Artifacts are found in many places in the world of Star Conquest, but the word is most commonly applied to particular objects of interest found free-floating in space. While alien artifacts are the most desirable and valuable, bits of intact salvage at local sites dating back to the Outsider War are also fairly highly prized, and will be the sorts of artifacts that newer explorers find. Artifact hunting may be pursued starting at 200 industry points, but is not very practical until 300 industry points.
Artifacts have their own category in the ship's computer, making them easy to spot on the starmap, the rundown, or on autopilot. It is also possible to procure equipment to automatically detect and stop for artifacts, which you will likely discover in your own time or by asking other players.
These valuable objects cannot simply be salvaged. Instead, one must spacewalk to the artifact and pick it up by hand in order to bring it into the ship. See HELP SPACEWALKING for more information.
The steps to locate and retrieve an artifact are as follows:
- Find an area where artifacts can be found. Battle of Mir is an early candidate.
- Check the sector for artifacts. No artifacts? Then pick a direction and venture into uncharted space, then check again in the new sector.
- Repeat until an artifact is found. A particular piece of equipment called AutoVector available at 300 industry points will help with this!
- Use autopilot to move next to the artifact.
- Check its position relative to your ship, then type OUT to go into your airlock.
- Make sure your spacesuit is on and type CYCLE to cycle the airlock to vacuum.
- Type OUT again to begin a spacewalk.
- Using movement keys as described in the Manual Starship Control help file, move to the artifact.
- Use the GET command to pick it up.
- Move back to your ship, use the RETURN command, then cycle back into your ship.
- Resume the search.
Once you have all the artifacts you want, you may turn them in at any xenology center for money and exploration points. Artifacts can be held in a xenology container and turned in en masse, which is what veteran explorers prefer to do.
Want more exotic artifacts? These can only be found in deep space, often out of communications range! As you gain exploration points, deep space artifacts will eventually be the only ones worth acquiring -- once you qualify for a vessel capable of long expeditions, people will be cease to be impressed by you bringing home trinkets found in humanity's backyard. At even higher point levels, you will need to source your artifacts from quite far away! Exploration points require exploration!
Artifact Credit Progression:
Exploration Points Adjustments
0 Extra credit for local artifacts
300 Standard credit for local and alien artifacts
750 Reduced credit for local artifacts
1000 Reduced credit for alien artifacts <50 light-years away
1500 Reduced credit for alien artifacts <50 light-years away
2000 Reduced credit for local artifacts and alien artifacts <300 light-years away
3000 Reduced credit for alien artifacts <300 light-years away
3500 No credit for local artifacts, no credit for alien artifacts <50 light-years away
5000 No credit for alien artifacts <300 light-years away
10000 Reduced credit for all alien artifact finds -- make progress with expeditions!
To put it differently:
Until 300 exploration points, you receive extra credit for local artifacts and cannot get credit for alien artifacts.
At 300, you begin getting standard credit for both local and alien artifacts.
At 1000, alien artifacts found less than fifty light-years away give reduced credit.
At 2000, alien artifacts found less than three hundred light-years away give reduced credit.
At 3500, local artifacts and alien artifacts less than fifty light-years away give no credit at all.
At 5000, alien artifacts found less than three hundred light-years away give no credit.
At 10000, alien artifacts found over three hundred light-years away give only half credit. Make progress with expeditions!
Glyphmaker artifacts are considered to be alien artifacts in the less than three hundred light-years category.
