Getting Started
Nice, you have downloaded and installed Darkspace, and tried to start the game by running this GCQL client. Now this client asks for a log-in. Register for an account and log-in.
Now you are running the great GameCQLobby client! click on the "Launch" tab at the top, and select "Darkspace" from the list, then click on the "Launch" button from the row of 4 buttons. As a new player, you should be least concerned with "Darkspace (Beta)" at present.
Clicking "Launch" for the first time, the tab changes from Launch to Servers. From here, you can select the Metaverse (Orion) server or Scenario (Kraken). Connect to Orion. You will receive updates necessary for your installed version of the constantly evolving DarkSpace client. After the updates, the game window opens and loads the game assets.
After loading, the game screen shows, with 4 buttons - Play, Observe, Options and Logoff. Select "Play" from here, then select an available faction to join. Most people agree there is an incumbent difficulty level of the factions -
This unofficial difficulty levelling is an indicator of the effort required to utilise a faction's ships to their expected level of performance. For people that never played this game, we recommend playing UGTO or K'luth in the beginning. You can choose your faction each time you log in, thus, the choice of a faction is of no permanent consequence at all.
After choosing a faction, you will enter a screen popularly called "The Hangar". This screen simulates you being in the shipyards of your faction's planet. From this screen, you can select a ship to fly, and the planet to launch it from (a planet with a shipyard). Also, after playing for some time, you will use this screen to manage your ships and resources, and purchase enhancements for storing in your Hangar.
All the ship models which can be flown on your faction are listed on the lower-left corner. As a new player, your current rank is Midshipman, the lowest rank of Prestige in DarkSpace. Your ship selection is limited to Scouts.
