Skills Reference

Skills represent player progression specializations — learnable abilities that unlock crafting recipes, improve combat performance, or open up new mechanics. Players earn XP from dungeons and spend it to level up skills.

Files live in: <your_pack_id>/data/skills/<category_folder>/<skill_name>.json

File Structure

{
  "skills": {
    "id": "...",
    "displayName": "...",
    "description": "...",
    "meta": {
      "category": "...",
      "topLevel": 10,
      "math": {
        "start": 500,
        "progressionCurve": 1.7
      }
    }
  }
}

Field Reference

Field	Type	Required	Description
id	string	✅	Namespaced ID. Example: stellar_forge:nuclear_forging
displayName	string	✅	Translation key for the skill display name
description	string	✅	Translation key for the skill description
meta.category	string	✅	Category this skill belongs to. Must match a category in manifest.json under skills.
meta.topLevel	number	✅	Maximum level players can reach in this skill
meta.math.start	number	✅	Base XP cost to reach level 1. Each subsequent level costs more, scaled by progressionCurve.
meta.math.progressionCurve	number	✅	Exponential multiplier applied to each level XP cost. Higher = steeper grind.

XP Formula

XP for level N = start × (progressionCurve ^ (N - 1))

Example with start: 500 and progressionCurve: 1.7

Level	Approx XP to reach
1	500
2	850
3	1,445
5	4,175
7	12,066
10	59,279

Tuning the Progression Curve

progressionCurve	Feel
1.2 – 1.4	Gentle — players reach max level relatively quickly
1.5 – 1.7	Standard — meaningful grind, typical for most games
1.8 – 2.0	Steep — late levels require heavy investment
2.0+	Very steep — max level is a major achievement

start value	Feel
100 – 300	Fast early leveling
400 – 600	Standard starting cost
700 – 1000	Slower early leveling

Skill Categories

Category	Folder	Purpose
combat	data/skills/combat/	Ship weapons, shields, engines, thrusters in space combat
crafting	data/skills/crafting/	Unlocks and improves crafting recipes
science	data/skills/science/	Alien tech, biology, and advanced research

How Skills Connect to Recipes

Skills are referenced in recipe files under the requires field:

"requires": {
  "stellar_forge:nuclear_forging": 3
}

The player must have that skill at the specified level or higher. If not, the recipe shows as locked in the crafting UI.

Example — Crafting Skill

{
  "skills": {
    "id": "stellar_forge:nuclear_forging",
    "displayName": "skills.category.stellar_forge.crafting.nuclear_forging",
    "description": "skills.category.stellar_forge.crafting.nuclear_forging.desc",
    "meta": {
      "category": "crafting",
      "topLevel": 10,
      "math": { "start": 500, "progressionCurve": 1.7 }
    }
  }
}

Example — Combat Skill (Steeper Curve)

{
  "skills": {
    "id": "stellar_forge:plasma_mastery",
    "displayName": "skills.category.stellar_forge.combat.plasma_mastery",
    "description": "skills.category.stellar_forge.combat.plasma_mastery.desc",
    "meta": {
      "category": "combat",
      "topLevel": 10,
      "math": { "start": 600, "progressionCurve": 2.0 }
    }
  }
}

Example — Science Skill (Lower Cap)

{
  "skills": {
    "id": "stellar_forge:xenobiology",
    "displayName": "skills.category.stellar_forge.science.xenobiology",
    "description": "skills.category.stellar_forge.science.xenobiology.desc",
    "meta": {
      "category": "science",
      "topLevel": 5,
      "math": { "start": 400, "progressionCurve": 1.5 }
    }
  }
}

Sub-Pages

• Combat Skills — weapon, shield, engine, and thruster efficiency
• Crafting Skills — forging, alloying, and recipe unlocks
• Science Skills — alien tech, biology engineering, advanced physics