Introduction

This is the first issue of Galactic Geographic, and thus we wanted to be sure to capture as much wonder as we have seen across the entire Garden. It is our duty as explorers, historians, scientists, journalists, photographers, videographers and so many more to ensure we document the history of the Stars Reach universe so that those that come after us have an accurate representation of what has come to pass.

Throughout the issues of Galactic Geographic, we will take you on a scientific and nature ride through the many different aspects in The Garden and beyond. The planets are an essential part of our galaxy, and thus it is important for us to have a better understanding of them to ensure their survival over time. We hope you will take away some knowledge to better help you understand how everything in the galaxy works together.

• If you are looking to relax the temperature is moderate, the sky is usually free from clouds, and there are some breathtaking views across the planet.
• If you are looking to enjoy nature, the flora is some of the most diverse that we have seen. Especially if you enjoy mushrooms or fruit bearing flora, but there are also flowers galore as well
• If you are looking to enjoy some combat, there are plenty of makers across the planet allowing you to test your skills

Rodin IV can be found from Deep Space via the Green Portal. Once you enter from the portal you are instantly met with a cool color palette. Grass covers most of the planet, and you have some beautiful bioluminescent trees and plants. It is your world to explore.

What awaits us in Stars Reach - A Fan Made Trailer

Interview: Getting to know the Devs

With a Developer

Questions:

Q: Hello, what is your name? And could you tell us a bit about what you do at playable worlds?

Q: What is your favorite part of Stars Reach thus far that you have been a part of or have developed? And if you had to choose your favorite patch thus far what would it be?

Q: Players are constantly talking about how great this community is, what are some of your favorite parts of what you see with the Stars Reach community?

Q: What are some of the things that you have seen players do that have surprised you thus far?

Q: Playing as part of a group and working together has had lots of players doing some real interesting stuff from hunting parties going after Makers, building sprawling cities, in-game events, and even things such as beautifying the planets that have become a bit too pot hole-y? What are some of your favorite group activities to engage in or see other players engage in?

Flora: The Fruitful Wonders

If you are a chef or a supplier for chefs, then Rodin IV is a destination you will want to visit. Not only are there bountiful amounts of flowers and bushes, but the amount of mushrooms and fruit bearing plants, it is a must for food enthusiasts and gatherers.

First we will talk about the food! You have your pick of many fresh fungi and fruit all across Rodin IV. Whether you are looking for some strawberries to make your Fruit Jam, or you need those fungi for your mushroom patties, this guide will have you covered. Rodin IV has the following fungi and fruits available:

Fruits:

• Blueberry Bush
• Goji Berry
• Red Currant
• Strawberry

Fungi:

• Amanita
• Brown Shimeji
• Chanterelle
• Fairy Morel
• Golden Poplar
• King Stropheria

These delectable produce will create some wondrous food and medicine should you have the proper skills and knowledge. Fruit jams, mushroom patties, Cure All, Flame Out, Go Juice, Stamina Booster, and Thaw Bones to name a few. Not to mention if you are a farmer or gatherer supplying a farmer, Rodin IV is a great place to get all your seedlings and stocks so that you can create a sustainable farm, that explorers can trust knowing that they came from Rodin IV.

We asked Dr. Drake Vellaut about the sustainable farm that he setup to help spread sustainable food across the galaxy, and here is what he had to say:

Q: Tell me Dr. Vellaut, what made you want to start a farm?
A: It is really simple, it is about providing a steady supply of food produce to those who need it and can make great use of it. So that we can ensure the chefs who are selling the food, do so at a reasonable price, so they don't make it impossible for new explorers to help find the food and medicine they need on a day to day basis.

Q: That seems like quite the mission, how do you know these produce are going to the right places?
A: That is a great question! We vet out all the chefs and restaurants and businesses that we sell to. And we do this through GUNC's MARKET Branch (Merchants and Resource Keepers in Economic Trade). They provide us with proper information so we as producers and vendors know where the product will end up, and that it will truly help people. We have met some great individuals like Chef Jerek of Club Jericho, who is always doing their best helping other explorers out, even providing food and medicine for free when they have a large excess. It is people like this that we love working with. And of course it helps supply our very own GUNCies, to help provide affordable food for all who need it.

Q: That sounds great, that is great work you are accomplishing. But aren't you are scientist, what got you into farming?
A: That is true, I am a scientist. But sometimes you have to break into new areas to help those in need. Farms were needed for more easily accessible goods, so I did some research and figured out how I could help.

Q: Well, I have one last question for you. What was your favorite plant to grow?
A: Strawberries, strawberries always remind me of Hortus Renovare. So being able to grow them, brought back great memories over the years.

Q: Thank you so much for your time Dr. Vellaut, we greatly appreciate your time and hope you have a great rest of your day.
A: Thank you, you as well!

But fungi and fruit bearing flora is not the only flora we need to talk about, Rodin IV also as a very diverse selection of flowers and bushes that will be sure to brighten the day of any gardeners. Before we leave you, GUNC put together a talk about flora if you are interested in learning more about what it takes to be a botanist.

Interview: Upcoming Changes with Flora

With a Developer

Questions:

Q: It sounds like there is some amazing work being done with flora can you tell us more about how changes in flora density will affect the worlds?

Q: We have heard talks about the extra work on shaders in regard to the flora, can you talk about how this will affect the flora and how it will enhance player gameplay?

Q: Will we start to see more unique flora for planets, since now similar flora can be found on multiple planets. Will there be more diversity and if so what will it take to get there?

Q: Can you tell us more about how seasons, temperature, soil, and climate will play into future aspects of flora on these planets?

Q: What will extinction possibilities in flora look like? Currently the only way for Flora to disappear is to be burnt, you pick flora and it just turns into its smaller version and then grows over the next ten or so minutes so extinction is really not possible currently.

Q: How will flora play into different professions, like foraging, farming, medicine etc?

Q: Are we going to be seeing any unique flora, is there anything that can be teased?

Q: What are some of the future things you are excited when it comes to developing flora and how they interact with the worlds?

Wonders of Colors and Bioluminescence

The diverse colors of Rodin IV make it a special planet to enjoy the flora. And then add on the bioluminescent trees and flowers and you have a recipe for a very beautiful ecosystem. The cool color palette of the planet can really be seen throughout the flora. Lots of blues and purples, that make for a magical site. A favorite flora by explorers is the Blue Veil Tree. Its willow tree like appearance is made even more beautiful from its tendrils that glow a bluish-purple tone, the bioluminescence truly allowing it to be seen as one of the most unique flora that we have seen thus far.

Blue and Purple Emberbloom Torches continue the trend of bioluminescent flora and these can truly brighten up your day. The colors and glow are vibrant and can be seen off in the distance with ease.

Rod's Old Western Town

Rod's Old Western Town was a must see location. Located on the desert planet Zaraxa, it was the perfect backdrop for this old western town. With everything from the sand and the cacti, to that picturesque red sky and beautiful sunsets it really made the town come alive. But it was the many community members that put in the time and effort to create buildings that fit this town's vibe. With everything from city hall, a barber shop, railroad tracks, jail, a courthouse, a bank, and a stable this town was move in ready. The only thing missing was an old western showdown...but wait was there one?

Fauna

As fauna goes, Rodin IV is one of the more safe planets that you could visit. Of course the Makers need to be kept in check cause if they last for too long, the creatures will be too strong regardless of the fauna they spawn. In general you see lots of jackalopes, ballhive, and skyshark species across Rodin IV. The Jackalopes, hares, bunnies, and coneys are very peaceful creatures, along with the Cloud Guppies. The Scatterhives and Hominghives as long as their makers are kept in check, are your average strength creatures. The Skysharks are likely your most dangerous fauna on Rodin IV, but they usually stick to the northern side of the planet up on the hill at the end of the ravine. It is either recommended to avoid that area or be sure to destroy those Makers to ensure they do not get too strong.

Makers

According to Stars Reach lore, A Maker is a Servitor construct that has been placed onto the planet in order to stimulate life to grow in different ways. The Maker not only tweaks those lifeforms according to parameters only known to them, but it also tends to protect those lifeforms once they become strong enough to be worthy of their time.

They come in a variety of sizes and difficulty. All Makers are invisible until an explorer is able to reveal them with the use of a Maker Scanner, which is usable with the Trailblazer. Once revealed you will be able to identify how difficult the maker will be. A small maker can be destroyed by a single player, they have no shields to protect themselves and spawn the weakest of creatures. You then have medium size makers that require at least a small group of players has these Makers have shields protecting themselves. To take down the shields you must hack the node points and once all nodes have been hacked that will bring the shield down and you must destroy the Maker. These medium size Makers usually have between 2-3 nodes and spawn medium difficulty creatures. The largest Makers we have seen have shields and four (4) or more hack nodes. These Makers are not only dangerous themselves but the creatures they spawn are the hardest creatures that can spawn from a Maker. It is strongly recommended to bring a large group to take out these Makers. If you'd like to see a group of explorers taking out Makers and the challenges involved, take a look at the documentary below:

Unique Creature Designs

While explorers have not seen too much about the visual procedural generation of creatures, we have see creature procedural generation creating unique attack capabilities and different mixture of elemental attacks. But there are definitely a few creatures that really stand out from a design perspective and we will go over each one.

Fungusamungus

Fungusamungus is a...unique creature if we have ever seen one. Not only is Fungusamungus unique, it is likely one of the most dangerous of all the creatures currently in the game. A single misstep, a single mistake and with Fungusamungus that will cost you your life. Fungusamungus looks like...well a ballhog like creature but it has mushrooms sprouting from all over its body and has a color scheme that screams mushrooms. So like your ballhogs, Fungusamungus floats which already adds a bit of difficulty for combat.

The attack capabilities of Fungusamungus are what truly makes it dangerous though, it lobs out many mushrooms every ~5-10 seconds, these mushrooms are deadly. Get hit by one and you will likely survive, but more than one and you will likely find yourself needing to relife. If you allow Fungusamungus to get close to you and it is able to use its mushroom attack, unless you are lucky you are going to need to relife. Being in close proximity to Fungusamungus is not recommended, keep fighting it from range to give you a chance. To make things even more difficult, the mushrooms that Fungusamungus lobs around, your reflection shield will not reflect these mushrooms back. So while that strategy could be helpful with many other creatures, not for Fungusamungus. So beware when you see Fungusamungus, grab your team of explorers, and prepare for a fight.

Kharvix

The Kharvix may seem like your average target at first glance, but do not be fooled. The Kharvix is a dangerous foe and you need to be prepared to fight it. The Kharvix has a unique look, I would describe it as a mix between an insect like creature and maybe a dog, an insectoid dog! While the Kharvix makes for a nice pet to take for walks and see the world, its capabilities as a foe are dangerous.

Once you destroy the large Kharvix it then spawns into the medium size Kharvix, and then once that medium size Kharvix is defeated, then it ultimately spawns into the small size Kharvix. That can create a much longer battle than an explorer may have been expecting, especially considering that Kharvix are usually found in packs. So six (6) large Kharvix's can quickly turn into 20+ enemies very quickly. While we have seen this spawning mechanic on defeat from creatures such as the Horde Lorde, this is still a unique take on that mechanic. Prepare as best as you can explorers, the Kharvix await you!

Dread Zeppelin

The Dread Zeppelin. Have you seen a Dread Zeppelin? You could explore all of the planets, wild wormholes included, and not cross paths with a Dread Zeppelin. The reason for having a more difficult time seeing them is because they are part of a transformative chain, and you may have guessed it - the Dread Zeppelin is the final form. So what creature is the first form? The Gashog.

The transformation chain starts at the Gashog, then the Bubblehog, then the Balloonhog, then the Blimphog and lastly the Dread Zeppelin. Each transformation occurs upon defeat, but unlike the Kharvix that gets smaller and smaller, the Gashog will keep getting bigger and more stronger until it finally hits the Dread Zeppelin. The lesser forms are not much of an issue, but the attack patterns change from more single target attacks to area of effect (AOE) abilities once it transforms to the Dread Zeppelin. At that stage it can be difficult to defeat if you weren't properly prepared or if more creatures are around so you cannot specifically focus on the Dread Zeppelin. Remember a Gashog may not seem like a formidable foe, but it will soon become one.

Interview: Future of Fauna

With a Developer

Questions:

Q: The proc gen of fauna has been great for allowing for many different challenges and difficulties, what are some things you are looking to improve for the proc gen of the fauna (non-visual)?

Q: A few playtests ago we were able to destroy all the makers on Rodin IV except for jackalope and bunny makers, can you talk about how makers will change in the future to be able to create specific makers or transplant makers on other planets?

Q: There are many different fauna, with many different challenges. Is there work being done on the creating visual distinction, similar to how shader work is being done on the flora, is there anything similar being done for fauna?

Q: We can't talk about fauna without talking about xenobiology, how is xenobiology going to interact with the fauna? Maybe DNA sampling, creature taming, and modification of makers?

