Space Engineers Spiral’s Sol Conflict Server Guide

Timeline

 
2101 – Unification Wars 
 
In 2093 a team at the MIT laboratories created the first (and last) true AI. For the first eight years of it’s life, the AI was confined to the lab facilities, but in November of 2100 disaster struck. The AI was able to escape the facility network and fled onto the internet. 
What happened next isn’t entirely clear, as records from that time period are extremely unreliable. What is known is that it manipulated our communications technologies to turn us against each other. Social unrest grew to never before seen levels and nuclear war was narrowly avoided. Fortunately, the AI was unable to trick the people of the world forever and eventually evidence reached the leaders of the governments of the world that the AI exists and had been manipulating them. The AI had quietly killed off most of the original scientists responsible for it’s creation during the turmoil, but the US government was able to uncover their research and use it corner the AI to a section of NASA’s computer network. Before they could deal the killing blow however, the AI was able to launch a probe into deep space. 
Global relations had already been damaged by the AI to such an extent that the US government had no choice but to confess to their role in creating the AI and unleashing it. In an effort to heal the world from the damage caused by the AI, the first World Council was formed as a governing body to provide oversight for all other world governments. 
 
2136 – Miranda Incident 
 
In June of 2136, Dr. Julienne Miranda invented a revolutionary technology that allowed for people to transfer their consciousness into a cloned body. Repeated cloning could cure diseases, halt aging, and even reverse death. She sold her technology to anyone who had the money to buy it from her. Within just a couple of years, she had become the richest person on the planet. That was until the side effects started to appear. The people who had been using the cloning the most frequency started to experience symptoms in the form of deformities and psychosis. Efforts were made to bring them in for containment and treatment, but most of them were paranoid and their power and influence made it very difficult to contain them. To compound matters, most of the clones hid their cloning equipment and used cyanide capsules or other methods of self harm to evade capture. Eventually, the people of the world had enough and it was decided that the clones should be given a place away from the rest of the world where people wouldn’t be in danger from them and they wouldn’t be constantly hunted. The Antarctic Miranda Survivor Colony was established on September 12th, 2141. 
 
2142 – 2nd Miranda Incident 
 
It took less than a year for the Miranda Survivors to break quarantine. They stormed the barricades with 3D printed weapons, taking advantage of the rapid cloning process to maintain their numbers while taking heavy losses. It took more than two weeks to push them back into the quarantine zone and seal them in again. Fearing further loss of life or a larger outbreak, the World Council decided to give one of their newly commissioned spacecraft to the clones so that they could leave. The majority of them accept and boarded the craft, leaving Earth forever. The remainder we able to be pushed back to their cloning facilities and destroyed permanently. 
 
2151 – Invention of the Jump Drive 
 
Humanity took another leap forwards when they gained the ability to harness powerful magnetic fields to fold space-time, allowing for faster-than-light travel and for the first time giving them the ability to truly explore their solar system. The first Jump-Drive was fitted to the WCS Enterprise in honor of the famous ship from science fiction and sent out to explore the Sol system. 
 
2152 – 3rd Miranda Incident 
 
While on mission near Mars, the WCS Enterprise was attacked by a ship constructed by the Miranda Survivors. While their ship was relatively primitive compared to the Enterprise, it was heavily armed and operated with no concern for personal safety (as the clones are functionally immortal) 
The Enterprise was able to drive off the hostile ship, but not before taking critical damage to their Jump Drive. The WCS Kyuseishu was fitted with it’s own Jump Drive and sent out to aid the Enterprise. More heavily armed and carrying a contingent of technitions and scientists, the WCS Kyuseishu rendezvoused with the Enterprise and began to repair the damaged Jump Drive. 
A second clone ship attacked before repairs can be completed. The ship rammed the Kyuseishu and both ships were completely destroyed. The Enterprise was able to open a line of communication with the World Council to discuss their options. It was decided that the crew of the Enterprise and the survivors from the Kyuseishu should colonize the nearby moon of Europa. The term “Reaver” became popularized as way to refer to the clones on account of their senselessly violent nature. 
 
