Project Introduction

Story

We are an ancient alien race called the Ranokk. Our species was nearly wiped out by an enigmatic enemy, the Accretions, over a billion years ago. But we escaped extinction. A small population survived in stasis until recently.

We are a remnant of that hyper-advanced species. For many years our kind has recovered our technology and rebuilt everything once lost. We detected no sign of the ancient threat that nearly triggered our extinction, but a successful Galactic Union of numerous space-faring species took custodial control over the greater Milky Way.

Ranokk leadership, known as The Core, decided that it was finally time to emerge from the shadows on the fringes of the galaxy and ingratiate ourselves with the new order. We were met with surprise and elation as our emissaries initiated first contact.

The galaxy was abuzz with reports of a new, technologically advanced neighbor with so much to offer to the galactic community. Our ambassadors journeyed to the seat of the council for a formal meeting of all council species representatives.

The founding species of the council took a seat of prominence in the forum. Almost never seen, these creatures guided the Galactic Council from behind the curtains.

But it didn't make sense. Something wasn't right.

They looked like the species that was our closest ally in the war against the Accretions. But our ally betrayed us in a deal to avert their own extinction. Our civilization survived long enough to see this species themselves betrayed, and wiped from existence by the Accretion threat.

When we questioned how they survived the great war, they scowled and fell silent, before promptly standing up and leaving the chambers without a word. The reality of the situation began to set in. It seemed the Accretion menace did not fade from the cosmos. They were here all along, hiding in their victim's skin.

The Accretions were reported to have the ability to absorb DNA, and morph their physical form to match a victim. Although the process supposedly took a long time to complete and it was difficult for them to maintain this form.

Accretions did not have an overwhelming military, or the most advanced technology on the battlefield. They wiped out countless species with a finely honed talent for subterfuge that was perfected by their ability to mimic others. And now they know we're back.

Why are they pulling the strings of an entire union of species? Why have they not simply wiped them out like they did to us and so many others? What are they scheming? Whatever they have in store, it is likely their plans will be accelerated now. And they have an entire galactic military potentially at their disposal to fight us in the inevitable coming war.

They wasted little time attacking our forces. Not unexpectedly, they performed false flag attacks on Galactic Union settlements and outposts, framing us as the aggressors. Now the entire Galactic Union was against us. Our armada immediately engaged the threat head on.

This is where you fit into our efforts to avert another downfall of the Ranokk race. You will be charged with guiding an elite task force of military ships as you detect and engage critical enemy infrastructure. Cripple the Galactic Council so that they can't properly fight our armada. Or work to prove what the Accretions have done, which could potentially bring the Galactic Council's might to bear against the Accretion menace. The Accretions will likely have several surprises in store for us. We need to react and adapt. We must fight until we've won; or died. The Ranokk species was given a second chance, and if we don't adjust and innovate, our species will undoubtedly become extinct this time.”

The story is told by story panels and dialogue menus. The universe is fleshed out through lore in the Quantum Lore menu.


Core Gameplay

The core gameplay loop is:
- Fight space battles
- Use earned resources to upgrade ships, buy augmentations, items, and cards

The overarching gameplay campaign loop:
-Experience all mission types in random mission drop system
-Chapter ends after preset X # of missions, 6 chapters in total
-Tutorial chapter is Chapter 0 and is only played by default once
-Defeat bosses at end of each chapter
-Unlock cards and more each playthrough
-Use winning loadouts to fight other players in multiplayer


Meta-Games

Each ship in a player’s task force can be upgraded. Upgrades include simple increases to base hp, armor, starting shields, and point defense.

Ships can also be given special capabilities via Augmentations. These can be passive or active, specific to a single ship or mutually exclusive to ships. For example, “Hacking Protocol” is not associated with a specific ship in your task force, and grants a 2.5% chance for each enemy’s move to fail. “Depleted Novallenium Coatings”, on the other hand, is assigned to a specific ship. This augmentation grants shredding to all attack cards except for those with a plasma or laser type (shredding attacks also deal part of their total damage to armor).

Cards can also be upgraded to make them more powerful versions of the base card.
Additionally, various side missions can be completed to gain story content and special rewards (or possible slightly-negative “rewards” too, which entails augmentations that have a negative effect as well as a positive effect).

About Developer

Hi,

I'm Tim Sibiski. I started my career as a biologist, but decided to learn to program on the side, and eventually became a senior software developer in test. I've also worked in traditional development capacities on native and web apps. My original reason for getting into programming was the eventual goal to become a game programmer. While I ultimately decided to stay in the SDET career path, I've always intended to make games. I have a huge love for story driven experiences, and my favorite game ever is Mass Effect. I'd never played anything like it when a friend recommended Slay The Spire. I was instantly hooked on Roguelike deckbuilders, and I went on to play a ton of Rougebook, Banner of Ruin, and Across the Obelisk. Those games, along with the Starcraft universe, went a long way towards inspiring the game, Aurora Nova. Much of the story and lore of this scifi future Milky Way has been in my head since I was a teenager. But it never game together as a clear and cohesive game experience until I settled on Aurora Nova.

I founded Ex Astra studios, and Aurora Nova is our first title. I quickly collaborated with Florian, whom without his dedicated help, none of this would or will be possible. I've commissioned work from excellent game artists to bring my ideas for the game into a form that can be shared with others. And I was lucky to find the extremely talented Yurii Radko, who made the score for this work. His music sounds AAA in quality, and will be a major part of the experience in the finished product. Even now, in the early alpha, it is a major driver in the ambient experience as we work to start adding sound effects into the tutorial.

Regards,
Tim

And Hi,

i'm Florian Röder (aka flowrain)and since my childhood, I have been fascinated by the combination of music, visuals, technology, and project management in video games. I have a particular affinity for Rogue-like and Rogue-lite games due to their endless replayability.

Through years of gaming experience, I have not only developed a solid understanding of how games work and are structured but also discovered a deep passion for game development. I feel particularly comfortable in areas such as mechanics, game design, project management, and UI/UX.

Over the past two years, I have pursued self-taught education and acquired a broad range of knowledge through intensive research. It was during this time that I came across Tim and his project, Aurora Nova, which has been an incredible stroke of luck for me. Tim is not only an impressive individual both personally and professionally, but his project resonates deeply with my own passions. Aurora Nova is already outstanding and holds tremendous untapped potential, which we will fully unleash in the upcoming stages. Although we may not be an AAA studio, I am impressed by the solid work being done at Aurora Nova and believe it has all the ingredients for great success.

I eagerly anticipate the completion of the project and look forward to continuing my involvement in this exciting endeavor.

Best regards,
Flowrain