Q: How will extinction work for fauna? Is it just going to be destroying makers and that forces the extinction or will there be more elements in play?

Q: What type of boss fauna can we expect to see in the future, we have heard the current world bosses are more "easy" bosses, what would be these more powerful boss fauna look like?

Q: More players are learning about the taming easter egg and trying their hand at it and its a fun challenge even in its current state, what do you see for the future of taming?

Q: What are some of the future things you are excited when it comes to developing fauna and how they interact with the worlds?

Mineralogy

Gold, gold and more gold. Rodin IV has multiple rich gold veins that run through the mountains in the middle of the map. Uranium in the far corner. And ruby scattered about. These minerals are more than worth a trip to Rodin IV, as the minerals are not as prevalent on other planets. And there is plenty to go around, well the uranium may go quickly but the others are plentiful.

Dr. Drake Vellaut created a guide for all you prospective miners out there. This guide goes over everything from how to use your terraformer, how you can find and search for specific minerals, and then ultimately craft a grav mesh, gravity gun, helix and reflection shield. Good luck explorers.

Flora Spotlights

Escarion: Kelp

With Escarion, we finally started to see aquatic flora, while yes the water lily on Gaiamar existed it was not the same as Amber Coral, Kelp and Seaweed. And so Kelp takes the spotlight for the planet Escarion. Kelp has such a unique wavy look to the leaves and just gives that aquatic feel and aesthetic. So it is no wonder why Kelp is one of the first aquatic flora that we get to see. So when you are exploring the lakes, ponds and other bodies of water, be sure to take a dive underwater and see if you find any other aquatic flora under there. I know we will be keeping an eye on marine life in general, so can't wait to see what we continue to discover.

Gaiamar: Elephant Ear

Gaiamar is filled with your tropical flora and this was the hardest planet to decide what to spotlight. We went with the Elephant Ear because of its unique and larger appearance. It is sure to make your garden look much more tropical in an instant. Its beautiful large green leafs, that resemble elephant ears, will light up a room. Perfect for a houseplant or your outdoor tropical garden. Their leaves are so large that it is one of the few flora that we have seen in The Garden where you can crouch beneath the leaves and be completely hidden from view, now we see where it gets its name from. If you are looking for tropical plants to fill your garden or use as houseplants be sure to come visit Gaiamar, you will not be disappointed.

Pyromycis: Dark Wizard

Pyromycis has a handful of unique flora, especially when it comes to different types of mushrooms. One mushroom shines above the rest thought, quite literally, the Dark Wizard. When you ask explorers what their favorite flora is, the Dark Wizard is often listed as their favorite flora. And why wouldn't it be, it is that perfect mix of alien feel, bioluminescence and has anti-gravium as a potential byproduct. Now that is a triple threat when you are talking about a specific flora being a powerhouse. Dark Wizards when extinction was possible, which we hear that will be returning eventually, Dark Wizards were continuously the first flora to go extinct, which was problematic as explorers could not get their hands on this useful and beautiful mushroom species. The Dark Wizard unlike many other types of flora, did not have a guaranteed rate of always dropping a seedling which made it even more difficult to propagate.

The Dark Wizard has one of the most byproducts that any flora produces, it has five (5) byproducts. All of these byproducts are very useful to different explorers:

• Alien Mushroom Chunk
• Ammonia
• Anti-Gravium
• Dark Wizard Seedling
• Salt

Rodin IV: Strawberry

Fruits can be hard to find across the planets, and strawberries even more so. The only planet we have seen that strawberries grow natively is on Rodin IV. So if you wish to find these delectable fruits, Rodin IV is the place to find them. Strawberries not only taste amazing, but they also have more of a story to them. If you ever have heard the fable of The Origin of Chocolate Covered Strawberries: A Hortus Renovare Story it adds such a great story around the strawberries and makes them that much sweeter when you eat them.

Zaraxa: Spore Pod Tree

Desert tend to lack in the diversity of flora, but while that may be the Spore Pod Tree is one of those unique alien like trees that will really light up any yard or garden. The Spore Pod Tree has that eerie spore at the top that glows and gives that unknown alien feel. What would happen should the Spore Pod open? Maybe one day we will find out, but that won't keep us from admiring its beauty lighting up the night sky with its bioluminescence properties. Truly worth a visit to Zaraxa to gaze upon the fields of Spore Pods and just take in the vista.

Topography: Rodin IV

Rodin IV is a very beautiful planet with all its flora, but its topography also adds for some beautiful sites as well. One of the more well known topographic features is the mountain you can see off in the distance as soon as you arrive on Rodin IV. The mountain has been used for advertising, with messages carved in the mountain. It has had an entire city built under the mountain, Mega Rock City. Builders have built into the sides of the mountain and have created many wonderful builds. And the top of the mountain makes for quite the ice rink, since the height of it is high enough for the ground to freeze. Definitely a must see and visit part of Rodin IV.

Another stunning topographic feature is the massive ravine that splits Rodin IV almost in half. The ravine almost run vertically the entire length of the planet. Likely this use to be filled with a river at some point but it is all but dried up except for a few spots along the ravine. Creatures love to hang out in the ravine and it makes for a fun grav mesh jump to cross the ravine. GUNC during their Ravine City Build even built a sky bridge to cross the ravine so that you did not need a grav mesh to cross the chasm.

Beautification of Rodin IV

Keeping a planet beautiful can be a difficult job. Potholes can be found scattered across the planets and can detract from the majestic look of the planets. So GUNC went ahead and started a project to beautify Rodin IV, and they put out a video to demonstrate the process of filling in the potholes that you would run into on planets. We have to try and do our job to keep Rodin IV looking beautiful!

One thing we explorers have noticed is when you have over a month without a wipe, planets can start looking very...potthole-y. So Chayce, Dr. Drake Vellaut, and Mrgoshdarn took on the challenge of trying to beautify the Rodin IV portal area. And after 1-2 hours of dirt paving, depositing peat, chronophasing peat the Rodin IV portal looked much better. While it does take time, it is important to try and keep the planets looking as beautiful as we can.

Lore of Stars Reach

One of the best things about Stars Reach is the lore that is being weaved by Raph and the Playable Worlds team. It is something players look forward to, waiting for the next installment in the story. Learning more about the world of Stars Reach. We have been introduced to multiple characters, with different motivations at play. We have seen many different groups that we have seen the beginnings of the conflict that will likely arise. There is a lot of rich history that has yet to be told.

With each new drop of lore it gives players even more information to help build out their own characters and better understand how their characters fit into this gigantic Stars Reach universe. While many players are still waiting for information on professions, you still have players crafting their role playing persona, guilds working out there lore of how they came into existence, and the community trying to find ways to weave their stories into the lore of Stars Reach

If you are a fan of lore and diving into new worlds and new IPs, then Stars Reach is already shaping up to be that community for you. You have many experienced role players and you have players that have never role played before but are interested in it because of how alive Stars Reach feels. We can't wait to continue to see how the lore of Stars Reach evolves and how the players will be able to influence the future of Stars Reach. Below Dr. Drake Vellaut went into a deep dive on the current lore in Stars Reach so that explorers could more easily catch up on the lore or just enjoy a different perspective of how they see the lore.

Exploration

Exploration is such a key aspect of Stars Reach. Whether you want to explore the farthest reaches of the Galaxy alone or with a group you can do just that. One test we gathered a group of over ten (10) players to start an exploration journey on Rodin IV. This journey last for around four (4) hours in which we set out to identify all the Makers on Rodin IV and destroy any makers that spawned anything other than Jackalopes. Camps were setup at every location, deaths occurred, blood shed, tears cried, bugs discovered, and much fun was had during the exploration. And in the end, Rodin IV was pacified. Only Makers that spawned Jackalopes were left on the planet. Take the time and explore the wonderful planets of Stars Reach, create your own journeys, and have a great time!

In the photo below, you can see another instance of a multitude of players joining up together to take on the new Makers. Dave Georgeson, one of the developers in Stars Reach, led a horde of players to combat the extensive amount of creatures that had spawned on Rodin IV. And they were successful in curbing the Makers to make Rodin IV its usual safe place for all to visit!

Fauna Spotlight: Jackalope

The Jackalope is a very intriguing and peculiar creature. GUNC has conducted research around this species since it was first seen on Rodin IV. Now while Jackalopes have been seen on other planets, Rodin IV always seemed to have a higher concentration of them. The intriguing part about jackalopes is the fact that they are fairly harmless...as long as you don't frighten them. It is when they become frightened that they undergo a spasticity event, or a transformation, into a much more dangerous creature, the velocirabbit. These velocirabbits will explode when they get within close vicinity of an explorer, one or two velocirabbits will not cause death, but a handful of them and they may just cause death. Be sure to keep an eye out for these cute little jackalopes and remember to be kind to them, else you will have much more trouble on your hands.

Jackalopes are simple creatures, the byproducts received upon their death are bone and raw herbivore meat. Items that are commonly found on many creatures, so there has not been a need for jackalopes to be overly harvested or hunted. There are also bunnies, hares and coneys that are part of the jackalope species. And there are even more dangerous creatures than the velocirabbit, like the Hare Razor or the Bouncing Bunny that are formidable foes and like share similar DNA to the velocirabbits.

Founders Day

Founders Day is the player created holiday celebrating the end of the Stars Reach Kickstarter. This day honors the hard work of the Stars Reach Team and the dedication and support of all the Stars Reach players that backed the project. This day will always be remembered in Stars Reach history and will be celebrated every day henceforth on March 26th. The event was orchestrated by NovaSeeker and was subsequently named Founder’s Day.

The first Founder’s Day was a success, drawing many explorers to Gaiamar to celebrate. The Kickstarter had raised $750,000, and surpassed all expectations of the Stars Reach development team, and showed just how bright the future of Stars Reach was. The festivities included a a group dance, plenty of photos and a launch into space. The launch into space consisted of all the explorers lining up and then using their grav meshes to fly as high into the sky as they could before landing again. This symbolized the Kickstarter success and flying into the new era of Stars Reach.

Player Spotlight: Mrgoshdarn

One of the players you will always see around in Stars Reach is Mrgoshdarn, we had the chance to catch up with Mrgoshdarn to talk about their experiences in Stars Reach thus far.

Questions for Mrgoshdarn

Q: What are some of the past games you have played in the past? And what got you interested in Stars Reach?

Mrgoshdarn: My first MMO was SWG and the original Planetside, so seeing that two of the leads were working on Stars Reach from those two games (Raph in SWG and Dave from Planetside) had me immediately drawn to it when Raph announced the studio back in the late 2010s.

Q: You have been around since the beginning of Stars Reach's pre-alpha, how much improvement have you seen over the course of the past year?

Mrgoshdarn: A lot. I used to barely be able to play the game, so optimization was a huge improvement, along with the graphical fidelity and the density of the worlds, from plants to animals to horrors.

Q: What are some of your favorite feature updates or additions to Stars Reach?

Mrgoshdarn: Anytime they add something new to the simulation, I’m there for it. Tree planting has always been my go-to since they introduced it, much to some players’ dismay. One of my favorite things is to see how players affect the world, even if I’m not taking direct part in it, whether they’re being little burn goblins or replanting a ruined forest.

Q: You are always one of the first players to drop what you are doing and going to help a new player, help in a group build, or just help the community in general. What are some of your favorite parts of the Stars Reach community?

Mrgoshdarn: The community itself. The way the devs are designing the game encourages helping others, so it feels natural for me to reach out when I can and smooth over any confusion. A part of that will have to come from the developer’s creating a good tutorial, but the second part will always have to come from veterans sharing their knowledge (even if that knowledge shifts patch to patch).

Q: What are some of your favorite things to do in Stars Reach?

Mrgoshdarn: Right now, I’m loving the wild wormhole worlds. It’s a new experience every time and I’m always getting out my pathfinder and trying to collect all the survey points as soon as I portal in. Along the way, I’ll dip into caves or go off to any point of interest that look screenshot-worthy.

Q: Looking to the future what are some features and/or professions are you really looking forward to?

Mrgoshdarn: Planetologist, planetologist, and planetologist! The profession has taken on a mythical status in my mind, even if it ends up just being a way to read certain general stats of a planet’s health. The idea of being a support character that doctors an entire world is awesome.

Q: What is your favorite planet thus far, and what do you enjoy doing the most on that planet?

Mrgoshdarn: All the wormhole worlds have been pretty good so far, though one of them really stuck out for how alien it looked: Viridpetra. It had this constantly dark sky contrasted with white hills of chalk and mixed dark/light soil that made the whole thing look like some bizarre hodgepodge of a skate park and golf course.

Q: What are some improvements you would like to see added to the game?

Mrgoshdarn: Tons. Performance, more animations, better character models, and all that sweet, sweet content in the pipeline. I think the main one, being more explorer-minded, is the animations. The new sliding animation was a great start, but seeing different degrees of slow-down reflected in the character’s movement would go a long way to get me more grounded in the world. Oh, and bigger worlds, of course.

Q: What are some of your favorite parts of the lore that has been released thus far?

