For the past year we held five open tests, and each gave us new important information about different aspects of the game - sometimes disappointing, but more often - surprising. The Team can not wait to launch Starfall Tactics, but we have postponed this moment for a while, understanding that there are not enough content, some technical issues to be solved, some mechanics to be tweaked, and there are many more ideas that we want to check and possibly add to the game. Starfall Tactics was at the Pre-Alpha stage precisely because we were primarily engaged in research and checked various mechanics. And today we are happy to inform that most researches are completed, we see the form in which the game should be launched well and we have already started developing the Alpha version of Starfall Tactics! It's time to tell about all upcoming changes:

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* MMO and Ranked Mode - For a long time now our game has been trying to combine two completely different, interesting, but poorly compatible parts: an MMO, where progression and exploring are very important, and a rating session-based game, where players must compete in 100% equal conditions. After the last test and the tournament we have held, we came to the decision to split the game into two general modes.

* Characters - As in many MMO games, now you will be able to create a character, customize it, give it a name and, of course, choose a faction.

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* Shipyard - a place, where you can create and store your ships: as we are adding Commanders with a strictly defined faction, there is no need to create several fleets any more - customization menu will change significantly, including visual part (sure, it's going to be beautiful!)

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Shipyard (sketch)

* Blueprints - There is a lot of new content incoming for the MMO part of Starfall Tactics: there are some plans for the questing system, new NPC factions, stations, House features, a variety of opportunities for exploring the Galaxy and the already mentioned crafting system, along with resource extraction. And in order to provide you with more familiar MMO experience, especially by getting new equipment from challenging battles against bosses, rare merchants on the borders of the Galaxy, we decided to abandon the blueprint concept. Now, instead of 3 blueprints, each booster pack contains 10-15 pieces of various equipment with a total cost exceeding the IGC cost of the booster. In general, there is a large number of ways to get modules now, and you have even more chances to get the exact module you need for your fleet.

* Crafting - Due to many innovations in the MMO part of the game, which include crafting system and the ability to extract resources (we will be telling more about it in next articles), most technologies in Starfall Tactics can now be crafted - first of all - ships. For example, to build a ship, you will need to get a ship project (can be found on the vasts of the Galaxy, in shops, loot or in booster packs with ships) and spend certain amount of resources like ore (it used to be available during previous tests). It's not so difficult if you have a couple of faithful comrades and your own House. Low tech level ships can still be built by simply spending a small amount of IGC (in-game currency). Some ships are available through faction progression, for gaining ranks.

* Ranked mode - You still can get into Ranked Mode simply by pushing one button - find it in the menu at the top of your screen. By pushing it, you change all the information and menus into Ranked Mode. Push it again, to switch back to MMO mode. Just reminding: the main feature of this mode is that all Ranked players get completely identical module and ship sets.
*Rating Currency - By winning ranked battles, you climb the ladder and now can get a special rating currency, which you can spend on visual ship customization.

We have planned the following ranked modes:

* Duels - main mode with 1vs1 battles.
* CoOp duels - 2x2 battles. It's always more fun with friends 😉
* Brawls - a set of less serious modes, for example:
- One ship - here you have only one ship.
- Plasma Web madness - there are no weapons except for Plasma Web Module.
- Only frigates - only frigate class ships are available.

Eventually we plan to rework the rating system itself - the algorithm for calculating rating points, the type of the rating table itself and other related nuances will completely change. Piece by piece, we are going to introduce seasonal system and special rewards for them.

We also remember about tournaments - a littlle bit later we will start improving its' functionality, spectator mode and, if possible, will hold new interesting tournaments with live broadcasts, prizes and other attributes for this type of events.

Of course, the changes described here are far from all that we have planned. Here's a short list of other changes, which we are going to show and describe later:

* Character Progression
- Ship Progression
- Detachment Progression
* New economy and planet colonization
* Houses, progression and management
* Changes in combat mechanics
* New NPC factions
* Tutorials and Challanges
* and more.

More information about all the changes and why we implemented it are [starfalltactics.com/news/preparing-starfall-tactics-alpha-ranked-mode-mmo-and-tons-great-features]( http://starfalltactics.com/news/preparing-starfall-tactics-alpha-ranked-mode-mmo-and-tons-great-features "starfalltactics.com/news/preparing-starfall-tactics-alpha-ranked-mode-mmo-and-tons-great-features")