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Welcome to Loremakers: Community Questions, a series focused on answering your lore quandaries and conundrums. We’ve done a deep dive through the lore Ask A Dev section and selected ten questions to answer about the Star Citizen universe. All questions were edited for context and clarity but you can click on the topic to go directly to the original post and join the conversation. Also, the Narrative team plans to do one installment of Loremakers: Community Questions every quarter with the next entry scheduled for Tuesday, December 17th, so please join the discussion and drop any other questions you might have about the universe in our Ask A Dev forum.
Who Are the Private Security Officers Stationed Around Orison?
Question: I call them "Ajax Security" because that's what their uniform style is called, but who are they really? Are they separate from Crusader Security? Their uniform colors/style is unlike the Crusader aesthetic, and the emblem on their shoulder doesn't name a security company. Are they a separate security group that has been contracted by Crusader Industries to supplement its own security forces, and if so, which group do they belong to?
Answer: That “Ajax” security outfit is for freelance private security professionals, aka rent-a-cops. It's made by Code Blue Apparel, a company specializing in uniforms and professional workwear, with generic markings so it can be widely used. The original version of the Ajax Security Uniform actually had a different name on the emblem, but Narrative requested that it be removed. We did this because we wanted it to be a generic uniform and not tied to one specific company or group.
You should be seeing the Ajax Security Uniforms across the universe. NPCs wearing it around Crusader are contractors and not part of Crusader Security. Having them there helps reinforce the lore that Crusader is struggling to properly police and protect its planet and surrounding space.
How Is XenoThreat Accessing the Pyro-Stanton Jump Point?
Question: Recently, it was mentioned that ATC will have the ability to deny ships access to a jump point by remotely jamming the ship's jump drive. But if that's true, then how come XenoThreat keeps breaching the Pyro-Stanton Jump Point and launching attacks on Stanton?
Do they just have the sheer firepower to overpower ATC and their turret defenses? Is there perhaps a mole on the inside letting them through? Or are they using a transient jump point that nobody in Stanton knows about that is large enough for an Idris to travel through?
Answer: We were thinking that XenoThreat had been using transient jump points to launch their attacks against Stanton system, allowing them to bypass the security around the stable jumps. So often in between their attacks, XenoThreat are not only building up their stock of weapons and ships, but waiting to discover a large enough transient jump point for their use.
That said, in the future we can imagine there being fun scenarios where the gateway stations do come under attack or hostile control, leaving it up to the players to battle to clear access to the jump point.
Timeline Incongruity With Rest & Relax in Pyro?
Question: There appears to be a timeline issue with the new stations in Pyro. This is from the Galactapedia post on R&R ->
"Rest & Relax is a Human company that maintains a chain of hospitality waystations throughout human space. Engineer Johann Alejandre founded Rest & Relax as a single rest stop in the Baker system in 2901."
This is from the Galactapedia post on the Pyro System -
"Discovered in 2493 by Pyrotechnic Amalgamated, it was not claimed by the United Nations of Earth (UNE) due in part to the dangers surrounding its star. Instead, it was exploited by corporate interests until the 2560s, when the potential resources extracted from the system stopped outweighing the increased cost of maintaining equipment under a volatile sun. Pyro became a haven for outlaws by the early 2600s."
Now the issue comes from timing. If R&R was founded in 2901, then how did the stations in the Pyro System, which was abandoned in the early 2600's, get built?
There are 3 possibilities I can think of:
#1: They built the stations knowing full well that they were building in a hostile outlaw territory and then inevitably were taken over and they had to abandon them.
#2: R&R is an old brand that was once popular and then revived by Johann Alejandre in 2901, like how some old brands for gas stations get revived for nostalgia. So the Stations in Pyro are older stations from the original R&R brand.
The 3rd is tricky because I also found this information when looking up the stations and specifically Rough & Ready.
