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To Touch the Sun is an entry-level campaign for Cosmonarchy, set within Krysilliant. Its primary purpose is to introduce new players to the game state and mechanics of Cosmonarchy, while preparing them for the challenges present in more difficult content.

This campaign will additionally serve to set quality expectations that all future productions will meet or exceed, and provide an example of a singleplayer RTS experience that competes for the player's time.

Once completed, To Touch the Sun will also have demonstrated the strengths and weaknesses of our current writing and narrative capabilities as it pertains to the RTS genre, and should allow us to error-correct when writing dialogue, characters, and plots in the future.

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Toolkit Updates

In order to do a proper job with To Touch the Sun, there are certain tools that must be created or updated. This list will receive updates over time.

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Design

The early missions of To Touch the Sun have less demanding early-games than conventional CMBW content. This allows for prolonged periods of exploration and attempts at victory by unskilled players, even if they are fated to fail. AI build orders hold less variance, allowing the maps to be "learned" to a certain degree. AI allies display a competent model for players to emulate. Terrain advantage, smaller map sizes, and a good amount of space between the player and their opponents makes these early missions more generous, but still mandates good play in order to find victory.

As the campaign evolves, more varied and lethal AI enemies appear, and early-games become more involved. AI allies are still present, but require more assistance to survive against the more potent and numerous hostiles. Attacks become more calculated, teams become more coordinated, and mid-map arrivals become more commonplace. The number of unique commanders, races, and playstyles also increase, and map sizes and game times scale up accordingly.

By the time a player completes To Touch the Sun, they will have learned or reaffirmed all of the core skills required to play an RTS well. Scouting, expanding, multitasking, reading the opponent's tendencies, and coordinating with allies are all key components of claiming victory, even in the campaign's earlier and more forgiving missions. This process of teaching competence means that players who conquer all missions of To Touch the Sun will feel confident when attempting other content, from more difficult singleplayer campaigns to multiplayer combat against other players.

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Plot

To Touch the Sun features a simple premise that evolves into a deep and compelling narrative. Tom Medly, a freshly-promoted officer of the veritable superpower that is the Orion Imperium, gives us a youthful and naïve viewport into the sprawling setting - and quickly finds himself tasked with battling, and later leading, armies of the universe's three races.

The first encounter of Medly's is innocuous enough, as he fights alongside fellow officer Oscar Esmond to rid a fringe system of its latest would-be uprising. This peacekeeping operation takes an unexpected turn when the rebels are revealed to be members of the Nydus Trinity, and their plan to sacrifice the system to a nearby tendril becomes evident.

After finding success despite this surprising revelation, Esmond and Medly receive orders to continue their operation, secure in the knowledge that reinforcements are inbound. Their next mission takes them within an expansive facility retrofitted by the Trinity for the express purpose of communicating with Zerg. This disquieting collaboration between man and swarm becomes more explicable as this technology is uncovered, and with the arrival of imperial commander William Ajax connecting the pair of officers directly to the upper ranks, their next orders are clear: reclaim the facility, and use its power for the Imperium.

Shorthand plot breakdown:

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Glossary

The following section describes characters, factions, and locales featured in To Touch the Sun, in approximate order of appearance.

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Characters

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Tom Medly

• Recent graduate from an Orion officer academy, newly-assigned to Platform Cygnus.

Oscar Esmond

• Relatively-green officer of Platform Cygnus, under orders to stop the Alerion uprising.

William Ajax

• Commander of Platform Cygnus.

Mirith

• Apostle of the Aphet Sect.

Kiraxxar

• Justicar of the Allasara Pillar.

Ithintos

• Councilor of the Allasara Court.

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Sides

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Orion Platform Cygnus

• Primary Orion brigade in Alerion, led by Commander William Ajax and junior officers Medly and Esmond.

Aphet Sect

• Clandestine forces of the Nydus Trinity, supporting the local dissidents of Alerion.

Allasara Pillar

• Detachment of the Divine Primacy, on keen watch for Zerg incursions.

