18.5 SpaceMaster Mode

Updated: v2026.01.30

18.5.1 Overview

Updated: v2026.01.30

SpaceMaster (SM) mode is Aurora’s omniscient game management tool, serving as both a debugging/testing environment for single-player games and a referee console for multiplayer campaigns. When active, SM mode removes the fog of war and grants access to every race, system, and game object regardless of sensor coverage or diplomatic status.

Activation Methods:

  • Ctrl+S or Ctrl+O: Keyboard shortcuts to toggle SM mode on and off
  • Lightbulb icon: Toolbar button that toggles SM mode (see Section 3.1 Main Window)
  • F12 (Ctrl+F12): Alternative keyboard shortcut listed in the hotkey table (see Section 3.3 Common Controls)

When SM mode is active, the interface reflects omniscient access: all systems appear in the system selector regardless of exploration status, all races are visible in race selectors, and additional buttons and options appear throughout various windows.

Password Protection:

For multiplayer games where one player serves as referee, SM mode can be password-protected during game creation \hyperlink{ref-18.5-1}{[1]}. This prevents players from toggling SM mode themselves while allowing the referee full access. The password is set in the game setup options and cannot be changed after game creation without creating a new game.

Common Use Cases:

Use Case Description
Learning Peek at game mechanics by observing NPR behavior directly
Testing Verify ship designs, fleet orders, or economy setups work as intended
Debugging Identify why fleets are stuck, orders are not executing, or contacts are not appearing
Scenario Design Build custom starting conditions for narrative campaigns
Multiplayer Referee Manage NPR behavior, spawn events, and balance asymmetric player positions

Tip: SM mode is invaluable for new players learning the game. Toggle it on to observe how NPRs build their economies and navies, then toggle it off to resume normal play. There is no penalty for using SM mode in single-player games.

18.5.2 System and Body Manipulation

Updated: v2026.01.30

SM mode provides direct control over the galactic geography, allowing creation of new systems, modification of existing bodies, and manipulation of jump point connections.

Creating New Systems:

  • The “Create System” button generates a new procedurally-generated star system with random stellar characteristics, planets, and moons
  • The “Create Habitable” button generates a system guaranteed to contain at least one planet suitable for colonization (see Section 2.1 New Game Options)
  • New systems are not automatically connected to existing systems – jump points must be created separately

Jump point manipulation:

  • Create new jump point pairs connecting any two systems
  • Remove existing jump points to isolate systems or reshape the galactic map topology
  • Modify jump point properties (e.g., toggling Military Restricted status)

Body Characteristics:

SM mode allows direct modification of planetary body properties:

  • Atmosphere: Add or remove atmospheric gases, change pressure and composition to make bodies habitable or hostile
  • Temperature: Adjust surface temperature directly, bypassing normal orbital mechanics
  • Gravity: Modify body mass/diameter to change surface gravity
  • Hydrosphere: Set water coverage percentage
  • Colony Cost: These modifications update colony cost calculations automatically based on the new parameters

Mineral Manipulation:

  • Add mineral deposits to any surveyed body with specified quantity and accessibility values \hyperlink{ref-18.5-2}{[2]}
  • Remove existing deposits
  • Modify accessibility of existing deposits (higher accessibility means more efficient mining)
  • Add minerals directly to colony stockpiles (see Section 18.5.3 Colony Manipulation)

Note: Body modifications take effect immediately but do not retroactively affect existing colonies or installations. A colony already established on a body will reflect the new conditions on the next turn processing.

18.5.3 Colony Manipulation

Updated: v2026.01.30

SM mode grants direct control over colony economies, bypassing normal production timelines and resource constraints.

Installation Management:

  • Add any installation type directly to a colony without consuming minerals or construction time
  • Remove installations without demolition
  • Installation types include: mines, automated mines, factories, research labs, financial centres, fuel refineries, shipyards, ground force training facilities, and all others

Population Controls:

  • Set population levels directly (add or remove colonists)
  • Modify population growth rate
  • Adjust political stability and unrest factors

Resource Stockpiles:

  • Add or remove minerals from colony stockpiles (Duranium, Neutronium, Corbomite, Tritanium, Boronide, Mercassium, Vendarite, Sorium, Uridium, Corundium, Gallicite) \hyperlink{ref-18.5-3}{[3]}
  • Add fuel directly to colony reserves
  • Add wealth/credits
  • Modify maintenance supply stores

Build Point Manipulation:

  • The Instant Organisation feature for ground forces consumes build points when used in SM mode as of v2.3.1 (unverified — #837 – requires live testing) (see Section 13.1 Unit Types)
  • Build points can be added directly to a colony’s available pool

Tip: When creating custom scenarios, set up colonies with installations and stockpiles first, then add population last. This avoids the population consuming resources during the setup turns.

18.5.4 Fleet and Ship Tools

Updated: v2026.01.30

SM mode provides fleet manipulation capabilities that bypass normal construction, transit, and logistics constraints.

Ship Spawning:

  • Create ships of any existing class design instantly, assigned to any race
  • Ships appear fully fueled, supplied, and crewed at the selected location
  • Multiple ships can be spawned simultaneously
  • Ships use the race’s current technology level for all components

Fleet Teleportation:

  • Move any fleet instantly to any location in any system
  • Bypasses jump point requirements, fuel consumption, and transit time
  • Useful for repositioning fleets during scenario setup or correcting misrouted orders

Ship Condition Modification:

  • Damage: Apply or repair armor, internal, and component damage directly
  • Fuel: Set fuel levels to any value (full, empty, or partial)
  • Supplies: Modify maintenance supply levels
  • Crew Morale: Adjust morale and training levels
  • Component Status: Enable or disable individual ship components

Additional Fleet Tools:

Tool Effect
Delete Fleet Remove a fleet and all its ships from the game entirely
Transfer Ships Move ships between fleets regardless of location
Change Allegiance Reassign a ship to a different race
Reset Orders Clear all pending orders from a fleet

Warning: Spawned ships bypass the normal shipyard construction pipeline. They do not consume minerals, do not occupy slipway time, and do not appear in construction logs. In multiplayer referee scenarios, track spawned ships separately to maintain game balance.

