Centauri Saga

1. Centauri Overview

The Jumpgate constructed at the end of our solar system led the pioneers from Earth to discover the Alpha Centauri solar system.

That system is characterized by a dense and unpredictable asteroid field which fills the void between the two stars, Centauri A and B. This field is presented on a grid as a number of sectors.

Players that belong to alliances with an active Jumpgate may send forces to the new solar system. Every player commands one armada, which can move around the sectors.

Alliances can build Starbases, powerful outposts with strong defenses and deep range scanners.

Hidden around the Centauri system are powerful artifacts, called Xalandar Power Modules (XPM for short) and a vicious alien battlestation, the Ravager.

The players in the Centauri system must defeat the Ravager, either by building enough Starbases or securing enough XPMs.

2. Centauri Basics

To gain access to the Centauri Saga content you must be a member of an alliance that has completed their Jumpgate. Once the alliance completes the Jumpgate, it then needs to activate it by paying (once) 40,000,000 Research Points from the alliance bank.

Every player gets a single armada in the Centauri system. You can send troops from any of your colonies to the Centauri armada, but the trip is one-way.

The Centauri armada has it's own Upkeep restriction that defines how many troops it can sustain. If you send more troops than you can sustain, they will die!

You can increase your Alpah Centauri armada's upkeep by building more Starbases, increasing your alliance's talents and increasing your personal Alpha Centauri Talents.

3. Exploring the System

The Centauri system contains a number of sectors, initially marked with a question mark, which indicates their contents are unknown (not explored).

When an armada arrives at an unexplored sector, that sector becomes automatically explored for all members of the player's alliance. However, due to the chaotic nature of the Centauri system, it is impossible to create a complete and accurate map of the system. As a result, sectors in the Centauri system return to their unexplored state every day.

Every armada in the Centauri system has a maximum number of 30 energy. You regenerate 2 energy per hour. You can regenerate energy faster depending on your Alliance's Talents and your personal Talents too.

Players move their armadas around the Centauri system by clicking on the small arrows (up, down, left, right) around the armada icon. Moving to an unknown sector costs 6 energy, while moving to an explored sector costs only 4 energy.

A completed Starbase is equipped with powerful scanners which are able to penetrate the chaotic asteroid field. As a result, the Starbase sector and those in the immediate vicinity (i.e. a maximum total of 9 sectors) remain explored for the members of the alliance that owns the Starbase.

Upkeep
The maximum upkeep of military forces you can sustain in the Alpha Centauri system, is based on the following factors:
- Everyone starts with 20.000 upkeep
- You gain 20.000 for every fully operational Starbass in the system (to a maximum of 100K)
- You gain 1.000 upkeep per level of the "Life Support" or "Life Support II" talents.
- You can get a bonus from your Alliance's talents.

If you ever have more troops than you can support, they will starve to death.

Hints
* Alliance members should coordinate the exploration of the system.

* Starbases in key positions will greatly enhance the speed of your travels.

* Star Traveler units are more resilient to the environment of the Centauri system. If you encounter enemies while you are exploring, units without the Star Traveler attribute suffer four times more damage than those who possess it.

4. Rules of Engagement

The Centauri system is a PvP expansion. As such you should expect many battles to happen while you make your way through this sector.

Attacking an enemy's armada costs 5 energy.

Scouting an enemy's armada costs 10 energy.

The battle system on Centauri is the same as the normal PvP battles with the following adjustments:

* Battles end after 1 round instead of 10.

* The winner is the one that will earn the most XP.

* If the attacker wins, then he gets to loot 20% of the defender's resources. Also, they gain 1 AC Talent Point.

* You can never lose (either when attacking or defending) more than 10% of your troops in a single battle.

Note: You can use energy to scout an opponent before attacking. Keep in mind that there is always a chance that this action will be intercepted by your opponent...

5. Xalandar Power Module (XPM)

Players gain the ability to detect the location of Xalandar's Power Modules as soon as their alliance builds its first Starbase in the Centauri system.

Every XPM is initially in the possession of a guardian army. When a player explores that sector (by moving through it), all members of that player's alliance are able to see the XPM on the Centauri sector map.

A player can take possession of the XPM by successfully attacking the guardian army. As soon as any player retrieves the XPM, then all players from all alliances with at least one completed Starbase are able to see its location.

XPM Relocation
Players who acquire an XPM can move it with their armada anywhere in the Centauri system. If they bring it to a sector with an allied Starbase, they can unload the XPM to that Starbase at no cost.

PvE XPM Loss
If an armada carrying an XPM is completely destroyed by NPCs (e.g. raiders), then the XPM goes again to the possession of a guardian army and reappears the next day at a random map location.

PvP XPM Loss
If an armada carrying an XPM is defeated in a battle with another player's armada, the XPM is removed from play to appear the next day at a random map location.

