Star Federation -online space real-time strategy game for all genre fans
The Star Federation (hereinafter referred to as the SF) is an online space real-time strategy game. It is a browser-based MMO with enormous, often unique capabilities. Sure, this statement is a bit bold, but soon you will be ensured that it is valid. Let's highlight the main points first:
- Free browser game on a fast server.
- Eight playable races. Each has its own bonuses and disadvantages.
Developed economic system - 19 kinds of extracted resources, divided into 5 groups; 13 types of materials; spaceship components; currency; population; spies; saboteurs; spaceships. All this can be mined, produced, bought & sold, and in most cases taken away.
- Extraction of artifacts and unique Ancients' Devices on planets and asteroid fields.
- Multidimensional development ways where you may focus on one direction or to develop in all directions at once.
- Real-time battles with each type of spaceship being controlled automatically or manually.
- Advanced diplomacy, espionage, and sabotage.
- Unlimited levels of research that do not require investments. Design and produce your own unique spaceships with millions of options (finally, it's true!!!).
- War, piracy, raids, and planet destruction.
- Magnificent design, detailed Star map that indicates fleets movement, Star systems in 3D, and other advantages of this undoubtedly extraordinary game in the world of stellar strategy.
But first things first.
Star Federation Races
This is your only and main choice before starting the game. We recommend that you pay special attention to it. There are only seven races. Besides, there is another mysterious, sometimes vicious but an indifferent race of Borg, which is controlled by AI. The Borg have the very best spaceships, hull components, weapons, defenses, mining & archeology modules. They have very complex and difficult to predict battle tactics. They are used to sending in reinforcements if the player gets too carried away with putting their forces into battle. They know how to find the optimal position for a shot and possess other features that make this race a real treasure trove of pleasures for PVE battles fans (human vs. computer). But there is also a drawback - the battle with the Borg except individual missions is not for rookies.
As for the other seven races, each has its own pros and cons. Let's briefly describe each:
Helion – best in production, second in combat. They are the worst at espionage, population growth, and trade. However, they make better engines.
Velid – the best warriors, the second in espionage. They are the worst in population growth, resource extraction, and trade. However, they produce better weapons and protection for spaceships.
Thormal – best in trade, second in science. However, the worst ones in combat, production, and resource extraction. However, they make the best cargo bays and hangars for spacecraft carriers.
Maroon – are the best in population growth, second in trade. However, they are the worst in science, espionage, and war. They make the best building, living & renovation modules.
Zect – are the best in resource extraction, second in production. However, they are the worst in science, espionage, and war. They make the best asteroid mining rigs.
Glarg – are the best in science, second in population growth. However, they are the worst in resource extraction, trade, and production. They make the best reactors and energy shields.
Astox – are the best in espionage, second in resource extraction. However, they are the worst in science, production, and population growth. They make the best Radars, Astroscanners, spaceship masking devices, missile launchers, anti-missile systems, archaeological modules.
Each race breathes own type of atmosphere and can easily colonize a suitable planet. Energy-consuming domes are needed to live on a planet with an alien atmosphere. The exception is Maroon. They can live on any planet.
Choose your race consciously. But remember, choosing a too peaceful race will not prevent from becoming the best warrior in the Star Federation Universe. In addition, many other factors can lead to better spaceship production. You should not forget about own battle tactics. We also recommend that you take into account that belonging to rarer races makes you a desirable member of the leading Alliances (Clans), where the needs for the components produced by your race may exceed the possibilities of your own production.
Economics
As mentioned earlier, the economy in this Universe is very complex, which makes the development process more interesting. As in most games, there are no 3-4 types of resources: 4 types of fuel for spaceships and power plants, 19 types of mined resources, from which 13 types of materials are produced! Most of the resources are mined on planets and asteroids. However, there are unique resources that are present on asteroids only or are produced at Orbital stations. For mining on asteroids, you need to build a mining fleet. This requires additional research - an Orbital Station with a Command Center, Dock, and Hangar. By the way, your first planet and its Orbital Station are inviolable as well as all fleets located in its orbit. This is a great way to save spaceships without the need for constant space travel.
The colonization process is quite simple. You need to research the Colonies Congress, build a fleet with a building and housing module, build an Orbital Station on the planet of your choice. The next step is the construction of the Colony and the further development of the planet for the benefit of your own empire. But keep in mind, the Orbital Station can be destroyed, and all buildings on the planet can be vanished by bombing or sabotage. Bombing is a very difficult and expensive pleasure even for very advanced players, and sabotage can be countered with countermeasures. At the same time, the protection of a rookie player is extended to your Star System until the milestone of 3000 rating pts. is reached.
Sure, any free strategy has its own in-game currency, which can be replenished by donations. IG is the main currency of the Star Federation. But there is one peculiarity - you can sell resources and Federation materials for IG. However, this option is for the laziest or leading players with overstuffed warehouses. There are tremendous opportunities for trading. You can sell everything to other players - from ore to planets and populations. But this requires a well-developed Trade Center.