Cataclysm of 2198 
 
In 2190, the World Council began research into more powerful Jump Drives, capable of not only reaching beyond our solar system but also better able to navigate through gravity wells, meaning that it could be used within the gravity of a planet. This would be a significant advancement because breaking out of Earth’s gravity using conventional rockets was still very expensive. The WCS Instinct was commissioned to house the first of these devices and take it beyond the Sol System to Proxima Centauri. It began it’s maiden voyage on May 2nd, 2198 from drydocks in Earth orbit on a voyage that would take it to Venus before engaging the new drive fully to reach Proxima Centauri. The ship made it to Venus just fine, but when it engaged the drive fully, something horrible happened. Not only did the ship vanish from it’s spot in space-time, but it took the entire planet of Venus with it. The change in gravitational forces destabilized the orbit of every planet in the system, meaning that within a few hundred years Earth would be uninhabitable. 
 
2199 – First Contact 
 
Still reeling from the loss of Venus, the human race is dealt another blow when three new planets suddenly appeared in the Sol system. And they brought with them new life. Hostile, intelligent life. Huge warships began roaming through space, searching for lifeforms to consume and use to fuel their reproduction. It didn’t take them very long to find Earth. 
Swarms of them descended on our vulnerable planet, using advanced beam weapons and protecting themselves with advanced laser point defense systems they were able to quickly overwhelm the human forces. In less than two months nearly 95% of humanity was wiped out. The surviving humans started to refer to the aliens as “Orks” because of the green, heavily muscled bio-suits that their infantry wear. The few humans who were left boarded ships and fled in all directions to avoid being eaten by the invaders. 
 
2247 – Shields! 
 
The FFI faction of human survivors developed powerful energy shields that were able to withstand the beam weapons frequently employed by the Orks. With this technology, humanity might finally be able to fight back against the invaders. They eagerly shared the technology across every line of communication available. But unfortunately there were too few humans left to ever take back their home or drive the invaders out. Without intervention of some kind, the human race would cease to exist within three generations. And so, Dr. Miranda’s research was resurrected and scientists got to work on attempting to fix the inherent flaws in the technology. 
 
 

Timeline Pt. 2

 
2262 – Corruption 
 
In 2262 a new force appeared in the solar system; the long forgotten AI “Corruption”. Isolated for over a century, the AI has developed technology never before seen and is attempting to use it to claim as much of the solar system as it can. Now pressed on three fronts, the human race was desperate. The new cloning technology wasn’t ready yet. While not subject to the genetic degradation present in the Miranda clones, any clone produced by the new technology would become sterile. Adopting this technology would mean the end of genetic diversity for the human race as well as a stagnation in their numbers. But it was decided that stagnation was preferable to extermination, and so humans fully adopted technology that made them immortal. 
 
The Year is 2275 
 
Humans are an endangered species; scattered across the solar system. Will you join forces with the rest of humanity to fight back against the darkness? Or will you head off on your own, hoping to make a new start for yourself and the people you care about? Whichever way the stars take you, there will be no shortage of adversity to overcome. 
 
 

An Overview of Hostile Forces

 
Miranda Survivors a.k.a. Reavers 
 
After being subjected to hundreds of generations of failed cloning, these creatures barely resemble the humans they originated as. Wracked with constant pain and madness, they roam the spaceways in hobbled together corvettes, frigates, and cruisers looking for signs of life to vent their fury upon. While utilizing primitive weaponry (for the most part), they have become famous for their devastatingly effective kamikaze attacks. A Reaver ship should be considered a threat for as long as it has active thrusters. 
It is rumored that some Reavers have gotten their claws on more modern weaponry, including Orkish beam weapons. The LEE offers a sizeable reward for video evidence of the destruction of any Reaver ships equipped with these weapons. 
 
Orks 
 
A highly intelligent and extremely hostile species of aliens. They appeared with the arrival of the three foreign worlds following the Cataclysm. Given that they have been seen devouring human beings on the battlefield, using their massive biosuits to tear their opponents limb from limb, it is assumed that they are a hostile species by nature. 
During the initial invasion and decimation of Earth, the Orks used directed plasma beams and laser weapons exclusively, but when human ballistics technology began producing weapons effective at longer ranges than the beam weapons, the Orks were quick to steal and adopt these weapons for themselves. 
 
