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:: First Week Guide for Newbies ::


You've just joined the Star Wars Combine. Now what can you do?

  1. Joining a Faction

    Joining a faction is the most important thing you can do, and the first thing you should do upon creating your character.

    The Combine is designed around the concept of factions, so freelancers will have very few options available to them, and freelancing when brand new is nearly impossible. A faction will typically provide you with a regular salary, a ship to use, things to do, and a social network. This will give you easy access to other players with similar interests who may be able to introduce you to Combine features you don't know about or understand yet. The listing of all Combine factions is located here, and can also be accessed by clicking the "Factions" link on the right menu.

    Factions may have anywhere from 10 people to hundreds, and the government factions tend to be the largest, so decide what sort of environment you want to be a part of and what you want your character to do when deciding on a faction. A small faction may allow you to advance more quickly and may be more informal, but may also be less active. It may be more difficult to interact personally with members of a larger faction, but they may have a better training program for new members to learn about the Combine. This will depend on the faction, and if you don't like your first choice or don't hear back from them in a timely manner, you can leave and join a new faction at any time. You can only be in one faction at a time.

    When you have decided on a faction and are ready to join, go to the Members Menu section of the right hand menu (you can switch between menus by clicking one of the four icons at the top of the menu; the second is your Members Menu), then scroll down to the Faction link. Following this link will take you to a new page where you will see the option to Join Faction, which will walk you through the joining process. When you are accepted into a faction, you will have new options on this page, depending on the privileges you are eventually granted by your faction. This is also where to go when you want to leave your faction or join a different one.

    Helpful Hint: Although not required, it can be a good idea not to choose a starting location until after joining a faction. Each faction has planets chosen specifically by them as starting locations. It can be helpful to your new group if you start on a planet where they can immediately assign you a ship.

  2. A Guide to Movement

    Movement is among the most important things to learn in the Combine. It gets you from your starting location to a ship, from a ship on the ground to space, and from any given point in space to any other.

    Ground Movement
    To move from place-to-place on the ground, you need to do the following:
    1. Find the Position link, (under ::Control:: on the sidebar)
    2. In the middle of the webpage, you should see a Travel button. Press it.
    3. On the bottom half of the screen, some other buttons should appear. Click on Terrain.
    4. Choose the coordinates and speed you desire, then press the Go button.


    Space Movement
    To move from place-to-place in space, you need to do the following:
    1. Find the cockpit link, (under ::Control:: on the sidebar)
    2. In the middle of the webpage, you should see a Travel button. Press it.
    3. On the bottom half of the screen, some other buttons should appear. Click on either sublight or hyperspace.
    4. Choose the coordinates and speed you desire, then press the Go button.


    More instructions for movement (and almost anything else you'd need to do) are available at: Darkness for Dummies - check the Reference Sheet

  3. Flying Around the Galaxy

    If you're part of a faction, you should have access to a ship. With that ship, you can travel anywhere in the galaxy. As you travel, you gain experience (XP), which will level your character. At each level you receive one skill point to allocate on your Character sheet to improve your character's skills. Space travel is the easiest and one of the most efficient ways to accrue XP.

  4. Helping the Combine in an OOC (Out of Character) Manner: Part 1

    The Combine relies on advertising to draw new players. This is very important as the entire website is staffed and maintained by volunteers that all originated from within the player base. A good means of advertising the Combine that any player can contribute to and benefit from is voting for the Combine through the Top Sites system.

    Combine Points (CPs) are a reward for providing OOC help to the game and can be gained by voting. You will find CPs listed with your character information on the right menu when you log into the game. If you click on your CP value and then on the "Support the Combine" link at the top of the new page that loads, you will see a number of tiny banners under the Top Sites section of the page. Clicking each of these banners will give you CPs (but only once every 24 hours). These CPs can be exchanged for ships, vehicles, and other entities. See the CPs section of this guide for more information about CPs and how to exchange them.

  5. Helping the Combine in an OOC (Out of Character) Manner: Part 2

    Financial help is a good way to keep the game going, but its not the only way a person can help.
    If you have skills/knowledge with PHP, mySQL, general webpage design, art design, or Star Wars, you may be able to help the game in its development. The faster its developed, the sooner everyone will benefit. Visit the Contact Us link at the top of any Combine page for a listing of departments and contact the department you feel you have skills to help out with for more information. Departments may not necessarily be accepting new members, but there is no harm in expressing your interest and showing off your skills, as they may remember you next time they need help.

  6. Helping the Combine in an OOC (Out of Character) Manner: Part 3

    Server space and bandwidth cost money. In order to keep this game running, it must have a solid financial backing. One way that is accomplished is by the non-obtrusive banner advertisements on the SWC website. Another is by actually donating money to the game. This is never required, but direct donations are greatly appreciated and every bit helps. If you have the financial capability of contributing, visit the "Support the Combine" page (accessed by clicking on your CP amount on the right menu, and then on "Support the Combine" at the top of the new page) and read the short section titled Donations for donation options and the current amount of CPs you will receive per currency unit that you choose to donate.


  7. Tracking your Inventory

    The Inventory section of your right side Members Menu contains information about everything your character owns. This is where information about any ships, vehicles, facilities, cities, stocks, droids, items, and everything else is stored. This is where you go if you need to see where your assets are, assign them to yourself or anyone else (for usage), transfer them (sell, give, trade), and in general control just about every aspect of your inventory. The basics of the interface are fairly self-explanatory, and as a new player you won't need to be familiar with the more advanced features such as filters and output options. To manage a specific asset, click the checkbox beside the asset in question, then scroll to the bottom of the page and use the drop-down box to select what you want to do with the asset. Assets can also be quickly renamed by clicking the name of the asset and entering the new name directly when prompted.