As we continue to explore the vast expanse of our gaming universe, it’s time to share some significant updates about our two space-themed games: Battlestar Galactica Eternity and Echoes of Empire. These updates highlight the dynamic nature of game development within the Gala ecosystem and underscore our commitment to delivering exceptional gaming experiences.
Battlestar Galactica Eternity: Farewell, and Thank You
We regret to announce that the development of Battlestar Galactica Eternity has been officially canceled. This decision was not made lightly, and we understand it may come as a disappointment to our community. Still, occasional cancellations are an inevitable part of the game development process. This move will allow us to reallocate valuable resources to other active projects, ensuring a more streamlined and rapidly growing ecosystem.
For those who have purchased in-game NFTs for Battlestar Galactica Eternity, rest assured that we will offer refunds. If you still possess these NFTs, we will require you to send them back to us to process the refund. More details on the timing and method of the refund will be provided soon. We appreciate your patience and understanding as we work through these logistics.
Echoes of Empire: A Bright Future Ahead
While the team at Ion Games has done an excellent job building the foundation of this amazing 4X space adventure, it looks like its full potential will be realized under the guidance of a new owner. As details and agreements are still being finalized, we cannot yet say who will sit in the Captain’s chair, but our expectation is that extraordinary excitement awaits as we venture together into the uncharted reaches of space.
Development of Echoes of Empire will continue. We think you’ll be happy with the next updates and the new developers’ builds to the current roadmap.
Thanks to Ion Games
We want to extend our heartfelt thanks to the Ion Games team for their dedication and hard work in creating such an amazing 4X game. They’ve been integral not only to the game’s development but also as points of contact for the Echoes of Empire community. We look forward to sharing more information as we can. We encourage players to reach out in the Discord community with any questions and stay tuned for further updates.
Recalibrate and Conquer
These updates reflect our ongoing efforts to adapt and improve within the Gala ecosystem. While the cancellation of Battlestar Galactica Eternity is unfortunate, it opens up new opportunities for growth and development in other areas. By heading for new horizons with a new crew, Echoes of Empire is positioning itself to finish 2024 stronger than ever.
Thank you for your continued support and enthusiasm as we navigate these changes. Stay connected with us for more updates and join the conversation in our Discord community.
The immensity of the galaxy is starting to feel like a powder keg of competition and conquest, as things are heating up in Echoes of Empire. In the time that the Empire’s rule stretched throughout known space, it was easy to point fingers and cast blame–Now that the remnant noble houses are grappling for power and control, everyone is getting an idea of the sheer brutality left by the Empire’s absence.
Whether you support the Garrison’s military might, the Arbeiters’ merchant-driven diplomacy or the dignified ancestry and heavy hand of the Royals, now is the time to take what’s yours in the galaxy. Play for free, upgrading and building your Homebase into a formidable force that will make your enemies think twice before trying to take what you have earned.
Mine resources from Celestial Objects owned by other players to earn Stardust. Every day, 50% of each player’s Stardust is burned, locking in that player’s share of the daily $GALA reward distribution. But beware! Everyone is looking for more Stardust and your excess is just a raid away, so be sure to build up a force ready to defend your base!
Upcoming Features & Upgrades
Here is a rundown of the upcoming features slated to be added to the live game, starting with the most immediate high priority additions.
High Priority–Coming Soon
Capital Ship Combat Update
The team will soon refactor the combat system for Capital Ships, calculating damage procedurally among defenders and adding a cap to the total number of defending Capital Ships at any given time.
Real-time Player Fleet Movement
Players will soon have the ability to monitor the movement of other players’ fleets on the map, giving everyone an opportunity to detect incoming attacks and enemy mining operations. To maintain optimal performance, this feature will be capped to a user-adjusted number of viewable enemy fleets.
PvE Combat
The game’s first PvE battles will soon be added to Echoes of Empire, allowing players to attack certain Celestial Objects with a variety of enemy themes, presenting new challenges and rewards. Defeating these celestial “villains” means an opportunity to gather new types of resources.