AI Corruption 
 
Humanity’s oldest foe has returned from deep space and ships with strange and unpredictable abilities have begun to attack human settlements and facilities relentlessly. AI drones tend to be smaller than ships used by other factions, probably because they have no need for a cockpit. They employ a mix of primitive 22nd century ballistic weapons and advanced particle weapons. 
Some engineers have come back from deep space telling horror stories of an AI drone the size of a heavy corvette armed with a weapon so devastating that it can cripple a modern warship in a single hit. Engineers have begun to call it the “Vengeance Drone” as it avenges the loss that the AI suffered in 2110. There can be no monetary value placed on what it would mean for humanity were someone able to capture one of these super-powered drones for study. 
 
Pirates 
 
As if the human survivors didn’t have enough to worry about, there are other humans out there that will just as soon shoot you as shake your hand. All spacesuits come with a built in IFF that works off of ambient radio signals. Ships that don’t have modern software will always be broadcasting and will show up red on your HUD. Assume that they will fire upon you if you 
 
 

Common Starship Frames

 
RUST class Corvette 
 
First fielded by the Lynx Salvage Corporation in 2272, it became popular with engineers from all factions for it’s extreme versatility following the Cataclysm and ensuing exodus. Since that time, they have been employed as transports, mining ships, and even light warships. 
 
Hornet class Patrol Ship 
 
Introduced by FFI in 2295, just three years before the Cataclysm, this modestly sized gunship features an “open faced” design that allows for an intimidating amount of weaponry to be crammed into it. The cabin is extremely cramped with barely enough space for a single pilot, and at 850k HP the shields are weaker than those found on some fighters. But it’s combination of firepower, agility, and small frame make it an appealing option for engineers seeking a dedicated warship that won’t take up a lot of space. It’s also one of the smallest starship frames ever built to house a Jump Drive. 
 
Instinct class Cruiser 
 
The WCS Instinct was the ship at the center of the great Cataclysm. A few years after the incident, engineers began reporting sightings of the lost ship all over the solar system. Scans of the ships reveal them to be replicas of the original ship. Their experimental drive has been replaced by a standard jump drive, but the ships are in all other ways identical to the original. Many felt extremely superstitious about the replica ships for obvious reasons, but necessity has driven several factions to claim them and repurpose them as capital ships. The original Instinct was fitted with atmospheric thrusters enabling it to land on full-sized planets but many engineers choose to remove these and replace them with reactors for more shielding, refineries, storage, etc. 
 
Hydra class Small Miner 
 
Produced by FFI in 2239, the Hydra could at a time be seen in nearly every shipyard in the solar system. However, in the years since engineers have been producing larger and larger ships and the Hydra’s quad drill/ single large cargo container was deemed inadequate by many factions; most of which now use home-brew designs. FFI still uses the Hydra as it’s primary resource gathering unit though, citing it’s extreme reliability and ruggedness. 
 
 

Weapons of the 23rd Century

 
22nd Century Weapons 
 
25mm Gatling Cannon 
A weapon from a simpler time. The 25mm Gatling Cannon has a decent rate of fire, and the turreted versions even have decent tracking. The accuracy and range and fairly bad though; being effective only out to about 600m. This is the most common weapon to be found on Reaver ships. At least the ammo is compatible with some modern weapons. 
Large Grid: Yes 
Small Grid: Yes 
Turret: Yes 
Fixed: Yes 
 
200mm Rocket Launcher 
Definitely a step up from the gatling cannon; this weapon will send a rapid-fire stream of dumb rockets towards a target at a relatively slow flight speed. The individual rockets are not particularly powerful but the damage can add up quickly if you let them smash against your shields. Many an engineer has had their ship torn apart because they underestimated the effect of rockets on their shield systems. 
Large Grid: Yes 
Small Grid: Yes 
Turret: Yes 
Fixed: Yes 
 
23rd Century Weapons (outdated) 
 
