Phases and servers

The main paradigm of Infinite Lagrange is centered around the **systems** (aka **servers**) in which play occurs. Systems are **discovered**, then the system **opens**, players travel to the system, build their bases and fleets, and compete for a **rating** according to the **rating criteria** of the **agreement(s)** they have signed. Shortly after the ratings are awarded, the **Lagrange Gate** will open and all players will travel to the **Hub System**.

When traveling back to the Hub system, there are limits on what can be transported through the Lagrange Gate and so the player's base and fleets remain behind. See The Dreaded Reset, below.

At the hub, players will have the opportunity to sign a new agreement, travel to a new system, compete for a rating, and then travel back to the hub.

Repeat

The duration of play in each system is currently around 9 weeks for Phase I servers, and 7 weeks for Phase II servers. The exact scheduling is at the convenience of NetEase, and has become shorter over time - early Phase I servers were about 12 weeks, and the first Phase II servers weren't much shorter.

Some players enjoy the cyclical nature of play in the game and look forward to each new server opening as fresh start, a new chance to succeed. Other players hate the fact that, due to the restrictions of traveling through the Lagrange Gate, they have to leave their base and all of their ships behind when the server ends.

**Note:** it is possible for a single player to play more than one **faction** (aka account, alt).

## Phase I and Phase II

Every faction/account starts on a special category of system governed by the **Dawn Exploration Agreement**. These are referred to as a Phase I systems. Once play on the Phase I system has completed, the server has **closed**, and the account has returned to the hub, all systems entered **from** the hub, regardless of the agreement(s) in effect, are currently referred to as Phase II systems.

Originally, there was an agreement, similar to the Dawn Exploration Agreement, that governed the second system on which accounts played. This was the original Phase II. In those days, the accounts moved directly from the Phase I system to the Phase II system, there was no Hub. When first introduced, the Trojite servers used to be sometimes referred to as Phase III servers.

There is constant speculation as to what Phase III might entail, if NetEase ever introduces one.

## The Pioneers System (aka the Hub System)

After each system "closes," all player accounts are moved to the Pioneers System. This process (currently) takes two hours.

In the Hub, players do not have a base, ships, access to the Partnership Agreement, or any resources other than Proxima Coin, Chu Coin, research points, and Dawn Points. The Dawn Financial Plan continues to operate - players may collect from it and renew it. They may use Proxima Coin to buy Black Market Tech files (but only the 1.0 versions, including one 150 Proxima Coin file per day) and Research Points to buy Ship & Aircraft BP Files (only 1.0 versions). There is also no access to the Research Agreement - unless it was in-progress when the server ended, but players may not start a new attempt. The **Development Rating Rewards** store is available, and players may spend Dawn Points and Proxima Coins there to buy tech files, Angulum Cluster passes, ship livery, or emblem items.

In the Hub, players may participate in any festivals that are in progress.

The primary purpose of the Hub is to allow players to sign up for a new system/server. It also has a secondary purpose of being a place where inactive accounts can accumulate without affecting game play in new systems.

## Systems

**See also:**  Distances

A system, in the game, is a star system. The map of the play area is always 9000Gm by 9000Gm (so far, at least) and the star is always located at the exact center of the playing field (4500,4500). There are always planets scattered around the playing field, which do not move, and often have one or more Space City located nearby.

Every system is divided up into Regions which are mostly just a handy way for the game to determine where the starting locations for the player bases will be. The image shows a high level system map, with five possible starting regions marked. Players who are **not** in a union will use a map like this to select which region they want their base to start in. Players who are in a union when a new system is "opened", their starting region will be selected by the union leader and the bases of all the union members will start in that region.

The starting region of a union is its "home" region and non-union players can always join the union when in this region. When a region captures a Space City in another region, the union gains Jurisdiction in that region, allowing non-union players in that region to join as well.

## Agreements

The different agreement types spell out a number of details, but mainly:

1. Any special conditions present in the star system
2. The rating criteria that are in effect
3. Any special resources that are available to the players while in that system

There are also special agreement - currently three - that have no effect on playing conditions, and only spell out rewards that each player may receive for specific accomplishments in each system - but **only** if they complete the expansion of Expansion zone 6 (just the expansion itself, it is not necessary to complete any of the base improvements that are part of zone 6.)