Leaderboard
Giving players a chance to compare themselves to the top players in the game at any time, the player leaderboard will look at crucial stats like combat power and Stardust owned.
Rally Attacks
Rallies are a new type of multi-fleet attack that will let players invite comrades and guildmates to help defeat a powerful foe. Players will start Rally attacks, then additional supporters will have an opportunity to join the attack with their own fleets before it commences.
Guilds
The first Guild system is coming soon to Echoes of Empire, including Guild formation, applications, moderation and spatial UI support.
Medium Priority–Coming a Bit Later
Chat Features
This update within the coming months will add basic chat functionality into the game, for both global and Guild-based chat functions.
Territory Control Nodes
This update will bring a new type of Guild focused Celestial Object onto the board. When a Territory Control Node is taken by a Guild, bonus stats will be given to members of that Guild within a set proximity of that Celestial Object.
Owned Celestial Object Upgrades
This is a large upgrade for owners of Celestial Objects, claimed using Celestial Claim Tokens. Buildings on owned Celestial Objects will receive stat boosts and additional functions, such as defenses and increases to inventory space.
Flagship Modules and Crafting
Players will have the ability to create modules to be added to their Flagships, increasing various stats and enhancing their Flagships.
On the Distant Horizon
Skill Tree
The Echoes of Empire skill tree will enhance the strategic choices of every player. Players will spend in-game resources and time to train in new skills with the potential to elevate a variety of core stats.
Login Rewards
A robust system of daily login rewards will incentivize players to login on a regular basis. New rewards will unlock each day and players will receive anything from in-game resources to utility items such as shields and teleporters.
In-app Purchase Bundles
This update will bring more variety and value to in-game purchasing by allowing players to spend credits on bundles to receive multiple items with single purchases.
New Ships
With changing the game’s strategic combat meta, a new variety of cosmetically enhanced ships will become available, including pirate variants.
*** With all these features coming to Echoes of Empire, the galactic mayhem has only just begun. This is the perfect time to take advantage of the calm before the storm, building your Homebase into something ready to survive in the aftermath of the Empire and build a legacy for your noble house. The galaxy is yours. Take it!
Echoes of Empire is a web3 space MMO that combines deep strategy, engaging gameplay, and a dynamic economic system of player ownership. Set in a vast universe consisting of quadrants of space, players can explore, trade, and fight to expand their influence and claim territory. This litepaper outlines the core gameplay mechanics and interactions, providing a comprehensive overview of the game’s design, mechanics, and economic plans.
Overview of Gameplay
Homebase
The core of Echoes of Empire gameplay takes place on a massive scale, larger than any simple planetary inhabitant can comprehend. Each player is the leader of a noble house or family that controls a huge Homebase space station with the capacity to explore known space, mine resources from Celestial Bodies, craft thousands of ships, and battle with enemies. Players are far too important in the grand scheme of the game’s narrative to be relegated to a single planet or habitable moon; therefore, the Echoes of Empire board is the entirety of known outer space. In fact, within the game’s Galaxy view, players and Celestial Objects are represented as tabletop gaming tokens.
Players interact with the game in either Homebase view, where ships, base buildings and blueprints are upgraded and resources are collected, or Galaxy view, where Celestial Bodies and enemy Homebases are viewable for things like harvest deployments and raids.
Your Homebase is HUGE–Big enough to build and manage entire fleets and military operations.
Gameplay
In Echoes of Empire, each player explores the sprawling remains of the crumbled Empire, whose holdings are all up for grabs. Players explore, expand, exploit, and exterminate their way to intergalactic notoriety, using technology from the 3 galactic factions (Arbeiters, Royals and Garrison) which led to the Empire’s downfall. The player’s primary role is that of curator/collector, using resources and strategy to maximize efficiency and growth.
Echoes of Empire is built around various gameplay interactions that drive the player’s experience. These interactions can be broadly classified into the following categories:
Exploration: Through exploration, players can discover and navigate new Celestial Objects. A Celestial Object is anything marked on the Galaxy map and given a rarity.
