Missions, Factions, and the Codex
Starwind combines authored story chains with repeatable contracts and world-state events. The public guide explains how those systems work without revealing the answers hidden in classified records.
Current directives
The directive card selects the clearest actionable objective available:
- An active authored story step
- A destination or market forecast
- An accepted contract
Read it before searching every station tab. If a task involves a person or handoff, the Comms tab is usually the correct destination.
Authored missions
Story chains are made of triggered steps with conditions, completion rules, dialogue, choices, and rewards. A decision may change later conversations, events, access, or which evidence becomes available.
The mission log records active work and completed case files. Alternative branches are intentional; the game does not expect every captain to see every line in one save.
Four powers
- The Core Worlds Authority values order, regulation, and controlled access.
- The Free Captains Council protects independent trade and informal power.
- The Halcyon Agri-Guild controls food infrastructure and seed technology.
- The Frontier Miners Union organizes the workers and stations of the rim.
Trade and service use establish routine standing. Contracts and story choices create larger shifts. Hostile standing can close docks; strong standing can reduce service costs and unlock people or equipment.
The Factions page contains spoiler-free dossiers, while the Sector page provides the public gazetteer.
Codex layers
The codex separates public field records from classified material:
- Field records describe places, people, and history the captain can learn without resolving the sector's central mysteries.
- Classified records remain sealed until the corresponding evidence is earned through play.
The existence of a rumor may be public. Its resolution is not. The website Lore page follows the same boundary.
Playing without a walkthrough
Follow the directive, read Comms messages, inspect the mission log, and use the sector roster to locate named stations. When a lead appears stalled, it may require travel, standing, another branch's evidence, or a later callback rather than an unmarked button.