Starting on the Pilgrim Path
## **Dev Log – Imperial Worlds, Pilgrims, and the Shape of the Galaxy**
Today felt like real progress — the kind where systems stop feeling theoretical and start supporting each other.
### **Imperial Worlds: Scale With Intention**
Imperial Worlds are now fully present on the map as generated entities, not placeholders. Each world is built from the galaxy and history seeds and carries just enough identity to feel distinct while remaining lightweight enough to scale.
At the moment, there are **around 1,000 unique worlds visible on screen**, each placed deterministically. That alone has been a big milestone, because it proves the rescaled galaxy structure works.
Importantly, this galaxy has **room for much more**. In its current form, there’s space for another **1,000 sectors — roughly a million worlds** — without needing to change the underlying architecture. That said, scope matters. For now, development is deliberately focused on **a single sector**, so the systems can be made deep and meaningful before expanding outward.
### **Worlds That Matter to the Player**
These worlds aren’t just scenery. One of the core ideas moving forward is that the player will be able to **recruit from Imperial Worlds**. Over time, those worlds will shape the Chapter through:
* where recruits come from
* how culture and temperament differ
* how losses and replenishment feel across a long campaign
This makes the map personal. Worlds aren’t just locations — they’re sources of people, history, and consequences.
### **History, Saints, and the Pilgrim Path**
The **Pilgrim Path** is still early, but its foundations are in place. It’s a route defined by belief rather than efficiency, shaped by centuries of pilgrimage and anchored by the legacy of a Saint.
What’s important right now is that history is starting to **tie worlds together**. Instead of each planet being an isolated point, routes, traditions, and shared memory are beginning to form connective tissue across the sector.
As this develops, the Saint and the Pilgrim Path will influence:
* Warp stability
* travel patterns
* the spiritual “weight” of certain systems
### **Voidships Are Back (Early, But Moving)**
Voidships are back in the game.
They’re still very much in an early state, but having ships physically moving through realspace again changes how the galaxy feels. Travel isn’t abstract — it has direction, momentum, and risk.
Current controls are intentionally simple:
* **W / S** – forward and backward thrust
* **A / D** – strafe left and right
* **Q / E** – rotate
This will evolve, but even this early pass restores a sense of scale and presence that menus alone can’t provide.
### **Tarot, Warp Currents, and Subtle Influence**
The Tarot system is beginning to interact with the galaxy in meaningful ways. Tarot readings are tied to the **History Seed** and feed into Warp conditions and background pressures.
Rather than acting as obvious buffs or debuffs, Tarot influences the **currents beneath the surface**:
* how stable Warp travel feels
* which routes feel safer or more dangerous
* how history asserts itself over time
As the Pilgrim Path and Saints take clearer shape, Tarot will become one of the ways the player senses those invisible forces.
### **Where This Leaves the Game**
Right now:
* Imperial Worlds exist at a meaningful, testable scale
* the galaxy structure can support massive expansion, but isn’t rushing toward it
* worlds are becoming sources of recruits, not just dots on a map
* history is beginning to bind systems together
* voidships move again
* Tarot influences the galaxy rather than sitting outside it
What’s in place is a strong start — enough structure to build on without overcommitting too early.