Combat: Players engage in strategic battles with enemy fleets to achieve strategic objectives or to protect their own assets. At launch, combat will take place only at players’ Homebases and at Celestial Objects that contain resource mines. Future updates will expand the locations where combat can take place.
Trade: To fulfill individual needs or advance their in-game goals, each player may trade resources and assets with other players, but full trade features will not yet be available at launch.
Progression: By advancing their character, fleet, or assets through various activities and mechanics, players can unlock new abilities and features.
Questing: Players participate in narrative-driven missions or tasks, challenging them to achieve specific objectives and receive rewards.
Landholding: Players may acquire and manage their own Celestial Objects via Celestial Claims in order to control resources, access services, and establish strategic presence.
Provisioning: Various items known broadly as Featured Holdings may be obtained through transactions, crafting, or other in-game methods to build and maintain a player’s inventory.
Management: Through resource allocation and strategic decision-making, players can optimize the performance of holdings, such as Fleets and Celestial Objects.
Maintenance: Players must keep up their Homebases and stay competitive by maintaining the functionality and durability of their holdings. Examples are repairing and salvaging ships or managing Homebase operations.
Player Goals
The player’s primary goals are to increase their prominence and influence throughout the Celestial Objects in the various ways described below.
While elements of PvP contention exist and form strong parts of the Echoes of Empire narrative, they are not central to the player experience of upgrading and expanding one’s empire.
Economic System
The economic system consists of several key components, including resource generation and consumption, sinks and faucets, and the role of the game’s web3 elements made possible by GalaChain.
Resource Generation and Consumption
Send multiple fleets to harvest resources from multiple mines on a single Celestial Object like this Epic planet.
Resources are in-game (non-minted) tokens necessary for various interactions such as crafting, trade, and progression. There are 3 main resources (Ore, Vapor, Composite) that can be generated through multiple means (faucets):
Harvesting: Players can collect resources from mines on various Celestial Objects scattered throughout the universe.
Production: Homebases produce resources over time via the 3 upgradeable Extractor buildings. Each Extractor also has a corresponding Vault that allows a certain quantity of the designated resource to be protected against raids. In order to maximize Extractor resource production, players must regularly harvest extracted resources. Upgrading Extractors increases maximum time between claims while maintaining efficiency.
Salvage: When a player has upgraded their Capital Ship Blueprints and unlocked higher tiers of ships, old ships may be scrapped for resources.
Achievement: Players can acquire resources through trade or other in-game interactions such as quests. This includes the new player tutorial, in which valuable resources are awarded for upgrading Homebase buildings.
Trade: With a future update, resources will become tradable between players, or with NPC “vendors.”
These resources can also be consumed in several ways to benefit the player experience, including (sinks):
Crafting: Players use resources to create items such as ships
Trade: With a future update, resources will become tradable between players, or with NPC “vendors.”
Upkeep, Upgrades and Maintenance: Players must spend resources to upgrade and maintain their fleets, Homebases, and owned Celestial Objects.
$GALA Integration and Rewards
Echoes of Empire is powered by GalaChain.
By leveraging web3 tech, Echoes of Empire provides a transparent and secure environment for economic and social interactions. The use of minted items enables players to own in-game assets, such as Ships, Blueprints, Celestial Objects and more. These owned items can be bridged off GalaChain or traded through the in-game marketplace (in a future update).
Many owned items can be permanently upgraded on-chain, allowing active players to use both gameplay and secondary market commerce to find opportunities to increase their in-game holdings.
A designated in-game (non-minted) currency called Stardust is central to the reward structure for Echoes of Empire.
Stardust
Stardust is a special in-game token that can only be obtained by harvesting the mines on Celestial Objects that are owned by other players. When a Celestial Object is unowned, it does not produce Stardust, but if it gets claimed by an owner via a Celestial Claim Token, it will begin producing Stardust.
$GALA is earned and distributed daily from a reward pool (described in detail below) to all eligible players, and Stardust is the sole determining factor for daily $GALA distribution rewards for players.