18.5.5 Research and Technology

Updated: v2026.01.30

SM mode allows direct manipulation of the technology tree, bypassing research time and lab requirements.

Technology Grants:

  • Grant any specific technology to any race instantly
  • Technologies can be granted at any level within their research tree
  • Prerequisite technologies are not automatically granted – each must be added individually if the race lacks them
  • Granted technologies immediately unlock their associated components in the ship designer

Research Manipulation:

  • Unlock entire technology categories at once
  • Set research progress on partially-completed projects to any percentage
  • Remove technologies (downgrade a race’s capabilities)

Personnel Management:

  • Create scientists with specified specializations and skill levels (see Section 16.1 Officer Generation)
  • Create military officers (admirals, ground force commanders) with specific skill profiles
  • Assign officers directly to positions without normal assignment delays
  • Modify existing officer skill values
  • Restore deceased or retired officers to active duty (SM Mode Only; see Section 16.1 Officer Generation) (unverified — #837 – requires live testing)

Race Management:

  • Rename NPR species names or race titles at any time (see diplomacy window SM Race Title function)
  • Modify racial traits and characteristics
  • Create new NPR races with specified parameters (see Section 2.1 New Game Options)

Tip: When granting technologies to set up a scenario, work from the bottom of each tech tree upward. Higher-tier technologies often reference lower-tier prerequisites in their component designs.

18.5.6 Multiplayer Referee Use

Updated: v2026.01.25

SM mode’s primary designed purpose beyond single-player debugging is serving as a referee console for multiplayer Aurora campaigns. The referee (often called the “Dungeon Master” or “Game Master”) uses SM tools to create narrative events, maintain game balance, and manage NPR factions as active participants in the story.

Password Security:

  • Set the SM password during game creation to prevent player access
  • Only the referee should know the password
  • Password cannot be recovered if lost – maintain a secure record
  • Players should never need SM access in a properly refereed game

Balancing Asymmetric Starts:

When setting up multiplayer campaigns with intentionally different starting positions:

  • Grant different technology sets to represent varied civilizational development paths
  • Provide mineral-rich or mineral-poor starting systems to create strategic asymmetry
  • Establish pre-built colonies and fleets representing each faction’s history
  • Create geographic advantages/disadvantages through jump point placement

Custom Scenario Construction:

Building narrative campaigns requires coordinating multiple SM tools:

  1. Geography: Create and connect systems to form the desired galactic layout
  2. Resources: Place mineral deposits to create competition points and trade incentives
  3. NPRs: Create and position NPC races with appropriate technology and military strength
  4. Events: Spawn fleet incursions, resource discoveries, or diplomatic crises during gameplay
  5. Pacing: Use NPR fleet spawning to escalate threats on a narrative timeline

Spawning NPR Forces for Events:

The referee can create dramatic events by spawning NPR fleets:

  • Position hostile fleets near player territory to simulate invasions
  • Create pirate or raider forces along trade routes
  • Spawn ancient derelicts or artifacts for players to discover
  • Generate spoiler race forces at story-appropriate moments (see Section 18.3 Spoiler Races)

SM Mode Event Viewing:

In SpaceMaster Mode, the Event Log displays events for all player races simultaneously with a faction identification column. This allows the referee to monitor all players’ activities from a single view without switching between races (see Section 3.4 Event Log and Section 3.2.7 Tactical Map Events Display).

Referee Best Practices:

Practice Reason
Document all SM interventions Maintains transparency and allows rollback if needed
Advance time in small increments Prevents cascading consequences from a single intervention
Announce environmental changes Players should know about galactic events, not hidden referee actions
Test NPR fleet compositions Spawn a test battle before committing to an encounter design
Maintain backup saves SM changes cannot be undone except by reloading

Tip: The most engaging multiplayer campaigns use SM mode sparingly for narrative events rather than constant micromanagement. Let the game’s own systems generate most of the drama – intervene only when the story needs a push or when game balance requires correction.

References

\hypertarget{ref-18.5-1}{[1]}. Aurora C# game database (AuroraDB.db v2.7.1) – FCT_Game: SMPassword field (TEXT, default=NULL) stores the SpaceMaster mode password, confirming password protection is a database-level game feature.

\hypertarget{ref-18.5-2}{[2]}. Aurora C# game database (AuroraDB.db v2.7.1) – The 11 Trans-Newtonian minerals are tracked per system body: Duranium, Neutronium, Corbomite, Tritanium, Boronide, Mercassium, Vendarite, Sorium, Uridium, Corundium, Gallicite. Accessibility values range from 0.1 to 1.0. SM mode manipulation of these values is documented on AuroraWiki.

\hypertarget{ref-18.5-3}{[3]}. Aurora C# game database (AuroraDB.db v2.7.1) – FCT_ShipDesignComponents table tracks all 11 mineral costs (Duranium through Gallicite columns), confirming the complete mineral list matches what SM mode can manipulate.

Note: SpaceMaster mode functionality is primarily documented through AuroraWiki articles and Steve Walmsley’s forum posts on aurora2.pentarch.org. Most SM capabilities are discoverable through the game UI when SM mode is active.

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Aurora 4X Manual & Guide - Unofficial community documentation for Aurora C# (game by Steve Walmsley)

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