6. Starbases

Starbases are massive, fortified stations that offer protection and provide military intelligence to your Centauri forces.

The construction of an Starbase is a group effort, requiring the contribution of huge amounts of resources from all members of the alliance.

To start the construction the members need to decide on the building tile. Once the spot has been decided then, one member needs to have 1,000,000 of Silicon, Energy, Food, Minerals and Astartium in their armada. Clicking on "Build Starbase" begins the construction.

When you begin the construction of a new Starbase you gain 5 AC Talent Points. When you contribute to the construction of an existing Starbase you also get 5 AC Talent points (for each contribution).

You cannot move the Starbase once it has been placed!

From then on, all alliance members may contribute resources in the construction, by moving their armada to the Starbase and clicking the "Construct" button.

The Starbase becomes operational when the alliance has invested a total of 25,000,000 of each resource ( including Astartium ) and offers the following benefits:

* The 8 sectors around the Starbase remain permanently explored.

* Reveals enemy Armadas once they step on your Star Base. This action does not remove the Cloak from the enemy , it simply makes them visible to your alliance (and only your Alliance) for as long as they stay in the same sector as your Arcane Base.

* If an Alliance has a Star Base that has acquired an XPM , then all Cloaked members of the Alliance will be visible while staying on top of their Star Base. The moment they step out they will become invisible again.

* The Starbase provides a 20% attack and defense bonus on all allied Armadas in its sector.

* You can locate the hidden XPMs around the Centauri System! As long as the XPM has not been retrieved by any player then to see it you have to be in the same sector as it. As soon as any player retrieves an XPM from its guardians then it becomes visible to all alliances that have an operational Starbase.

* You can teleport for only 15 Energy to any other fully operational Starbase of your Alliance.

* You can use the scrapyard to revive units you lost in previous battles within the Alpha Centauri system. This scrapyard works following the rules below:
- whenever you lose units by Raiders while exploring or by attacking bosses (including the Ravager), 70% of your units will go to the Scrapyard.
- when using the Scrapyard you can revive the minimum amount between what your Armageddon Level allows and the amount you have in your Scrapyard.
You can see the amount of units in your Alpha Centauri scrapyard when you visit one of your Starbases. Below the button to use the Scrapyard you will also see how many units you can revive.

IMPORTANT: Make sure that when you revive units you have enough Upkeep to support them. If you exceed the maximum Upkeep, "Famine" will hit your Armada, and the losses might be more than you think.

WARNING
Starbases are vulnerable to Ravager attacks. There is always the chance that he will find your base and... destroy it!

7. Centauri Bosses

Among the Centauri field you may occasionally see a few special targets, the Centauri Bosses. Each boss is unique and has a high amount of attack and defense.

These opponents can be attacked once you have reached their location. By clicking "View" you get to see information about the boss, as well as their loot table and the option to attack them.

Attacking a boss costs an amount of energy.

The location of the bosses changes daily, although they normally spawn rather far from the Jumpgate.

Note: Your armada may safely pass through the boss location. You only risk by attacking them!

8. The Ravager

There is a big bad guy hidden in the Centauri System, the Ravager! This is an asteroid-like spaceship with great fire power.

The Ravager moves randomly around the map and is immediately visible to anyone who explores its sector. If Ravager lands on a sector with Starbases, then these are destroyed.

The Ravager hides for 72 hours and then appears for 24 hours. During the time that it is visible everyone can spot t on the map and can attack it. The Ravager is a formidable enemy and deals a lot of damage to its opponents.

The 3 players that deal the most damage to the Ravager will get a special prize after the Ravager will go into hiding again.

The more XPMs you have recovered, the higher your Alliance Armageddon level is and your talents the more damage you inflict to the Ravager.

Everyone surviving an attack to the Ravager will gain 5 Talent Points.

9. Armageddon

If you are an Officer or higher in your Alliance, then at a fully operational Starbase you can invoke the Armageddon.

To do so, your alliance has to meet the following requirements:
- You must have at least 5 fully operational Starbases in Alpha Centauri
- You must have retrieved 5 XPMs.

When you invoke the Armageddon the following things will happen:

- The Alpha Centauri will reset for your alliance.
- You will lose ALL Starbases, ALL XPMs.
- Your Alliance's Armageddon Level will increase by 1.

The Armageddon Level of your Alliance controls various aspects of the Alpha Centauri system:
- You deal 5% less damage to the Ravager and Bosses per Armageddon Level. The Ravager and the Bosses inflicts 5% more damage per Armageddon Level to you.
- You have a higher chance of getting better loot from Bosses. Some of the loot is not even available if you do not raise your Armageddon Level to higher numbers!
- The Scrapyard restores 1000 X-Troopers and 1000 X-Eagles per Armageddon Level.
- To be able to unlock and level up higher level talents in the Alpha Centauri talent tree, you need to reach certain levels of Armageddon.