Raiding for Stardust
Players may raid one another and steal Stardust, and a certain amount of Stardust is protected according to the Homebase level of their Command Center.
Stardust to $GALA Rewards
Each day at 2pm PT, 50% of the Stardust stored in each player’s Homebase is burned and replaced in the player’s Gala account as a $GALA claim allowance. The amount of $GALA available in this reward pool is determined by the total spent on purchases made in the Echoes of Empire store from the previous day.
The percentage of Stardust contributed to the daily burn is directly proportional to the percentage of $GALA from the reward pool that player will receive. $GALA reward tokens will build up daily as a Claim Allowance, to be claimed when the player chooses through their account.
Owners of Celestial Objects also automatically receive a portion of the Stardust generated from other players’ mining of the mines on that Celestial Object. Owners of Celestial Objects set the percentage of Stardust that will be shared with them when the mines on their Celestial Object are used by other players.
“Ownable” Items
Several types of items in Echoes of Empire can be owned by players as GalaChain minted items. This section of the Litepaper outlines the different types of ownership available to players within the game.
Credit Packs
Players can complete upgrades and builds at FTL speed when using Credits!
Credits are a special in-game currency that is sometimes rewarded for achievements. Resource packs (Composite, Ore, Vapor) may be purchased in-game directly for Credits, or Credits may be spent to expedite (eliminate wait time on) upgrade and building processes.
Credit Packs are sold as expendable minted items in the Gala Games store.
Special Blueprints
Capital Ship Blueprints are upgraded in the Research Lab of a Player’s Homebase. Some special Blueprints are only available as GalaChain minted items, purchased from the Gala Games store.
Skins and Cosmetics
Players can use minted items such as Homebase Skins, Ship Skins or exclusive Avatars to create a personalized experience within the game.
Celestial Objects
Celestial Objects come in many different sizes, types and rarities.
Celestial Objects are in-game locations that offer resources, services, or strategic opportunities. Many Celestial Objects may be claimed for ownership by players through the use of a Celestial Claim token for the object’s corresponding sector and rarity.
Essentially, every marked location in the Galaxy view is a Celestial Object, but not every Celestial Object is owned or has the option to be claimed by an owner. For example, no Common Celestial Claim Tokens have been sold via presale, but there are many Common Celestial Objects throughout the Echoes of Empire Galaxy.
Claiming a Celestial Object
By owning a Celestial Claim Token, a player gains the ability to Claim any Celestial Object of the Claim’s specified rarity in the specified quadrant. This Claim action is permanent and may be taken directly from the game’s Galaxy view.
When you claim a Celestial Object using a Celestial Claim Token, your Claim Token is burned and a new Deed token for that Celestial Object is minted to your Gala account, immediately accessible in-game.
Celestial Object Upgrades and Maintenance
Depending on its rarity, your Celestial Object can be upgraded to unlock more mines or additional resources.
By understanding the different types of ownership in Echoes of Empire, players can make informed decisions about how to engage with the game’s economic systems, social interactions, and strategic opportunities. This dynamic landscape of ownership creates an immersive and player-driven experience that lies at the heart of the Echoes of Empire universe.
Prepare for Launch
Echoes of Empire combines engaging 4x gameplay with a dynamic, player-driven economy to foster a rewarding and immersive player experience that always puts quality of gameplay first.
There are many more details and strategic nuances to Echoes of Empire than have been shared in this litepaper, so look out for updates from the development team as we prepare for launch before the end of January 2024.
The rush for galactic glory begins on Tuesday, January 30th!
Subject to Change
Any and all details in this litepaper document are subject to change without notice and for any reason. This document has been presented in good faith to the Gala Games community to assist Echoes of Empire fans in their early strategic decisions.
Any substantial edits to this document will be announced to the community in Discord and logged at the bottom of this blog.
Gala Games and Ion Games are pleased to announce that the 4X space adventure, Echoes of Empire, is now live for PC and Mac on the Gala Games platform.
