Exode: A Collectible Space Colonization Strategy Game

In the depths of HIVE a gem has grown into a complex strategy game with incredibly unique aspects of playing the game over and over again in a multitude of variations. Pack your crew and ship, load cargo, passengers and vehicles up and get ready for colonizing new planets.

To Bravely Seek Out New Worlds to Avoid Annihilation

EXODE is a browser-based space colonization CSG (Collectible Strategy Game) built on the Hive blockchain. In the year 2325, an overwhelming, aggressive alien race has invaded human space. Small pockets of humanity are banding together and setting out into unknown space in search of new worlds to colonize as part of a desparate bid to avoid extinction.

The core experience begins with players being alerted that alien forces are rapidly approaching the starbase they're presently docked at. Using customized decks of cards, players are in the role of ship captains tasked with...

1) Tracking down crew members on shoreleave. 2) Upgrading their hyperdrive for launch. 3) Fueling up for the journey ahead. 4) Loading cargo for the colonization effort. 5) Boarding passengers to support the cause.

. . . and otherwise preparing their ship for immediate departure. Periodic events such as panicked citizens attacking the crew or aliens firing upon the ship will create moments of tension wherein important decisions need to be made. Will the Trooper find the last missing crew member in time? Can the Tactical Officer finish loading cargo before angry citizens kill them? Each game will require sacrifices in order to succeed.

After a successful evacuation (it is possible to die while docked at the starbase), the next hurdle involves quickly taking in the surroundings of an unknown galaxy. Players will choose how they wish to approach a potential planet (ranging from recklessly charging in to steathily meandering) and assign crew members to repair the ship, perform planetary scans, assist the pilot, etc.

Upon safely reaching the planet, they'll be able to land and begin the colonization part of the game. This aspect is still under development, but it is intended to be an open-ended period of time after the initial introduction, where players can complete various play2earn mechanics such as crafting, harvesting, and exploring their planet(s).

The Story So Far

EXODE was first announced early in 2020 with a playable demo being released shortly thereafter. Gameplay soon shifted to a browser-based experience with a long-term goal of providing a downloadable client. The first major induction of players began with a presale of booster packs offering alternative "Origin" characters for players to begin games of EXODE with. This sale concluded with the release of the "Evacuation Scene" that ushers players into each new game.

Since then, EXODE has introduced the EXOFUEL token, that will eventually be used once colonization is live, issued periodic challenge modes, and inched closer to the primary game mode with planetary scanning and planet NFTs.

Tokens

EXOFUEL is the only existing token for EXODE with a currently released supply of 24,000. The stated goal is to bring its value as close to $1 as possible, and its intended purpose is to fuel ships participating in space exploration and provide power to certain colony buildings. The remaining 600,000,000 supply will be distributed to players through game rewards, tournaments, top rankings and promotions.

NFT Cards

The characters and assets players use during standard gameplay are represented by cards in a customized deck created prior to starting a new game. These cards come in four rarities: Common, Rare, Epic, Legendary, with a small chance for any card to be an Elite version.

Characters

A player's captain and crew are represented by Character cards. These cards determine the abilities, bonuses, and interactions of the "generated" Characters players use for the duration of each game. Generated Characters gain all of the attributes represented by their card and store them in their "profile". These profiles contain the following:

• Background (place of origin and/or affiliation, partially overlaps Factions)
• Faction (cultural/tribal "keyword" that determines which characters can use matching faction equipment)
• Skills (determine success rating for related in-game tasks)
• Traits (provide thematic access/modifiers to skills)

Origins represent the attributes a player has during the game. Each Origin limits which cards the player can include in their deck (Civilian, Criminal, Military or Scientific) unless they have the "Versatile" keyword.

Each Origin has a set of Synergies that give the stated Quality bonus (higher Quality provides higher rated Skills during Crew Generation) to matching Characters along with numbers representing their own Quality (top-right), maximum number of officers (bottom-right) and current level (bottom-right). Non-Starter Origins also have additional abilities such as Inspire (bonus for Characters with stated Skill(s)) or bonus Ship Capacity.

Officers / Crew represent the Characters the player is responsible for managing during the game. Officers have a minimum rarity of Rare (and the "Officer" keyword) while Crew have a maximum rarity of Epic, as Officers are usually more powerful but limited in number.

