Star Saga: One - Beyond the Boundary - Laran Darkwatch, The Final Heretic

Please note that each character entry will contain spoilers. If you're looking for an overview of the basics of this game, I suggest looking here.

Laran Darkwatch is the most promising member of the Final Church of Man. He's quickly risen in the ranks keeping hidden his desire to explore a puzzling aspect of the church's tenets. The church is founded on the doctrine of the Final Truth, which comes from six Holy Text Files that interprets the Perfect Truth learned by the Founders. It begins, in the original, "Preface to the Seven Text Files of the Final Church of Man."

This inconsistency drives Laran to search for the Seventh Text File. His search leads him to believe that only among the stars, Beyond the Boundary, will he find it.

However, space exploration is strictly forbidden by his teachings. Continuing his search will leave him branded a heretic... that is, unless he succeeds in finding the Missing Holy Text File. He falls into an uneasy sleep after his superiors all but forbid him to search any further.

All characters have this dream, but Laran is the only one to make direct mention of it after the fact.

Working in secret, Laran makes plans to leave. He uses his high rank to influence preparations. Boarding his newly minted ship, the Jihad, he sets off to explore the stars. Destination: Cathedral, birthing and final docking place of the Founder's ship, the Archangel, as well where the Final Church of Man was founded.

I considered pushing Laran to the end of the character list, as there's much more intrigue and lore developed through this story than any other. However, since I'd just played as Laran, I wanted to keep things fresh in my mind rather than possibly have to replay later. In addition to all the above, we get an introduction to the founding of the church.

Cathedral is found much like other Ghost Worlds, but it's the farthest planet printed with a name on the map. All other characters land here with the same options; however, Laran, dressed in priestly robes, is greeted in a much different fashion at the rundown church.

With a new destination in mind, I get back to exploring unknown planets. There's nothing new on Cathedral, neither the ruins or the stripped down Archangel offer new insight. It takes me quite a while to find Cordethar, but to summarize, not much happens in the interim. I steadily collect all the equipment watching my score carefully to track what's beneficial and what's not.

The introduction is a bit new, but only touches on the excitement of reaching one of my goals. I find a memory module left behind by the Founders. I'm met with disappointment as I find the text is encrypted. I'm forced to concede that this may be the only evidence to find, but with hope that it contains the Final Text, I head back to the Nine Worlds.

There's also a small golden cube about five centimeters on a side, the only obvious effect when I carry it is a very noticeable halo. This actually doesn't appear in the inventory, so I can only assume this is for flavor.

Back on the Nine Worlds I learn my fate. A crowd is expectantly gathered to learn it as well. The Lord Highest Disciple, Efrigath, meets me to assess the situation. I hand over the memory module on his word that no matter what it contains, I receive an unedited version of the decoded message. He reluctantly agrees, and it's a few days of nervous anticipation before his return.

With news that it's not the Holy Text, and instead a message to continue my exploration, I head to the remaining unknown planets. My last stop is Outpost, which I easily overcome with all the equipment at my disposal. Golgotha beckons me... next game.

Final Score: 4890
Turn: 300

* * * * * * *

So, the score seems to be calculated as follows:

Cargo Bays (ship + drones) * 10 [Total possible: 220]

Land on New Planet * 20 [Total possible: 800]

Standard Cargo * 1

Special Cargo * 5

Standard Equipment * 10 [Total possible: 500] (Some equipment is worth 0: Inertia Control Belt, Little Puce Alien, Ninchuckle, Poisoning, and Skin Armor)

Specially Built Equipment * 50 [Total possible: 200] (This includes: Super Space Suit, Ship Shield Generator, Technology Nullifier, and Universal Translator)

Plot Related

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Discover Gazan + 100

Read Captain's Log on Gazan + 100

Receive Star Maps + 150

Get Flame Jewel + 750

Build Tri-axis Drive + 750

Beat Silverbeard on Outpost + 250

Reach the End + 300

Beyond the above, there are character specific points gained from completing their main quest. I'm not completely sure how this breaks down, but they all seem to add up to approximately another 800 points (Laran has 770). With cargo bays full of specialty cargo, I could get Laran up to the purported maximum of 5000 points, but there doesn't seem to be any benefit. I looked at the the import process to the second game, and it asks you to choose what equipment you had (from a limited selection) instead of importing from a save game. There doesn't seem to be any negative consequences for lying.

Lastly, I've tried to determine a pattern to discovered worlds. I believe it's too random to map out a turn by turn account for what planet will appear based on the landing turn; however, the planet choice seems to be limited to groups: early planets, mid-game planets, and late-game planets. I think the best I'll be able to do is come up with the groupings.