. Commercialized, hectic, and loud. Corporate and overcrowded, it is a vivid example of urban density, its immense size capable of swallowing a small country with room to spare.
A place of such dramatic excess was bound to attract an opposing extreme at some point. Enter the Congregation of T’rath, a group of religious zealots operating out of Litharge. Though initially they presented a peaceful face to the city, their message has since shifted to be uncompromising and violent, with a severe and vocal hatred of the Internal Neural Replicator life extension technology put into widespread circulation by the Atarsid race.
In the later days of Deca, in the year 941 A.E., an explosion occurred in Scrapston, a borough of Litharge. The explosion followed an altercation of unknown provenance between citizens Argo T’rath, Clover Moonchild, and a nameless zoo animal.
Led by Ata Aurazi (the newly appointed Guardian Prime), Ren, Urid Lockwood, Grek Lockwood, Kass, and others, an investigation was launched into the source of this explosion. To respond to what appeared to be a terrorist threat, Immortal security guards were reassigned to Scrapston, only for a second explosion to occur moments later – this time at the Celestine Crossings. The planetary transit authority summarily grounded all planet-based shuttle services to the station, and halted the elevator while order was restored by the Immortals. After approximately a day, transport services were re-opened.
In the aftermath, it appears that the cloning facilities assigned to Glisal II by the Hon-En-Tur Exaltation were destroyed by a terrorist threat calling themselves the Congregation of T’rath. Atarsid representatives have assured the Celestine government that INR information is being rerouted to Omni Station. When they feel the threat has been dealt with, they will work to restore the facilities.
Representatives of the Jin have disavowed the so-called leader of these zealots, Shoko T’rath, and his message of hate. Commander Commander Amasna Hook, of the Blood Ark, has stated unequivocally that: “T’rath is a peaceful God, and his motives are not to hasten death, but to welcome it when it eventually comes. Most Jin who can afford one will have an INR installed at birth.”
Shoko T’rath, Argo T’rath, Leilana T’rath, and Frixxi T’rath were removed from the faction by the Guardian Prime for reasons of terrorism, but the popularity of their message continues to grow, with new members of the Congregation found on every street corner. It is a time of tension and uncertainty, with identity-hiding masks and the sheer size of the city making it difficult to pinpoint the leaders of the cult.
The Celestine Ascendancy remains in a state of high alert.
This month, Starmourn invites you to sharpen your pencils and put your thinking caps on, because there’s a whole bunch of new things for you to cram into your brains. Get ready to read about new multiclassing options and tradeskills, along with a sneak peak about what’s coming later in the month!
Multiclassing
Starmourn has a lot of stuff to do, but until now, you had to stick to a single class to experience our content. Not anymore! (Cue training montage music.) With the introduction of Multiclassing, the options for your fun quadrupel. Though you can’t be multiple classes at the same time, you can switch between the ones you know in the class switching rooms on the appropriate Battlemaster’s homeworld.
(Unless you’re a Nanoseer, and want to be a Fury, or vice versa. Sorry, kith users – Star and Void don’t mix!)
We have plans to integrate more options for PVP in the near future, so get a couple classes under your belt to experience the full potential of the game.
Mixology
Want to make a pumpkin spice latte? Now you can! Actually, you can’t, because there are no pumpkins in space, but you could probably invent the Starmourn equivalent with the brand new Mixology tradeskill, which is all about crafting drinks. Tea, karaffee, seltzer, and slushies are all waiting for you, along with more complex beverages like wine and spirits.
We’ve opened distilleries and breweries throughout the game, allowing players to purchase the equipment they’ll need to properly utilize the Mixology tradeskill. Lab tables, stills, and workbenches will let you brew your drinks, and there are plenty of empty casks, canteens, wineglasses, carafes, flasks, and mugs available to let you serve your concoctions to friends.
Furnishing
The other new tradeskill we’ve introduced is Furnishing! Interior decorators, put your party hats on. The Furnishing tradeskill will allow you to craft furniture to your heart’s content, from beds and tables to more exotic things like glow globes and rugs that really tie the room together.
Most of the items you make will have proplike functionality, too! Flip tables, take cover behind your own fancy captain’s chair, and cuddle up on your feather-stuffed mattress.
By the way – if you want to learn BOTH of these tradeskills – you can! Just like multiclassing, we’re now allowing you to learn more than one tradeskill (up to a total of two).
Lessons
We don’t normally offer lessons on our website, but this month, in honor of our back to school theme, we’re allowing players to stock up on lesson packages to start the school year off right. See you at graduation?
What’s Next?
The month is just beginning. Keep playing. We’ll have more features and things to learn for you to explore later in the month…if you feel like being sent to the principal’s office, that is. But hey, every learning institution needs a bad crowd, right?
Stay smart, spacers!
