Spawning
Update Apr 2, 2012

Spawning is the act of reappearing in the game environment after your character dies of its injuries or you initiate a spawn-recall.

Spawn-recall is initiated by pressing the Spawn Recall button on the primary button bar, or by pressing Alt-Backspace. Your character enters a trance, awaiting the recall to your spawn location. During this trance, you are vulnerable to the environment and its occupants. You can be seen and injured by other players and animals while awaiting spawn-recall.

Spawning causes your character to appear in the game universe somewhere. There are several possible locations at which you can spawn. Selecting a spawn location is called spawn tieing.


 Berth Your berth is your primary spawn location. You spawn tie to a spacecraft by joining the roster, either as a crew member or a passenger. You will not spawn aboard a ship if the empire that owns the ship is no longer friendly or neutral toward your empire, or if the ship is destroyed, or if the ship's life support system is not functioning. Your character spawns in a bunk, unless the ship has no bunks at all, in which case your character spawns at a randomly selected location inside the ship.

Your character spawns lying in the bunk. Mouse movement rotates your body between four facing positions while lying in the bunk. The bunk provides life support and enables access to your personal sea chest. Items inside your sea chest may be needed to survive the environment outside your bunk. Press E to exit your bunk when you are ready.

City Your spawn-city is your secondary spawn location. You spawn tie to a city by standing in the city and pressing the Spawn Tie button on the primary button bar, or by pressing Alt-Shift-~ (that's a tilde, the little squiggly character). Your first city is automatically set to be your spawn-city, either by spawning there for the first time or by creating your first town square. You can only spawn at a city if it is controlled by an empire that is friendly toward your empire. Your character spawns in the development in which it was standing when you spawn tied to the city. If that development no longer exists, your character spawns in one of the homes of the city, selected at random each time, or the town square if there are no homes.

Capital The capital city of your empire is your 'last hope' spawn location. Your emperor selects the capital city of your empire. You can only spawn in your capital city if it is controlled by your empire. Your character spawns in one of the homes of the city, selected at random each time, or the town square if there are no homes.

You lose if you die when your empire has no capital city and your ship and spawn-city are gone. You cannot spawn in your empire. When this happens, you are automatically reassigned to another empire that has a capital city. You are stripped of your social standing and any government office held; all uncollected debt owed by your former empire is forgotten. Then you spawn in the capital city of your new empire.

There is an exception to this rule when you start the game by creating a new empire and have no cities at all. In this early stage you will spawn where you fall until you have created your town square, which automatically becomes your spawn-city. After your first town has been created, you must specifically spawn-tie to other towns to change your spawn-city; it won't be set automatically when you build each new town.