Mrgoshdarn: Anything to do with the Fae or Servitors. Both have this alternating symbiotic and parasitic relationship that looks like it will be interesting to explore once they’re put into the game properly. I’m also curious about all the factions and how they’ll clash. With the more recent stories, there seems to be plenty of room for politics and skullduggery.

Q: And lastly, what parts of the game do you want to spend more time doing?

Mrgoshdarn: Exploring, healing, and map-making are all on the top of the list for me. Really, I’m waiting for all the systems and the planets themselves to get more fleshed out so I can zero in on what I want to do when the game goes live. Most likely all of it. In the end, I’m looking for a game to destroy my life.

Spotted: Raph Koster

One of the fun things about the playtests is that you never know who you may see in the game. Raph Koster was spotted on Rodin IV, exploring and looking at player builds.

The Architectural Renaissance

There are times in the galaxy when something happens that changes the trajectory of the future. The old world, Earth, had the renaissance, Enlightenment, and the Industrial Revolution. These periods in history changed the very fabric of the future of Earth. It took them from previous periods of unknown, and ushered in knowledge and change that allowed for the improvement of life and technology. The Garden went through a similar enlightenment, through the Architectural Renaissance. There was a time where buildings that have been built through time have been structurally sound, foundational built, and the building pieces were used exactly as expected. Wonderful buildings were built, cities constructed, and explorers continued to expand their knowledge...

It wasn't until a special explorer came along that everything changed forever and ushered The Garden into a new era, the Architectural Renaissance. And everything changed with...The Waboba Arch, named after the famed architect explorer Waboba. It wasn't so much that arches were a new concept, no, it was that they were created in a way that had never been seen before. Creating intricate designs with the arches to usher in new design opportunities. That not only influenced the future work of Waboba, but many of the explorers started to see things differently after what had been accomplished by Waboba. And that is when the Architectural Renaissance started, we will all look back many years in the future and be able to point to Waboba's seemingly simple yet complex arches on how they changed the way we thought about architecture in The Garden.

Arches and more arches

Waboba has created some truly mesmerizing builds in Stars Reach. So much so that many of us are certain that Waboba will be one of the richest players in Stars Reach with their building and architectural ingenuity. Any time Waboba is working on a build, we all try and get a glimpse at the product. Getting to see it from a starting point to when it is finished is truly a wonder to behold. The builds Waboba has done to date could be an article in itself, but we tried to pick out a handful of their builds to showcase. First up we wanted to show off one of their latest builds on Rodin IV, a modern house with likely the best view in all of Rodin IV. With this view you can basically see the entire map, and not only that but you are overlooking the ravine, so if you are afraid of heights we'd recommend staying off the balcony.

The arches then took on a mind of their own. How could these arches be manipulated? How could they be positioned? Rotated? What new designs could be crafted? Moving beyond just circular shapes, it was about finding new and abstract ways of creating beautiful architecture. The patterns took off. Explorers started to pay attention, who was this Waboba? Where did Waboba come from? Who was Waboba influenced by? Was it Old One technology, was it divine knowledge, or was it just that special mind that looked at things in a different way from everyone else? And we start to see a new technique manifesting, lighting.

Cathedral

The Master Architect, Waboba, was just getting started. A Cathedral like nothing that had been seen before was erected on the planet Escarion. This building was truly a modern wonder. The arches and patterns could be seen in the stained glass design that really brought the cathedral to life. But even more than the arches and unique patterns, was the lighting. Lighting is an important part in setting the mood, ambiance, and the feel of any type of architecture. And the lighting in the cathedral, invoked such a strong feeling and gave its unique ambience that explorers had not seen yet. This cathedral became a part of history, seeing what was possible from a larger architectural build standpoint. But this was only the beginning.

Cyber Punk Design

With this new discovery of what could be done with lighting, Waboba continued to find new ways to improve their craft and create more thought invoking architectural pieces. Experimenting and testing to find what worked and what didn't. Explorers who knew Waboba during this time would always see them, testing in their workshop trying to find new ways to make things many of us could never dream of. So the lighting challenges continued, creating a cyber punk feel. Evoking a vibe that transported you to another place. The lighting allowed you to see it in a whole different light.

Modern House #1

Waboba had created a wonderful cathedral, but now it was time for the more everyday features. How could Waboba create your stereotypical houses and make them feel new and innovative. We learned from Waboba, it was not just about the structural part of the houses, it was also about the accessories and what you put inside the house that really makes it start to look different and truly come alive. And so we saw a multi-level house built in Mega Rock City on Rodin IV. This was just the beginning of what was to come, a taste of the beauty a house could hold.

GUNC DNA Helix Park

By this time Waboba was already becoming a household name, and Waboba was looking for new ideas and new ways to create innovative things that had not been seen before. GUNC had been one of the groups that had been in awe of Waboba's work, always making sure they visited Waboba's builds to see what new architecture was created. Both GUNC and Waboba, along with many other explorers worked on Mega Rock City and it turned out beautifully. And with that project finished, Waboba turned their sights to a new projects. This project would spark a new build that not only kicked off one of the largest singular builds but also it brought many explorers from far and wide across the entire garden to celebrate. But before we get to that, Waboba create a statue for GUNC, with a beautiful DNA helix.

Domed Atrium

GUNC and their talk of flora may have rubbed off a bit, as the next project was a domed atrium. This took arches in a whole new direction. Creating a circular dome structure that allowed light to come in truly was mesmerizing. And of course we still see the arch designs in the ground where the trees sprout from. Waboba continues to innovate and create structures that bring explorers to visit them. This new design circular arch dome, sparked new design thoughts and soon that design would come to fruition.

GUNC Atrium

Waboba took their dome atrium design and created a much larger, by larger we mean a 2x3 homestead atrium. This project was a huge undertaking, this was to be GUNC Plaza. Waboba was showcasing a technique to Dr. Drake Vellaut on how multiple homesteads could be placed with full height and have them connected. This technique was innovative in the architecture world, allowing explorers to get more out of there builds with more height and seeing this large of a build being connected with six (6) total homesteads, it opened the door for many explorers to come. Once the homesteads were placed, the master architect Waboba started to get to work.

The structural side of the GUNC Atrium was beautifully executed and took many hours to get it just right. But where many people saw Waboba shine was again, on the accessories of the building. The intricate designs on how Waboba crafted each individual element, each individual room, it was painstakingly done to bring this build to life and to life it was brought. With the entrance to the atrium having two (2) DNA helixes and the GUNC words greeting you, to the vending machine, the potted trees, the meeting room, the open design that allowed the second level to look down onto the first level. The open air design allowing explorers to sit on the second floor and look out onto GUNC's curated gardens, or you could enter the gardens from the first floor. The office and workspaces, the dance floor, everything was crafted with precision to bring GUNC Plaza alive. Which GUNC invited everyone for the grand opening of GUNC Plaza, and explorers came from all over the galaxy. Throughout the day explorers stopped in to see the magnificent work of Waboba, and then at night firework kicked off the grand opening, with dancing and players being able to enjoy the space built by Waboba. Waboba's architecture brought the community together and everyone had a blast.

Modern House #2

Waboba continues their journey of discovery in their creation of the next modern house. The outside was refined to give that more modern feel, allowing for that more open feel with nature. Not only were balconies added, but also a patio and a rooftop garden. The base structure of the house was getting much more intricate. And then we start to see the accessories. A bedroom equipped with a bed, nightstand and a headboard design with floor to ceiling windows looking out toward the beautiful wonders of Escarion. In the basement, the accessories continued creating a home theater room with a TV, a couch and even surround sound speakers. Explorers were taking notes, seeing how Waboba crafted these designs of these accessories.

Rod's Western Town

Fresh off GUNC Plaza, Waboba lended his expertise in architecture to Rod's Western Town. Creating the center piece of the town the city hall and the courthouse. The arch designs still a strong design seen in this build as all the previous builds. The layout of the city hall and the courthouse made it feel like you were actually there in an old western town. The courtroom scales of justice was a nice touch that really spoke with explorers. And to top off the work Waboba did for the town, Waboba created a Delorean. Yes you heard that right...a delorean. And the details were uncanny. Just wait until Waboba decides to upgrade to a spaceship...oh wait that is still a bit off.

Campfires

Campfire anyone? Another Waboba design that was originally designed with Waboba's second modern housing design but this picturesque look and sitting next to the campfire is exactly a well deserved rest from all of Waboba's work.

World Designs

We see Waboba start to create new designs and other marvels in the world like "The Hand" and creating beautiful lighting designs. Creating mysterious designs in the world such as the unknown artifact in the cave or the crystal cave, it really started to show how lighting was becoming a staple in all of Waboba's work. And then we also have a compilation of all the architectural builds of Waboba up until this point, and what a compilation it is. Watching Waboba's videos, it can definitely help explorers learn the techniques of what Waboba does to create these masterpieces.

Spaceship

We said we would get to the spaceship, and this spaceship looks like it could take off at any moment. A focal point for Mycityum, a GUNC created artificial mushroom city, where the ship is on a landing pad for visitors to come and go as they please. Many explorers watched the work Waboba put into this ship, and it was a labor of love. The meticulous detail that went into the design of that ship could not be understated. Just when you thought Waboba was done, more modifications and additions would be made. It was something to behold, watching Waboba get the ship just right. And it did come out just right.

Elevator Invention

Waboba also invented the elevator in the Garden. The first ever elevator was created for explorers to more easily traverse up to the very top of Mycityum. This invention again just showed the ingenuity of Waboba, with the help of Mrgoshdarn (who in their own right is a well know explorer in The Garden) to create the first working elevator.

Modern House #3

And we always save the best for last. The modern house version three (3). You can see all the influences of what Waboba has learned over the months and months and it truly shined in this build. The lighting was impeccable, it cannot be understated how much this build is brought to life with the expertly placed lighting. And the details, the details are what bring it more to life, the trim along the ground, the chandelier, the accents along the stairway, the slated light panels they all bring it to life. Waboba also played out the entire area to be a fully equipped house, with a living room, bedroom, workspace, kitchen, outdoor lounge and two balconies. This type of house would be perfect for many types of explorers, whether they want to just come home and relax or throw a party. This house would be able to handle whatever you throw against it.

A little house get together, which included some of the developers as well as players!

Questions for Waboba

Q: What types of other games have you built in? And what are some of your favorite building capabilities in other games?

Waboba: One recent game I built in is Once Human. I built a couple of bases and also started making a village in the "Eternaland", which is a private island in the game, where there are no structure limits. I've also built a bit in Minecraft, but nothing too crazy.

Q: What got you interested in Stars Reach and then what drew you to start building?

Waboba: I saw an ad for the game on Reddit, maybe a few weeks before the Kickstarter, and decided to sign up for the pre-alpha testing. I wasn't really expecting too much, but the terrain simulation really impressed me. I started trying out building on my second test, when I figured out the arch mandala, which looked cool :P. I've been playing and building in almost every test since (except the ones that start at 3 am for me :,).).

Q: What is your inspiration for many of your builds in Stars Reach?

Waboba: I've made many different styles of builds, a lot of the time they start with me just experimenting with new things, and if it starts to looks decent I keep building.

Q: It seems every time we see you building you are coming up with new techniques, what are some of your favorite techniques to really make things look unique?

Waboba: I like to use the, currently quite limiting set of fabricator props, to build my own furniture/machines. Also I usually a lot of the dark metallic props (wall spans, roof trims and roof trim corners) with lights to create "neon light" type of sculptures or decorations.

Q: If you could add more building pieces, lighting, furniture, accessories, etc what are some of the things you would want added?

Waboba: Smaller decorations or little details that you could place on shelves and desks, like small potted plants, mugs and books. Really just stuff to add that finer detailing and make the builds look more lived in. Also for lighting I think the lights could have more controls, like brightness and hue, also different lights for spot, point and area lighting.

Q: The devs were in awe of your latest Rodin IV modern house build (along with many explorers in the community), what was your favorite process or part of your latest build?

Waboba: My favorite part of my latest build was the staircase area, with the skylight, vertical metallic beams, striped sculpture and indoor planter box.

Q: One of the unique things you do in your builds is use pieces in very unique ways, creating things such as fireplaces, chandeliers, lamps, stove vent hood, refrigerator, dressers, chairs, fully equipped gaming table and so much more. How do you come up with these ideas?

Waboba: I currently have probably 180+ hours in game time of just building with the instaformer and fabricator, so I think having a lot of time spent with the building systems definitely helps with coming up with ideas of what can or can't be done in game.

Q: What is your favorite part about building in Stars Reach and what part could use some of the most improvement?

Waboba: My favorite part of the building system, is that the game isn't complaining about overlapping props. So many other games really limit the possible things you can create by not allowing overlapping.

Q: What's your current favorite planet to build on and why?

Waboba: Honestly any planet that isn't super foggy (looking at you Escarion), being able to see your creation is nice.

Q: Outside of building what feature or features are you most looking forward to seeing in Stars Reach?