War and Spaceships
Let's move on to the game’s "highlights" - spaceships and military ops. You are a creator and designer who makes a project to solve specific issues. In SF, there is no such thing as “the best spacecraftâ€. For every action in this universe, there is always a reaction. The whole point is in the variety of components, in the firing range, combat speed, and signature. Without digging deeper into details, we can say that you should not fire a cannon at the sparrows. Almost every weapon has a signature parameter, and a spaceship has its volume. For successful firing, the signature must be less than or equal to the spacecraft volume, and the spaceship itself must be within the weapon's reach. For example, you have a powerful spaceship, but the weapon is not suitable against a specific enemy. In this case, you will be shot with impunity. And if you have a suitable weapon but a low combat speed, then you will be shot from afar. So think, experiment, develop projects. All is in your hands!
What are your opportunities? For all races, only the spaceship hulls’ types with a certain number of slots for modules are the same. However, the modules and characteristics of the housings (capacity, durability, etc.) differ. There are over 50 components in total - engines, reactors, mining modules, scanners, radars, masking devices, weapons and protection, and many others. Thus it is possible to design a spaceship with a module of any race of any level (incl. Borg). The following principle does not apply here - the higher the level, the better. If you need to create a certain volume, capacity, reach a certain speed, then a low-level module is more valuable than the highest in the Star Federation universe.
The modules are manufactured in component factories. Moreover, each player can produce only modules of his race, most of which have far from the best indicators. There is only one conclusion – you need to cooperate with other players, buying, ordering modules from players of other races that have bonuses in their production. If you play as Glarg, then when building a simple vehicle, you will only have a Reactor and a Gravity Computer to jump into another galaxy. You will have to order engines from Helion and bays from Thormal, unless, of course, you want to get a deliberately slow and small spaceship.
Borg components that AI plays are special. They are especially good and noticeably superior to the best representatives of other races. They can also be used in the spacecraft construction but for this, you need to collect fragments in battle, explore after the battle with Borg ends, research artifacts, complete tasks, and buy or receive components from other players as a gift.
Now let's talk about combat. This is a separate mode, which consists of 1 to 30 (max) cycles of 5 minutes each. In online mode, you can move the spaceships to the desired position, taking into account the range of weapons and the recent situation. You can also choose a target for spaceships of the same project in the fleet, bring in reinforcements or withdraw the fleet from combat. At the same time, during the battle, reinforcements can come from other players. In offline mode, the player can set automatic settings for the fleet behavior - the number of cycles, behavior patterns, etc. The battlefield is divided into 30 positions. Each measures the combat speed per cycle and the range of weapons and missiles. In fact, in this game, there are far from two control buttons as in some games and this is the pure well for strategic thinking.
Science and Diplomacy
There are 8 types of in-game agreements that allow conducting trade relations, combat, sharing Hypergates, etc. At the same time, you can buy a Guild membership that gives several advantages in combat, flight, trade, and other aspects. The first time you build certain buildings, you receive a free monthly membership, which can then be renewed. The Alliance (Clan) system deserves special mentioning. An Alliance member automatically enters into some treaties with the Feds, and also gains access to Map overview and research. He can build buildings and produce components of the max studied level by other players in your Alliance.
Finally, about science. Research is not limited by levels and does not require the consumption of materials. All that is needed are scientific buildings, modestly consuming energy, and loans for their maintenance. Buildings generate scientific potential and add the number of queues that contribute your empire. Research is not tied to the resources of a single planet, and this is a great advantage. The same is true for the design potential generated by the Construction Office, which is required for the spaceships’ design. The third potential is archaeological. It depends on the level of the planetary Archaeological Center in which a particular artifact is being researched.
Conclusion
It is worth mentioning the main Game drawback (or advantage !!!) – it’s rather complex and stands apart in the horoscope of other genre representatives, whose developers are afraid to pose too complex tasks for gamers. Sure, there are not three resources and not two battle-buttons but this approach is valuable for many players. The complexity and versatility of the game are important to them, especially since the tasks for which the Federation pays remuneration help to understand the main nuances. As practice shows, on average, one evening of careful study of this game is enough to understand its main aspects. By the way, the in-game chat is always active for any questions from the rookies!
Planet Management:
[img] https://www.star-federation.com/images/screenshots/ss_planet.jpg[/img]
Universe Map:
[img]https://www.star-federation.com/images/screenshots/ss_starmap.jpg[/img]
Universe Map:
[img]https://www.star-federation.com/images/screenshots/ss_starsystem.jpg[/img]
Empire Overview:
[img]https://www.star-federation.com/images/screenshots/ss_impaire.jpg[/img]
Fleet Management:
[img]https://www.star-federation.com/images/screenshots/ss_fleets.jpg[/img]
[img]https://www.star-federation.com/images/screenshots/ss_fleetcontrol1.jpg[/img]
[img]https://www.star-federation.com/images/screenshots/ss_fleetcontrol2.jpg[/img]
Spacecraft Design:
[img]https://www.star-federation.com/images/screenshots/ss_project.jpg[/img]
[img]https://www.star-federation.com/images/screenshots/ss_projects.jpg[/img]
Diplomacy:
[img]https://www.star-federation.com/images/screenshots/ss_diplomacy.jpg[/img]
Trade:
[img]https://www.star-federation.com/images/screenshots/ss_trade.jpg[/img]
Battles:
[img]https://www.star-federation.com/images/screenshots/ss_battle.jpg[/img]