Online and PvP
PvP everywhere, but every shot has a price. Instead of karma there is the law, wanted levels and bounties; instead of castles, pump stations, mines and the fuel depot. Characters grow only a little in power, and the rewards are status, territory and cosmetics. Power is never sold for real money.
One server for everyone
There is one main server, and its rules are the same for everyone: there is no server choice in the game or on the site. As in EVE Online, where everyone lives on one server, places set the level of risk, not separate worlds. If more players come than fit, there will be a login queue, not a second world.
| Rule | On the server |
|---|---|
| Attacking in the open world | Always allowed; the price is the law, the mark and a bounty |
| Law and police | Full across the county: AI and player deputies, court, jail. Only scheduled hot zones are lawless |
| What a killed civilian loses | A hospital bill and part of the cash on hand |
| What a killed marked player loses | The weapon in hand and half the cash; a repeat offender may lose worn gear too |
| Bank, safe, garage while the owner is offline | Never touched, except in a declared war and by court order |
| New player protection | 10 hours of play; lost if the new player attacks another player |
| Safe zones | Hospital, courthouse, bus station, church |
| Permanent death | Only by the player's choice: a One Life character is marked at creation, like a hardcore character in Diablo II |
One shared world for 5000 players. Damage is shared and fixed by repairs; captured territory and property persist.
The mark, aggressors and self-defence
Aggressor. Attacking a civilian makes you an aggressor for 120 seconds; attacking an aggressor, for 60. Self-defence against an aggressor is lawful, with no duty to retreat, as in Arizona.
The mark. Killing a civilian gives you the mark and a bounty. A marked player can be killed without consequences and on death loses the weapon in hand and part of their cash.
Bounties. They are set by the county (for the mark), by victims (with their own money) and by the server (for killing sprees). Only a licensed bounty hunter or a deputy can claim one, and alive pays more. A kill pays 20% of what the target lost, so a friend who "surrenders" naked brings nothing.
Gang wars and territory
A gang declares war with a deposit. While the war is one-sided, attackers may only hit armed members of the target gang. A declaration in return opens free hunting for both sides. The server keeps the war's score, and the paper prints it. Peace is a treaty pinned on the board by the county courthouse.
The county has about 20 capturable sites: pump stations, mines, the fuel depot, the dam. Each can be attacked once every two weeks, in a scheduled 120-minute battle. Inside the battle zone there is no mark, no wanted level and no item loss, and the police close the roads around it. The owner takes a share of the work around the site. Every two weeks comes the War for the County, when all sites in one zone are open at once.
The County Cup
A month-long season of fair fights where skill decides, not money. Every day from 18:00 to 24:00 server time: 1v1 duels, 2v2 and 3v3 teams, derby in combat cars. The league issues identical weapons and cars; only paint and clothes are your own. A discipline winner becomes a County Legend: a named paint job and jacket, a photo in the hall of fame and the paper, but no extra power.
Battlegrounds
A separate copy of a piece of the map for one game. Death there costs nothing, and the shared world doesn't change.
- Stolen cargo, 10v10: steal a crate from the rival's depot and bring it home.
- Pump stations, 15v15: five points in a valley; whoever holds more gains faster.
- Convoy, 40v40: one side leads a column of tankers over a pass, the other sets ambushes.
- Cops and robbers: robbing a train or an armoured car.
- Derby: combat cars in the aircraft boneyard or the copper pit.
PvP in the open world
Hot zones. On a schedule, one place becomes lawless: the copper pit, the smugglers' strip, the dam at night. There is no mark inside, but the income is higher. Dangerous cargo. A trucker chooses a flagged load: it pays more, but the route leaks over the radio. The cursed gun. A named revolver from county legend: its holder is visible to everyone on the map and can't sell it.
Against griefers
- New players are protected for their first 10 hours; the bus station is a safe zone.
- Killing the same person again pays 25% less each time, and nothing from the fifth time.
- The hospital and its yard are safe, and marked players are not let in.
- Your body stays in the world for a minute after logging out, 15 minutes after PvP.
- Safes and garages are protected while their owner is offline, except in a declared war.
- Disputes are judged from a recording of each player's last 120 seconds.
Source: design document tab «PvP and online»; design document, section «The world online». The game is in development: what is described here comes from the design document and may change before release.