* Individual Rating Agreement
* Neutrals Agreement
* Prospector Agreement

There are currently five main types of agreements that are in use. For four of the five agreements, capture of the Lagrange Gate is a special part of the rating criteria. For three of these, the primary rating criteria is Occupancy, capture of level 6, 7, and 10 cities:

* Dawn Exploration Agreement (Phase I)
* Dawn Exploration Agreement 2.0 - The Phase II version, which is mostly the same as the Phase I version, but with more aggressive NPC factions (cities and privateers.)
* Node Recovery Agreement (NR)
* Galactic Mutual Cooperation Agreement (GMC)

**Note:** GMC is only available to a limited number of unions and individual players in servers that have NR and these servers are referred to in the wiki as NR/GMC servers. The other two types, the primary rating criteria is collection of some special item that is widely available in the target system:

* Trojite Mining Agreement
* Data Rescue Agreement

The Data Rescue Agreement is the only agreement in which control of the Lagrange Gate is neither possible nor relevant.

## Starting Region

**See also:** Starting region maps for pictures of starting region maps from previous servers.

For Phase I players, selection of starting region is relatively unimportant unless they are starting with other players that they know and wish to play with, and even then, relocation to a different region is possible.

For Phase II players who are members of an established Union (also guild or clan), the starting region is made by the leader. Non-group players must choose their own.

The choice of starting region is an important strategic decision. Proximity to important game objective can make some regions more desirable, but the more desirable regions can become over-crowded making resources scarce. Resource scarcity can cause problems with base development and lead to early-server conflicts.

## Flow of Play

The flow of play for any given server is more or less the same, though it will **look** different for Phase I players because they do not necessarily start when the server opens.

### Start for Phase I Players

By default, new player accounts will start on the newest server/system but players can choose to start an account on an older Phase I server if they wish. In the Lagrange Network display, on the list of Phase I systems, the servers are arranged by age - the newest server will be at the top and will be tagged with the word **NEW**. Currently, new systems open every 1-3 days, depending on demand and NetEase scheduling.

When a player joins a Phase I server, it will probably have been open for some period - hours or days - and there will already be players on, playing the game, building their bases, and such.

Immediately after joining the server, there is a long cut-scene that lays out the history of the Lagrange System and mankind's travels to the stars. When the cut-scene ends, the player chooses a name and symbol for their account. A player account is referred to, in-game, as a faction. Then there is a second cut-scene where the player's faction travels through the Lagrange System and chooses a Region of the star system they are traveling to.

### Start for Phase II Players

For Phase II players, it is a bit different. All of the player accounts going to that system will "travel" together, at the same time. The process of "traveling" from the Hub System to the newly opened system takes two hours, and players have the option to start playing the moment the server opens - which has lately[as of when?] been at 0700 UTC. There is a brief cut scene of traveling to the new system that plays the first time the player logs in after the server opening.

Zone 1 of the faction's base is quickly constructed, then the player begins playing the game, but in a tutorial mode that leads them through constructing critical systems for their base, mining from a nearby resource node and destroying a privateer fleet.

### The Rest of the Season

Once the player's account gets settled into a spot in their starting region, things will proceed mostly according to the type of server, the play agreement(s) in effect in that server, and the Galactic Events.

In all servers(?) there are 14 galactic events, though the exact events vary depending on the server type and play agreement(s). Each event is designed to take no more than one week. Some are automated, such as the events relating to construction of the gate in Phase I servers, take exactly one one week, and neither require nor permit any action of the players to affect the progression or completion of the event. Some events are dependent entirely upon player actions, such as the first event, to destroy 10,000 level 4 and above Privateer Fleets system-wide. Some player driven events will have timers and will be considered complete when the timer expires, even if the players have not actually completed it.

After the completion of the 14th event, the server will not immediately end - servers are closed on NetEase's schedule. A Phase I servers are currently running about 9 weeks, and Phase II servers closer to 7 weeks. The exact timing has evolved over time and may continue evolving.

The time in which the server is open can be divided up into four parts:

1. Galactic Event Time
2. Normal Time
3. Crunch Time
4. End time

Galactic Event Time is the period from when the server opens up to the completion of the last Galactic Event.

Once the final Galactic Event is complete, there will be a period where play continues with no sign as to when the server/system might end/close - Normal Time. The length of Normal Time will be a function of how long it took for the final event to complete, compared against the expected lifespan of the server.