In the depths of space, unauthorized refineries and autofactories have been sighted, all of them belonging to rogue organizations or independent space pirates.
Courageous space adventurers can now engage with these pirate installations and lay waste to their manufacturing and harvesting efforts and be generously rewarded for their efforts.
Attacking one of these locations will immediately trigger a response from the besieged platform and you will find yourself pitted against powerful defensive systems. Be sure that you’re well prepared, well equipped and bring some friends along!
Once you manage to defeat the defenders, you may continue your efforts to outright destroy the pirate refinery/factory or, if you’re feeling even more adventurous, you may dock at the station and attempt to send the installation into overdrive by hacking into it. A successful hack will trigger an overload sequence that will have the same end result, that of destroying the installation, but the rewards will be greater!
Why would you not always opt to do this? Well, we ‘forgot’ to mention that whenever a pirate installation is under attack, the whole area becomes OPEN PK! So, time is of the essence unless you want to be pitted against other would-be space looters that would like a share of the prize.
Come find out more about this new mechanic and how these places get discovered on our forums and come play Starmourn to experience it for yourself!
The whole world is a stage… YOUR STAGE!
You step up on the stage and the lights dim, a spotlight in the ceiling casting a cone of light on your frame. The audience quiets down.
You focus for a few moments, gathering your wits and getting in the zone, relaxing your muscles as the song is about to begin.
Finding a rhythm, you bounce your head and tap your toes upon the floor before launching into a percussive beat. Your kithdrums come to life as your hands dance across the bright kinetic sensors, lighting up in an array of colors bright and dark, each corresponding with a synaesthetic play of sound. Faster and faster the beat goes, unfolding in complexity.
Catchy and electrifying, the drums flash beneath your hands with each jolt of kith sent beneath the sensors, humming and chanting out a ricochet of sound. As the vibrations ignite the body of the drums, you build the performance to a head-banging crescendo.
Lifting your hands away from the sensors, you let the beat you’ve built play out to its final conclusion. The complex play of light and sound rocket within your drums, echoing the prior tempo until each beat starts to unwind. With a final thrum, the kithdrums fall still, and the final flash of light dies out…
Find your musical calling
The above is an excerpt of how performing music in Starmourn goes. Have you ever dreamed of becoming a nano-rock star? Do you aspire to be the next streampop icon? Or do you just like to jam to dreamfunk beats? Whatever your desire, you can now learn to play an instrument or sing with your voice and perform in front of audiences in the world.
Anyone can do this, there is no upfront cost or level restriction, the only thing that is required of you is your dedication. You will first choose an instrument and, once this very important decision is made, you can travel to venues around the world and start performing for people. The more you do this, the better you get at it and the better the reaction from the audience (and the tips you gain in return).
Create the next big band
But performing for tips is merely the tip of the iceberg!
Once you are somewhat skilled in music, you may start your own band or join an existing one. Team up with other players (or be a solo act!) and go big! You gain the ability to plan concerts and have people from all over the Sector come and see you play.
Concerts allow you to make your own custom performance. Dazzle your audience with colored emotes, keep them engaged and carve your name into the Starmourn halls of fame! The more people show up, the more band popularity you gain. The higher your popularity, the higher your earnings!
Your songs will echo unto eternity!
Lights, void energy, words and music all blend into one as you will compete with Starmourn’s already established panoply of famous bands! Do well enough in the long run and your songs might actually make it into the LUCENT playlists that anyone can listen to at any time via their Soundwavez™ devices!
The stage is waiting for you… will you take up the microphone and entertain us?
Planetary exploration has been released, the latest feature in our big Economy Update. We are excited to tell you all about one of our newest and most wide-ranging updates, and give you a few reasons to log in and check it out today!
With planetary exploration, you will roam the most remote corners of the galaxy, discovering the location of resources, which you can pick up yourself in your spaceship, or flag a friend to pick up for you. You’ll also see some of the strangest aliens the galaxy has to offer, and either study them from afar – or defeat them if you can, and collect the unique loot they drop!
Triangulating Resources
If you aren’t a fan of searching for asteroids and scooping gas in space, you can search for those resources on foot, instead – or, use the planet-side exploration to supplement your existing resource collection business. In each wilderness zone you explore, there are three control points. With a triangulation device (available for purchase in every faction city), you will be able to locate and flag the richest commodity nodes available in the area.
Triangulating takes a bit of time – you should beware of aggressive wild animals that might be in the area during the channeling process.
Collecting Resources
Once the triangulation process is complete, the resources are yours to claim – or to designate to a friend for collection. But how do you do that, exactly? Resources are collected from space, just like an asteroid or a gas cloud. That means you’ll need your ship nearby as you’re exploring, or have a friend waiting in orbit. Make sure you (or your friend) has scoops and a tether in their inventory so that it will be possible to collect the commodities from the planet’s surface with the SHIP PICKUP command.
