A comprehensive content based plugin for Endless-Sky, focused around a tier 1.8 species located south of human space between Coalition space and the graveyard.
The recommended way to install the plugin is to head over to releases and download the zip file named "Starlus-Plugin vx.y.z.zip", this provides you with a zip file which you can then extract into your plugin folder for Endless Sky. However, if you want to download the absolute latest content, the plugin itself is contained within the "starlus-plugin" folder at the root of the repository. Download that folder and place it into your plugin folder.
For those not in the know, your plugin folder can be found in these places:
- Windows:
%appdata%\endless-sky\plugins\ - Linux:
~/.local/share/endless-sky/plugins/ - Mac OS X:
~/Library/ApplicationSupport/endless-sky/plugins/
Starlus Plugin is almost entirely managed by a single contributor pilover100 with only a few exceptions (shout out to Epsil-Astra who did all the ship sprites), if you wish to contribute ideas or bug reports, please open an issue with the details or give me a ping on the ES discord and I'll try to sort through it when I can.
The Starlus are a race of eel-like creatures predating humanity as a species, but their current system of governance has only been around since the human 17th century. Their technology revolves around material sciences and chemical engineering giving them extremely good hull technology but little improvement over humanity for shield technology.
The Starlus are eel-like in form, featuring a long thin body typically around 10 cm in diameter and up to a meter in length for adults. Starluses are filter-feeders taking in both nutrients and oxygen using gill-like structures which they then absorb into their blood streams, waste products leave in a similar manner dissolving into the water and being fed back into the ecosystem. Because of this, a Starlus requires a constant source of nutrients in the water to survive.
Starluses can communicate to one another through vibrations in the water created via plates attached to their bellies near their front end, these vibrations can be heard by another up to a few hundred meters away depending on the strength of these vibrations. Sensory organs include chemical receptors found inside their gills, sensitive pressure receptors throughout their skin and optical sensory organs situated at their front end.
Unlike humans who see light ranging from around 420 nm to 630 nm in wavelength, Starluses can perceive light from around 570 nm to 800 nm in wavelength. This allows them to see colors ranging from green into the near infrared which are of greater use underwater. Their main senses though are that of pressure, as it helps them navigate dark areas underwater and provides information in a 360 degree arc compared to their 54 degree arc of vision. It also serves to provide information about their physical environment allowing them to locate regions where food is plentiful.
Finally, Starluses have the ability to secrete various chemicals, many of which can harden into solid layers, this allows them to construct solid tools that they can use to better interact with their environment. Other methods of manipulating their environment includes recessed plates on near their fronts with high coefficients of friction allowing them to push at various items.
The Starlus governance system is technocratic, but with some degree of freedom for individuals allowing them to chose which field to specialize in and also how they manage their allocated hours of recapitulation. Each Starlus works within its chosen field of work, but they are managed by randomly selected individuals who will either oversee a whole project if it has a short duration, or may oversee up to 3 years of a larger one. Each managing representative reports to "specialism boards" staffed by their other randomly selected peers who decide which projects to prioritize and what actions within their field need to be undertaken.
Above the "specialism boards" is the government board who then decide how best to manage the interests of the Starlus as a whole.
Because of their relatively simple physical forms and their reliance on constant sources of food, the Starlus are a highly social species and tend to congregate in large underwater cities floating just beneath the surface of the oceans. Larger cities often feature space ports at or near the surface that tend to visiting space craft including passenger transports, cargo vessels and also warships.
The Starlus have advanced hull technology which allows their ships to be quickly and efficiently repaired, the Starlus regeneration centres are among the best outfits in the game for repair technology and Starlus ships provide a bonus to all hull regenerators.
However, this comes at a cost, the Starlus have exceptionally weak shields despite being nearly a T2 species. Their shield generators do not work whilst the ship is under fire and are only just about more space efficient as human regenerators.
Given their expertise in materials science though, they possess exceptional hull damaging and long range weapons including the powerful, but compact neutron cannon. Though these dedicated hull destroyers need to be paired with shield strippers in order to more effective and their technology has a considerable power draw requiring either powerful generators or batteries to be useful.
This section of the README provides a few pointers to the story of the Starlus, so if you rather not be spoiled you may want to skip over this bit and head back on up.
Starlus space is home to a rich history brought to it by technological innovation and a mystical wormhole.
Important events: BCE: Before Common Era (BC), ACE: After Common Era (AD)
- ~220,000 BCE: The first members of the Starlus Species appear
- ~2000 BCE: Modern Starlus civilization is born
- ~200 BCE: Starlus start exploring their home system
- ~400 ACE: The first arrival, the wormhole brings foreign travelers to their system, inspiring the Starlus to explore space more extensively
- ~525 ACE: Invention of the first hyperdrive
- ~550 ACE: Colonization of nearby habitable planets
- ~600 ACE: Discovery of the wormhole
- ~650 ACE: The second arrival, this time the wormhole brings violence, a young waring species is connected to the Starlus by the wormhole.
- ~650 ACE: Starlus start to develop military hardware
- ~750 ACE <-> present day: Numerous other encounters occur via the wormhole, some peaceful, some violent, some are just empty systems.
- ~1525 ACE: Every habitable planet within their region of space is colonized
- ~1600 ACE: The Starlus technocracy is established
- ~1850 ACE: Foreshadow developed, the most powerful weapon in their arsenal
- ~3010 ACE: The player arrives to the Starlus
Dates after this point are variable as they are influenced by the player
Starlus Story
As mentioned in the Historical Timeline, the Starlus civilization is exposed to a mystical wormhole. There is very little information about the origins of this wormhole, it could be a deliberate creation, an experiment, naturally occurring or even an unintended accident.
What is known though, is that every so often the wormhole links Starlus space to various other systems around the galaxy, and sometimes even beyond. As such the Starlus have met many species in their history and this has led to them being cautious towards others and developing a large military presence withing their systems.
When the player meets the Starlus, the first barrier to overcome is that of communication. Eventually, the player will be able to establish dialogue through a number of different species dotted throughout the galaxy but currently the remnant are the only option.
Once communication is established, the player will have the opportunity to work alongside the Starlus in a number of ways.
- First they can help the Starlus logistically moving freight around their region to various ports, but they won't take passengers.
- Second, they can take instruments to various locations within their region to take measurements.
- Finally they can provide them with various samples and references of human literature and technology.
Once the player has started to earn their trust the player will be allowed to purchase a selection of outfits from the Starlus for their own use and shortly after the wormhole will open.
Details on the wormhole campaigns are found below.
After the first of these wormhole campaigns the player will be more trusted by the Starlus and allowed to purchase more advanced Starlus outfits.
Once the player has completed at least 3 wormhole campaigns and provided the Starlus with enough cultural knowledge about humanity the will be entrusted with converted Starlus ships for them to fly.
The Wormhole is a fickle thing...
The wormhole campaigns are unique to ES in that they aren't just a set order of events, instead campaigns are randomly chosen from a set of possible campaigns, some are none violent, some involve fighting other species or even brokering a peace to avoid bloodshed from either side.
Because of this random aspect of the wormhole campaigns the Starlus Plugin has great replay-ability and can be easily expanded to include future additions and even other plugins. More information on expansions to this plugin will be added shortly.