Pioneer System

## The Pioneer System

This page is under construction.

The Pioneer system is based around the binary star 61 Cyngi, which is 11.4 lightyears from Earth and approximately 6.1 Billion years old.

The system is the setting for the series Outlands.

A former colony of Earth, the system was settled by the First Fleet.

The system is generally divided into three separate areas.

### The Inner System

The Inner System is home to the majority of the civilian and military population of the system. It is the base of operations for the First Fleet. Unfortunately, not many more details are available at this time.

### The Outer Reach

An area formerly thought to be the edge of habitability, this region contains plentiful moons, asteroids, and a rocky world with an impressive ring system. This region is the primary reason that the system was settled in the first place, as the mineral wealth of this area is vast. In the last several years, multiple factions of settlers have laid claim to the region, leading eventually to the Rider/CDF War of 2221. The war ended in a stalemate and a diplomatic settlement, spurred on by invaders from beyond the Boundary Belt.

### The Belt

Beyond the Boundary Belt, resources are more scarce, but still plentiful. At least one habitable planet is located in this region, though it is an icy wasteland. A single Gas Giant is located in this region as well. The region is characterized by groups of dense asteroids, which present a grave navigational hazard. These belts are what the region is named after, and were thought to be impassable for many years. The Khans, a group of marauding clans descended from criminals ejected from the inner system, make their home here. In 2221, the Khans finally used their navigational knowledge to launch an attack on the Outer Reach, thinking the inhabitants were members of the First Fleet. Since the end of the Belt War, Rider and Khan forces have worked together to map the various belts, making them safe for passage.

## The Grid

The Grid is map that Outlands takes place on. It is divided into subsections known as "Tiles," control of which is vital to the various factions that make up the series. To control a tile, one must have military assets on tile, no enemies on the tile, and spend one turn constructing a Forward Operating Base. Inside tiles, other structures, like defensive satellites, Shipyards, and Trade Stations can be constructed, but require the construction of an FOB first. Destroying the FOB will reset the tile to neutral, or unowned.

Tiles and the Grid determine how large the map is, how long transit from one area to another is, and other gameplay aspects.

### Season One

Season One of Outlands introduced these concepts simply. The Grid was only three tiles by three tiles, and were labeled numerically and alphabetically. The number determined what row a tile was in, while the letter determined what column. During Season 1, the Grid was only 3x3, and went from 1-3 numerically and A-C alphabetically.

This region became known as the "Outer Reach."

### Season Two

While the Tile system did not change, the map size expanded with the discovery of an entirely new region. Two more columns, Y and Z, were added to the left of column A. This region was known as the "Belt," and was home to the Khans' Enclave faction. When first introduced, the only way to traverse between the Belt and Outer Reach was through a gap in an asteroid field located between 1A and 1Z. As a result, tile 1-A was hotly contested by any players attempting to travel to the Khans' territory to attack them.

### Season Three

Season three saw the most changes to the map thus far. Most obviously was the addition of another row in the map, which expands the Grid out to 4x5. Objects that had been in former row 1 and even some objects in row 2 were moved up or down a row. Objects that started in the corners of the map remained so, but now had an extra buffer space between them and the rest of the game field, such as the former Winged Hussar capital and Malta Station.