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Locales

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Alerion I

• Frozen satellite of Alerion Prime.
• Possible biomes: Iceworld

OSIC "Palace of Bathala"

• Enormous submerged installation within Alerion I.
• Possible biomes: Installation

Alerion Prime

• Primary Orion colony.
• Possible biomes: Ashworld, Badlands, Desert

Cygnus defense platform

• Orbital defense grid.
• Possible biomes: Installation, Platform

Ataltreth orbital hive

• Invasion platform.
• Possible biomes: Organ

Alerion II

• Distant and final satellite of Alerion Prime.
• Possible biomes: Twilight

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Mission Listing

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Chapter 1:

Windfall

The hand you're dealt.

• Size: 160x128
• Setting: Alerion I
• Tileset: Iceworld
• Average time: 45 minutes
• Composition: Imperial Peacekeepers (T, T) vs Aphet Sect (T) and Reconnaissance Organ (Z)
• Mission script

Officer Medly makes acquaintances with Oscar Esmond, an imperial officer only slightly more battle-tested than Medly himself. Their communique from the upper ranks presents the new duo with a simple peacekeeping operation: the verdant world of Alerion has seen rebel movement on its icy, primary moon, where a vast underwater complex was previously staffed with Orion scientists. Though their primary objective is to reclaim this facility, Medly and his compatriot must first clear the satellite's surface of militant forces.


The battlefield welcomes the imperial forces quietly, with minimal sightings of hostiles. As the battle wages on, however, the true nature of the supposed rebels comes into focus. Hordes of hostile infantry throw themselves into the firing line with little regard for their own safety, and the deployment of shadow technology, talked of only in hushed whispers around the rank and file of the Orion Imperium, dispels any assumptions of this faction's allegiance: it is the Nydus Trinity, and they have contested this satellite with the express purpose of luring in a sacrifice.


Once a sufficient number of Terrans dot the surface, the summoning is complete, and a reconnaissance organ of the Ataltreth Tendril makes landfall. This decidedly-conventional aspect of Zerg immediately seeks out additional resources, and begins in its attempt to break Esmond's defensive lines.


Yet despite this powerful mix of Terran and Zerg, and the rookie status of Tom Medly, the Orion Imperium claims victory on the surface of Alerion I. Regrouping to assess their losses and consider their next move, the imperial officers vow to first contact their superiors and signal for reinforcements.

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Chapter 2:

Before the Flood

What might wash ashore?

• Size: 176x160
• Setting: Palace of Bathala
• Tileset: Installation
• Average time: 60 minutes
• Composition: Medly's Peacekeepers (T) and Esmond's Peacekeepers (T) vs Aphet Sect (T) and Seeding Organ (Z) and/vs Isolated Organ (Z)

Back in the ready room, Esmond establishes an emergency connection with Commander Ajax, and delivers the news. The Cygnus leader springs to action, organizing a sizable strike force to supplement the budding Imperial foothold, and ordering Medly to make an incursion into the aquatic compound known as the Palace of Bathala. His compatriot, on the other hand, is tasked with holding the surface and awaiting Ajax's arrival.


Though it takes a moment for the Imperial forces to get their bearings inside the massive complex, Medly's men find a suitable location for an initial base, and prepare for reconnaissance. The many doors of Bathala are closed off to any would-be intruders, though this only slows the Orion advance, as more of the facility is reclaimed. Apostle Mirith and his cultists keep a low profile in their attempt to rebuild, but they are under a different kind of protection...

Alien allies of the Aphet Sect announce their presence swiftly, but to Medly's surprise, they are not of the Ataltreth Tendril - this isolated organ has been the subject of unchecked Trinity science, and it has clearly taken a liking to their Terran worshipers. With this collaboration being so clearly fueled by the technology within Bathala, seizing control over the facility's systems becomes even more imperative.


Upon the surface, Platform Cygnus makes landfall to reinforce the Imperial position, freeing Esmond to lead a secondary strike team into Bathala. The new blood is quickly put to work once their way is opened by Medly, and the two Orion officers continue pushing into the submerged installation.

