The first early-alpha invitations are going out now - starting with supporters who stood with the original X-Wars on Tipeee. If you receive one, welcome aboard - and thank you for being early enough to break things on purpose. I run this project alone, so your patience and clear reports matter more than politeness. If you have been waiting a long time: I am sorry for the delays. Family, work, and recovery came first; the galaxy waited. I wrote honestly about that chapter in my earlier dispatch, First production deployment - and a long road back.
What I am testing
This round has three concrete goals for me. I am not chasing perfect endgame curves yet - I want signal on whether the foundation holds:
- Core technology - Does the stack work across most browsers? Any glitches, crashes, or visual hiccups? Does the data model hold up under real play? Is the game fast enough when you jump between planets, buildings, and the star map?
- Early-game balance - Can you get your first system explorer on the road without hitting a wall? Do refinement, power, storage, and the construction loop behave as expected? Watch for logic bugs, timing issues, and dead ends in the first hours.
- Map interaction - How does it feel to pan, zoom, open planets, and juggle overlays on the star map? What is confusing, slow, or missing at first contact?
What this is not
Most mid- and late-game systems are not in scope yet, and this build will ask for a lot of manual clicking. That is intentional. Automations, bulk actions, and faster workflows will land in later alpha rounds once I know the underlying loops are sound. Do not treat current pacing as final design.
One week, then back to the drawing board
This alpha will run for about one week. I will collect data, read your reports, and iterate before I open the next cohort. When I reset the universe for the next round, your commander and that galaxy are wiped. Player achievements - medals tied to your commander in this universe - and world achievements - universe-wide firsts - reset with it. Only user achievements persist: account-level medals stored on your login, not on a single commander or universe. Those stay, including Early Alpha Tester if you join this round.
Report everything through Command relay
I will not be active on Discord during this window - family and focus time still matter, and I am the only one reading support anyway. Please use the in-game Command relay instead (open it from your commander menu on the star map). File malfunctions, feedback, fleet wishes, and rough notes there. I read every signal myself.
Thank you for stress-testing the resurrection with me. Break things loudly. The next dispatch will share what I learned and when the next alpha opens.
Sebastian "Degola" Lagemann