Hello and welcome back to Lore Builder, our weekly feature where we flesh out the corners of the Star Citizen universe with you, the community. As always, here is a link to the first issue to review the caveats and background reading.

Let’s jump right in:

SATABALL

All right, people. Moment of truth. We are circling in on the rule system for Sataball, sport of the future™. So let’s do a quick recap of the finalists:

Australian Rules Football (Foundation)

During the initial presentation of the rough idea behind Sataball, there were a handful of recommendations to look at Australian Rules Football as a basis to develop the rules for Sataball.

Australian Rules Football/ Zan Combo

In the first round of voting, Zan’s proposal was a very close second to ARF and many of you suggested a combination of the two. If selected, we can decide collectively which aspects from each we’d like to keep, but here is a rough summary of those two ideas combined:

The main way to score points is by kicking the ball between the two tall goal posts. The team with the higher total score at the end of the match wins. During general play, players may position themselves anywhere on the field and use any part of their bodies to move the ball. The primary methods are kicking, handballing and running with the ball. There are multiple types of barriers on the field that have a variety of effects (wall, stasis, launch and eject). The players are also outfitted with a glove to carry the ball and a belt that can generate a magnetic field.

Here is a link to Zan’s original post.

Krant proposed a combination rugby and football/soccer where players on the teams could have specific roles; Pushers are tacklers and could affect the barriers while Jumpers have augmented speed and jumping ability (science pending).

Here is a link to Krant’s original post.

So, please vote for one of these rule systems, and next week, we’ll decide if Sam Corwin’s origin proposal needs any changes and start to figure out the nitty gritty rules for Sataball.

As for the other task assigned two weeks ago:

PIRATES /CRIMINALS/SYNDICATES

Ten pages of ideas. Incredible. There were some fantastic sketches for dynamic characters and crews running on the dark side of the law. Some of you added merc groups and even a couple of musical acts in there.

Here are a few samples:

THE TERRESTRIAL KNIGHTS (by Sparhawk)

The Terrestrial Knights are a semi-organized group of raiders who specifically and solely attack traders of other races, or Humans known to trade largely with other races. This group consists largely of victims of Vanduul raids (or just those with a chip on their shoulder) and believe that alien species constitute an unacceptable danger to the Human race. They are utterly merciless, — anyone (Human or alien) caught by the Knights is almost guaranteed a slow and painful death.

THE NOMADS (by Brundolar)

The Nomads are a ruthless pirate organization that, like their namesake, continually moves to new hunting grounds. They keep to the fringes of UEE space, never staying in one place long enough for the Advocacy to track them down. From what little information the authorities have been able to gather, it seems the Nomads will board and take ships for their own. They either add them to their fleet, or use them as a decoy to draw in those unlucky enough to answer the automated distress call. The survivors are then sold, the cargo distributed, all wreckage salvaged. Nothing goes to waste, and nothing is left behind: not even their own people. According to one source, the Nomads believe failure is death. One person left behind is one too many. All of their ships are rigged for remote detonation. Those who join the Nomads, join for life.

BLACK ORCHESTRA (by The Kinslayer)

A secretive low-key smuggling syndicate that operates all over explored space, with good connections in most of the alien races. BO is run by its anonymous leader, Number ONE, known both for absolute ruthlessness and absolute discretion and secrecy. BO prefers to use seemingly “legal” independent shippers to move its contraband and isn’t above hiring mercenaries through intermediaries to finish off anyone that threatens their profit. BO is also fairly adept at bribing various customs officials, a fact that has let more than one unsuspecting shipper off, when discovered with contraband on board.

Again, fantastic work everyone. I have compiled almost all of them on what turned into a massive Excel sheet to save for future use. Who knows, when the game goes live, maybe you’ll be robbed by your own creation.

Please vote for the final round of Sataball Game Format Candidates and next week, we’ll tackle the game itself. Also, if you just arrived and have a great idea for a small-time pirate pack, syndicate or criminal, feel free to post them in the comments below.

Until next time …