Reports of Ataltreth organs are scattered across the battle-net, but when some breach Ajax's lines and make their way inside the compound, the scale of the invasion starts to take form. This seeding organ is yet another obstacle in Medly's path, but it proves hostile to the isolated Orkoti hive - and with more of Bathala's technology falling under Imperial control, the wayward Zerg are soon made aware that a cease-fire would be most beneficial.


When the firing subsides and the smoke clears, the scarred chambers of the Palace of Bathala no longer harbor the Aphet Sect. Though there is no sign of Apostle Mirith, the cultist technology is a prize unto itself - the Orkoti organ, surrounded by victorious Imperials, maintains a stance of non-aggression towards Medly and Esmond. Though the officers are skeptical of the isolated aliens, they have little time to investigate, a fact Commander Ajax makes clear when he orders them to return to the surface.

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Chapter 3:

Infinite Thirst

A bell that never rings.

• Size: 200x160
• Setting: Alerion I
• Tileset: Iceworld
• Average time: 75 minutes
• Composition: Platform Cygnus (T, T, T) and Isolated Organ (Z) vs Aphet Sect (T), Seeding Organs (Z, Z), and Assault Organ (Z)

The imperial officers Medly and Esmond return to the surface of Alerion I, and have their forces dispatched to support Ajax's flanks. The Orion commander is locked in a stalemate against one of the Ataltreth seeding organs, and more are on the way. Apostle Mirith's cultists have been sighted emerging from one of Bathala's many mouths, and as the battle lines are drawn, it becomes clear that this skirmish will be a long and bloody one.


As the Aphet Sect return to their trademark defensive crawl, Ataltreth aggression permeates the battleground - but they are not the only tendril with a standing army. The lost Orkoti organ emerges from Bathala in a protected position behind Medly's forces, and signals its intention to help the imperials in their war. Equipped with this bizarre ally, Platform Cygnus soldiers on against the veritable ocean of the hostile swarm.

But an even higher tide is reported on the horizon - an Ataltreth assault organ, intent on breaking the stalemate between Cygnus and their enemies, soon makes planetfall. Agents of this virile appendage quickly extend across the warzone as the remaining seeding forces withdraw to more defensive positions, and the hostile endgame is made clear: defend the newcomer until it can attain critical mass, and then sweep across Alerion I with a vengeance.


Heavy artillery agents shuffle to the front lines, and are soon accompanied by swarms of fliers. These are the forces of the assault organ, out for blood and aggressive to a fault. Riposting offensive after offensive is paramount, but not a winning strategy on its own - imperial forces need to work together on a decided push, or take advantage of momentary gaps to mount surgical strikes into hostile territory. Anything less, and the alien hordes will surely rule the icy moon.

Yet despite their best efforts, the Ataltreth swarms and their Terran allies cannot overcome the Orion-Orkoti alliance. Platform Cygnus and their Zerg collaborators stand alone as the battle concludes, but while their may be no end to the hostile tendril, the number of the imperial forces is all too finite. Commander Ajax summons his officers to plot their next moves, but with a battlefield littered with corpses and wreckage, it's difficult to see a light at the end of the tunnel.

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Chapter 4:

When Flesh Meets Force

As above, so begone.

• Size: 184x168
• Setting: Alerion Prime
• Tileset: Ashworld
• Average time: 60 minutes
• Composition: Orkoti Organ (Z, Z) and Platform Cygnus (T) vs Aphet Sect (T) and Assault Organs (Z, Z) vs Allasara Pillar (P, P)

As Platform Cygnus takes a collective breath and begins to recover, Ajax briefs Medly and Esmond on the Alerion theater. The imperial defense grid is in position to support the colony's frozen satellite, and are riposting constant seeding attempts by the impending tendril, but it's only a matter of time before Alerion Prime itself is jeopardized. The orbital defense demands all hands on deck, but with survivors of the Aphet Sect being sighted on the planet's surface, the colony's evacuation attempts are in peril.