From there, it is simply a matter of hauling your newly collected commodities to a refinery, where they can be made into a variety of different resources for manufacturing.
Advanced Xenozoology
The wilderness zones which you can find on nearly every planet are not only thriving with resources, they’re also home to alien fauna which you will not be able to find anywhere else. The loot they drop is also unique – and specifically themed to exploration! If you’re a xenozoology buff, you’ve gotta scan em all.
Remember to bring a friend to help you. These animals tend to be more aggressive than ones you might find elsewhere. Maybe take your patented RoamTek trophymaker with you, too – how else will you turn a particularly stubborn target into a stunning decoration for your ship’s trophy room?
Come Play With Us!
And that about sums up Planetary Exploration. We can’t wait for you to discover what’s new in the worlds of Starmourn. So log in, triangulate your resources, collect a special exploration-themed lootset, or just flesh out your xenozoology database. It’s really up to you and how you choose to play! See you in the wilds!
Our biggest news of the day is that Starmourn’s very first auction is open! Auctions offer special artifacts, items, and prizes that can usually not be obtained in any other way. There are two types of auction prizes available:
- Credit auctions. We will only accept credit bids for these powerful new artifacts, fantastic customizable prizes, and other unique, never-before-seen offerings.
- Mark auctions. Feel free to empty your bank accounts on these lots, which are only available for those willing to spend Covenant Marks! They include existing artifacts.
You can see the available auctions by using the AUCTIONS command. Check out the details of a specific auction by using AUCTION INFO . You can bid on an auction from anywhere in the world using the BID command. For a more in-depth explanation of the system, please refer to HELP AUCTION.
Credit Auction Lots:
- Sa’hak-ren Flesh Ship – A fantastic vessel obtained by the Breakers at great cost, this alien ship is of a type rarely seen by those not of the Sa’hak-ren race. A spacegoing vessel controlled by a fully organic ship-brain interface, the ‘Heartbeat’ is an utterly unique home. Though some elements of her design may take getting used to, captains will appreciate her exotic beauty, superb handling, and superior firepower. From the Rhelomar Shipyards.
- A Custom Ship NPC – You will work with the admin team to create a custom NPC that will reside on your ship. This should be limited to either a crew member, butler, servant or something similar. No important, existing, fantastic, unrealistic characters.
- A Custom Pet – You will work with the admin team to create a custom pet for you, complete with reactions. This has to be a lore-appropriate pet. No sentient creatures (no, you can’t have a W’hoorn kitty pet), no fantastic/magical beings.
- World Housing – Ever wanted to own a fancy home somewhere? An office building? This is your chance. You will work with the admin team to create a private residence/office for yourself or your dynasty (max 10 rooms) on a planet of your choice.
- World Shop – Ever wanted to own your own restaurant? Cafe? Jewelry Shop? Clothes outlet? Now’s your chance. You will get a one-room shop anywhere in the world to make your business thrive.
- Portable Heartstart Device – Allows you to use OPERATE HEARTSTART just like an Engineer with the proper skill can
- Signal Jammer – Blocks all forms of spying in your current location (such as Scoundrel bugs, Nanoseer envelop/relay)
- The Animus Experiment – This bladelike weapon was developed by a top-secret Y’saari research institution on a moon that has been labeled a black site by navigational charts. It possesses unusual kith-based properties and forms a sympathetic bond to its “host” upon joining. When it senses the destruction of its host’s body, it generates a massive amount of power, capable of delivering a mortal blow to nearly anything in the sector. Researchers suspect the experimental weapon was created using technology from a now extinct Elder race.
- Super Stimpack – The Super Stimpack is usable once every 6 hours and will instantly cure all your afflictions, subsystems and health.
- RoamTek Suspension Field – Another traveler’s companion from RoamTek, the Suspension Field will make sure you don’t drop any of your junk in the case of your untimely death.
- Miniature Wormhole – Experimental technology has been installed at Omni Station. The winner of this auction will be allowed to select up to 3 wormhole destinations on non-factional capitals or Cosmpiercers where they can instantly travel to from Omni Station (on foot).
- Refilling Liquid Container – Breakthrough advancements in fluid sciences and nanotechnology allow this container to never run out of the liquid of your choice, as it is synthesized on the go.
Marks Auction Lots:
- Y’Saari Voidgate Permit
- Custom fish – You will work with the admin team to create a custom fish for your fishtank. This fish will behave like other fish, and will need food like every other fish in the game! Fishtank and fish food included.
- Any level 3 stat boost
- Hourly Stat Reset
- 25 paristeel crates
- Ship Beacon Jammer
- Ship Return level 1
We hope you enjoy the exciting, competitive nature of bidding on these coveted prizes, as well as the chance to (hopefully) get your hands on a high-value item for less! Have fun, space travelers, and good luck!
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