Compilation of Info & Tips

A work in progress of compiled knowledge to help new players.

Intro

This is a work in progress, intended to be a compilation of useful knowledge that myself (Dahl) and anyone who wants to contribute, found helpful in our adventures in Sky Nations. Hopefully it prevents others, especially new players, from some of the confusions.

Click-able table of contents to the right side of the screen if you scroll down a little. ->

You can also hold Ctrl + F key and then type in a word to search this document.
Works in steam client as well as your browser.

Quick look of sections in this guide:
- Demo vs Full
- Random (misc info/tips/tricks that didn't fit elsewhere)
- Trade Stations
- Lasers
- Land Defense (Dispersion Generator, Energy Relay, Copper Missile Pod)
- Nation
- Ship Protection
- Ship Energy
- Power Clamps
- Events
- Sssuperguy's effective inventory
- Previous Version & Testbranch

Thanks to:

Sssuperguy, Josh100, Knite, Aerion, & Gucchi.
Special thanks to MrBenjammin our beloved developer for answering every question I ever threw at him and allowing the foundation for this guide. =)

Demo vs Full

The demo allows you to experience a lot of the game but there are a few limitations.

• Restricted to Community servers. Meaning no player made servers.
  
  
• Can join a Nation if invited, but not create your own or be promoted to Leader. Which was a change made last year from player complaint.
  
  
• Can enter their own Nations Capitol & claimed sectors but cannot pilot or passenger into other nation owned sectors.
  
  
• Cannot wear custom skins or create wearable items with Item Kit but can wear items made by others who own the full game.
  
  
• Ive also been told if you don't own the full game you cannot see the sub forums (Servers, Suggestions, Bug reports, and Trading in Steam Discussion or post in them.

Events

Magmasite Queen & Merchant King

• The Magmasite Queen or Merchant King will spawn when a specific number of players are online (set by the server Admin). Com1 is 5.
  
  
• They have a chance to spawn at a max once every hour and a minimum once every 2 hours and will be announced in chat. You can locate them on the (M)ap. For the MQ it will be in the closest fuel biome (molten rock) to all players on the server. For MK a portal will open in the biome that you will need to travel through to face him.
  
  
• They will de-spawn (vanish) an hour after she appears.
  
  
• Will never spawn in claimed areas, nor can areas be claimed while MQ or MK occupy them.
  
  
• Both of these bosses drop a rare trophy to decorate your base with. As well as some items for new weapons and blocks not obtainable anywhere else.
  
  
• Pro Hint: Put a Storage Crate and Item Magnet outside of your ship so when you destroy her loot crate they don't drop to the void below.

Gravity Storms

• When a Gravity Storm beings in a system (as well as ends) it will be announced in chat. You can also see them on the (M)ap if you were logged in before one started. If you log in after you will not see it on the (M)ap but will see the text in chat when it ends.
  
  
• Frequency is 1 hour + random up to 1 hour.
  
  
• The storm will happen when 50+ ships are in a system and a specific number of players are online. Com1 is 5.
  
  
• Since update 0.92[skynations.net] Gravity Storms now require destroying at least 20 ships to create ore deposits (loot orbs).
  
  
• Pro Hint: You can drop an Escape Drive code on the remains of the Gravity Storm and call home one mega supply of resources. Roughly estimated at 500,000.

Random (misc info/tips/tricks that didn't fit elsewhere)

Function Keys on your keyboard

• F6 will remove the UI to allow for a clean screenshot.
  
  
• F7 is used to export a mesh and textures of what you're standing on so you could upload it to show others. Used as a debug tool.
  A side effect you might find useful is that it reloads the chunk you are standing on since it has to rebuild the chunks to get the mesh data.
  
  
• F8 is intended to change camera to lerped rotation, and used as a debug tool for slow camera movement for trailers, etc.
  A side effect you might find useful is that it points your character North as it has to reset first.
  
  
• F2 is the debug screen, mostly useful if the Developer (MrBenjammin) is trying to troubleshoot something with you.

Other useful things that are currently not in their own category

• Holding SHIFT will prevent you from falling off the block(s) you're building on except for Ice.
  