It is under these conditions that Medly receives the incredulous order of taking direct control over the Orkoti organ. Esmond will assume command of his fellow officer's remaining forces and take to the orbital front, while Ajax continues to provide support to the grid's most besieged battalions. It is up to the reluctant Medly to commune with the isolated organ, pursue the Nydus cultists, and apprehend Apostle Mirith at all costs.


Medly focuses first on getting to grips with commanding the Zerg, and then on his task of confronting the Aphet Sect. The vagrant Terrans are quick to establish a defensive line and an economic foothold, as if to prepare for an impending ally, and initially have their guard down before making contact with the Orkoti organ. Matters escalate quickly once first blood is spilled, but even in the event of a swift conquering of Trinity territory, Medly finds himself ill-equipped to handle the challenges to come.

Organs of the Ataltreth Tendril make landfall, as reports of breaches in the defense grid ring out like a grim siren, and it's not long before the Orkoti hive is threatened by superior numbers. Officer Esmond is redirected to support Medly's Zerg, and while the two imperials stand fast against the foreign swarms, the sky soon opens to welcome a new power.


A violent sight as any Medly has witnessed before manifests in the form of twin Star Sovereigns, immense capital craft that bring with them a taste of a supernova. Splashes of starlight envelop both hostile and allied Zerg bases, and this act of aggression is punctuated by a transmission from one Justicar Kiraxxar, leader of the interloping Allasara Pillar.

The cleansing capital craft are far from the only threat brought forth by the Protoss, as two warbands begin operations on the surface of Alerion Prime. Jurors of the Allasara, imposing both in demeanor and in technology, begin their work immediately - their goal is to rid Krysilliant of all Zerg, and they make their intentions known, plain as day.


What remains of the hostile Trinity-Ataltreth union regroups to respond to this newfound threat, and battle lines are redrawn. Officer Esmond begins pivoting to heavy armor and support ships, while Medly's Zerg are called upon to augment their war machine in a similar manner. The Primacy's chosen, on the other hand, leverage a diaspora of templar warriors and imperious spacecraft, and make contact in both frontal assaults and more surgical attacks.

The expendable nature of the Zerg allows Medly to endure despite considerable losses, and with the assistance of Esmond's imperial arsenal, the Orion officers break both Ataltreth and Allasara lines. Kiraxxar's forces retreat from the planetary assault, leaving an infested and scarred battlefield in their wake, while the concerned voice of Commander Ajax provides new orders to the officers.

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Chapter 5:

Silver and Lead

You can't take it with you.

• Size: 224x192
• Setting: Cygnus defense platform
• Tileset: Platform
• Average time: 75 minutes
• Composition: Orkoti Organ (Z) and Platform Cygnus (T, T) vs Swarming Organs (Z+), Aphet Sect (T), and Therroti Sect (T) vs Allasara Pillar (P, P)

The arrival of Protoss comes at a difficult time for the defenders of Alerion, with reinforcements en route from neighboring systems, but distant enough to draw doubts. Fighting has turned scarce for just a few hours, but invaders of all types have been sighted, preparing more formidable assault efforts than what has graced the system so far. It falls to Medly - still in command of the Orkoti organ - and his fellow imperial leaders to prepare Platform Cygnus for hostile action, in what promises to be the most bloody and drawn-out battle yet.


With an eerie stillness accompanying them, the Orion defenders begin their mining and defensive operations, and make ready to receive their opponents. It's not long before the first of the Ataltreth Tendril's agents descend - these swarming organs bring with them a penchant for scale most immense, and aim to spread across the space platform, denying as much ground as possible from the intrepid Cygnus. Apostle Mirith's cultists soon arrive to supplement their beasts of worship, the footsoldiers and armor of the Aphet Sect posing a heightened threat when stood behind the many walls of Ataltreth flesh.


Swift success is paramount for the defenders of Platform Cygnus, and Ajax's armored squadrons make headway with each assault. Officer Esmond does his best to distribute infantry battalions to each battlefront, and the Orkoti swarms under Medly's direction must take and hold several sections of the installation at once, or else risk being overwhelmed by their myriad foes.

