First Paradise

First Paradise
Beta Project
Developer	Christon Johnson
Theme	Science-Fiction, Mystery, Space, Economics/Trading
Influences	Zoo Base, Ascii Sector
Released	April 20, 2014
Updated	December 4, 2023
Licensing	Closed source
P. Language	C, FP*LL (OnyxRL)
Platforms	Linux, Windows, Mac, Android
Interface	Full color ASCII/Unicode
Game Length	TBA
Official site of First Paradise

About

First Paradise is a singleplayer adventure role-playing game set aboard a space ship in which the crew succumbs to bouts of home-sickness and psychosis. The player assumes the role of an experimental cyborg in transit to a far-flung space station. But things don't go exactly as planned.

Apsis Online is a multi-user roguelike (MUR) set in the near future. Players assume the role of a Voyager. A human, mentally and physically augmented for life in deep space. Your mission is to carve out a place for humanity among the stars. Whatever that may be. Build on and explore persistent worlds that respond to what each player does to create a shared story

Join the conversation on the built-in message board, RogueSpace! Meet new people from within the speckled void. Enjoy the imaginative flexibility of a multi-color ASCII user interface. It'll run on almost anything! Only a keyboard and some duct tape are required to play. Sign up today!

Timeline

        /Overpopulation (S2)                              /KRB Incident (W)
       /2088                                             /Year 2299
      /                                                 /
     /HGEC Established       /Cybernetic Renaissance   /First Jumpship     /Paradise Conspiracy (S1)
    /Year 2080              /Year 2200                /Year 2270          /2311
   /                       /                         /                   /

---

      \                              \                         \                 \
       \Year 2118                     \2220                     \2300             \2400
        \Transhumanism Popularized     \Net 3.0 (Peoples Web)    \The Emergence    \V-Protocol (A.O)

S1 - Sequence 1

S2 - Sequence 2

AO - Apsis Online

W - Winternet

Gameplay

Roguelike (RL): Roguelike sections present a top-down view of the player’s avatar, represented as an '@' symbol. Here, the player can freely move around and interact with things aboard the ship in a fluid turn-based fashion. All planets, its items and inhabitants (if any) are procedurally generated and each NPC will have their own history spanning their entire lives within the game world. The graphics are true ASCII, meaning there is no simulation of the terminal.

This is also, permadeath. The game has no save slots (although there is a dynamic saved state) and characters who die are dead. Although cloning and other methods of revival will be continuously made available as options.

Choose-your-own-adventure (CYOA): Some sections comprise of a block of text and a series of options that the player can select which will effect the outcome of the story or task. This is more prominent in single-player mode. When interacting in this way, the player has stumbled upon some choice based element of the game.

Notes From The Voyage

January 3, 2302 (What Else is New)

Kudo was not typically the type of mutt to go running blindly into closed quarters without scouting the place first, for food at least. She's a lap-dog and all I've got to keep me sane. Finding my quarters was easy since everyone is expected to bunk in the Medbay, Jesus.

So they say this is a routine colony check-in, despite the colorful detachment of personnel assigned to a survey ship. Hell, the only excuse they could come up with for having me sign an NDA was something along the lines of preventing "the relinquishing of new and potentially disruptive information to undesirable third-party profiteers."

The ship was re-fit for combat, top of the line ordnance which, I assume, nobody has any experience with. But that's why they hired me; to man the guns. Kudo's brown coat and pink nose appeared in my peripherals. If my external audio implants were less than half way she might have had the drop on me. Still, that didn't stop her from taking me down anyway. At least we have heated floors.

- eSigned, Lt.Dhanesh Kiev

March 1, 2301 (No One World)

I was not aware that the company would send us this far out of reach. The current star system carries no relevant signatures from any of the colonies that were supposed to be here. Landing would be extremely risky as well, especially considering there are certain specs to deliver intact and we don't know what - if anything - is on the planet's surface. The Industrial Station is still months off, we will remain in orbit around Trikone II until the radiation storm around our next jump begins to dissipate.

I have ordered Trikone's I and III scouted as well, the drones should return in a week with the report. have not ruled out the possibility of survivors living in some makeshift shanty town, likely built out of support modules. Who knows. I will see to it that an orbital relay is setup to notify the nearest refuge cylinder - a GenShip - of their whereabouts if so.

- eSigned, Cpt. John Eschero

March 19, 2302 (Artificial Understandings)

My receptors seem to have degraded much less lately. Today especially, now that the syncronization is complete. Whether or not this has something to do with the ship's AI tampering with some obscure embedded system is beyond my comprehension; for now at least. My cranium was not built to compensate for a brain. You see, I do not quite work the way a human or cyborg does. The model TRX14 E-Series was built for combat-support purposes. A descriptor which, to say the least, does not reveal my multitude of other practical applications.

Just days ago this ship had an encounter with "another kind" that was not at all some product of human ingenuity. Their liaison was quite fascinating yet hostile toward anything non-organic as far as we know. This makes me wonder sometimes - which is perhaps my reason for writing this - why? I plan on asking the Captain about these kinds of self-reflection in hopes of reaching some sort of understanding. As this is all quite new to me still. I wonder, is that cyborg susceptible to human emotion as well? And if not, why am I?

- eSigned, TRX14 E-Series

Corporations/Entities

KMC - Government contracted manufacturing and construction company.

Borland Robotics & Aerospace - A public company with an emphasis on colonization and aerospace.

Nerv-Goodman - Arms manufacturer.

Galea - Media conglomerate.

Westhause Corporation - Cybernetic implant and software development firm.

NRI Exports - A natural resources extraction firm.

FEDERAL

Human Genome Exchange Commission (HGEC) - A commercial regulatory body of post-human citizenship and human advancement technology.

United Earth Space Authority (UESA) - Administrates all space activity from Earth and its outposts.

Technology

Androids

Androids in First Paradise are uncommon among the general population. Sentient A.I is still a raw philosophy to humans in this universe. The HGEC continues to manufacture and license BlueBrains primarily for federal use. These are expensive and in turn are not quickly decommissioned. Even after a new series is built.

Series A was the first line of androids to ever be put into use, this model was used primarily to man remote surveillance outposts on uninhabitable planets. Series A androids are commonly referred to as “sharps” due to their ability to easily dissect encrypted messages and recognize objects in even the most obscure videos and photographs.

Series B through D specialize in military operations, each better equipped to perform a specific task. Finally, the E-Series is a combination of all previous efforts. This series was commissioned by the HGEC in response to the cyber extremist’s dominance over the Internet at the time. Which often led to terrorist attacks and other major issues.

Genetic Engineering

Using the body harness, players may modify their own biology or create new species to participate in their party as an NPC. Who may be directed to perform various combative and non-comative tasks. Possible adjustments may include changes to the default semi-biological state (available to humans and aurken), reptillian humanoids, androids and the pool of available phenotypes ranging from cephalopods to arachnids.

Continuation

The single-player component of Apsis Online is scheduled to continue as a series of "Sequences". All of which will be set inside of the timeline. The multi-player mode will run separately within the same application. Either option can be chosen via the Modes menu. Future releases will rollout in patches to be handled by the new Rogue Bulletin Board System (RBBS) platform. Planned features include base/ship building, better planet generation and sandbox mechanics as well as a broad social networking capability in addition to improved performance.

Videos

Dewaldo's Indie Spotlight - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zT0jrkzw4-E

Press

MassivelyOP

Other Literature

Voyager Handbook

Winternet (WIP)