  
• If you have on a Jet Pack and hold space while walking up a column of leaves it will act as a ladder.
  
  
• Keep your valuable materials in your personal inventory as you will never lose that UNLESS you hit the Reset block at Spawn.
  
  
• Reclaim Machines will spawn your ship in open space above you. So if you are in a sphere system go to the top. :)
  
  
• Reclaim Machines cannot be used at Spawn (or on ships) but if you appear at Spawn you can click the New Player block for a free teleport to a system that you can use it in.
  
  
• The max ship size is 32x32x32
  
  
• Changing the location of the Energy Well on your ship will not change the center axis.
  Meaning, it is the center of your ship so you can build out from it 15 on one side, and 16 the other to the max size of 32 width or height.
  
  
• Safe zones (spawn, capital gates are areas where player and ship weapons, including lasers, will not operate. You can toggle an option in the nation menu (K) to enable or disable it from being a safe zone.
  
  
• If you are hiding your ship inside a pillar or sand dune, know that for many players they see the ship/energy well light up before the rest of the system loads. Giving away its hidden location.
  
  
• Those little 'jellyfish' floating around magma biomes are called magmasites. They are attracted to ship energy and they explode on contact.

Specifically regarding blocks or items

• Reset block (at Spawn) will wipe your inventory and equipment to how you started the game for the first time. This includes wiping your JetPack.
  
  
• The New Player block will teleport you within 3 systems of Spawn with a starter ship.
  
  
• If you tap the B key and click Item Inventory there is a list of all the items in the game, what is required to make them, or if they are purchase only.
  
  
• Items shown in Item Inventory that are not obtainable: Indestructium (admin building block), Coal, Marble, Black Granite, Egg Sack, NationPlate & NationFuel. - Link Drives, Trade Stations, New Player Block and Reset Block as well.
  
  
• If you (or someone else) breaks your Energy Well you can replace it, but changing its location will not alter the ships center axis.
  
  
• Loot crates found in Sphere biomes do not always contain an item when destroyed.
  
  
• Bullets can destroy glass and damage hard glass.
  
  
• SPS blocks are obsolete.
  
  
• Steel and Iron have the same amount of defense/hit points per block, but iron is heavier.
  
  
• Ammo crates explode when destroyed if they contain ammo. This will kill you if you are not at least 2 blocks away.
  
  
• Scan nodes can be placed to create a scan area larger than the max ship dimensions of 32x32x32. As of March, 2016 I have one that is 50x50 and works just fine.
  
  
• Power displays (for land use) will only display the power levels feeding into an attached energy relay. For optimal use, connect your display to the final relay in a chain/system.

Trade Stations

• Trade Stations (at Spawn) change when each sector unloads/reloads. Meaning if you are the only one at Spawn and you leave the sector for approx 1 minute for it to pack and close when you re-enter the inventory will have changed.
  
  
• Merchant Cat's inventory changes every time he jumps to a new system.

Private conversations in-game

• To whisper another player you can type /w name message or /whisper name message
  
  To reply to the last whisper you received you can type /r message.
  
  If a person has a space in their name to whisper you will need to replace the space with an underscore _ to whisper them. Example, if their name was Kim Lee it would be /w Kim_Lee How are you?

Lasers

• Lasers reach 40 blocks.
  
  
• Lasers (used for miner ships) can damage blocks with the [ hard ] material type, but not those with [ metal ] (including glass) or [ machine ] type. You can see the Material of each block type on the Item Inventory.
  
  
• Ships made to be miners (with the lasers) can improve with a maximum of two lenses. Once the laser's third strength is reached, additional lenses will have no effect. A laser's strength can be determined by its color: Red > Green > Blue

Land Defense (Dispersion Generator, Energy Relay, Copper Missile Pod)

• You can only build defense in nation claimed systems or your Capitol.
  
  
• To get land power you need to build a Dispersion Generator and a tank to hold its Atomic Waste. The Dispersion Generator needs to be placed at the top of a hollow box to form a tank below to catch Atomic Waste produced.

