Early Access has arrived in Phantom Galaxies!
It’s official, Pilots: Phantom Galaxies Early Access is now live!
With our launch onto mainstream gaming platforms including Steam and Epic Games Store, we are also taking the game to the next level with a wealth of new features and quality of life upgrades, to enhance the experience for new and old players alike. Excitement for Early Access is high, and we’ve even reached #1 on Popular Upcoming games on Steam! Early Access is a whole new ballgame, and with this update, we are setting ourselves up for many more exciting features and releases to come.
Without any further adieu, let’s dive into exactly what’s new in the Early Access build…
Free-to-Play Capabilities
As has been announced previously, Phantom Galaxies is now free-to-play. Not only is it accessible through the Phantom Galaxies Launcher that you can download from our website, but also on mainstream launchers such as Steam and Epic Games Store!
To play through Epic Games Store or any other Web3-enabled version, get your access code from the Phantom Galaxies website, install the game and then enter the access code. The version available on Steam, on the other hand, has NO Web3 integration. All you need to do is make an account and join the action!
Ranger Activity Burnup Chart (Ranger ABCs)
The Ranger ABC system is a progress system that will track your activity within a certain period of time (currently 1 month), and then reset when the new period begins. To progress in the Ranger ABCs you need to receive Activity Points, which operate similarly to experience points. Reaching a new Activity Level will earn you rewards, and there will be three reward tracks in the Ranger ABCs.
The first level is the Standard Track, in which rewards will be given to all players after hitting certain levels. These rewards include Ores, Credits and U-Cubes (which we explain a little later in the article).
Beyond this, there are different tracks depending on the version of Phantom Galaxies you are playing. There is the Advanced Track for Steam players, which is a completely blockchain-free gaming experience. Joining this track will cost 60 Starlings, and rewards include Ores, Credits, U-Cubes and Starlings.
The Elite Track is used across Web3-integrated versions of the launcher and substitutes ASTRAFER for Starlings. The Elite Track costs 100,000 Credits to activate- this price will change to a smaller amount of ASTRAFER in the future. Players with existing ASTRAFER can use their ASTRAFER to buy the Credits required, with 1 Credit costing US$0.0001 worth of ASTRAFER. The Elite Track is the only way to receive ASTRAFER in-game currently, but this will change in future.
After a period of time the Ranger ABCs will be reset and progress will restart. This includes all of your Activity Levels and Activity Points. You will still be able to collect any uncollected rewards earned previously.
Public and Private Locations
In another exciting addition, we are bringing new PvE and shared public locations into the game. As you play, you will be prompted to choose between Private and Public options when heading into each new location through a Warp Gate. This allows for uninterrupted time to complete solo gameplay missions — or, if you prefer, more chances to bump into your fellow players across the galaxy!
Please note that if you choose a Public space area, you will be unable to proceed with any active missions or main storylines. If you have mistakenly selected Private or Public, you can easily depart, re-enter through the Warp Gate, and correct your selection.
Better Respawning
During all four Beta Cohorts, we kept a close eye on the feedback that came in from our players. One highly requested quality of life change was the implementation of better respawning. For example, during the Beta, being defeated in the PvP map would send you flying right back to the Halberd-001 to regenerate. Now, players will respawn at the entrance of the PvP map at the furthest point away from other players, saving you the travel time from Halberd. Stellar!
Reworked Buster Pylon Ability
The Busters Pylon ability has been altered in a shocking way. It now shoots out a bolt of lightning that damages an enemy in a powerful burst of electricity. If there is another enemy unfortunate enough to be close the lightning will arc and inflict damage to them as well. This chain can reach up to five (5) enemy targets before it loses charge completely.
Return of the Lancer and Breacher
The Lancer has returned to the Non-Colonisation Area! With its return, some updates have been implemented. These updates include:
- The Lancer now has a Melee Ability like the other classes. It is fittingly equipped with a lance!
- The Lancer’s Super Ability is a high-powered beam that deals massive damage to your mecha foes.
- A Tech Ability increases your weapon’s damage dramatically.
In addition, the Breacher is unlockable once more! The four iconic Starfighters are now all accessible and ready for action.
For Web3-specific players:
In-Game NFT Portfolio
The NFT Collection tab on the Main Menu is now functional. We have added the ability to view your Planets, Avatars and Starfighters in-game. Note that your NFTs will appear greyed out in your collection until they have been Bound to your account.
There are two main statuses to note for any NFTs you are trying to use: ‘Bound’ and ‘Game-locked’. Binding will make your assets ready for use in-game. Your asset becomes game-locked when it is currently in use in-game. Both statuses prevent players from being able to sell or trade Planets, Starfighters or Avatars.
You can go ahead and Bind your Pilots and Starfighters through the website, so they are ready and available as options in-game.
Note that this feature is exclusive to Web3 platforms.
Earn and Spend ASTRAFER In-Game
This is another Web3 exclusive, although Steam players will have Starlings as a non-blockchain equivalent, as mentioned above. You can now spend ASTRAFER in Phantom Galaxies to purchase Credits, Ores and U-Cubes for upgrading your Starfighter!
U-Cubes are a new upgrade resource that combines with the mineral elements to upgrade your Weapons, Shields, Thrusters and other items in-game! This has been implemented as part of the refined Gear Upgrading system that was introduced in later Beta cohorts. The process for upgrading your mech itself will be known as the Fusion system, but that will be coming in a later update.
More game mechanics are in development that will enable new ways to receive and spend ASTRAFER. For example, the new Patrol gameplay mode and some Bounty types will reward ASTRAFER in the future. Both our mech upgrade ‘Fusion’ system and our gear recycling ‘Manufacturing’ system will require some ASTRAFER in their use.
Generative Starfighter and Avatar NFTs In-Game
Just over two weeks ago our community was spurred into a frenzy with the release of Generative Starfighter and Avatar Minting, with our NFTs available on Polygon. Pilots, we’ve got some good news for you… from this update onwards, you can play as your favourite Avatars and Starfighters within Phantom Galaxies! Get your access code from the Phantom Galaxies website and sign in to Epic Games Store or the Phantom Galaxies Launcher and show your fellow Pilots your favourite Starfighters and Avatars.
There is much more detailed information on Generative Starfighters and Avatars available in our separate Medium article.
Anti-Botting Measures
The economy is an important aspect of any Web3 project, and considering that earning ASTRAFER is not gated by NFTs, we understand the community has concerns around the possibility of botting activity. That is why we made some decisions to protect ASTRAFER.
As previously mentioned in the Ranger ABCs section above, the Elite Track is the only way to receive ASTRAFER in-game at this stage. The current cost to join the Elite Track is 100,000 Credits. This means it can take some time to accrue enough Credits to gain access to ASTRAFER.
In addition, to receive ASTRAFER, players will have to level up through Tiers within the Elite Track. This means that players will have to engage in core gameplay loops such as Bounties and story missions. As such, it is expected that it will take a while for players to extract all ASTRAFER from the Ranger ABCs — and by then our backend systems will detect and remove them.
While this is an exciting new stage, there’s still lots of work to be done. We have brought in a wide range of new features with this update and we will be ushering in many more moving forward. Our current intention is for a new update to be released each month, bringing with it new content and other quality of life improvements. While there are no known issues with the Early Access build currently, as always, please report any issues you encounter while playing.
To join our Early Access experience, you can install the game through the following launchers:
Welcome again to our Early Access experience! To all the new players reading this, please feel free to join our Discord to ask any questions and have a chat. We are excited to have you!
