The Starmourn Blog

BETA Testing Round 2 For The New Tutorial Begins Today!

By Argus | July 23, 2024 |

Small yet mighty, the new Starmourn Tutorial zone packs a punch in a compact space with the goal of onboarding new and veteran MUD players alike into IRE’s unique sci-fi title – And it’s completely free-to-play!

A sneak preview of the asteroid city map in the new Starmourn Tutorial zone. Look at all those points of interest!

Round two of BETA testing for the new tutorial has officially kicked off today, which means we’re another step closer to releasing the revamped Newbie experience for everyone to try!

For those who missed the last update

Here’s what you can expect to be able to accomplish in the new tutorial:

  • Learn how to engage with and navigate the world
  • Actively develop a roleplay-based backstory
  • Learn about key systems including wetwiring curing, HETE cloning, modding, and tradeskills
  • Learn about Faction history and racial lore
  • Try some local fare at the Bodegani cantina
  • Experience a holo-performance from a celebrity band
  • Learn and practice the basic attack and healing abilities of up to all five classes
  • Learn how to use armor and slot mods to improve your stats
  • Befriend a slew of unique new allies on the most remote rock in the Sector
  • Pet a goredog puppy
  • Kick some butts and thwart some evil schemes

Our goal with this new tutorial is to ensure new players get the lessons they need for a sturdy landing at Omni Station as they start their Starmourn adventure.

Players will have the option of skimming through for just what they need, or really immersing themselves to learn LOADS about the Starmourn sector before diving in with other players. Either way, thanks to round tables and many discussions with veteran and new players alike, this new tutorial has been designed for YOU!

img: A yellow sign with red font that reads “Don’t forget to pet the dog” over two AI generated depictions of the black and white spotted, fluffy goredog puppy available to pet in the tutorial.
Oh yeah. You wanna pet that dog don’t ya.

Ready to join us?

If you’re thinking about playing Starmourn, but want to wait for the new Tutorial’s final release before making a character, check out our Things To Do page for an overview of all the new things to do in game! You can also click around to learn about our game systems, classes and skills, player races, FAQ, and more all in one handy spot.

For all you lore junkies looking for more- The Starmourn Wiki serves as a rich library information for you to scour as you prepare to join the Sector.

And lastly, get in touch with the Starmourn community in our official Discord server. We’d love to meet you!

Sincerely,

The Starmourn Admin Team

What’s That Shining On The Horizon? Devblog Updates!

By Argus | July 1, 2024 |

For Starmourn and beyond! A small update on what’s going on behind the curtain –

New Tutorial Status

Work is progressing nicely with #NewTutorial, and I really look forward to unveiling it to you all sometime this month!

Prep work on the new tutorial began quite a while ago over lengthy discussions with current players and recent newbies to better understand what new players truly needed to know before taking their first steps on Omni Station.

The goal of the new tutorial is to cover many lessons in a brief span, hopefully taking a new player an average of 10 minutes to complete.

In completing the tutorial, new players will:

  • Learn how to engage with the world
  • Be prompted with the chance to develop a roleplay-based backstory
  • Gain an understanding of unique functional systems including wetwiring, cloning, marks and purchasing, etc.
  • Have the opportunity to learn about history, racial lore, tradeskills, and more
  • Learn and practice the basic attack and healing abilities of up to all five classes
  • Equip/Wear their first pieces of armor and weaponry (plus a mod if they explore a bit)
  • Get the chance to preview larger systems such as performance and modding
  • Pet a gorepup!

The new tutorial also includes a robust NPC generator including NPCs of all races operating with unique interactions based on a variety of personalities, descriptions, and dialog cues. Through this, each player experience within the tutorial city will be unique, though of course it’ll follow the same general course.

Those of you who participated in the Round Table talk a few months ago may recall me mentioning a future installation: The Academy. This will be an NPC-run continuation of the new player experience, serving as a location for returning players to pick up gear and get re-oriented, as well as serving as a place for players to learn advanced skills such as hacking, space flight/combat/mining, additional combat kill paths, etc.

The Academy is going to be a long-term project and will not be released at the same time as the Tutorial – I’ll be taking some time to do some worldbuilding in between and monitor how the new tutorial land is being received before building this out.

The Main Quest with Cassandra will be temporarily put on hold once the New Tutorial comes out, pending a decision about where to plug it back in. It will be back, though! We love Cass and co too much to ever let them go.

A tiny green sprout fights its way out from the depths of a cracked cinderblock
A tiny green sprout fights its way out from the depths of a cracked cinderblock. Perhaps a newbie Decheeran making their way into the Sector?
Photo by Nguyễn Trường

Website Updates

Class Skills Page

Thank you Garryn for creating a live-updating class skills page!! Players can use this to learn about class skills outside of the game, including actual skill information and lesson costs.

Check it out: https:www.starmourn.com/game/skills

Archaeology Records

Coming soon! I’d like to start building out an Archaeology Database of RP records since y’all have been so powerful about exploring those wildernesses with your teams to recover ancient specimens and artifacts. If you have a research session you’d like registered on the website, please send me a Pastebin file or log of the research on Discord or as an in-game message.

Make sure everyone involved in the research is on board with it being shared!

A flat black landscape against a bright pink-to-purple sunset background. Someone in the foreground looks up into space as a silhouette, a bright white beam of light stretching into the stars from their eyes.
A flat black landscape against a bright pink-to-purple sunset background. Someone in the foreground looks up into space as a silhouette, a bright white beam of light stretching into the stars from their eyes.
Photo by Felix Mittermeier

Events & Worldbuilding

Secret Event & Zone

Marra is hard at work planning an absolutely STELLAR event for y’all in game, including an expansive new hunting zone full of unique quests and intrigue. I really can’t give any more information and risk spoiling it, but you should all be VERY excited.

