Welcome to our 186th newsletter on Star Atlas! This weekly newsletter, published by Aephia Industries, focuses entirely on the development of this ambitious game. Here, we attempt to aggregate all the newsworthy tidbits revealed, primarily by the team, throughout the past week.
This week in the Star Atlas universe, the Holosim beta continues to evolve as the team responds to player feedback, with major changes having been implemented after a high-profile rampage that left over a thousand crew members dead in MUD space.
Meanwhile, nominations have officially opened for the 3rd annual Joni Awards and the COPA 2025 competition, giving community members and DACs their chance to shine. And if you’ve been looking for a clear, engaging introduction to Star Atlas, a brand new explainer video has just dropped, packed with gameplay footage and a look at what’s next.
Let’s dive in.
Star Atlas – Holosim
Holosim
The Holosim beta has been ongoing since the last Town Hall, and numerous changes and improvements have been made since then. And a big change arrived just yesterday (yep, on Sunday)! This last week, a player went on a rampage through MUD space, killing dozens of fleets and over 1000 crew members. This sparked a major outcry, prompting the team to revisit the permanent death system currently active in Holosim.
Before this change, every faction had a small Safe Zone (5-star systems), and everything outside of the bubble was basically one big High Risk Zone. The team has now divided this into a Medium Risk Zone and a High Risk Zone, substantially reducing the latter in the process.
Below, we outline the changes:
Medium Risk Zone
- Ships are damaged, not destroyed, when defeated in combat
- Towing protocols activated: Disabled vessels automatically return to your Central Space Station (CSS)
- Repair requirements: Damaged ships may need toolkits and time, but will be fully operational once repaired
- Crew survival: Your people make it home, though they might need some time in the medical bay
High Risk Zone
- Permanent destruction is maintained for maximum-stakes combat
- Elite operations only: For captains who want the ultimate risk/reward experience
- Strategic importance: Critical faction objectives and rare resource zones
- Fair warning: We’ll clearly mark these zones so you know exactly what you’re flying into
Star Atlas – Joni Award (virtual)
Return of the Joni Awards
The community team recently teased the upcoming Community Week and the 3rd editions of both the Joni Awards and COPA Competition. This past week, they provided more details and launched the nominations for both.
The Joni Awards celebrate the heart of the Star Atlas community. The leaders, creators, and builders who go above and beyond to push the ecosystem forward. Whether someone is making amazing content, leading a guild, helping others learn, or contributing in unique ways, the Joni Awards are our way of saying thank you.
The team updated the categories compared to the previous edition. They added back the popular guild choice from the first edition (in a different form, though), added a gunplay player election, and figured the most knowledgeable community members should duke it out in a live quiz.
This year’s categories are:
- Community Member of the Year
- Content Creator of the Year
- Most Entertaining Star Atlas Video of the Year
- Best Community Tool of the Year
- Community Helper of the Year
- Best Star Atlas IP Project / Business of the Year
- Best Gunplay Player of the Year
- Most Knowledgeable Community of the Year (Top 4 Nominees will compete in a live quiz)
- Most Popular Guild of the Year
As with previous editions, the Joni Awards run over two rounds:
- The first round allows everyone to submit their nominations. The window to do so closes on July 17th!
- The second round will follow, with the team presenting the top nominations for each category and inviting you all to vote.
Like the previous edition, the community vote only counts for 10%, however. The team’s vote will count for the remaining 90%.
COPA 2025 Nominations
Beyond the Joni Awards, the 3rd edition of the Council of Peace Assembly is going to take place this summer. This is a competition between the various DACS (guilds) that exist in Star Atlas, and like the Joni’s, it takes place over two rounds.
In the first round, all DACs can enter by submitting a presentation before the deadline on July 17. The team will then select a number of DACs (~9) to present their DAC live in front of a jury comprised of team members. Guilds are expected to present their vision, progress, and impact across the Galia ecosystem and explain why they deserve recognition as the best in Galia.
The deadline for the presentation submissions is July 17th.
Please ensure you carefully review the criteria (listed on both the website and the Medium article) before submitting, to improve your odds!
On July 21st, the team will announce which DACs will progress to Round 2.
The team has not yet provided a specific date for the finale, except to state that it will take place this summer. This will likely occur during Community Week, when the Joni Award winners will also be announced.
Prizes
Beyond eternal glory, there are more tangible prizes that can be won as well:
- 1st place: Tier 3 CSS (land + hab)
- 2nd place: Tier 2 CSS (land + hab)
- 3rd place: Tier 1 CSS (land + hab)
As last year, audience members (of the live presentations) will have a chance to win ships and other exclusive prizes as well.
Star Atlas Explainer Video
Dominic (Sr. Community Manager) published a new video on the Star Atlas account that attempts to explain what Star Atlas is, touches upon why it is using the blockchain, discusses what is currently available, and concludes with what is coming later in 2025. The video features numerous clips from actual gameplay, making it a great starting point for potential new players.
Sneak Peeks
To wrap up this issue, here is a sneak peek the team shared a little over a week ago, showing off the work in progress on “jetties”, the jetpack mini-features your avatar can equip on their soles (feet) and palms (hands).
That is it for this week’s issue. Thanks for reading, and until the next!