14.5mm Machinegun 
The 14.5mm Machinegun was praised at the time of it’s introduction for it’s superior accuracy and rate of fire over the 25mm Gatling Cannon, but compared to modern weapon systems it’s just a bit quaint. Still, if you really like pointing the gun and pulling the trigger yourself instead of letting a computer do it for you, this could be an option you consider for your smaller craft. 
Large Grid: No 
Small Grid: Yes 
Turret: No 
Fixed: Yes 
 
50mm Cannon 
The 50mm round does decent damage, but the low rate of fire of this weapon makes it a poor choice in almost every circumstance. But if you fancy yourself an ace fighter pilot and want to relive the glory days, this weapon is a real blast from the past. 
Large Grid: Yes 
Small Grid: Yes 
Turret: No 
Fixed: Yes 
 
122mm Cannon 
A very economical cannon type, the damage to investment ratio is fantastic for this gun. But like many older weapons it’s held back by low rate of fire and poor range. 
Large Grid: No 
Small Grid: Yes 
Turret: No 
Fixed: Yes 
 
23rd Century Weapons (modern) 
 
Tiger Cannon 
This weapon system is the reason that the 122mm Cannon is so seldom used on modern ships. Accurate at over twice the range, this weapon fires high explosive shells in four round bursts. The gun will fire four bursts of four before it has to cycle more ammo into it’s magazine. The reloading process is somewhat lengthy, but the amount of damage it can do before it has to reload is staggering. Because of it’s high rate of fire, this weapon has been known to drill holes clean through hostile ship frames. It’s one drawback is a small gimbal system that allows for a very tight firing arc. 
Large Grid: Yes 
Small Grid: Yes 
Turret: Yes 
Fixed: No 
 
Destroyer Missile System 
Humans have used guided missiles for centuries, and will likely use them for centuries longer. This fire and forget missile system can track a target from up to 4km away and strike with extreme precision. The Destroyer payload is relatively light, but it’s real advantage comes from it’s large internal magazine. It can fire a stream of eight missiles before needing to reload. If you group multiple launchers together you can create swarms that are all but impossible for conventional point defense systems to defeat. Unfortunately, these weapons will need another update soon if they want to keep up with the advanced tracking abilities of laser point defense systems. Their relatively thin casings are susceptible to sustained laser fire. 
Large Grid: Yes 
Small Grid: Yes 
Turret: N/A 
Fixed: N/A 
 
M-1 Torpedo Launcher 
Developed specifically to counter Orkish laser point defense systems, these massive warheads feature a mirrored casing and enough explosives to split a corvette in half. Their state-of-the-art tracking systems can acquire a target from 10km away. Their maneuverability is relatively poor and it takes them a while to get up to speed, but they can get going quite fast over long distances and take opponents by surprise. These weapons can even bring down modern human warships with a little persistence, but their plating can’t withstand repeated hits from a 25mm point defense system so you’ll need to fire a lot of them to get through. 
Large Grid: Yes 
Small Grid: No 
Turret: N/A 
Fixed: N/A 
 
30mm “Aden” 
This unique rapid-fire cannon uses a combination of a lattice-reinforced barrel and high-yield propellant to send a constant barrage of tungsten alloy slugs towards a target at high velocities. The super-heated tungsten alloy gives off a bright purple glow in flight, leading some engineers to simply refer to them as “purples”. If you have an empty 2.5m by 2.5m hardpoint on your ship that you don’t know what to do with, it’s hard to go wrong with this jack of all trades weapon type. 
Large Grid: Yes 
Small Grid: Yes 
Turret: Yes 
Fixed: No 
 
40mm Bofors 
With the invention of 3D printed barrel supports, more volatile propellants were able to be used in ballistic weapons and many older weapon designs started to see popularity again. The 40mm Bofors is adapted from 20th century anti-aircraft designs and it serves largely the same purpose in the 23rd century. All four barrels fire at once at a rate of about one shot every 0.8 seconds. The high explosive rounds are extremely effective against lightly armored targets, but it lacks the punch of the 30mm tungsten rounds. Still a very solid weapon choice for close range engagements where the explosive rounds have a higher chance of hitting vital components. 
Large Grid: Yes 
Small Grid: Yes 
Turret: Yes 
Fixed: No 
 
