Stars United

Stars United is the first-ever Mixed/Stimulated Reality MMORPG produced by Pixel, with Grace Acosta as the development director. The game allows Dimistros to travel to Sidra in virtual avatars that take on an appearance of their race via a Full Dive device. Its goal is to complete all levels and reach the top of a huge 145th-floor floating castle in Asteria called Paramount Palace. Once Caelum acquired Stars United, all Dimistros gained access to explore all territories and the entire continent of Sidra outside of Asteria.

## System

The game operates like a typical MMORPG with a level system and skill mastery with some limits. The entire game is monitored and maintained by the cardinal system, which self-corrects any problems. The Stars United mainframe is capable of incredible graphical and rendering capacities and renders the entire environment in full detail regardless of a particular region specifically observed by a Dimistro. Stars United uses a Digital Focusing System, which brings out the finer of an object when a player shows interest. This increases the strain on the Stars United mainframe processor and can simultaneously render all marginal details of the environment. The Stars United mainframe has an easy time causing the sensation of water in baths or showers.

The system determines the race of the Dimistro based on the birthday the Lectro types in, each with different powers and abilities. The Dimistro has their avatar created randomly and only has the freedom to choose their avatar name. When Stars United first came out, high school and college aged Dimistros, along with the staff members of S.U. Academy has code numbers assigned to them, and they had to choose a name containing letters corresponding to their code numbers (A1Z26 Cipher). This system was later removed when Star United was re-released. The sex of the Dimistro's avatar will match the Dimistro's sex on Earth by default, and the Dimistro cannot change it by any means. However, it does not apply to Dimistros with different gender identities such as transgender, non-binary, and/or intersex. Skills are developed by the Dimistro's own abilities and by repeating them repeatedly, so a new player with good skills can match a veteran player almost evenly in battle.

### Mixed/Stimulated Reality Experience

As a complete Mixed/Stimulated Reality MMORPG, the Stars United system can render the entire Sidra environment with incredible realism. By stimulating nerves in the brain, it is possible to taste food, feel the wind and weather, move one's body, and live in Sidra. Dimistros can undergo severe injuries and doesn't only feel an uncomfortable tingling sensation. Star United can make a Dimistro capable of doing everyday actions in Sidra, such as changing clothes by hand or attempting to wield two items simultaneously. While playing Stars United, Dimistros can feel tired and hungry, like their human bodies. They can also eat in-game to dispel hunger on Earth. As a result, all Dimistros must eat, sleep, and go to the bathroom during the game.

Specific stimulation, such as explosions, can result in negative feedback, like headaches and dizziness, lasting several hours. Powers are implemented to produce various effects, with the chants being based on strings of words.

### Global Setting

Stars United is set on a planet in another dimension called Sidra, which is divided into 12 racial territories. At the center of the land is the neutral megacity of Asteria, the base of Paramount Palace, a floating castle of 145 floors. It is approximately ten kilometers in diameter, and it is completely rendered. Because of the nature of Paramount Palace as a floating castle, there are no invisible barriers or no-access regions at the edges of the map.

### Seasons and Weather

Stars United has seasons and weather settings that are effective throughout Sidra. Stars United's season correlates with the seasons of Sidra and Earth and is generally less mild. Weather settings are usually random and quite realistic.

### Physical Surroundings

In Stars United, physical surroundings such as walls, buildings, monuments, and significant features are considered "**Immortal Objects**." An error beep and a notification will sound if immortal physical objects are struck, even by accident. All non-immortal things have a «**durability**» value. Durability is an essential feature of Stars United. It measures how much an item or object has been used (similar to H.P.) and how much it will last before it expires. Clothes, equipment, weapons, potions, crystals, and food is all subject to gradual durability loss. Frequently, Dimistros must invest significant resources into repairing and buying equipment. Food always declines durability over time, and freshly prepared foods will get rotten if not eaten soon enough.

