Abyssal hyperspace
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| Abyssal hyperspace, nearly impenetrable to sensors and exerting an enormous pressure on the drive field. The subject of many an old spacer's tale, more easily laughed off in the comfort of a dockside bar. | ||
–In-game description | ||
Overview
Abyssal hyperspace is a special form of hyperspace, found in the bottom-left of the map (the area marked "Orion-Perseus Abyss") and around the edges of the rest of the map.
Effects
On entering abyssal hyperspace, the interstellar background and other visual details fade into darkness. Some audio effects such as the monthly income update are muffled.
Sensor range and burn speed are reduced to 25% of their normal value. In combat, top speed of ships and missiles is reduced by 20%, and missile range is reduced by 20%.
Slipstreams do not naturally generate here, and those created by Generate Slipsurge have reduced power.
Gravity wells and jump points are only visible at close range.
Curios
Abyssal hyperspace has a variety of curios to be observed and interacted with. These objects of interest can be found with the Neutrino Detector, assuming they are close enough.
Abyssal lights
| A transient energetic concentration of unknown origin found only in abyssal hyperspace. | ||
–In-Game Description | ||
Abyssal lights are strange lights found only in abyssal hyperspace that can be randomly encountered. It is generally unknown why this phenomenon occurs, though speculated by the limited academic institutions of the sector to be some kind of spontaneous build-up of dark energy around some kind of "temporary hyperspace quasistructure" or a "knot in higher dimensions".
These lights can be disturbed into a collapse by the following abilities to provide certain benefits for a few light-years of travel distance.
- Active Sensor Burst provides a sensor range boost of +4000, reduced down to an effective +1000.
- Interdiction Pulse provide a burn boost of +20, reduced down to an effective +5.
The closer the player's fleet is to the abyssal light when the ability is used, the longer the bonuses will last. Disturbing them will also provide around 6 - 8 points in Hyperspace Topography.
Abyssal lights can also vary in size, with bigger ones giving longer bonuses.
Most abyssal lights are encountered by its lonesome, there are variations to this pattern that can be encountered:
- Pair: A smaller abyssal light is in close proximity to a bigger brethren. Not detected until approaching closer to the bigger of the pair.
- Cluster: Many small abyssal lights in a tight cluster, shows up on sensors as a blob of readings.
In close proximity of an abyssal light
A pair of smaller and bigger abyssal lights
A cluster of smaller abyssal lights
Occasionally, an abyssal light may disappear for some reason as the player approaches it.
Superstitions among Spacers considers interacting with these lights to be considered bad luck.
| Cold light begins to grow in the primary display. A subtle pulse begs for your attention.
"Captain, I-" It's your navigation officer, who glances at sensors and receives a nod. "The light is moving. Coming closer." You consciously pull your eyes from that comfortless light - diminished but not bereft of its call through even the meager medium of the primary display. It's come to you. |
||
–In-Game Text | ||
Certain abyssal lights do not provide helpful bonuses when interacted with, whether directly or with the aforementioned abilities above. Instead, they will attract the dangerous and mysterious Shrouded Dweller.
When this occurs, a dialogue appears with three options:
- Full-power Sensor Sweep (large encounter)
- Wait (medium encounter)
- Full Emissions Control (small encounter, allows disengagement without combat)
These "shrouded" abyssal lights can be distinguished by the following:
- A more reddish/purple-ish color; upon getting closer to the light, a pinkish halo can be observed. Normal abyssal lights are more blue and "colder" in comparison.
- Have a lower pitched sound compared to normal abyssal lights.
- Appear to flicker more frequently than normal abyssal lightsunverified.
Left: normal light, right: red light
Close-up of a "shrouded" abyssal light
Which is which?
Rogue planets
The gravity wells of rogue planets not orbiting a star and Black Holes can be encountered when traversing abyssal hyperspace. These can be used to enter normal space by either using its gravity well or Transverse Jump, and can be interacted with for Hyperspace Topography points or to be surveyed.
These kinds of planets found here are usually those that can be found in similarly cold and dark systems such as black hole systems or Nebula systems. They also can't be colonized due to being in abyssal hyperspace, which is also the case for Hades in the Limbo System. Mechanically, these celestial bodies will spawn randomly as the player traverse abyssal hyperspace, and will eventually despawn when the player gets sufficiently far enough away from them.
Occasionally, derelict ships in unusual conditions and unusual circumstances can be found in orbit around one of these derelict objects (though derelict ships can also be found in abyssal hyperspace). These celestial bodies themselves, depending on the object, can possess some strange unexplainable phenomenons when interacted with.
| THREAT DETECTED | ||
–In-Game Text | ||
The Abyssal Space Oddity mission will guide the player go out to one of these rogue planets to investigate an odd event at one such rogue planets. Here, the player will discover the ancient Onslaught Mk.I along with its special sensor calibration data.
Obtaining this special sensor calibration data will allow the player to now be able to detect Threat fleets, one of which is immediately in the vicinity. Afterwards, the player will now be able to detect Threat fleets in the normal space around the rogue celestial objects.
Other
Sensor ghosts
A type of sensor ghost can also be found in the abyss that seems to be moving in a straight line indefinitely.
Other sensor ghosts may suddenly appear on the sensors, only to disappear when the player gets sufficiently close.
Derelicts
Derelict Ships can be found both around rogue celestial bodies and in hyperspace.
Ships found orbiting rogue celestial bodies are often accompanied with flavour text, some of which provides insight on the Abyss.
Occasionally, the player can find heavily damaged Vambrace Modules orbiting rogue celestial bodies with signs of combat damage, formerly on other Onslaught Mk.Is. If the player has met the Nanoforge Engineer during the False Idols story mission, they can bring a sample to show to the engineer for a bit more insight. The engineer will remark that:
- The armor is from an ancient nanoforge, meaning it's from before the last 1000 cycles.
- The lack of embedded fabrication rights, something that's only been done by Pirates in the last 200 cycles after the Collapse, implying that this sample is even older.
- The engineer also states that besides the Gates, the Domain heavily regulated the nanoforges, with everything stamped and tracked, and this metal predates this.
The player can continue to find these debris out in the Abyss, further implying that the one Onslaught Mk.I they found was not an exception, but part of a bigger group (though gameplay-wise, the player will only be able to find one of this ship each playthrough).
Limbo
Within the Orion-Perseus Abyss, the only star is a brown dwarf named Limbo (visible on the Sector map) which contains a single Barren World called Hades that has some rare ore deposits. There is also a Mining Station in orbit above it that is guarded by a Derelict fleet and contains some Transplutonics.
At the stable point, a hidden Mothballed Equipment Cache can be found and is guarded by a bigger Derelict fleet containing a Guardian, defeating this fleet and looting the cache will give a Wormhole Anchor.
This can be used immediately on the spot to travel to a rogue Ice Giant, around which orbits the Gate Hauler.
Trivia
- Gameplay-wise, abyssal hyperspace does not end as there are no "invisible walls" or anything limiting the player from going further into abyssal hyperspace besides basic mechanics like fuel. It is possible to travel far enough into into abyssal hyperspace where the nominal effects of abyssal hyperspace will dissipate (presumably due to mechanical limitations), though all other mechanics (e.g. abyssal lights, rogue planets, black background, abyssal hyperspace soundtrack, muted sounds) still persistneeds more testing.
- Abyssal hyperspace and the Orion-Perseus Abyss are both canon, though the Persean Sector being completely surrounded by abyssal hyperspace isn't necessarily canon but rather serves as a map border.
- Rogue planets in abyssal hyperspace will never have ruin conditions on them