Hyndoh Prison

Serpentine lower body undulating, a Rags-affiliated Selassian prisoner moves west.

A place of treachery and scandal, the prison warden is working on making its halls accessible to the Sector’s bravest spacers. Stay tuned for more details after the New Tutorial’s release.

Newbie Questing

Based on some additional feedback from new players, we’re looking to expand on low-level area quest opportunities. We’re most interested in quests that build out game lore, including food quests to learn about cultural meals, unique hunting quests, infiltrating organizations, etc.

We’ve got a few spoons in the pot on this development, but we welcome all players to come up with ideas as well! If you’ve got a thought about building out a newbie area, feel free to shoot me a message on Discord or in game.


We’ve been hard at work behind the scenes and look forward to sharing more content with you in the days, months, and years to come here in the Starmourn Sector. <3

Starry-eyed and thriving,

Your Starmourn Admin Team

New Hunting Grounds – Explore the Lha Ti Homeworld of Ghenla!

By Argus | June 10, 2024 |

A big thank-you to Picram and Shunvaz for inspiring our recommended playtime event, and to everyone who participated in this lore exploration!

Recap: After conducting a very newbie-friendly overview of Starmourn’s modern history, Picram and guests were given an open invitation to meet with a Lha Ti named Ambassador Mhoyul to learn about the mysterious Ibyssian Brotherhood straight from the space-whale-diplomat’s mouth. This was a rare opportunity to engage directly with one of the most ancient living races in the Starmourn Sector, and we on the Admin team had a lot of fun letting some old secrets slip.

Img: A large white space whale with four fins, a tri-finned tail, and a long piercing horn swims through a vast purple and star-filled backdrop before a milky nebula. Text over the image reads - "New Area: GHENLA! New Hunting Grounds: The Amber Ridgeline (MIL50)"
Img: A large white space whale with four fins, a tri-finned tail, and a long piercing horn swims through a vast purple and star-filled backdrop before a milky nebula. Text over the image reads – “New Area: GHENLA! New Hunting Grounds: The Amber Ridgeline (MIL50)”

As a result of this player-driven event, we’ve released a new zone – on the oceanic homeworld of the mysterious Lha Ti no less. If you’d like to check it out the new areas of Ghenla, you can access them via Rensu Station. Just be aware of the dangers! Remember, the Ibyssian Brotherhood is seldom appreciative of outsiders, so I hope everyone is on their best behavior!

Players seeking new alien hunting grounds might consider the Amber Ridgeline above the Panzan Marshes suitable for MIL50+ characters.

While Ambassador Mhoyul has returned to the deeps, future visitors can speak with one of her peers – Ambassador Ylexei – for a little more info about each of the races that make up the exotic and isolated Ibyssian Brotherhood.

Recommended Play Time – Open Training Session on History and Lore

By Argus | June 7, 2024 |

New and Veteran players alike – Join us Saturday at Sync-1 for an open training session with the Lord Commander of the Song Dominion and a guest star from the admin team!

A milky nebula and purple space cloud brimming with stars form the backdrop for a magnificent four-finned space whale with a massive white horn protruding from its head.
One potential topic, the magnificent Lha-ti including their relationship to the Utan Mir and their role in the construction of the voidgates still used by pilots around the Starmourn sector.

We’ll be covering topics including, but not limited to, historic lore and sector-wide politics! Bring your questions and puzzling inspirations to strike up debate amongst your fellow spacers.

Check the new UPCOMING LIST in game for the start time and consider adding yourself as Interested on the Discord event for a handy reminder leading up to the start.

Not in the Discord yet? Join us where the conversation (and the science-magic) happens: https://discord.com/invite/H8m7pFV

A Little Starmourn Mischief and Much More Fun…

By Argus | March 31, 2024 |

Recommended play time: April 1st!

The Admin behind Argus’ tiny paws has had a change of heart and is going to be a gorepup from now on. Say goodbye to that cute fluffy kitten and his tippy-tappin’ paws. We’re upgrading to floppy ears and big slobbery keyboards.

A very young and very cute German Shepherd puppy in an iridescent unicorn costume
img: A very young and very cute German Shepherd puppy in an iridescent unicorn costume

APRIL FOOLS! Or is it?
Log in any time on April 1st (0:00 – 23:59 UTC) to find out, plus claim something naughty-or-maybe-nice in the chaotic spirit of the holiday.

With a mischievous glint in our eyes,

Your Starmourn Admin Team

Tiggywink vs Larsson for Starmourn’s Egg-streme Easter Rescue 2024!

By Argus | March 29, 2024 |

It’s that time of year, folks! Time for some egg-celent adventures out in the Starmourn Sector.

Fufu Tiggywink and Derika Larsson have once again taken their respective places on Omni and Paskal Station and require your help to hunt the Sector for chicks, lapines, and eggs! Remember that you can always WALK TO to walk to named NPCs, so WALK TO FUFU or WALK TO DERIKA!

Keep in mind that you can only do one quest at a time – You’re working with two enemies, after all! After completing a quest, you can continue turning in lost critters and eggs to earn bigger and bigger prizes at the end of the event period.

These two will be available for you to assist until Sync on Monday 4/8 (8pm Sunday 4/7 EST), then you’ll have until Sync on Monday 4/15 (8pm Sunday 4/14 EST) to talk to them and collect your prizes.

Happy Easter / Egg-Event Week to all!

Your Starmourn Admin Team <3

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