Further complications come in the form of the Allasara Pillar. By the edicts of Justicar Kiraxxar, Protoss warriors and spacecraft deploy unto the Orion installation, transfiguring the conflict into a chaotic free-for-all. The rich asteroids are an initial target of the Protoss, but their ambitions don't stop there: striders and shock troops are quick to strike into hostile territory, while the orbit is protected by wings of fighters that seek to escort deadly capital craft to their final destinations.


Agents of the hostile tendril enjoy a new ally with the arrival of the Therroti Sect, a sizable congregation of the Nydus Trinity that has taken special interest in the developments of the Alerion system. Their involvement is made apparent by the increase in cultist spacecraft and heavy infantry, cementing the Therroti forces as yet another threat on the space platform. Thankfully for the Orions, these newcomers are initially bogged down by Protoss reinforcements, but in a melee as deadly and dynamic as this, their focus could shift at any time.


One by one, the foes of Platform Cygnus are removed from the installation, leaving only carnage to remember them by. The incessant strikes of additional Ataltreth organs finally cease when the last of their local hives are excised, and the imperial forces can finally exhale, secure in the knowledge that their victory here was momentous. A ragged Commander Ajax summons his duo of officers once again - this time, to make plans for an offensive maneuver, while there's still time.

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Chapter 6:

Lifeblood

The running never stops.

• Size: 232x200
• Setting: Ataltreth orbital hive
• Tileset: Organ
• Average time: 90 minutes
• Composition: Orkoti Organ (Z) vs Hive Organs (Z, Z, Z, Z), Therroti Sect (T), and Control Organ (Z) vs Allasara Pillar (P, P)

Reports of Ataltreth invaders withdrawing to a set of orbital hives punctuate the skirmish atop the Cygnus defense grid. Imperial forces are weary and few, with Commander Ajax organizing to prepare for reinforcements, but the Orkoti organ stands at the ready in collaboration with Officer Medly.

In keeping with previous incursions into Krysilliant, a second phase of the Zerg invasion is impending, with orbital hives looming ever closer to Alerion Prime. The closest of such platforms has recently been engaged by Allasara forces, offering appropriate cover for Orkoti agents to deploy onto the organic structure and lay claim to the vital device.

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Chapter 7:

Power Law

One of few certainties.

• Size: 192x168
• Setting: Alerion II
• Tileset: Twilight
• Average time: 45 minutes
• Composition: Allasara Pillar (P, P) vs Aphet Sect (T), Seeding Organ (Z), and Therroti Sect (T)

By the skin of his teeth, Officer Medly has managed to weaken the orbital hive's defenders, allowing Allasara warriors to safely withdraw while the Orkoti organ prepares to receive additional hostiles. Imperial reinforcements have arrived to supplement Platform Cygnus, fomenting an offensive targeting the remaining orbital hives. These platforms have taken a slowed and defensive formation in the aftermath of the Orkoti takeover, signaling that the Orion gambit to buy time was successful, after all.

Justicar Kiraxxar interrupts the imperial briefing, seeking audience with Officer Medly. In the distant orbit of Alerion Prime, on the colony world's secondary satellite, the one who communes with the Ataltreth hordes has been witnessed rebuilding his congregation - Apostle Mirith. With the allied Zerg locked in a battle for the orbital hive, and the imperial fleet preparing offensive maneuvers away from their colony's orbit, Medly will have to command yet another alien force in order to separate the Aphet Sect from their clergyman.


The Aphet Sect outpost and a sole Ataltreth seeding organ are the targets of the Allasara, and it doesn't take long for the battle lines to come into focus. Alerion II's treacherous terrain is almost labyrinthine, and the bridges over its many chasms are quickly occupied with defensive emplacements. With limited room for large production arms, the compact battleground entices the unholy alliance into armor contingents and siege strains, while the justicar resolves to deploy his trademark starbases.