Dispersion Generator

• Max size of a tank is 512 empty blocks in a completely enclosed space. Basically you are building a hollow box so that once the dispersion generator is placed in the ceiling of the box, the atomic waste can "fall" from the dispersion generator and fill the empty spaces.
  
  
• You can use a Copper Door on your tank instead of breaking open blocks. Currently leaving the door open has no negative effects, but this may change with updates.
  
  
• Copper doors can be used to make the walls (and be left open) to allow for building an attached laser miner to harvest the atomic waste quicker than doing it by hand.
  
  
• If you break blocks to get into your tank to clean it, there is a 20 minute grace period before anything will shut down.
  
  
• A max size generator tank (512 blocks) is loosely estimated at 7 days or 20 minutes per empty block.
  
  
• A single Dispersion Generator can power 8 Copper Missile Pod's.
  
  
• Dispersion Generators will automatically turn themselves off if the tank is completely filled. Once you clean up the Atomic Waste and seal the box up again you can right click the generator to turn it back on or it will automatically after a minute or two.
  

Energy Relay

• One energy relay must touch both, the dispersion generator and Copper Missile Pod. Right click the one at the generator first then the 2nd by your missile to send power to it.
  
  
• Energy Relays can be linked together 30 blocks apart to increase length & reach a further location away from your generator.
  

Copper Missile Pod
(also called, turrets or just missile pods)

• Copper Missile Pod's rotate when powered.
  
  
• Each Copper Missile Pod needs to touch an Energy Relay for power.
  
  
• You can only place a maximum of 64 in your system on Community 1/2.Player run servers may be something other than this default.
  
  
• Copper Missile Pods shoot 100 blocks in all directions.
  
  
• It's important to know, if you place the missile pods TOO close to a jump gate, it will only shift the spawn point to a random location that will fit the incoming ship. Ive not actually counted, but would suggest at least spacing 100 - 150 blocks away to prevent this.
  
  
• Missiles gradually increase speed to catch up with fast targets.
  
  
• Copper Missile Pods will not harm or shoot through the blocks of the system, but will damage your ship if its between the missiles and an enemy. Essentially using your ship as their shield.
  
  
• I also recommend using various sized ships to jump in/out your own jump gates to test and see where the ships might spawn and if they are on target with where you put your missile pods.

Nation

• You can create your nation by pressing K on your keyboard and entering a name that is not taken.
  
  
• After making a nation you can
  • ASSIGN 1 capitol gate system seen on the Map that will take you to your nations Capitol.
    
  • And CLAIM 1 system on the Map as long as its at least 6 jumps from Spawn.
  
  
• Capitol gates are a permanent choice so choose wisely.
  
  
• Capitols can only be entered by members of that nation.
  
  
• Capitols are safe zones (like Spawn) but in the nation menu (K) you can toggle this option off/on to allow use of Laser miners, shotguns, cannons, and other weapons.
  
  
• Claimed systems (shown on the Map) are NOT safe zones and need land defense to be protected. Mainly your beacon as it is the heart of your system. With this comes upkeep (cleaning dispersion generators and replacing or adjusting copper missile pods as needed).
  
  
• To claim a second system/sector (not capitol) you need 10 members who own the full game. After that, for every 5 members you can claim another system.
  
  
• Once a system is claimed, other players' (not in that nation) cannot place blocks or use tools on them. But they can still be damaged by Cannons.

Ship Protection

• To protect a ship you need to FIRST join or create a Nation & then place a Ship Protection Field (SPF) block.
  
  
• Ship Protection Field (SPF) block has to be encased in a 3x3x3 cube. Else it can be exploited through a crack. IF it was in your ship floor for example and you only had one block directly on it and below it someone can still hammer it.
  
  
• Wooden Decking makes a great low profile undercarriage for the bottom cover to protect your SPF block.
  
  
• Wooden Platform can do the same for the top of your ship.

Ship Energy

100% credit to Sssuperguy

• An Energy Well provides 60 energy per second and 100 energy storage; ships cannot operate without at least 100 energy storage but can still function without an Energy Well.
  