Elite Officers and Crew have +3 Quality and +3 maximum Quality (or 13).

Equipment

The items Characters can wield are represented by Equipment cards, which grant Characters additional bonuses and abilities that are applied in various circumstances ranging from basic combat to future colonization efforts.

Weapons determine the Range (text box), Power (bottom-left), Accuracy (bottom-left), Ammo (bottom-right) and Magazines (bottom-right) a Character has when weilding them.

Characters can hold one Sidearm and one Main Weapon, and some non-Weapon Equipment cards can occupy one of these slots. Elite Weapons have most of their stats increased by up to +3.

Armor provides general protection against incoming damage and planetary hazards, but some Armor also includes additional abilities/bonuses related to Character stats and Skills.

Equipment Sets allow Players to load Weapons, Armor or other non-combat gear either in sets of three or as some form of Console or limited-use consumable.

Ships

Starships serve as the player's "home" during the game's initial phases before later being used for Exploration when Colonization goes live. Starships determine the number of Crew (bottom-left), Equipment Sets (bottom-left), Cargo (bottom-right) and Passengers (bottom-right) the player can bring on board.

Most will also provide additional abilities or restrictions such as defensive weaponry or No Officers, and have a Quality (top-left) that can be influenced by your Origin. Elite Starships have +3 Quality and +3 maximum Quality (or 13).

Escorts exist for no other reason than to buy time during Evacuation for completing additional tasks. There's no reason not to use them if you have them, but you'll need to keep an eye on their status to know when their "Interception" bonuses are waning.

Cargo / Passengers

During the Evacuation phase, players can attempt to load Cargo and/or escort Passengers onto their Starship. If they successfully evacuate the starbase after doing so, these Cargo/Passengers will provide various bonuses and/or cards intended for use during subsequent phases.

Alternatively, Cargo/Passenger cards can be slotted directly into the Starship without needing to rely on the RNG associated, without loading random Cargo or escorting unknown Passengers onto the Starship.

Prefabs

Much like Cargo and Passengers, Prefabs can be loaded into a Starship prior to beginning the Evacuation phase. Their primary purpose is to facilitate the efficient colonizing of a planet.

			(https://i.imgur.com/cJIpQe6.png)

Vehicles are intended for use during Colonization by serving as transports and defensive tools

Installations provide specific functionalities for the colony.

Layouts are currently only defensive improvements for colony Installations that either form walls around them (more visible to aliens and protect two Installations) or move them underground (less visible to aliens but protect only one Installation).

(https://i.imgur.com/ALOw1mN.png)

NFT Planets

For now, planets slowly unlock thousands of attritibutes based on the player's Scanning phase testing. Their purpose and functionality will change once colonization is released.

japex-divider2.png (https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/oneup-cartel/23tRvehi73n1zxUwWzUhnt6jWKzveRtZuGpHXNioPtm9gKZmYm3VZpbYSLFV3gsDRLfkc.png)

What's the State of Play?

Until colonies have been released, anyone that successfully completes the Scanning phase will receive a free Planet NFT of the planet they found. Players will eventually receive weekly rewards (like Contract Packs) from their planet based on how much of it has been explored. This means anyone wanting to give EXODE a try is encouraged to rush through at least one playthrough of the Scanning phase to ensure you receive your planet.

(https://i.imgur.com/m4aTU3u.png)

What the Future Holds

EXODE is currently preparing to re-release the Away Teams Challenge ahead of the pending Colonization release as explained in the latest road map:

1) Release Investigation missions 2) Re-release the Away Teams Step 2 (previously released as a challenge) 3) Open new player registration for Away Teams Step 3 4) Unlock Colonization Challenge 5) Polish Evacuation phase 6) Season test before launching 1st Season 7) Beta Release

Additional thought has been put into the following gameplay mechanics:

• Missions unlocked by specific cards for immediate/conditional rewards. For example: Faction cards triggering "Faction Missions" or Faction leaders unlocking major plots/quest for Faction Reputation Points that will eventually have their own currency.
• Colony Rewards gained by discovering/collecting materials, crafting card "projects", and producing resources.
• Legacy Rewards received as "loot" whenever an EXODE game ends. Longer games means better rewards.
• Achievements tied to specific objectives and/or cards that provide one-time Legacy Rewards.
• Weekly Rewards earned as experience for progressing your collection OR generated character(s).
• Seasonal Rewards distributed on a monthly basis based on activity and ranking.

