Getting started

Two one-time steps, then you never think about them again - and then a one-heading universe that already plays.

The finished example is already in the box

The universe this walkthrough builds, The Silver Reach, ships with the mission (universe/silver_reach.amd) and is playable from the Universe dropdown right now. You can peek at it whenever a page here leaves you unsure - or copy it wholesale and carve your own galaxy out of it. The steps below build it from a blank page, using my_reach as your file's name so it never collides with the shipped copy. (Keys and display names must be unique across the dropdown - when you rebuild the example verbatim, keep your own key: and display: in the registration entry.)

Hang your universe on the shelf

1. Create your file next to the existing ones:

OpenUniverse/universe/my_reach.amd

2. Add it to the game's universe list so it appears in the Universe dropdown on the start screen. Open OpenUniverse/universe/universes.mast and copy an existing entry, filling in your name (this is the only file you will touch that is not your own):

=== universe_my_reach
metadata:``` yaml
type: universe/my_reach
key: my_reach
display: My Reach
universe: my_reach.amd
```
    ->END

Think of it as the card catalog entry: the same name in three places (universe_my_reach, universe/my_reach, my_reach), the display name players see, and your filename. Copy, rename, done.

How to test

Start the Open Universe mission, pick your universe from the dropdown, and launch. That is the whole test loop: save the file, restart the mission, see your change. You will do this a lot - it is fast.

A galaxy with a name

Put this in your file:

# The Silver Reach
---
Display: The Silver Reach
---
A ribbon of frontier stars beyond the last patrol line. Freight moves by
lantern-light convoys, and the dark between systems belongs to whoever
claims it.

That is a complete, playable universe. Launch it and you get a full procedural sandbox: stations, nebulae, enemies, derelicts, trade goods, and a working reputation system - all running on the built-in defaults. Your prose is its description.

Everything after this page is you replacing defaults with authorship.

Next: Clans - who lives here.