Waboba:: Player run economy, spaceships and space trucking.

Q: What is your favorite non-building activity to do in Stars Reach?

Waboba: Sorry GUNC, but I really enjoy running around with multiple Xyloslicers and cutting down a lot of trees really fast, I also like harvesting plants, really peaceful.

Q: And lastly, how excited are you for the primitive building pieces to eventually make it into Stars Reach and what will be possible?

Waboba: The primitive building pieces and the ability to change the texture and color of the props will open up the possibilities of what can be made infinitely. I think they also talked about possible scaling of the pieces so there really wont be any limits of what can be made. I am so exited of what will be possible

Holiday: Hortus Renovare

During Hortus Renovare, all of the planets hosted multiple pieces of garden art curated and crafted by GUNC. Many explorers came to participate in the festivities, some participated by solving the riddles to identify where the art was hidden on the planet others just pointed out the art throughout the week. Some of the Hortus Renovare art can be seen below:

Questline

Fable: Origin of the Chocolate Covered Strawberry

Fable: The Melody of Beauty

Fable: Trol and the Tree

Wild Wormholes

Wild Wormholes open to deep space, outside The Garden, where the Servitors do not have control. The are frontier planets with potential riches and dangers waiting to be explored.

Pre-Alpha

Wild Wormholes lead to a new planet, never seen before for each test. And after that test has concluded, the planet shall never be seen again. Not only does this allow the devs to test their planet procedural generation, it also gives players a new exploration vector for each and every test. It shows what is possible for the diversity of planets in the very early stages, and these new planets have not disappointed. Each planet thus far has felt and looked unique, with everything from different colored skyboxes and planetary rings, to specific flora matching the planet, different flora clustering, and even unique natural structures whether they are pillars, lakes, waterfalls, mountains. There is much to see on these limited planets, but we know not everyone is able to make each test, so G.U.N.C. has been documenting the timelapses of these Wild Wormhole planets so you can at least see the planet. Which some of the timelapses are below:

The Future of Wild Wormholes

These Wild Wormholes will open up randomly and only be available for a certain period of time before the wild wormhole collapses. This allows for risk vs reward gameplay. Choose how much you are willing to risk, are you going to quickly explore, grab a few resources and leave or are you going to try and press your luck and try to capitilize on the "gold rush" and risk being left behind after the wormhole collapses.

The choice will be yours and the riches you find, as long as you make it out before the wormhole collapses. Should the wormhole collapse and you are still on the planet, you will need to relife and lose all the inventory you gathered on the planet. How will you choose to explore these wild wormholes?

Dave Georgeson, on the official Stars Reach Discord, left us wanting more info, as always, when talking about the future of wild wormholes:

"But then there are also these sort of "gold rush" planets which may be open for a day or only a few hours. They're wildly unpredictable and dangerous and the wormholes that go to them are "wild" ones that are not controlled. They may lead incredibly strange places, or they may lead to normal worlds that have remnants of ancient civilizations, bits of old tech, rare resources, or creatures never before seen. Those are the "wild wormholes" and exploring them is dangerous because the wormhole might collapse and leave you stranded...but the rewards are worth the risk for some folks.

This is a taste of things-to-come with the wild wormholes, but a lot of the flavor pieces that will make them really exciting are still to come."

Player Spotlight: Leric Dax

Leric Dax is one of Stars Reach's moderators. If you have been in the Stars Reach discord, you have likely seen Leric answering play questions and just overall being extremely helpful to all the players. We were able to catch up with Leric and get some of their perspective on Stars Reach thus far!

Photos in Lore

Questions for Leric

Q: What got you into Stars Reach and how did you hear about it?

Leric: First of all, thanks so much for inviting me to contribute to this issue! I am so greatful, and so excited to see this enterprise happening. Amazing projects like this truly make the Stars Reach community such a special place.

On to the first question: for a very long time, I have been something of an enthusiast in relation to Raph Koster’s intellectual and creative work, and occasionally checked in at his blog over the years. I saw him announce Star’s Reach, and of course I was immediately sold–soon after I would decide to make my way into the discord, and our community. The rest is history!

Q: You would likely be described by many players as one of the most helpful players in the Stars Reach community. What are some of your favorite parts about this community?

Leric: These “many players” are too kind! I truly appreciate it. But our community really does have some unique qualities. It is gentler, kinder, more philosophical, more analytical, both critical and open-minded, friendlier, and perhaps more enthusiastic in its creativity–in comparison to many other communities on the internet. This has been my experience here. And that it has an excellent culture and a lot of great people–and one where many people like to participate. So, that is to say, socially, it's a special place, and it's wonderful being a part of it.

Q: We have heard you talk about your anthropology background, how do you see the social and anthropological aspects of a game like Stars Reach, getting to see how players interact currently and work together? And what do you hope to see?

Leric: Anthropologists (and those in related human science disciplines with qualitatively-leaning epistemologies: ethnographic sociologists, social psychologists, psychoanalysts, media theorists, Science and Technology Studies scholars, et cetera–not to mention those in Ludology, the field better known as Game Studies) have long had an interest in social and cultural phenomena within digital networks and spaces, and virtual worlds conceived of as games are an especially interesting instantiation of this sort of thing.

For those who are interested (long answer, feel free to skip), a bit of academic history on the subject: in the 90s you have people like Sherry Turkle (Life on the Screen) and Richard Bartle (“Hearts, Clubs, Diamonds, Spades”) writing about MUDs, selfhood, identity, behaviour and so on.

Then in the 2000s you see a lot more formal ethnography. For those unfamiliar: ethnography is the research methodology pioneered by anthropologists, but also used in some other disciplines, which involves deep social engagement with groups of people, in-depth interviews, and a focus on ‘participant-observation,’ which essentially means the researcher immerses themselves in the culture and social setting of their fieldwork. So during this period we see: T. L. Taylor’s Play Between Worlds, which did ethnography in EverQuest, then Tom Boellstorff in Coming of Age in Second Life, Thomas Malaby at Linden Labs in Making Virtual Worlds, Bonnie Nardi exploring World of Warcraft in My Life as a Night Elf Priest, and others.

And from these researchers we learn about a lot of interesting psychological and sociocultural phenomena: about unique online cultures; about how players oscillate between dual identities and parallel lives betwixt the “real world” and virtual worlds; about how developer practices and organizational politics shape emergent worlds; about the embodied cognition and sociotechnical skill developed by players; about notions of digital “third places” (spaces that are neither work nor home, such as public plazas, cafes, bars, clubs, parks, et cetera), and many other topics.

This is also a period where we get important contributions to the design theory of MMOs from texts like Raph’s A Theory of Fun for Game Design and Bartle’s Designing Virtual Worlds. There are a lot of other interesting thinkers during this period as well, but it is too much to cover comprehensively–suffice to say, we really see research on virtual worlds explode during the 2000s. This is of course also the time when MMOs experienced their most exponential era of growth.

Compelling social science work on virtual worlds has continued to bubble up since, including methodological formalizations (Boellstroff, Nardi, Pearce, & Taylor 2012, Ethnography and Virtual Worlds) and expansions into topics like streaming (Taylor 2018, Watch Me Play) and VR (Boellstorff 2024, “Towards Anthropologies of the Metaverse”; Krell & Wettmann 2023, “Corporeal Interactions in VRChat”). My friend, and sometimes co-author and research collaborator, Joshua W. Rivers, was awarded a Fulbright for ethnographic fieldwork at CCP Games during this period (2019). So lots of interesting recent research and scholarship on the subject. Not to mention Raph’s Postmortems (2018), a tour de force on the history, theory, and design of virtual worlds.

The point of all of this? It is simply to say: as a topic of study, virtual worlds are very interesting, and we have an intrepid history of scholarship on the subject over the past few decades. And following this constellation of discourses, I am always interested in the back of my head in a variety of questions: What does it mean to have a “second life” in the virtual world? What are the patterns in online games teaching us, how are they changing us? What does virtual spatially even mean, and how is it socially produced? How do the economics of real world capital collide with the economics of simulation? How might virtual worlds foreshadow future experiments in social policy and governance? What can virtual worlds teach us about identity, embodiment, phenomenology? The relationship between collective narratology and culture? How do emerging virtual technologies transform how we make meaning, secrete community, and experience everyday life? How are they operating as social science petri dishes for cultural experimentality, value formation, community emergence, social dynamics, resource resolution, novel identities, et cetera? And so on and so on. These sorts of questions are very interesting to me as someone with a background in anthropology, philosophy, and technology.

Stars Reach seems particularly suited for exploring a lot of these questions–it is an open world sandbox MMORPG with a focus on physico-ecological simulation and on the richness of collectively building cities, social architectures, and political-economy. MMOs are huge cultural laboratories in a very real sense, and I think Stars Reach is sort of perfect to really enable people to experiment and do intriguing and creative things collaboratively. So I think we will see some really unique and interesting stuff that people do, that they experiment with. And I imagine it will be very cool to see what emerges over time.

Q: What is your favorite part about being a Stars Reach moderator?

Leric: Getting to be part of architecting, operating, and nurturing growth in such a fantastic social ecology, and being able to befriend so many people! I truly do have a (somewhat pathological?) passion for building things, so I am loving being a part of cultivating something so unique and excitingly pleasant. And we have such a great team and community, it is an honor to be part of it all. Not to mention being able to contribute even in this small way to such a laudable and magnificent project as Stars Reach.

Q: What is your favorite part of Stars Reach that you have experienced thus far in-game?

Leric: Our city building. Some of my background is in the field of Urban Anthropology, or the Anthropology of Cities (adjacent and entangled with what is called in anthropology, sociology, and geography the analytical domain of Spatial Theory, or “Space and Place”)–it was one of the specialties of where I studied–but of course I’ve also always had the passion for the study of virtual worlds at the intersection of game studies and the social sciences generally as well (which are very much like cities, in a sense). So, as you can imagine, online multiplayer social sandbox building games–from Star Wars Galaxies to Minecraft to Boundless and beyond–have always had a special place in my heart.

And it’s been so great seeing people come collaborate, and sort of party together and build in Stars Reach. Each iteration has been like a little festival–anthropologists love festivals, you know–and it has been a lot of fun seeing these collective urbanistic/architectural works of art. I love seeing each experiment in architecture, city planning, and landscaping. Beanstalk City, the Owldeer Cave Community, Rod’s Old West Town, Mycitium, and all the others–it has been awesome to see it built, (Instaformer) brick by brick.

Q: What is a feature you are excited to eventually see in Stars Reach?

Leric: Oh, so many things. This is such a dream title for me in so many ways, as someone who is such a fan of MMORPGs, science fiction, and sandbox games. I am super excited for urbanism and architecture, for sure, and their related political machinery. For crafting and economic systems. For stuff related to genetics and bioengineering. That stuff was amongst my favorite things in SWG, and I am so thrilled to see another game finally tackle it. So definitely creatures and pets. Then planetary ecology for sure. Starfighter stuff–I recently obtained a joystick for the first time in years. Not to mention being able to travel and explore as we gain access to a wider planetary horizon. So lots of stuff! The volume of exciting things we may see in this game really is extraordinary.

Q: Players talk a lot about how Stars Reach feels very different from your stereotypical mmos, does that resonate with you and if so, how does it differ from mmos you have played?

Leric: As a player, other MMOs engineered in the model of WoW have become somewhat stale to me. They tend to be about a few things: intense regularly repeatable predictable experiences with cumulative treadmill-style rewards (banal sequential quests, raids, dungeons, tedious daily and weekly repeatable activities, turning in prize tickets for soon-obsoleted equipment, et cetera); main story quests that quickly run through the game’s newest environments then move on; repetitive leveling of other classes or characters; accumulation of in-game wealth with very little to do with it; “small sandboxes” like character fashion, and FFXIV’s housing and decoration systems; seasonal events…and so on and so. Theme parks. I have become tired of, so to speak, riding carousels and shooting fish in a barrel. After many years of these activities one grows bored. It's hard for it to stay fresh.

But the elegant Stars Reach harkins back to an earlier (more civilized?) age–the days of Ultima Online, Star Wars Galaxies, PlanetSide, Anarchy Online, Runescape, Second Life, and other games which have become known as “sandbox MMOs.” “Choose Your Own Adventure,” to invoke ancient literature.

In these games people, so to speak, “make their own fun.” It's a little creatively chaotic. Surprises happen. As I recall from SOE’s marketing for SWG all those years ago, something to the effect of, “The Greatest Story Ever Told, Yours.” It is an open-ended journey, where you are always becoming something in an experimental way. There is no predetermined path. The story is the story of your life within the game, your encounters and participation. It is an experimental horizon. To create things and make friendships and have experiences. Emergence and immersion.

And so to accomplish that, the game must provide a lot of interesting granular interdynamic systems for you to mess with and play with, mix and move back and forth between, creatively and collectively enabling emergence with the other players and the world. This is the sand in the sandbox.