Crunch Time lasts exactly one week and will begin with a system message announcing that the players will be **rated** according to the rating standards of whatever play agreements (system and personal) that the player has signed. Once the system message goes out, a countdown clock will be displayed on the Expanse View, in the lower right corner, to remind players that the ratings are coming. Players will have up until the very last second on the countdown to compete for higher ratings.

Once the ratings have been awarded, there will be a brief period (historically between 12 and 48 hours) - the End Time, and a new countdown timer will appear on the expanse view. During this time, players may spend the Dawn Points they have been awarded and use Proxima Coin and UEcoin buy Tech Files and Weapon tech, but nothing else that happens will have any permanent effect. Once the countdown clock for the End Time has completed, the server will close and the player accounts will "travel" to the Hub System. Travel takes two hours.

**Please note** When a Phase II server ends, and the player accounts travel to the Hub System, there is a rush to sign up for the next Phase II server. This results in the available servers quickly filling up - within an hour or two. Many disgruntled players end up waiting an extra week for the next set of Phase II servers to begin allowing signups.

## Server End and The Dreaded Reset

When the server closes and the player factions travel back to the Hub system, the limitations of the Lagrange Gates mean that the bases and ships that players put so much time and effort on are left behind - see the graphic for the in-game explanation.

The cyclical nature of the game, and the chance to start over from scratch with each new server, is one of the aspects that veteran players enjoy, for the most part.

The primary criteria for what players are allowed to keep in the reset is whether or not it is something that players routinely pay (real world) money for. Thus, permanent livery (paid for with Chu Coin), blueprints and tech points from tech files (aka boxes) (sometimes paid for with Proxima Coin that was converted from Chu Coin), and weapon tech are three of the main items that players take with them when they move from a system to the Hub.

Some things to remember:

* With each server, each account will have the opportunity to buy one Tech Point Restoration Technology tool (after arriving in the Hub for Phase I players, after the ranking in Phase II). Players should ensure that they buy these tools before they are reset - and don't forget to use them promptly, since they expire after two weeks.
* The Partnership Agreement (and also the Strategic Partnership Agreement, for players that have paid for it) ends when the server closes. Players should ensure that they complete up to level 50 **and claim all rewards** before the server ends.
* The Dawn Financial Plan, on the other hand, does not end. It will continue without interruption when players move from a server to the Hub or from the Hub to a Phase II server.
* Combat microchips are reset when the server ends and players move to the Hub, but **NOT** when moving from the Hub to a Phase II server. This means that Generic Tech Files (original or 2.0) that the player takes, unopened, to the Hub and that yield chips, the player will have and be able to use those chips when they get to the next Phase II server.
* Any leftover UEcoin, which is reset when the server ends, should be used to buy Weapon tech, which is not reset.

## Updates

* The Individual Rating Agreement was added during the patch update on 2021-12-28. Originally, receiving the rewards associated with this agreement required the player to complete Expansion zone 9.
	+ "1. Added the "Individual Rating Agreement" feature: You will automatically sign the "Individual Rating Agreement" during exploration. By meeting the requirements in the agreement, you will be rewarded with Dawn Points accordingly in the star system development rating. The progress on the rating objectives for individuals will be invalid until the update has been completed."
* During the patch update on 2022-05-17, the requirement to receive rewards under the Individual Rating Agreement was modified.
	+ "2. Adjusted the requirements for the rating by the Individual Rating Agreement: Adjusted the requirements for claiming point rewards in the Individual Rating Agreement to "Unlock Base Zone 6" from "Unlock Base Zone 9."
* During the patch update on 2022-05-17, the [[
	+ 1. Added the Neutrals' Agreement and Prospector Agreement into the Identity Agreements:
		- Neutrals' Agreement: This agreement is provided by Jupiter Industries' Cooperation Support Department, with the aim to find Privateers who share the concept of "peace," create communication opportunities between Privateers and Galactic Factions, and help the Privateers return to the normal Factions.
		- Prospector Agreement: This agreement is provided by the Hayreddin Clan, with the aim to find explorers who can help complete the exploration of the star system environment, obtain important data info, and finally submit the "Star System Prospecting Report."
		- After the update, the Neutrals' Agreement and Prospector Agreement will be available for signing in the star systems of the Node Recovery Agreement, Trojite Crystal Collection Agreement, or Data Rescue Agreement. Once signed, the Neutrals' Agreement or Prospector Agreement will replace the original Individual Rating Agreement. The rewards generated by the original Individual Rating Agreement will be settled based on your current points and will be issued together with other rewards in the star system development rating.