While Medly builds familiarity with the Protoss arsenal, another threat touches down on the cavernous satellite - a foe that puts the defensive play of the Aphet Sect into perspective. Their cultist brethren within the Therroti Sect take to the skies in short order, with their sights set on contending with Kiraxxar's fleets. This added pressure galvanizes the imperial officer, who must now be the linchpin in this operation.


As Alerion II devolves into a smoldering warzone, the frontline of the Terrans and Zerg begins to buckle, and the combined arms of the Allasara Pillar pick up steam. By the time the Nydus Trinity and their alien allies have been driven back, Mirith's absence becomes palpable, and Aphet spacecraft are sighted descending to the colony world once more. Ataltreth agents are unending, and while Medly and Kiraxxar take a moment to rally their warriors, the Orion Imperium's objective remains clear - the escapee must be captured, no matter the cost.

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Chapter 8:

A Traitor's Welcome

Closed casket.

• Size: 224x192
• Setting: Alerion Prime, military district
• Tileset: Badlands
• Average time: 80 minutes
• Composition: Allasara Pillar (P, P) vs Aphet Sect (T) and Therroti Sect (T)

Backed into a corner, Apostle Mirith has fled to the last significant Aphet stronghold - a military district claimed by Trinity forces during the chaos of the colony's evacuation. It is here that Medly and Kiraxxar will bring the cult leader to justice, and bury his congregation in the world they sought to claim.

Therroti supporters have already begun setting up shop near to Mirith's adherents, but the cultists will find little aid from their sacred beasts while operating so far from the orbital hives. Ataltreth and imperial losses are rising, but with the hostile tendril being held at bay, this skirmish on Alerion Prime promises to be Mirith's final sortie.


First shots are fired quickly and unceremoniously, with Medly's forward position soon coming under fire from Therroti fighters. Raids are frequent as battle dawns, with the cultist fighters and infantry running interference for the Aphet Sect's tried-and-true defensive crawl. The Orion officer must be quick to retaliate and contest the many plains and platforms of the local military district, or risk being contained and strangled by endless armor.

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Chapter 9:

Autocide

To save many...

• Size: 256x224
• Setting: Jasper Dunes, Alerion Prime
• Tileset: Desert?
• Average time: 90 minutes
• Composition: Allasara Pillar (P, P) and Platform Cygnus (T, T) vs Assault Organs (Z+) and Therroti Sect (T)

The final act of Apostle Mirith threatens to drown the system in Zerg, and with the psychic beacon lost to the crust of Alerion Prime, options for the imperial defenders are scarce and grim. Kiraxxar offers a pyrrhic plan of action: the decommissioning of the Orion colony world. In its last moments, the planetary body can ascend into unimaginable power, and wipe away the hives that yet swell in its orbit. Reluctant, but ever pragmatic, Commander Ajax confirms the operation.

Traveling to the distant desert dunes of Jasper, warriors of the Allasara Pillar and soldiers of the Orion Imperium dig in for a slow, defensive crawl. These sandy wastes lie on the side of the world opposite to the torrents of incoming Zerg, and will serve as ignition points for the Protoss's stellar lances. Once enough of the planet-cracking icons have been constructed and charged, the defenders of Alerion will signal a retreat, and the colony world will die, brilliantly.

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Chapter 10:

Blood Drought

Cauterized.

• Size: 256x256
• Setting: Ruins of Alerion Prime
• Tileset: Asteroid/platform
• Average time: 80 minutes
• Composition: Imperial, Orkoti, and Allasara Forces (T, Z, P) vs Hive Organs (Z, Z, Z, Z) and Therroti Sect (T)

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Chapter 11:

Sunset

Warmth, and then nothing.

• Size: 256x256
• Setting: Ataltreth orbital hive
• Tileset: Platform/organ
• Average time: 90 minutes
• Composition: Imperial, Orkoti, and Allasara Forces (T, Z, P) vs Hive Organs (Z, Z), Therroti Sect (T), and Immune Organ (Z)

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Acknowledgments

Site header uses the following:

• Sun icon vector courtesy of vecteezy
• "Romanus" font courtesy of dafont