From what I have seen, Stars Reach has a lot of really great sand, a veritable paradisiacal beach. So this, in my mind, makes it quite unique amongst contemporary MMOs, in that it is truly embracing the full potentiality of the virtual world as a sandbox. It does this not only with a rich garland of player systems, but its groundbreaking cellular automata based simulation: a new frontier in the notion of a “living world,” right down to the actual virtual sand. And I do so love sand! It may be coarse and rough and irritating, and it might get everywhere—but you can transmute it into glass. Not to mention castles! :]

Space City

Ever wonder when explorers would take to space and create a space city? Well explorers did just that, they braved the gravity-less space, with creatures around every lurking asteroid. If you have never built in space before, just know that it is not the easiest task. Orienting yourself out in space can be a challenge but these brave explorers not only braved the elements of space but they created a city that will always be remembered as the first space city.

Scientific Discoveries

Archeology: Unearthing Hidden Wonders

By: Dr. Elayne Arkwright

Dr. Elayne Arkwright, a renowned historian and archeologist (amongst other things), was exploring Zaraxa one hot summer day looking for something exquisite. There was something about the way the sand was sliding down the dune, and thus Dr. Arkwright started to dig. BeanstalkHead was close by observing and taking photographs of the find, to ensure this was properly documented for the history and knowledge of The Garden. After hours of meticulous work, with proper archeological care, Dr. Arkwright unearthed something wondrous! What could this creature have been, where had it come from, what were its origins...one day a specimen like this will be displayed in a museum or at least that is what explorers hope is possible in the Stars Reach universe!

Creating a Working Fountain

By: JesDyr

JesDyr is known for more than their otters and ballsheeps, they are one of the most brilliant engineers working on many different experiments ranging from creating ice rinks, ski jumps, heat pipes, fountains and much more! This shows just some of the genius behind what it takes to understand how the Stars Reach simulation works and how to use it to create masterpieces like this fountain!

Tomb Exploration

By: McShroud

Written By: McShroud

My team (me basically) landed on the 5th planet of the day after ravaging 4 others for goodies. Full cargo space we (me) figured we would save the worst for last, a dusty, sandy, colorless land. We (me, ok you got the idea right?) found a tunnel that led to a massive, strange structure. The tunnel was risky, constant sand leaks, sand in my ears, my mouth, my... well you know where.... so we had to shore it up first. Some framing and tons of pavers and finally good to go to next step.

I wanted to hide the cargo ship in the tunnel so snoops like that Jake fella who had already set up an excavator will not see what we are doing. Now just need tracks from the relic to the storage to drag pieces in, those are gonna be heavy.

I panicked a bit (broke golden rule #1 of relic hunter/junk collector's code--stay cool no matter how dumb an idea you had}. Panic because I feared Jake would win the race. No cargo space so I just dumped our 4 world's worth of cargo to make room for that exciting marble and weird building pieces.... can never have too much of that stuff am I right?!? Left lots of goodies, very shiny and purty stuff dumped at the site, but this planet is empty who will come here? I will be back for it.

Then, as we placed the last track into the ancient building we heard voices coming from the fancy fabricated building pieces (from the doors? stairs?).... "Time flies when ... fun..." Too focused on the excavation. So close! Time to chop! and then.... Total blackness! Was I dead? Imprisoned in that relic? In the distance I could hear a soft strange sound. Sort of a 'Meee Ow...... Meeeee Owww.... Meeow??' No idea what that creature said, sounded hungry, did not want to get eaten, so we started to crawl in the dark searching for our escape tunnel.... yikes.

Creating an Orbital Launcher

By: JesDyr

When you see JesDyr building something, you may want to keep an eye on it to see what it could potentially turn into. An orbital launcher was created through creating a ski jump. While you had to be there to experience this, as it has since been patched, plenty of players were launched into the air and enjoyed the many hours of fun it brought. And even started the trend of other players experimenting with ice!

Flora Extinction Research

By: Dr. Drake Vellaut

Dr. Drake Vellaut know for his scientific work in the xenobiology realm, he set out with a question...how sustainable was mushroom life? And so after many painstaking hours and multiple experiments, Dr. Vellaut was able to gather all the data he collected and published a white paper to raise awareness of the Garden to the dangers of unsustainable harvesting practices, especially for specific mushroom species. The paper was named - White Paper: Ecological Sustainability of Harvesting Practices on Pyromycis Regarding Mush- rooms

Hubert's Experiments and Buildings

Creating a Waterfall

By: Hubert

How many games have you played where you can transform the world and then create something like a waterfall? Well in Stars Reach you can do just that. And Hubert, is one of the more well known players in the Stars Reach community creating innovative experiments that push the worlds and what you can do to their limits. A working waterfall was created on Rodin IV in the cenote.

Experimentation: Lava Lamps

By: Hubert

Another experiment conducted by Hubert, but this time it was creating sustainable lava lamps. After much work and experimentation, Hubert has successfully honed their craft and has gained extensive knowledge on what is possible and what is not possible!

Creating a Pool

By: Hubert

Ever wonder how to create a pool from a lake, where Hubert gives some step by step instructions on how to do just that. And a pool doesn't have to be for just looks or swimming, in this scenario Hubert even turned it into an ice rink. There are always multiple things that can be done, and depending on what you like to do there are many possibilities.

Ice had some interesting things you could do with it back when Hubert attempted their ice rink. As Hubert said, "the little skating rinks were fun too. Although I've yet to do the science on this I've been told the orbital insertion physics when you hit the sides of the rink just right have been removed (which would also include the orbital insertion physics that JesDyr had on his ski ramps). For those who do not know what I'm talking about if you hit certain icy surfaces the right way while walking it would literally shoot you up 1000s of meters. Those were fun experiments (provided you were able to avoid the fall damage on re-entry)."

"I create the device next to the lake and create a container to put the water into..."

From inside you can see the gap in the side where the water flows into the container below where it will go up a chimney like device you can sort of see below.

Then you heat the water with a chronophaser and it evaporates up the chimney...

And it condenses up top and falls down into the pool container (specific construction inside not shown but it has to be done just right).

I had plenty of water so I expanded a new section with a wall in between.

And removed the wall and let the water flow to the empty side. After this settled (in the next server session) I cut the walls down a bit, separated the material contacting the walls (to prevent heat from entering the system) and froze it all to make the ice rink launchy thing. The only evidence of what the final thing looked like was above ...

Fun with Geysers

By: Hubert

What the Stars Reach simulation can accomplish is astonishing, it really gives players a lot of capabilities to experiment with and players like Hubert do exactly that. Here is some work of a group of explorers, including Hubert, creating and having fun with geysers in Stars Reach!

Communication Tower

By: Hubert

Players need to be able to communicate with each other, dangerous weather events need someway to reach players, and dangerous creatures invading the world are all reasons why a communication tower would be useful in Stars Reach. While this communication tower that Hubert built on Gaiamar is just for show, we never know what future things we will see be added to the game when it comes to player communication.

Igloo

By: Hubert

It can get cold during Pyromycis nights, so an igloo is a perfect home for those who like that winter aesthetic.

Questions for Hubert

Q: What got you interested in Stars Reach?

Hubert: I can't quite remember exactly how I got the initial information about Stars Reach but as soon as I heard about it I watched the videos of Raph Koster explaining it and was intrigued right away. I have been a fan of voxel building games but this one included physical properties and reactions in the materials making it even more interesting. I signed up right away especially after knowing that Raph Koster was involved. I had played Ultima Online and Star Wars Galaxies and I really prefer his skill based systems to level based ones.

Q: You have been one of the main players that have been conducting experiments, what was one of your favorite discoveries thus far in Stars Reach and why?

Hubert: Well most of the things I've been experimenting with have been discovered or invented by other players. Lava Lamps were invented by Animal but I just spent a lot of time testing and learning different ways to work with them. JesDyr created the first heat pump that I know of and I just used that knowledge to create the ice rinks on Pyromycis and the waterfall on Gaiamar. The satellite dish on my communication tower was inspired by Waboba's designs. I stand on the shoulders of giants.

I suppose my favorite creation was the waterfall. It involved the most complex system of dropping water to natural molten lava where it heated, moved up, condensed and came out as the waterfall. My only disappointment was that there was a significant loss of water in the process and it could not really last forever.

Q: You have experimented with the sim, you have built different buildings, what has been some of your favorite features in Stars Reach?

Hubert: I know many have said this but I always enjoy just creating huge tunnels with the terraformer. Also the depositor is very useful for building things outside of your homestead. Being able to significantly alter land outside of your homestead while still having things protected within your homestead is a pretty amazing feature you don't see in too many games. Although whatever tunnel you might dig or structure you might deposit it is always open to destruction by others and the natural environment. But requiring maintenance is a small price to pay for that ability.

Q: What feature are you looking forward to most?

Hubert: I am not sure I'll get involved in this or not but the planetary governments and the thoughts they might be able to set up zoning and restrictions on how land outside of homesteads within the planet owners' area will be accessed sounds really interesting. It can lead to some massive settlements and player builds and I really look forward to what can be done with that.

Q: What are some of your favorite parts of the simulation and how it makes things interesting and more realistic, allowing you and other players to conduct these experiments?

Hubert: Soon after I built the communications tower I started building/depositing some diorite bridges near it. The material from this came from a tunnel I started creating near the zone wall that I wanted to be a kind of underground transportation system to protect you from things on the surface. I found that if I left the deposited bridges and tunnels for a few tests when I returned they were significantly destroyed. Chunks of the bridges were cut out and parts of the tunnel close to the surface collapsed. Although it is possible that players could have caused this damage it was too regular to be explained by that. It was most likely meteors, ice chunks, acid rain and other things that alter the environment and cause damage to the ground all over. This means you have to maintain your structures over time as damage comes to them just as you really need to do in the real world(even if by other players and not the natural environment). I think this is one of the most interesting features of the simulation.

Taming the Wild

Dr. Drake Vellaut Taming the Kharvix

While taming is in its very basic form, it is still a fun mechanic for those of you that enjoy having a friend with you on your journey. Keep in mind that your tamed friend will only follow you and it won't attack or aide you at all, and if you accidentally attack it, it will no longer be your friend. But if you want to enjoy and nice stroll with your creature friend, take in the sites, and take some photos with them then you can most definitely do that (which is exactly what Dr. Drake Vellaut did below).

Dr. Julie Wanelights First Tame: Bugmeat

Tamed my first creature, cute Kharvix! I called it "Bugmeat".

Introducing Bugmeat to PoisonGirl and giving tips on how to get your own! (They really like herbivore meat!)

Inspecting a Dark Wizard mushroom with Bugmeat under the Harafin moon.

Frolicking in the Harafin sunrise before I had to let Bugmeat go :'(. I will see you again someday little buddy!

Dr. Wanelight continued their taming journey this time they set out looking to tame the prowlers. New friends means new photos with them!

JesDyr: Taming Multiple Creatures at Once

Mrgoshdarn: Taming the dangerous Prion

The Prion is one of those dangerous creatures but that didn't stop Mrgoshdarn from attempting the tame and being successful!

Waboba: Master Architect or Master Tamer?

The Master Architect took time away from their beautiful house build to seek out knowledge on how to tame creatures in The Garden. And the master architect not only tamed a single Kharvix, no they tamed a prowl of Kharvix or would it be a swarm of kharvix. The master architect took great care of their swarm of Kharvix's and before they headed back to Rodin IV, a picture was taken to commemorate their time!

SharTeel: Their First Tame

You always will remember your first tame, so congratulations to the explorer SharTeel on their first tame. And what a beautiful Kharvix as your first tame!

Mushroom City: Mycityum

Planning Stages

Ever wonder how Mycityum came about? Well we have the inside scoop of what went into the planning stages of Mycityum. GUNC had just finished their city build in the ravine on Rodin IV and so they held a vote to see what was the next project plan, and building on the natural mushroom structure on Pyromycis won the vote. The planning started out by figuring out how to build a city on the Pyromycis mushrooms, which one to choose, how much of the original structure was going to be maintained, what type of traversal challenges there would be going from the ground to the mushroom cap, and many more discussions. But then there were rumblings and rumors of a new patch, and this new patch may do the unthinkable...the mushrooms would be no more due to the adhesion update. The physics midterm patch was going to make the natural mushroom structures a thing of the past. No one was ever going to see these magnificent structures ever again... And that is when the idea came, what if they created a mushroom like structure to pay homage to the past mushrooms that would never be seen again. And thus the Mushroom City was born.

The excitement was palpable amongst GUNC, this was an even more exciting endeavor then they could have thought of, but now they needed to put pen to paper as one would say to start the engineering plans of the mushroom city. The first step was how were we going to overcome the adhesion update, what materials were going to be strong enough while also allowing for it to look similar enough to the mushroom of old. The white parts of the mushroom they had thoughts of using opal and marble, the dark parts they decided on jade. The adhesion challenge was a hybrid approach of using instaformer blocks and then deposit the minerals directly on the blocks, molding it to look like a stem. And then from previous GUNCies builds they had determined they wanted to use glass on the underside of the mushroom cap to give off a reflective surface as well as the entire cap made of glass (if only they knew how much glass was going to be needed).