(https://i.imgur.com/ALOw1mN.png)

Longer-term goals include staking Evacuation Fleets for rewards based on the performance of Starship groups (with Crews), Alliance Fleets formed by multiple players, and even Starbase Ownership.

To support these pending play2earn mechanics, additional work will go into referral Squadrons for closer planetary starting points, player-formed Alliances, and eventually Alliance Projects. The ultimate goal for EXODE is a deeply immersive PvE atmosphere designed to encourage and reward cooperative play without the usual PvP hindrances that can motivate players to gang up on each other. Players will instead compete, indirectly, for top scores through Colonization efforts and Challenge events.

(https://i.imgur.com/m4aTU3u.png)

Colonization

Once colonies can be formed, Colonization will form the main game loop for players. It will involve choosing what to research, produce, or explore and strategically reacting to triggered events. Unique assets produced on your planet will later be tradable with other players, and repairing the Starship will allow for exploring nearby space.

Card Upgrading

After abandoning or losing a colony to aliens, any gained duplicate cards can be burned to upgrade a matching card. Burned cards are lost forever in exchange for upgrading the value of one stat. A card's stats can only be upgraded to two times its base value unless it has the keyword "Upgradable X Times". This determines the maximum number of times the card can be upgraded. Upgrading Elite cards requires Elite duplicates.

Card Leveling

Any card with a Quality value gains experience after each game of EXODE rather than being upgradable. Burning duplicates will also provide some amount of experience. Upon obtaining enough experience to gain a level, the card can be imporved by picking new Traits and gaining 1 Quality. Additionally, Origin cards will be able to pick a second Faction upon gaining three levels. This will allow for hybrid decks such as Military/Scientific or Civilian/Criminal.

japex-divider8.png (https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/oneup-cartel/23tRpMosd6yU2M9fN9xWGBjhSgrYN1MC2KZHiubTJvwLN72AQveYRRNb5iU7a2ZNVhRrV.png)

Where Do I Sign Up?

As a Hive game, EXODE requires access to a Hive wallet such as the Hive Keychain browser extension. This is particularly important for obtaining your first cards, as the game is not currently free to play.

While you can technically obtain all the cards needed to start playing through Booster Packs, they can no longer be purchased from EXODE directly, and are not guaranteed to provide what you need. Starter Packs, however, have three different choices available through "Get Packs" on the official site and provide an Origin and Ship with the additional cards required to launch your first game. The triple pack offers the best deal for those wanting to try each of the Civilian, Military, and Scientific Origins.

(https://i.imgur.com/m4aTU3u.png)

Getting Started

EXODE games boil down to the following gameplay cycle:

1) Build your chosen Origin's deck. 2) Generate Characters using chosen cards. 3) Evacuate the starbase. 4) Scan a planet for suitable landing sites. 5) Choose your landing site. 6) Manage your Colony. 7) Whatever comes next. 8) Profit!

A game of EXODE ends when you are defeated or choose to abandon your Colony. Once your Colony is established, you'll begin to earn passive rewards (i.e. "Weeklies") until the game ends and you receive Legacy Rewards based on your performance and any completed achievements.

(https://i.imgur.com/ALOw1mN.png)

Test Run

Once your collection includes enough cards to start, head back to the official site and click "Play". This will prompt you to login with your Hive Keychain and take you to the Starbase Market where you can buy some cheap weapons and ammo not included in your Starter Pack(s).

(https://i.imgur.com/eTYz1vZ.png)

The Starbase market is also currently the only place where you can buy Booster packs in which you’ll be able to find up to four more (non-Starter) Origins among many other cards!

(https://i.imgur.com/ALOw1mN.png)

Your First Deck

When you're ready to move on, clicking "Game" in the top-right corner and then "Launch a new Game" in the top-left corner will bring you to the deck construction screen. Once there, you'll select your Origin to determine which cards you'll be able to use. Only one Origin may be used per game.

![](https://i.img