The Empire has fallen. Overcome by greed and ambition, those who controlled the ebb and flow of the entire civilized galaxy have been destroyed by their own mistakes. Its separation into three destructive factions, each with its own ideas of how the imperium should have run, was the beginning of the end. Now the broken pieces of those factions and the technologies they pioneered must all be used to rebuild civilization or else propel humanity into a new dark age, similar to that before FTL travel was invented.
As an Echoes of Empire player, you represent one of those noble families. Your goal is not only to amass power and influence for yourself, but to guide humanity into the future and away from that dark past. You cannot let the Empire’s failure determine the fate of every living soul in the known universe. You must forge out some semblance of prosperity, with or without the elusive peace that your predecessors ironically fought so hard to maintain.
Anyone with a Gala Games account can download the game now through the Gala Games launcher and play for free. The sooner you begin collecting resources and upgrading your Homebase station, the better positioned you will be when all hell breaks loose in the galactic superwars that are inevitable in the aftermath of the Empire’s decay. Glory and wealth will go to those who want them the most, to those who are willing to do anything for what they think is right.
Own Planets and Stars
The Echoes of Empire launch also marks the beginning of the Celestial Claim land rush for all players. All holders of Celestial Claim tokens (ERC-1155) will have the opportunity to claim any available Celestial Object that matches the parameters of their Claim token.
Imagine owning a Legendary Celestial Object like this one!
Celestial Object ownership is not a requirement to play, but every Celestial Object is home to multiple resource mines, which will be needed by all players to keep up with Homebase expansion and Fleet construction. When you are the claimed owner of a Celestial Object, you’re also the owner of its mines, entitling you to a portion of rewards (in the form of StarStardust) when those mines are used by other players. The more your Celestial Object is harvested, the more Stardust you can potentially receive as the owner. Stardust is then used to determine the amount of GALA you will receive in the daily reward distribution. Look for more detailed information about Stardust and rewards in the Litepaper, coming soon.
Starting Building and Conquer the Galaxy
The race to become a galactic superpower has begun, and power beyond measure is within anyone’s grasp.
Your new empire awaits, Commander. What will you make of it?
Before the Empire crumbled, there was a lot of grumbling throughout the galaxy, and everyone seemed to have an idea of what could be done to make things better. This is how the Arbeiters, the Royals and the Garrison turned from what should have been cooperative systems toward similar goals, to factions hell-bent on each others’ destruction.
Each mad with their own takes on what was right and what was ultimately good for the galaxy and the Empire, these factions tore away at one another until nothing was left but ruin. Now that the Empire is over, the factions still remain, and the noble houses attempting to rise from the ashes of the Empire’s destruction must work within the frameworks established by each faction.
The promised result is a new kind of galactic chaos in which every faction must be represented within each and every noble’s Homebase. If each Homebase doesn’t embrace the Arbeiters’ exploratory spirit, the Garrison’s military might, and the Royal’s noble arrogance, no Homebase will have a chance on its own. Hopefully the workers within these factions will set aside their history of conflict for the greater good of the galaxy, but only time and space will tell.
Echoes of Empire launches very shortly, and those who move quickly will establish the surest galactic footing as countless noble houses attempt to establish themselves as planetary owners and figures of power.
Don’t Miss Day 1
The wise will take time on day 1 to build a solid foundation for their Homebase. The game’s robust interactive tutorial will guide you through the most essential actions, and it is imperative that you collect your rewards for each of these actions as you accomplish them.
Prepare for war and galactic conquest at your Homebase!
Your Homebase is everything in Echoes of Empire. It is your lifeline to the galaxy. It contains your Command Center and manages your defenses. It maintains your regular collection of each of the three different types of resources.
The following three resources are required (in various combination ratios) to craft and upgrade ships, build and upgrade Homebase components, to purchase and upgrade blueprints, and more.
Ore
Vapor
Composite
Upgrading Buildings
Every building unit in your Homebase is upgradable by spending a combination of the three resources and by taking the required amount of time to build. Every upgrade has a specific requirement of another building’s prior upgrade, keeping you from becoming unbalanced in your building upgrades. Essentially, you cannot allow any particular area of your Homebase to become overpowered while neglecting another.