It is always great to see when the developers engage in conversations with the community and I guess you may say that Dave Georgeson may have had a hand in the creation of Mycityum based on what information he gave GUNC.

The initial design consisted of four (4) homestead base, three (3) homestead stem, and a sixteen (16) homestead cap. They were going to build the mushroom city at one of the former mushroom locations. Below are multiple diagrams and reference photos to give an idea of what we wanted to accomplish.

Building Phase

Physics Midterm patch was live and... the old mushroom locations were a no go. The terrain was so torn up from the fall of the mushrooms and creatures were all over that area. So that plan went out the window. So it was moved to over the ridge, a straight shot from the portal. The elevator entrance was crafted, dug into the very ridge wall. Now the fun part began, nine (9) homesteads were placed meticulously to make sure everything lined up just perfect. And yes at some points GUNC wondered if being barely off would matter, but they wanted it to be perfect and so the placing of homesteads continued. Explorers were creating multiple alts for homesteads, other explorers were mining and gather flora, and then others were working on helping explorers place homesteads. It was a continuous operation. Then the (3) homestead stem was created, the vertical challenge of placing homesteads was a fun challenge. But something was off, the proportions did not look correct. The mushroom was going to be too stubby, and so the plans changed again. It become a four (4) homestead stem and it was going to be a twenty-five (25) homestead cap. Meanwhile GUNCies was being constructed under all of this work, again you had a community putting in the work to move this project along.

Statistics of Crafted Glass Blocks
- 24,000 Glass Cubes
- 32,000 Sand Gathered
- ~20,000 mouse clicks for crafting (this was before the "craft another crafting update"

The stem now needed to have jade deposited all along it. But before that could fully start multiple revamps went into making the stem wider and the inner layer changed to allow for more room. But then after five (5) hours of work and all the gathering, the mushroom stem was covered in jade. It was really starting to look like a pseudo mushroom. It was time for the cap to become mushroom-ified and so marble was deposited all around the cap to give it a more rounded look without losing any homestead space. While it was no where near a perfect circle, it made more sense to keep homestead space then make a perfect circle.

Move in Phase

A name had been determined to be Mycityum! With the main mushroom build complete, it was time for explorers to start moving in. Chef Jerek created Club Jericho in the Mycityum cap, trees and flora planted all inside, other structures were scattered amongst the cap. On top Waboba built the space port with a beautiful ship on the landing pad. All the other builds started to fall into place: an info booth, a lecture hall/amphitheater, a GUNK (junk) shop, a laundromat, a hotel, with more to come. Escape tunnels were built under GUNCies that led to hooby's garden. A troll under the bridge (McShroud) moved in near the stem of Mycityum. The plaza area was constructed, fully equipped with a tool stations and even a compass rose was crafted into the floor to allow explorers to know their orientation on the planet.

The amount of details that went into the plaza was astonishing, every door you walked through seemed to lead to a new area. Every test explorers were adding more finishing touches to every element of Mycityum. Then the traversal system started, while it was not the original plan, in the end it was a Stars Reach first. The first elevator was created by Waboba and Mrgoshdarn. Yes, an actual working elevator that took you from the ground level of Mycityum all the way to the mushroom cap. It was a feat of innovation and ingenuity on how they came up with this elevator, but it became a must visit for all explorers to try out the elevator (and of course there was a slide to then bring you back down).

Other Fun Facts

• At the time of this being written fifty-two (52) homesteads were used to create Mycityum. The total number of materials it required are unknown but they could say it was a ridiculous amount
• Mycityum has survived all the patches since it started construction during the Physics Midterm patch. While GUNC knowingly built Mycityum knowing in three (3) weeks the progress would be wiped, but the dev team figured out a way to keep Mycityum around and was able to push future updates by wiping only the flora and creating more behind the scene magic to keep Mycityum alive and well.
• Mycityum made it into official lore. "It landed askew in front of the Assistant, showing looping video of flyovers of a chilly looking world of salt flats and tall alpine trees, a dead volcano and a tall mushroom-like artificial structure the colonists were building." And even a deal was being brokered with the Servitors to save Mycityum - "“Excellent,” Bunten said. “In exchange for saving the colony on Pyromycis, the TransPlanetary League is willing to offer concessions. We can offer up the location of two Cornucopia-infested worlds.” Only time would tell how much time Mycityum had left but the TPL was working to save the colony.

Event: Spread the Flora

The Spread the Flora event was an event that was put on by G.U.N.C. and it was one of the first community events in Stars Reach. This event centered around getting the community to plant different types of flora on Escarion. It was both a beautification project and a stress test the new planet at the time, Escarion, to see how it would handle being covered in flora.

Creating a Sidescroller on Rodin IV

When you see the ingenuity of players, you can really start to see anything is possible in Stars Reach. JesDyr, who has experimented with many different elements in the Stars Reach world, created a sidescroller game on Rodin IV. So when you plan your next vacation to Rodin IV, be sure to have some fun and try out this game!

Video by JesDyr

Journalism

Videographer Spotlight: Controlled Chaos

One of the most thorough and well known journalists in The Garden, Controlled Chaos. They have been documenting the Stars Reach Universe through a multitude of videos, and it isn't just gameplay videos and commentary...no it is also interviewing the developers and even explorers. The work Controlled Chaos has done is invaluable for documenting the history of Stars Reach, and we thank them for their work. Here are just a handful of their videos, with many more on their channel!

Video by Controlled Chaos

Video by Controlled Chaos

Video by Controlled Chaos

Video by Controlled Chaos

Video by Controlled Chaos

Journalist Spotlight: hooby

When an explorer comes to mind that has down wonders for written journalism, hooby is definitely the name you hear about. The history they have kept documented from the very beginning is to be commended. And just a few weeks ago they posted celebrating Stars Reach's one year anniversary. Which this article documented many events since the beginning of Stars Reach, if you haven't checked out the blog posts, we highly encourage them if you wish to take a walk through the history of Stars Reach!

The link is below for hooby's Blog:

Player Spotlight: hooby

hooby is one of those players who have been one of the first players in Stars Reach. They have created many blog posts documenting the history and keeping you up-to-date on the updates and happenings of Stars Reach. We had a chance to catch up with hooby to talk about Stars Reach!

Questions for hooby

Questions:

Q: Hooby, you were one of the first people around when Playable Worlds first announced their existence. How did you find out about them and how excited were you for the game they were working on?

hooby: As far as I remember - but after 6 years I'm a bit fuzzy on the details - a few things came together. I've always enjoyed reading Raphs blog, watching his talks, reading his books, because his game design philosophy always strongly vibed with me.

I had just ordered his book "Postmortems" and was trying to find out what he might be up to now, while also searching for a new gaming news source, as my favorite site had just put up a paywall... and somehow I ended up on a dry but brand-new Yahoo finance article about Raph Koster's newly founded company getting 2.7m in seed funding to start working on an MMO.

It was pure coincidence that this initial press release happened just when I was "on the hunt" like that. I was very excited about Raph actually working on a new MMO - but there was absolutely zero information on the game - so nothing else existed to be excited about.

Q: You have been keeping quite the historical record of Stars Reach, what do you enjoy most about doing that?

hooby: I believe the community is the most important part of any MMO - and what I enjoy most about writing these posts, is to imagine that I'm contributing a little to bringing that community together. Shared history does help inform group identity. I'm not making the history that does achieve that - but I'm trying to preserve and share the memory of it.

Q: You recently came out with a Stars Reach anniversary blog post, what are some of your favorite historical moments in Stars Reach thus far?

hooby: I especially love all the things that happened completely off-script. Like, the accidental flooding of Beanstalk City. The moment some testers discovered they had access to some dev-commands. Or the creation of Spham - not for the meme itself, but rather because of this electrifying atmosphere of people's overflowing enthusiasm about the game announcement, which gave birth to all that silliness in the first place. That game announcement was definitely the most emotional moment so far.

Q: Since you have been playing since the beginning of the Pre-Alpha, what have been some of your favorite improvements that you have seen since the pre-alpha started?

hooby: There has been a ton of improvements - but the biggest of them has to be everything to do with the procedural planet generation.

Taking together all the improvements to all the stuff that's being generated - like the landscape, the caves, the mountains, the ravines, the lakes, the ore veins, the flora and fauna, the sky, the sunlight, the climate, the seasonal patterns, etc. - planets and their ecosystems have gotten a lot more diverse and interesting and strange and beautiful over time.

Q: You have been a big part of the Stars Reach community, what do you feel makes this community so special?

hooby: The people. Period.

There can be no other answer to that question. Maybe we attract the best people, because of all the SWG and UO veterans driving up the average age. Maybe it's because a game that treats peaceful play just as important as combat appeals to somewhat different audience segments. Maybe it's because pre-release communities are always full of hope. Maybe it's because the colorful trailer scared away a lot of the more toxic players. Maybe a bit of all of the above.

Q: What feature or features are you most looking forward to seeing in game?

hooby: The player economy. And yes, I know, that's actually a pretty tall order. Not just many interconnected features, but it also requires strong player participation to actually get it off the ground - once the features are in.

Q: You have done quite a bit in Stars Reach, what are some of your favorite activities or builds that you have done?

hooby: I did a little bit of everything, but I've probably spent more time with building than anything else so far. The allowed freedom and creative possibilities make building a lot of fun, although to be perfectly frank and honest - the still clunky controls and somewhat cumbersome to use widgets can also make it feel infuriatingly slow-going at times. I think my personal favourite build so far may have been the tower.

I also found a kind of childlike joy in just rerouting the flow of water, digging moats and watching them fill. And that one patch when everyone joined up to go hunt makers, that was pretty fun as well, because of so many people participating.

Gardens: A Touch of Beauty

Gardens are a way to see natures beauty in a specified area. Flowers and plants specifically chosen and curated to create the beautiful artistic expression intended by the creator. Art speaks to everyone differently, enjoy the artistic journey as you take a look at some of the gardens that have been created by explorers!

GUNC Garden

GUNC Gardens was specifically curated by Dr. Drake Vellaut and was spread out wide over the planet of Escarion. It was a fully paved garden that took roughly five (5) minutes to fully walk through as you took in all the different flora arrangements. On top of the vast array of different flora, it also was an example of using flora arranged in the form of letters. One part of the garden spelled out "Join Us, GUNC" and another said "Stars Reach". This was a new way at looking at planting flora and gardening in Stars Reach.

Mega Rock City Garden

Jake was the main flora designer of Mega Rock City creating the main garden in the center of the city as well as multiple smaller gardens around the city.

Zaraxa Becomes a Garden

One of the first examples of transforming a planet. Before plants cared about what soil they were placed in or before they cared about temperature, Zaraxa was once an oasis...but now it is desert.

Uranium Garden

The Uranium Garden was constructed on Rodin IV, just outside Waboba's flora atrium. Such a unique take on a garden combining minerals and flora to create a truly special display of beauty!

Beach Front Garden

Beach front property that Leric truly made special. This garden gave the perfect beach vibe, sadly the garden did not last long as Escarion had a rollback shortly after this photo was taken but it shall always be remembered as one of the first gardens on Escarion!

Club Jericho: Outdoor Garden

Chef Jerek commissioned GUNC to beautify the outside of Club Jericho, and so GUNC went with a tropical design to really bring out the relaxing feel!

Waboba Gardens

The precursor to the design of the GUNC Plaza atrium, Waboba created a thoughtfully designed atrium to house a beautiful garden.

Garden: GUNC Plaza

The GUNC Plaza gardens were carefully curated by GUNC. Consisting of multiple sections including a mushroom, flower, tropical and bioluminescence section throughout the plaza.

Poetry: Skawatchi Haikus

Guilds of Stars Reach

The social aspect of Stars Reach will be an important part of the game, and by extension the guilds and friend groups players find and create will help make The Garden an even more beautiful place. Below are the Guilds that have been spotlighted by Stars Reach in the order in which it occurred. We definitely recommend looking for a guild or group that fits with your playstyle!

We compiled guild statements from each of the spotlighted guilds from the Stars Reach Official Discord in each guilds LFG posts. Check out more information for each guild there or check out each Guild's Recruitment Info that was provided in each spotlight!

G.U.N.C. (Galactic Union of Natural Conservation)

Recruitment Info: Discord Link

We are looking for all types of players. We are driven by science but that does not mean you need to be a scientist. We are looking for players that want to preserve and help rehabilitate the galaxy rather than destroy it. So whether you are the more research documentation type of explorer or the casual wanting to have a fun community to enjoy this game for many years to come we are looking for you!

We have an entertainment division as we have hosted and will continue to host events, plans galas, put on fundraisers, etc.

We are looking for explorers as exploration is a big part of GUNC, we are looking to the stars and unlocking the mysteries of the galaxy, whether you are a gatherer or combat focused exploration is in our DNA!

All types of scientists are welcome, whether you are a xenobiologist, botanist, mineralogist, farmer, food science, research journalist, we need you!