  
• One cannon consumes 50 energy to fire.
  
  
• Mounted repeaters consume no energy.
  
  
• Battered thrusters consume 30 energy per second to provide 2 thrust each (equal to 200 units of mass)
  
  
• Battered power cells provide 100 energy storage each
  
  
• Mass generators provide 100 energy per second each, when fuelled. Fuel takes the form of wooden planks (each lasting 6 seconds), molten rock (100 seconds) and toxic waste (300 seconds)
  
  
• Mining lasers consume 100 energy per second each
  
  
• When a ship's energy provided and energy consumed levels are equal, the ship will generate 1 energy per second
  
  
• Magmasites are attracted to (and explode against the hulls of) ships with a minimum of 5000 current energy. Prior to ver 0.85 they were attracted to a lower energy rate. And if close enough they still explode on impact.

Power Clamps

Power clamps let you share power between ships.

The most common mistake people have is they join 2 ships and lose 100 capacity and regen from the second Energy Well. Since ships can only have 1 active Energy Well and clamped ships become one large ship.

Sssuperguy's effective inventory

An effective player inventory should contain at least these items:

• Energy wells, so you can create new ships if you are stranded
  
• Leaves, as placeholder blocks when building or scaffolds for players without a jetpack
  
• Fuel (molten rock or better), and at least a stack
  
• Crafting benches, or always enough logs to create one
  
• A reclaim machine
  
• One or more escape drives
  
• Basic crafting materials: Copper, Iron, Burntout Cores, etc.
  
• Bullets for an equiped shotgun
  
• At least one empty space
  
• Respawn chambers

Previous Version & Testbranch

This would be helpful after new updates when some servers have not updated yet.

In your Steam Library right click Sky Nations, then click on Properties.


Click BETAS (last tab at the top).


Where 'Select the beta you would like to opt into: is
Click the down arrow.

• NONE - Default.
  
• Previous Version - Last released version.
  
• testbranch - Things in testing before full patch release.

.


After you are finished, click Close at the bottom.

[=Birb=]

Who is this "sssuperguy" mentioned? He sounds like a noob btw

[Dahl]

You're added as a contributor, as is Ben. So you can make changes. So you are welcome too if you're familier with it. I don't have time to check it out so I wouldn't be able to add accurate info.

[=Birb=]

Might want to clarify the "lasers" section now with the new laser-based weapons in. Also, pretty sure there are a few more non-craftable blocks in, such as the Beacon.

[Dahl]

You are correct.
There have been many shapes and sizes, the 8 was just an example as at the time many didn't grasp the idea of how to make a "case" that included 512 spaces.
Now everyone has built massive land dispersion gen fuel producing stations out of several generators and attached laser miners I use to see people showing them to each either via steam broadcast or asking me to teleport people to their capitols lol.

[Nihilum]

Also the waste chamber for land power doesn't have to be a 8x8x8 cube, any cube with a maximum about of 512 blocks will do, a 10x2x10 would work just fine as well. After some testing I found out it doesn't even have to be a cube, but just any sealed room with a maximum of 512 blocks will work. However doing a cube is a lot easier to manage.

[Dahl]

Thanks.
Added clarification to the bullet mentioning the center axis energy well and details to clarify the build from it and the details regarding the purpose of the function keys.

[Nihilum]

Also, the maximum size of ships are 32x32x32 and the mana well is the center so you can only go out 15/16 blocks from the well

[Nihilum]

F2 will show the debug settings, F7 will do a refresh and F8 will point you north

[Dahl]

You can max speed to 10 now. Just add another mass generator or 2 or 3 ;) Then add your extra thrusters and you are all set.


From the Ship Energy section:

Mass generators provide 100 energy per second each, when fuelled. Fuel takes the form of wooden planks (each lasting 6 seconds), molten rock (100 seconds) and toxic waste (300 seconds)

[GoldMan27]

Curious question, how does one add multiple thrusters to their ships? I've seen huge ships with loads of thrusters, boasting faster than 6-7 sky knots. Just curious how people get that, cause I'd love to see a tutorial/guide for that somewhere.