By clicking the Upgrade button on any Homebase building (each building has a duplicate view on each side of the Homebase for your convenience), you can check the requirements for that upgrade to be possible. If the Upgrade button is grayed out, it means either you a) have not achieved prerequisite upgrades, or you b) do not currently have enough resources to complete the upgrade.
In order to upgrade the Royal Foundry, I must first upgrade the Composite Vault to L4, then I’m good to go.
Check the Upgrade status of your buildings one by one (as described above), tracing back to the next one that can be upgraded, and get moving. If you can help it, your worker drones should never be caught idle for long. Don’t forget to click the ✔ above the building once the upgrade timer has run out in order to complete the upgrade and unlock your next upgradeable building.
Credits
You’ll receive Credit rewards for certain actions within the game. Credits may be used to purchase resource packs in-game, but they can also expedite the upgrade process with any type of upgrade at your Homebase.
If you get impatient with early upgrades, Credits will go a long way early on, but you’ll quickly notice that longer upgrade times require more and more Credits, so use them wisely. A smart player may even wish to save up their Credits until they are in some kind of imminent danger, then spend them all for quick upgrades to catch the enemy by surprise and overwhelm them with sudden defense boosts.
Pro-tip: Start yourself off with an FTL boost by purchasing some Credits in the Gala Games store, which will be held ready in your account, allowing you to level up early and get a valuable head start over other players!
Building Fleets
There are two main types of ships you’ll want to start building on day 1: Flagships and Support Ships.
Flagships (or Capital Ships) are humongous, and regardless of type or faction, each of these behemoths will cost 4000 of each type of resource for every single ship. If you have the resource production to support the effort, you should crank out increasingly upgraded Capital Ships as often as you can through the three Foundries (Arbeiters, Royals and Garrison).
Support Ships are much smaller than Capital Ships. Support Ships are built in each faction’s Workshop, and they are typically built in large batches (hundreds or more at a time, with a limit that varies based on the level of the Workshop).
Harvesting with Your Fleets
I have 3 of 4 Fleets deployed. As long as I have my Homebase sufficiently defended, I should scrape together another Fleet for deployment, even before these ones return.
You’ll learn pretty quickly that because resources are needed for everything, your Homebase Extractors will only get you so far. Larger quantities of resources come mainly from the harvesting of Celestial Objects in your vicinity. You can harvest Celestial Objects outside your immediate vicinity as well, but remember that fleets can travel very slowly through the vastness of space. This is the main reason it’s so important to park your Homebase near some reliable resource mines.
More rare Celestial Objects allow more versatile harvesting and they can hold more players’ mining fleets at a time, but the busiest mines will also carry an increased risk of attack. Remember that everyone is after the same resources, and so everyone wants what you have. If they can defeat your resource laden fleet in a raid away from your Homebase, most players will jump on that opportunity.
If you find a versatile and open resource mine, go ahead and harvest it for everything it’s got, because you never know when the surrounding space will get crowded and resources scarce.
Day 1 Checklist
If you stay busy on the first day, you may find yourself in a favorable position as new players join throughout the first week, the first month and beyond. Once you’ve spent the initial first few hours upgrading and preparing your base, you can just check in every couple hours to maintain and assure your upgrades and deployments are going off without any hitches.
Upgrade buildings and collect resource rewards from tutorial.
Accomplish daily quest items.
Create a versatile collection of Capital Ships and plenty of Support Ships.
Focus on maximizing harvest and cargo capacity when sending ships to nearby planets.
If you have active deployments, keep a Peace Shield Handy, because you cannot Teleoprt with Fleets in travel.
Don’t forget to upgrade your Capital Ship Blueprints
Scrap old model Capital Ships in the Shipyard for additional resources.
Always harvest from your Extractors before they get full
Try to keep fewer resources than the protected amount allowed by your resource vaults.
Don’t go looking for fights on the first day.
Good luck out there, Commander! You’re gonna need it.