20mm Vulcan 
Is it a laser? Is it a cannon? It’s a Vulcan! The definitive pressure weapon; this gun’s extreme rate of fire allows it’s relatively small munitions to quickly chew through light armor and disable important ship components. It even makes for an effective point defense weapon. 
Large Grid: Yes 
Small Grid: Yes 
Turret: Yes 
Fixed: Yes 
 
300mm Autocannon 
One of the most versatile weapon systems ever developed, the 300mm cannon launches heavy munitions at extreme speeds with incredible accuracy. It doesn’t have as much destructive power as it’s 900mm big brother, but the law of diminishing returns has made this the longest-range direct-fire weapon in humanity’s arsenal, able to reliable hit targets from nearly 4km away. The weapon can be loaded with HE or AP ammo. While the AP ammo is expensive, you get what you pay for in extra penetrative power. 
Large Grid: Yes 
Small Grid: Yes 
Turret: Yes 
Fixed: No 
 
900mm Autocannon 
Has all of the qualities of it’s smaller counterpart, but you know, bigger. The range on this one is a little bit less on account of having to push a much heavier projectile. Very effective against shields. 
Large Grid: Yes 
Small Grid: No 
Turret: Yes 
Fixed: No 
 
Little David 
The Little David was developed as a sister project to the 300mm Autocannon. The weapons have similar destructive capability, but the Little David trades the ability to be mounted to a turret base or gimbal for increased range and accuracy. Combined with a long range camera, a skilled gunner can pick off targets from over 6km away with this weapon. 
Large Grid: Yes 
Small Grid: Yes 
Turret: No 
Fixed: Yes 
 
25mm “Spicy Meatball” Defensive Turret 
Drugs. That’s the only explanation for the existence of this weapon. Most weapons are designed to be as accurate as possible, but someone went out of their way to make this one less accurate. It’s function is to fill a wide field in front of it with super-heated 25mm projectiles. The effect is very destructive, but only at close range. Prepare to spend a lot on ammo. 
Large Grid: Yes 
Small Grid: No 
Turret: Yes 
Fixed: No 
 
 

Weapons of the 23rd Century Pt. 2

 
25mm Blister Turret 
Nothing to write home about in terms of performance, but it’s sunken-in style of gimbal makes it useable in spots where a normal sized emplacement would get in the way. 
Large Grid: Yes 
Small Grid: Yes 
Turret: Yes 
Fixed: No 
 
Orkish Weaponry 
 
Gladius Plasma Beam Weapon 
This weapon is responsible for more human deaths than any other in history. Effective out to 2.5km, this weapon is instantaneous and unerringly accurate. It has fantastic destructive power when used against an unshielded target, able to quickly slice through hull plating to shear entire sections off of targets. Fortunately it’s much less effective against shields. The field that holds the shield energy in place is able to disperse the magnetic plasma beam with relatively little energy expenditure. Like many weapons, it is most effective when used against it’s creators. Although it works pretty well against Reavers and drones, too. As an added bonus, the Gladius is one of the most durable pieces of equipment ever seen in our solar system. 
Large Grid: Yes 
Small Grid: No 
Turret: Yes 
Fixed: No 
 
T1 Laser 
Humanity never adopted laser weaponry because we could never get it to be as efficient or effective as ballistic weaponry. But since the Orks never developed ballistics technology for themselves they can be seen sometimes using these weapons either for attack or for point defense. As far as point defense weapons go, they’re not as effective against individual missiles as a 25mm PDC turret but because they can sustain their fire for longer periods they can outperform human PDCs against swarms of smaller targets. 
Large Grid: Yes 
Small Grid: Yes 
Turret: Yes 
Fixed: Yes 
 
T2 Laser 
This weapon is proof that laser technology may be more worthwhile than it would at first appear. If you ever fire a volley of torpedoes at an Ork and only one or even none get through it’s probably because of this little gadget right here. Or maybe they stole some PDCs. 
Large Grid: Yes 
Small Grid: Yes 
Turret: Yes 
Fixed: Yes 
 

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