## Gameplay

### Initiation and Character Creation

Logging into Stars United uses the voice command "Incipiam Nexum" (Begin the link) after powering up on a Full Dive hardware. A brief few seconds of tunnel-vision colors are seen while the Full Dive device intercepts signals from the Dimistro's brain before the power-up screen is seen. A pre-game status check then confirms the link connection of the five senses: touch, sight, hearing, smell, and taste. Upon logging on, the login screen appears. After a welcome screen, a bright light ensues, and the Dimistro can begin creating their avatar. The first time a Dimistro utilizes the Full Dive hardware, they are prompted to touch various body parts to calibrate the machine.

Upon avatar creation, a Dimistro must type in their birthday; the system will then identify their race, each with unique attributes and skills. The avatars' appearances match the appearances of the Dimistro's Earth bodies and mix those of the Astros as their hair color (although they have the option to add highlights on any color), eye color, and other features such as elf or dog/cat ears are generated based on their race identification.

### Races

* Aquarius: Skilled beast tamers specializing in animal manipulation powers. They are recognizable through their canine/feline ears and tails.
* Pisces: Users of sound and music powers, which are used to confuse, attack, or support.
* Aries: Considered the strongest Astro race and are users of earth and plant powers. They are styled in green.
* Taurus: Considered the fiercest race, they specialize in fire powers and are styled in purple.
* Gemini: Masters in light and darkness powers; they are styled in silver and have amber eyes.
* Cancer: Healers, empaths, and masters of water powers; they are styled in blue.
* Leo: Users of lighting powers; they are styled in red.
* Virgo: Users of plasma powers; they are styled in yellow.
* Libra: Blacksmith race specializing in metal powers; they are styled in different shades of red and pink.
* Scorpio: Users of time manipulation powers; they are styled in orange.
* Sagittarius: Considered the fastest race and are users of air powers, they are denoted by yellow and green colors.
* Capricorn: Masters of illusion powers and dark arts, they are styled in black.
* Lexie: A non-playable race and AIs with the appearance and intelligence of Gemixies that Dimistros can purchase.

### User/Basic Game Interface

#### Visual Interface

In a Dimistro's display, one can see several interfaces without accessing any skills. The hit point bar is located in the upper left corner of one's field of vision. It displays the Dimistro's name, a visual hit point gauge, and numerical hit points (current/maximum), level, and MP (80/80). It also shows the hit points and names of all other members of the Dimistro's party in a smaller bar. A clock displaying Sidra local time can be seen in the bottom left corner of the visual field. A color cursor can be seen over every NPC, monster, and Dimistro in the game. This cursor is either green (for Dimistros), yellow (for NPCs), or various shades of red (for monsters). During the battle, the health bar of monsters can be seen around the targeted enemy and the monster's name. Bosses typically have multiple health bars. As for a beast that level is too far apart, hit point bars of that monster will be unable to see and instead indicated with 'unknown.'

### Main Menu Window

The main menu is the primary means of accessing a Dimistro's items, maps, skills, and inventory. The menu window can be summoned with the Dimistro's right hand by extending its index and middle fingers together and swinging them downwards in a straight line parallel to the Dimistro's avatar axis. Due to the strict motion requirements, it may be challenging to summon from a supine or lateral decubitus position. Hence, performing the gesture command from a standing position is recommended. Once the gesture command is completed, a ringing sound is heard, and the menu appears. The main menu has a white layout and is structured with the summary diagram on the left, circular category buttons in the middle, and a detailed dialogue to the right. There are three category options: inventory/equipment, maps/quest, and settings. These four-category icons scroll, and the accessed category moves to the top. Even though an item storage feature exists, items can be carried by hand, while clothes and weapons can be equipped the same way as on Earth.

**Inventory/Equipment**: The icon for the category is a character icon. This is the default screen when opening the menu interface. The left screen is an image of the body, with multiple points that allow the Dimistro to equip items or clothes. The right screen has three sub-menus:

* **Equipment**: Selecting this sub-menu will open another three sub-menus:
	+ **Weapons**: The icon for this category is a sword like the one used in equipment.
	+ **Equipped**: The icon for this category is a piece of armor.
	+ **Accessory**: The icon for this category is a necklace.
* **Items**: Selecting this sub-menu will open an additional scrolling screen on the left that lists all items. When an item is selected, it materializes in front of the Dimistro. The inventory turns red when a Dimistro has too many items.
* **Skills**: Selecting this sub-menu will open an additional scrolling screen on the left that lists all skills of the Dimistro.