Logistics and planning are another large part of GUNC, as we will be working with our affiliates to help ensure timely shipments and be able to efficiently move goods from outer planets back to our GUNC planets. Any profession fits into GUNCs focus, feel free to ask us questions if you have any!

GUNC Website: GUNC Website

GUNC Run Wiki: Stars Reach Wiki by GUNC

The Horizon Initiative

Recruitment Info: @Noc [Horizon] | @Keaggan | @.cordial on Discord

Welcome to the grandest guild in the drift! 🌌🚀

WHO WE ARE 🌟

We are a passionate and tightly-knit guild born from the camaraderie of seasoned gamers who have traveled together through countless virtual worlds. Our community values self-sustainability and the shared dream of a multi-planetary controlled empire. Founded by veterans & guild leaders of UO, SWG, WoW, Eve, & ESO—bringing over 83 years of collective guild leadership experience in *trade, crafting, PvP, RP* & community first to this endeavor.

After more than two decades of adventures in various MMOs, we are reuniting, forging new paths and new friendships in cooperation. Join us, and together, we will create a legacy that echoes through the stars! ✨

WHAT WE HAVE 🌍

As we reach the stars, join us to establish a premier destination, New Horizon! 🌠 As a foundational Stars Reach Guild, we have already set ourselves apart by claiming the Stars Reach Galactic Planetary Tier, which gives us:

• 🔹A Claimed Planet: Choosing the climate that fits our goals and style. 🌤️



• 🔹Planetary Government: Gaining immediate governance of the planet when the game launches so we can focus our *time & resources* on building the infrastructure, a trade hub, & spaceport.



• 🔹Guild Head Start: Give us the foundation to craft interactive destinations like NPC Quests & the Galactically Famous Blackest Sea Cantina. 🍹

• 🔹Community: Weekly Icebreaker, Guild Game Night, & Guild Movie Night! 🎮🎬



• 🔹Automation: Role-select, Levels, XP, RP channel, Economy with shop!



• 🔹Interactive AI: First-ever *Stars Reach NPC,* Nebbie! Come by the *Blackest Sea Cantina* and say, "Hi"!

Silverlight Industries

Recruitment Info: Discord Link

⚙️ Seeking New & Eager Recruits! 🌟

Who We Are SilverLight Industries is a neutral corporation dedicated to industry, trade, resource extraction, logistics, research & development, and security services. Our structured divisions work together to drive innovation, maintain operations, and expand opportunities across the Universe.

Our Divisions

• 🔹 Production – Crafting & Infrastructure
• 🔹 Logistics – Transportation & Warehouse Management
• 🔹 R&D – Bio-Engineering & Exploration
• 🔹 Extraction – Terraforming & Resource Acquisition
• 🔹 Operations – Trade & Diplomacy
• 🔹 Security – Law Enforcement & Defense Management

Stellar Wisdom Academy

Recruitment Info: Contact Provost Jared through Discord private message

The Stellar Wisdom Academy is meant to be a space for those looking to better understand the world and themselves. This will be a place with courses, lectures, and trainings for those who wish to good in the Stars Reach universe.

These forums will range from real philosophy discussions/primers to in-game training on specific skills set, from experts within the game. And within this, a network of friendly guilds and other groups that you can branch into, once you find your personal path. A world, solely meant for training, learning, and practicing the skills you want to grow.

And if you just wish for a safe and fun place to get to know others and live your life peacefully, while learning more about the game, the Stellar Wisdom Academy is for you.

Join us, as a Professor, Aide, or Student... and gain the wisdom you desire.

The Trade Federation

Recruitment Info: Discord Link

The Trade Federation (TF) is seeking ambitious traders, strategists, and like-minded individuals to join our ranks! Our mission is clear: to create a powerful coalition dedicated to establishing trade dominance across entire planets and the galaxy itself.

As a guild focused entirely on trade, our goal is to build one of the largest and most influential economies in the galaxy. Whether you're a hardcore crafter or an expert sniper, we need players of all types to help us realize this vision.

Our Goals:

• ✨ Total Planetary Dominance – Control the flow of resources and shape the fate of entire worlds.
• ✨ Build a Strong Local Economy – Establish thriving trade hubs and prosperous markets for our members.
• ✨ Form a Guild-Driven Government – Create a structured, member-driven government with rules and leadership that reflect the collective will of the guild.
• ✨ Build an Amazing City – Construct a grand, thriving city that will serve as the heart of our trade empire.

• Traders, crafters, and gatherers who want to shape the economic landscape.
• PvE enthusiasts and snipers who excel in strategic dominance and defense.
• Visionaries who want to help establish a government and bring the guild's ideals to life.
• Players eager to build something grand and lasting in a community of like-minded individuals.
• Join us and help The Trade Federation shape the future of the galaxy. Together, we will create a legacy that will last through the stars!

S.H.A.P.E. (Stellar Habitat and Aesthetic Planning Experts)

Recruitment Info: Discord Link

Join SHAPE—Because Great Design is More Than Just Space!

Are you tired of bland, uninspired edifices cluttering the landscapes of new worlds? Do you dream of transforming dull habitats into celestial masterpieces? Then it’s time to SHAPE the universe with us!

As a proud member of the Stellar Habitat and Aesthetic Planning Experts (SHAPE), you’ll collaborate with visionary experts from around the galaxy to create, elevate, market, and sell elaborate exteriors and breathtaking interiors. Our members include architects, interior designers, furniture makers, artists, and similar professionals.

SHAPE will facilitate many different types of activities. We will showcase our members’ designs and advertise their services to the galactic community. We will hold regular design contests that include prizes. Furthermore, a long-term goal of the guild is to found an artist colony on a picturesque planet or an avant-garde space station.

If you are interested in shaping the galaxy with us, feel free to post your ideas and screenshots of your creations!

B.R.E.a.D. (Bars, Restaurants, Entertainment and Delights)

Recruitment Info: Discord Link

Hello fellow cooks, entertainers, bartenders, and general purveyors of distraction and decadence!

B.R.E.a.D., now a division of G.U.N.C., will focus on researching all things cooking! Can that go in there? Does it taste good in there? Where can I go to eat that?! We aim to answer these questions and more!

Creating a masterlist of recipes and sharing our own personal creations! Running events to encourage the social atmosphere of Stars Reach! Helping new players learn the ropes of cooking and providing food buffs for those in need! Working together with other entertainment professions to bring our many taverns, cities and planets to life!

Whatever your table needs, B.R.E.a.D. will be the perfect way to connect with others focused on the culinary, farming and general entertainment of Stars Reach.

Grab a slice today!

M.A.R.K.E.T (Merchants and Resource Keepers in Economic Trade)

Recruitment Info: Discord Link

A decentralized network of Merchants, Refiners, and Artisans, and the exchange of their sustainable goods for environmentally conscious services. Our objective is to maintain that network with information on G.U.N.C. affiliated members who can provide resources and services in a sustainable manner, as well as help provide introductory tools and resources for those that need it, members and non-members alike.

Homeslice

Recruitment Info: Discord Link

The Homeslice Family is looking for friends, retainers and possible future family members!! The garden has seen fit to accept us, and we have decided to, as a wise man once said "stay a while and listen." We are a very close knit group of players who prefer to operate as a "family" in game rather than a guild, corporation or rigid corps.

Sometimes we RP specific flavours if the game world calls for it or we have a particularly fun idea. We have run a Tea and Flower Shoppe, been Pirates engaged in naval pvp for resources/trade packs. We have defended castles and decimated PVE encounters, raids and dungeons for many, many years. We have even been socialist goblins led by their dark and powerful Liche-Queen bent on retaking the surface lands that they had been unceremoniously tossed out of by vicious and hard hearted humans ages ago!

Many of us are neurodivergent and or disabled, LGBTQ+ or otherwise beautifully wonderous. As such our activity and attention are not always as consistent as we might like and we may not be everyone's cup of tea but our support and respect for one another seldom wanes. So far only @winter and myself have joined the journey into this garden but I highly suspect that more will follow and if not then we are happy to meet and welcome new friends and possibly future family members here!

For this wipe we are settled in Escarion and will be focused on homesteading while also trying to preserve the natural beauty of our area and exploring the sims mechanics at our own pace. If we sound like the place/people for you then come find us in game or leave a message for us here. Please do not DM via discord until given express permission by individuals, think of it like consent at the end of a date ;P

See you in the Garden!!

47th Legion

Recruitment Info: Discord Information

🔥 Join the 47th Legion - Where Legends are Forged! 🔥

Founded in 2007 by American Military Veterans

🏰 Step into the Arena of the Mighty! 🏰

Like empires through the ages, the 47th Legion stands as a beacon of strength, strategy, and honor.

• Clash in epic battles
• Master strategy with the wisdom of the ancients
• Forge alliances that will echo through the ages

Player Lore: Strange Objects

By: Dasle Sunstryder
Written By: Dasle Sunstryder

[Incoming Transmission]
Special Report from the Interplanetary News Network

Attention citizens exploring the furthest reaches of the stars: The INN has just been informed of a strange occurrance occuring on the planet Zaraxa. Our witness describes loitering around the Space Portal on the planet, occasionally dancing to raise the spirits of our courageous explorers. It was an ordinary day until, out of nowhere, a giant rock appeared in the sky. Our witness emphatically tells us that this was not a meteor strike. Rather, the rock is floating in the sky. We have dispatched one of our correspondents to investigate the occurrence. In the meantime, we encourage all visitors to Zaraxa to take extreme care and not get too close to the floating rock.

[Incoming Transmission]
Special Report from the Interplanetary News Network


Attention citizens exploring the furthest reaches of the stars: It appears that the Zaraxa incident was not an isolated event. We are receiving reports that floating rocks have appeared near the Space Portals on both Rodin IV and Gaiamar. Once again, we urge all citizens to use extreme caution when exploring those areas. We do not yet know what is causing them, what they're made of, or if they'll eventually fall (or worse, explode!).

[End of Transmission]

[Incoming Transmission]
Special Report from the Interplanetary News Network

Attention citizens exploring the furthest reaches of the stars: Our correspondent, Visa Stargazer, has arrived on Zaraxa to learn more information about the mysterious floating rock. It appears that the rock on Zaraxa is composed entirely of Uranium. We strongly suggest avoiding it.

We also need to let you know that additional rocks have appeared floating on Escarion and Pyromycis. Please be careful out there.

[End of Transmission]

[Incoming Transmission]

Special Report from the Interplanetary News Network

Attention citizens exploring the furthest reaches of the stars: We are pleased to announce that the source of the mysterious floating rocks has been identified! A Hansian, who wishes to remain nameless, has provided the following statement for us to share with all of you:

"Greetings fellow world dwellers! I am pleased you saw our floating rocks, although you need not be so scared! I had wanted to send recipes and delicious food to draw your attention instead, but do you know how hard it is to smuggle those things past the servitors?! Crurf!

Anyway, we would love to explore these worlds with you, but you keep draining all of the lovely water from them!!! I know you don't mean harm, but my species needs that water! Please don't. As a gesture of goodwill, I deposited those floating rocks by each of the Space Portals to show you what we can accomplish together with just a little bit of knowledge and anti-gravium! Just think of the floating castles in the sky with bubbling fountains all around!

Please, take our offerings of gold, uranium, emerald, anti-gravium, and ruby. And save us the water!

Where the waves go, friends!"

Well, there you have it. We will, of course, be turning over all of our investigative reports to the Servitors, as our Bargain dictates.

[End of Transmission]

Player Spotlight: Chayce

Ruby Mountain

The prime real estate spot where you can find Chayce building extraordinary builds up in the mountains.

Tunneling Around the World

Chayce was part of the small team of players that tunneled around the wild wormhole planet Brusaxa II. Chayce and the others spent hours upon hours or mining throughout obsidian and other minerals to create a tunnel. They faced multiple challenges including the physics of sand and multiple cave-ins that completely changed some of the structures of the tunnels. As well as finding hidden natural caverns deep within the planet. The finished tunnel from the group can be seen below:

Questions for Chayce

Q: What drew you into Stars Reach, and once you got into the pre-alpha what were some of your first impressions?

Chayce: Oddly enough saw and ad on Facebook, saw Raphs name and signed up. Have followed his games since the 90's. Was possibly in alpha but definitely in beta on UO. Can't remember. Its been a while. Was in alpha and beta on SWG as well. Got even more excited when I saw Dave's name as well as I was in very early to Landmark as well.

Q: What are some of your favorite things to do in Stars Reach?

Chayce: Dig. laughs. I enjoy most of the game play, but really love the dig. Do enjoy building as well, hopefully will get better at it.

Q: Players have likely seen your builds on the Ruby Mountain. What drew you to that location? And what keeps you coming back to that location?

Chayce: It's very cool to have a Eagle nest off the side of the mountain. One of the early reason was building on the ground, or underground, folks kept burying parts or filling tunnels. Can't fill that entrance when its 50 feet in the air and on a sheer surface.