"Rough & Ready is a major criminal organization known for operating refueling stations throughout the Pyro system. Founded by former Headhunters enforcer Rook Garavis in 2939, the gang's early focus was to pull back on active criminal activity and gain enough capital to do more than just survive. They conducted a series of meticulously planned raids on multiple refueling stations, taking them over and establishing themselves as the off-market version of Rest & Relax. By the 2940s, their refueling stations had become a dominant force in Pyro."
This seems to indicate that Rough & Ready just stole the signage and brand from R&R to use for their own off brand refueling stations. It can also be read that they simply took over stations that were already R&R branded and just adopted the brand since so much of the stations look like just dirty versions of the stations we already have in Stanton. In short, why are R&R branded stations in Pyro?
Answer: Rest & Relax does not have any official stations in Pyro. Stations in the system were constructed centuries ago, primarily by Pyrotechnic Amalgamated and other long gone corporate and research interests. All were eventually abandoned by their official owners and overtaken by a carousel of squatters and gangs.
Rough & Ready is part of the current crop of gangs that have wrestled some of these stations under their control. Upon the gang’s founding by the outlaw known as Rook in 2939, the Rough & Ready gang co-opted Rest & Relax's initials and iconography, as described in this section of the group's portfolio:
"One of Rook’s first orders after overtaking those first three stations was for the gang to tag each one with a symbol everyone would know, the double R logo used by the Rest & Relax franchise. Rook wanted the gang’s ambitions to be clear and knew that referencing the popular Rest & Relax franchise would make people associate them with refueling."
Coasting on the coattails of Rest & Relax seemed like a smart business and brand strategy for the Rough & Ready. Seeing or hearing R&R will make people think of refueling and the association might even convince some that it's a 'nicer' or more 'legitimate' gang. Pretty sure the real Rest & Relax corporation is none too thrilled about this. Wouldn't be surprised to see their name on a list of corporate donors funding groups, like Citizens for Prosperity, vowing to clean up the outlaw issue in Pyro.
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Do You Often Incorporate Game Errors Into Lore?
Question: How much of that do you actually do? Ghost Hollow gives a 30k when the server disconnects during the Money for Nothing mission. Do you try to incorporate some of the more common or infamous bugs/errors/glitches into the game lore?
I'd love to see rumors that a banned murderous AI hides in the Stanton elevator control systems and is occasionally responsible for the deaths of players. True or not, it would be awesome to see more stuff like that floating around.
Answer: It depends. Several of the unintended incidents have made their way into the game, the original Jumptown and Benny-henge for example, but while being referential is always fun, the rule among the Narrative team is that the reference has to make sense within the reality of the game. To put it another way, it has to make sense to a character in the universe if they hear or come across something, rather than just a meta joke that exists for the users.
UEE Special Forces Units?
Question: I have a question regarding the nature of special forces units in the UEE military. Of course we have the Advocacy, which is more like a federal space police force. Then we have the UEE Marines, who have a similar selection process as current day SF units but are more similar to real world marine forces. There are also some mentions of the "6th battalion" of the UEE Marines that handled more critical missions.
However, do we have any dedicated special forces in the UEE military that are more in line with today's Tier 1 units (DEVGRU, SAS, KSK, GROM)?
Answer: In the lore, we had mentioned 1st Marine Combat Battalion in the Portfolio exploration of the Marines, which is a special detachment detailed to protect the Imperator. And of course, Squadron 42 is considered to be an elite squadron within the Navy. But otherwise, yes, it is easy to imagine that there are more special units within the various branches of the military, we just haven't had a lot of need to come up with them yet.
Location of Trise System?
Question: I was poring over the Starmap, for reasons, when it struck me that this was listed as Banu system, yet it seems like it should be Xi'an. The Banu are far, far away from here. Mislabeled?
Answer: You are asking the same question that many in the UEE have been puzzling over since the system was first learned of. There have been theories about Banu explorers or missing systems, but unfortunately the Banu have not been forthcoming with confirming any details. One of the reasons it is so hard to put together a complete history is the way Banu treat navigational data. All Banu jump drives are produced by Navigational Soulis with hard coded maps that cannot be copied or reproduced. This allows the souli to maintain high prices for navigational information. Over time, through various trades and business dealings, as well as additional explorers discovering the information for themselves, jump point data disseminates wider, but that still leaves a lot of information that is known only to a select few souli and even more that has been lost over time.