**Maps/Quest**: The icon for the category is a balloon location icon. The right screen has three sub-menus:

* **Field Map:** Selecting this sub-menu will reveal a map of the floor and/or field that the Dimistro has explored and show the Dimistro's location on the floor and/or field.
* **Dungeon Map:** Selecting this sub-menu will reveal a map of the dungeon that the Dimistro has explored.
* **Quest**: Selecting this sub-menu will open the Dimistro's quest log/window, displaying information on current quests and their progress, all the quests that the Dimistro has accepted, and their description.

**Settings/Main menu**: The icon for the category is a gear. The right screen has three sub-menus:

* **Option**
* **Help**: Selecting "Help" will call a GM (Game Master) on the left screen.
* **Logout:** The logout button was disabled on the first day of the official Stars United launch. Consequently, the left screen is also completely blank. It was made available following the launch of the New Stars United, with a quick log out in a safe area and a several-minute logout in a soulless state. The Dimistro can be attacked if the Dimistro attempts to log out on the floor and/or field.

### Equipment

Several pieces of equipment exist in Stars United, including armor, weapons, etc. Dimistros can equip them on over ten different parts of their body, including the left and right hand, head, arm, body, wrist, and so on. Equipment in Stars United can be divided into two groups: «Astro-made» and «Monster-drops. » Astro-made equipment was usually the better of the two, but even a few rare monster-drops rivaled their counterparts. However, there also exists a third group of equipment, including those purchased in shops.

### Level System

Stars United uses a level-based system to determine the strength of a Dimistro. Once the Dimistro gains enough EXP, their avatar glows a golden hue, and their current level is raised by one. Three stat points are awarded at each level-up, which the Lectro can use to increase their STR or AGI attributes. Stars United did not have a level cap when it was cleared, though had the game continued and a cap was needed, the Cardinal System would have generated one. As for the near-unlimited number of Skills within Stars United, the skills must be utilized to level up. After reaching a skill level of 200, that skill is said to be «complete. » It cannot be further leveled.

## Combat

### Parameters

Several factors go into the calculation of damage in Stars United. Among them include:

* The efficacy of hits.
* The skill level of a Dimistro.
* The weapon skill used.
* The weapon's stats.

Weapons have the following enhancement parameters that determine stats: Sharpness, Quickness, Accuracy, Heaviness, and Durability. These parameters cannot be seen regularly unless a weapon is «Appraised. » When a weapon is given to a blacksmith to upgrade, bonuses such as +1 or +2 are appended to select categories. Dimistros uses an abbreviated notation to describe the effective rewards of a weapon. Choosing a weapon will only show its name and aggregate bonuses (the sum of all enhancement parameters).

### Status Effects

Status Effects, like many MMORPGs, play an important role in combat. Many attacks have a random chance of dealing with status effects. They are generally not curable unless healing spells and/or potions by Cancers are used. Most status effects expire after a set period of time.

### Monster Battle Mechanics

Dimistros can fight using their «Weapon Skills». The system assists in executing Weapon Skills, and it can fall into any of the four properties: Thrust, Slash, Pierce, and Blunt. Stars United has projectile weapons, including throwing picks, darts, boomerangs, and chakrams. Defeating a monster brings up a *Congratulations* screen with a summary of results: EXP gained, Alexandrines gained, and items dropped. Like the systems of many MMORPGs, Stars United has a battle log and announces to others what items other Dimistros receive. Distribution of loot occurs automatically, and Alexandrines are automatically divided while items are placed in the inventory of the Dimistro who receives it. As a result, boss battles can't end awkwardly, as there is a fair mechanism for splitting the loot among the victors. In boss battles, the Dimistros or summons to deal with the finishing last attack produces a rare drop for them.

## References

Sword Art Online | Sword Art Online Wiki | Fandom

ALfheim Online | Sword Art Online Wiki | Fandom

Project Alicization | Sword Art Online Wiki | Fandom