Q: You have played games like Star Wars Galaxies, and players have said this feels like a spiritual successor. Do you agree with that and if so how would you describe Stars Reach to players that loved SWG if you wanted to get them excited for Stars Reach?

Chayce: Oh for sure it is a successor. Not in the Star Wars way, but the classes and the skill based system. Creature Handler, Entertainer, Cook, Ranger, etc. The technology has finally caught up to Raph's dreams.

Q: You are in voice chat a fair amount during the play tests and also live stream in discord, how much fun are you having with this community and getting to hear the different perspectives of different players and be able to help others when needed?

Chayce: I do enjoy my solo play, usually on fresh resets, when I'm leveling up and gathering and building, but I do really enjoy running around or digging, or building with groups. Usually after I have settled into the build. This last test have spent a lot of time with others.

Q: Mining seems to be something that has interested you in Stars Reach, what makes mining so fun in this game? What are some fun moments you have had while mining?

Chayce: Not sure, but I can do it for hours, and its almost pretty zen like. Just enjoy the hell out of it. This last test mining around the entire zone, having 4 people digging, lithifying under a huge sand trap. One of my most favorite events so far.

Q: And lastly what feature or features are you most looking forward to in-game?

Chayce: Storage laughs You know how many 9999 stacks of different rocks I have destroyed over time...Looking forward to some of the classes to come out, and of course different races as well. Pretty much looking forward to all if it getting put in and smoothed out.

Points of Interest: Rodin IV

Club Jericho

Club Jericho's Rodin IV location fit the perfect vibe for Rodin IV. Chef Jerek, the owner and founder, meticulously engineered the club to really give that feel that you would have a great place to enjoy time with friends and strangers alike. Chef Jerek pulled out all the stops for this location, for his outdoor grill area he brought GUNC onboard to design the flora arrangements that help add that ambience. GUNC went with a tropical flora look, to compliment to look and feel of Club Jericho. The inside of the club was fully outfitted with a bar, dance floor, and multiple lounge areas for you to relax and unwind after a long day. If you are on Rodin IV make sure to check it out, you won't miss it with the glowing signage of Club Jericho.

GUNCies

GUNCies, the fast food bank restaurant chain. Many planets have had a GUNCies on them, but this Rodin IV location was spectacular. This multi-level restaurant allowed for the perfect ambience, while you enjoyed your meal. Allowing you to look off into the distance with a perfect view of Mt. Smilesmore and the valley below. If you make it to Rodin IV, find your GUNCies location and they will be sure to provide you with their locally sourced food at a reasonable price.

Mt. Smilesmore

Mt. Smilesmore was carved by none other than Bliargh. This wonderful masterpiece overlooks the entire planet carved into the tallest mountain, it can be seen from far and wide. A perfect view of Mt. Smilesmore can be seen from GUNCies, so while you enjoy your meal you can gave upon the mountain. And you never know you may just see Mt. Smilesmore drooling for some GUNCies as well.

Ziggurat

The Ziggurat was crafted by hooby. A beautiful piece of architecture that is a must see for yourself. And it can be seen from the Rodin IV portal. And next to the Ziggurat, hooby crafted a wonderful tiered garden to add to the ambience of the Ziggurat. If there wasn't already enough reason to make a trip to Rodin IV, we just love giving you more reasons for that next family vacation.

Historical Look: Rodin IV

Mega Rock City

Another stunning city created in the Stars Reach Universe, Mega Rock City, which was also designed by BeanstalkHead. A large scale building project has been undergone on Rodin IV! The city stretches from the opening maw of the Mega Rock to the covert escape route at the opposite end. Many Brilliant minds came here under the Mega Rock to make their mark on the land, each Homestead demonstrating their maker's ambition and personality. Lush gardens were planted and a farm was tilled by G.U.N.C scientists. It serves as a testament to what we can accomplish together!

Photo taken by Leric Dax

GUNC Plaza

GUNC Plaza's atrium was created and architected by Waboba. It was 2x3 atrium with two levels, that consisted of many amenities for a welcome lobby for GUNC. The atrium had everything from trees and floors, a meeting room with a vault, vending machines, multiple sit down lobby areas, multiple office spaces, and great overlooks to the outdoor gardens. The entrance to GUNC Plaza you are greeted with 2 DNA helixes and the GUNC sprawled over the entrance.

Surrounding the atrium, GUNC curated a three thousand (3,000)+ flora garden to add an outdoor element to GUNC Plaza. There were multiple sections to the garden including the alien mushroom gardens, tropical gardens, flower gardens, and then bioluminescent plants and trees lining the path from the portal to the atrium and surrounding the plaza.

And lastly GUNC Plaza would not be complete without GUNCies. The fast food bank restaurant by BREaD. GUNCies had a prime spot that allowed all visitors, as well as GUNC members and friends, to easily grab any food or drinks while they enjoyed or worked in the GUNC Plaza.

To celebrate the grand opening of GUNC Plaza and all the hard work everyone part of the project put in, GUNC put on an event to commemorate the night. Many explorers came from across the galaxy to see GUNC Plaza and at the end of the night everyone enjoyed their time with dancing, fireworks, food and drinks. Below are some of the flyers and the video that was taken to remember the grand opening.

GUNC Ravine and Sky Bridge

The Rodin IV Ravine City by GUNC.

Photo taken by LastDitchPlan

Forbin Project

When the one of the devs starts a build project, it is always fun to see what they come up with. This was build was created by Qix, or Dave Georgeson!

The Colorful Wonders of PoisonGirl

One of the more noticeable builders, PoisonGirl adds there wonderful touch to their builds and really adds all the colors. As you wander the planets be sure to keep an eye out for their unique and colorful builds.

Space Shuttle Station

A wonderful space shuttle station created by Daendril, we cannot wait til spaceships are in the game and I imagine we will see many more of these types of builds pop up when that is the case

UFO Sighting

Where were you when the UFO was spotted on Rodin IV? Created by B1ackWu1f, it really added for a nice story to Rodin IV. Don't forget to look to the sky, you never know what you may see!

Individual Player Builds to show off

Major Updates

The Stars Reach galaxy has seen many updates since it started its pre-alpha testing. For future issues we will be sure to talk about updates since the last issue of Galactic Geographic was published, but since this is the first issue we will need to give a greater overview of how far things have come.

In 2024 most of the testing involved very specific testing, such as specifically terraforming or specifically exploring as the developers were getting new features in, the testers would test them out. In late 2024 you started seeing testing the basic gameplay loops, with different basic profession like mineralogy, botany, ranger and combat. And then come 2025 and we were greeted with our first new planet outside the original batch of 3, Pyromycis. And thus far in 2025 we have seen major improvements, to the point that the game is almost unrecognizable from late 2024. Here are some of the major updates of 2025:

• Refining Recipes - This was a game changer for mineralogy players, it allowed you to craft many minerals that may have been harder to find and now you could craft them (at a loss rate)
• Escarion - Another new planet was added, this planet showed off just how the topography could have so much verticality, with the cliffs and mountains that had sheer drop offs to valleys below.
• New Skyboxes - This drastically changed the ways planets looked, the lighting, it made the planets feel much more alive
• Seasons - Seeing how the world changes as the planets progress from Winter to Spring to Summer to Fall, is a sight to behold. The trees lose their leaves, the plants lose their color when winter comes and then by summer time the plants and trees are their most vibrant colors and full of leaves.
• Public Events - This update added so many world events that would happen like meteor storms, acid rain, anti-gravium meteors, megarocks, ice hail, and much more. In addition we also got world bosses that would spawn ever so often that would allow us to gather a group of players and go after these bosses
• Procedural Creatures - This update brought so many more creatures to the game and the different capabilities that were possible. The game had roughly 25 different creatures prior to this update, and after over 100+ creatures. And not only did the number greatly increase but the attack capabilities and effects of creatures greatly increased adding a lot more diversity amongst the creatures
• Creature Difficulty - They added creature difficulty based on the color of the creatures nameplate. Ranging from easiest to hardest you have: white, yellow, orange, red, purple and boss (which for purple you better bring a group and for bosses an even bigger group)
• Makers - The devs brought back the makers but with much more functionality...they were indivisible until you scanned them. These makers are the ways creatures are spawned into the world. This gave players the first opportunity of controlling what creatures spawned on the planets. With great power comes great responsibility
• Mineral Hardness - This may seem like a smaller change but in reality it changed the way mining worked. All minerals are not created equal, some are harder than others and the harder a mineral was, now it took longer to mine those minerals
• Adhesion - This update changed the way explorers mined and built. No longer could you just mine a large open cavern with no fear of collapse, now you had to think more about how you mined. Or if you were building long bridges that did not stand up to the laws of physics, those would no longer be possible.
• Resource Stats - All resources in the game were given stats: Potential, Quality, Resilience, and Versatility each of these stats would help determine just what quality of items they would be able to create.
• Secure Trade- We now had our first trading system so we could now trade goods amongst each other, no honor system needed (previously we only had gifting)
• Skill Tree Overhaul - One of the largest overhauls in the game, was the revamp of all the skill trees and the experience it took to skill up. This gave a much more realistic feel for what the gameplay loops could potentially feel like in the future
• Soft Grouping - This update allowed explorers to share loot if they contributed in killing a creature. As well as gaining extra experience if you and a friend were near each other and using the same tools
• Player Movement - We no longer moved the same speed across all the different surfaces. Now if you were walking on paved surfaces you moved the fastest, but if you were walking on sand or dirt you moved slower. And also sliding down hills or losing your grip and sliding when climbing a mountain really added a new challenge to traversing these planets.
• Wild Wormholes - Procedural Generation of Planets was now in game, every test players would get to explore a completely procedural generated planet never to be seen again after that test. This gave plenty for players to explore every test and allowed the devs to continually fine tune their procedural generation

Memes of Stars Reach

The social goal star challenge is what got players to create even more memes. The challenge had multiple different segments that needed to be completed like youtube subscriptions, follows on social media, in-game screenshots, discord sharing and of course memes! So here are a handful of memes that explorers have come up with since that time.

The End: The Five Planets No More

The developers gave a heads-up that the original five (5) planets would be no more and that they had cooked up a special in-game event for that. And they delivered on that event. For over 2 hours planet by planet, starting with Zaraxa, then Escarion, to Gaiamar, Rodin IV, and lastly Pyromycis were pelted with meteors transforming the planets we once knew into molten lava.

As each planet was destroyed the Servitors closed the wormholes. Which begged the question, what was the cause of these meteorological events? Did the Servitors close the portals for the safety of the explorers? We will have to pay attention to the future of Stars Reach, cause we are left with more questions than answers!

The Owldeers War

Where were you when the Owldeers War started?

The Owldeers War was an unexpected occurrence as explorers were looking for signs of the end of the world, and they were met with a horde of owldeers and other variations of this species. This "war" may have consisted of the largest scale battle we have seen thus far in Stars Reach. With over twenty-five (25) explorers and hundreds of different variations of deers, this was something to remember.

Explorers had attempted to thin out the deer population as they were multiplying in numbers not seen before. A maker would be destroyed only to be replaced within seconds. The entire valley was overpopulated and explorers were being forced to relife in numbers that has not really been seen before.

Destruction of Zaraxa

The first planet to feel the wrath of the meteors was Zaraxa. And while it took roughly thirty (30) minutes to be destroyed, it was quite the show. Meteors rained down on Zaraxa, eventually turning the desert planet into a lava planet. You can see a small portion of what occurred below!

Destruction of Mycityum

The planet that was saved for last was Pyromycis. All other planets were no more at this point, the finale was about to occur. And a finale worthy of that name did occur. Meteors were dropped almost consistently over a roughly fifteen (15) minute period, targeting Mycityum. Mycityum took damage, especially on its outer shell. Explorers were caught in lava and steam. Meteors caused direct hits forcing ReLife. It was truly a spectacle to witness.

End of the First Era

The future of Stars Reach is looking very bright and we have a lot to look forward to, but this is the end of an era. The original five (5) planets are no more and we shall have three (3) new ones. Not only will we be getting new planets but soon we shall have some big visual changes, which we shall see a huge graphic update to the environment, with creatures and characters being worked on as well. You'll be sure to see many photos and videos of these new graphics in our next issue but for now we hope you enjoyed seeing the history of Stars Reach thus far. And continue with us into the next era of Stars Reach!

Ending Note

The players of Stars Reach have had so much fun, it is hard to believe this is a pre-alpha. While there is so much more we could have talked about, more photos and videos shared, we tried to create a curation to give everyone a feel of what has been occurring throughout the Garden. We hope you enjoyed our inaugural issue of Galactic Geographic, we can't wait to continue bringing more content like this to the masses. If you have builds, photos, videos, stories that you would love to have featured in one of our next issues be sure to message and GUNC members and we will try and get you put into an issue. If you would ever like to write a section in issues in the future please reach out to us as we are always looking for fun articles and unique takes that can give insight in the Stars Reach universe and get players excited for the MMORPG!