Discrepancy in the Whitley's Guide on the Carrack?
Question: The Whitley's Guide on the Carrack says this:
"In 2822, however, its very existence was a shock to the system."
I would imagine it was a shock considering later in the article it says:
"R-11 (“UEES Carrack”) – The first Carrack off the line in 2823..."
Does that mean R-11 was the 1st off the line that year and non-serialized prototype Carrack's appeared at MacArthur Naval Base the previous year in 2822?
Answer: The R-11 was docked at MacArthur, and noticed by eagled-eye observers in 2822. Yet, it wasn't officially christened and put into service until 2823, thus that year being the official date of the first variant.
But, you're right, the placement of "off the line" phrasing is confusing. It's been changed to "Launched in 2823, R-11 was the first ship off the line and informally referred to as ‘the Carrack’ by her crews in the first years of the UEEN’s formal exploration efforts."
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Castra System and Empire Recognition?
Question: I'm confused on Castra System’s status with the empire. Has the planet of Cascom been admitted into the UEE as an officially recognized planet? My understanding is that if a planet has been given a name, it is because it is officially recognized. However, there seems to be conflicting information. Below is a copy/paste from the Galactic Guide:
"It was President Novoselov’s hope that he would see Castra II earn representation in his lifetime, but sadly his transition from President to planetary Governor never came to pass, and the planet has yet to earn its senatorial seat."
Is Cascom in some sort of governmental limbo? Are the people of Cascom protected by the Advocacy?
Answer: Castra is a UEE system which means that all the worlds, including Cascom, are considered UEE territory. The people living there are still protected by the military and the Advocacy, and are covered by the UEE's common laws. However, since Cascom is unrepresented, this means that they do not have any senators representing the planet and do not have a direct say in the governance of the empire.
Typically, as the population on these unrepresented planets begins to grow, the UEE will dispatch political advisors to counsel the planets in the construction of their planetary government, encouraging them to emulate the Governor's Council structure of represented worlds. Instead of countries, planets are divided into territories referred to as states which are managed by one hundred elected Representatives and a Governor. A Governor is an elected position with a six-year term (two-term limit), which can be filled by a Citizen or even a Civilian (the highest political rank a Civilian can achieve). The Governors of all the states meet in the Council to settle disputes and create planet-wide laws.
When a planet reaches a certain population size or ascends to a certain level of influence, the Governors’ Council can petition for formal recognition and the right to be represented in the Senate. So, while Cascom has applied for representation in the past and were denied, they will most likely try again in a few years.
UEE Navy Enrollment Age?
Question: I've searched through the Galactapedia extensively to find the minimum age required to serve in the UEE Military/Navy, but I haven't had any luck. Is there an official minimum age for enlistment? If not, could we get this information?
Additionally, is it possible to get more information about other squadrons beyond Squadrons 42, 89, 118, and 214? This would be incredibly helpful for anyone looking to write a detailed military backstory for their character.
Answer: Our current thinking is that there is no minimum age to join the Navy, but applicants must have earned their equivalency and must meet certain physical and psychological requirements. This means that most fresh recruits are around 18 years old then some exceptional candidates have signed up younger. (Starman Crusher and Starman Howser reporting for duty!)
While we are holding off on releasing additional squadron info for right now, here is info on the 12th Squadron, 36th Squadron, 78th Squadron and the 999th Test Squadron for some additional reading.
Any Plans to Make the Galactapedia Accessible Within the Game?
Question: I think it would be cool to be able to access the Galactapedia from a screen, like a mobiGlass for example. Will be a more immersive experience reading about something you come across in the game while in the game.
Answer: Yes, we’re still working on how to integrate the Galactapedia into the game itself. Since it requires additional support outside of just the content, we’re beholden to the availability and priorities of the other teams, but it’s certainly something that we’re pursuing.