Glossary
A concise A–Z reference of Kosmaris game terms. For full mechanics, follow the cross-links to the relevant guide page.
A
Active fleet — a fleet currently on a mission (IN_FLIGHT, MINING, or STRANDED). Active ships still contribute to your score.
Aegis — the apex heavy warship. Slow and expensive, but the most powerful hull in the catalogue. Requires a high Shipyard level and the SHIP_AEGIS research node. See Ships and Shipyard.
Alliance — a group of players who coordinate under a shared tag. Alliances can establish a shared base in space. See Alliances and Alliance Base.
Alliance base — a structure placed in space by the Archon ship. Houses a Nexus, buildings, and an alliance research lab. See Alliances and Alliance Base.
Alliance research — empire-wide buffs (fleet speed, ship attack, ship HP) that alliance members unlock together at the alliance research lab. Costs Metal, Carbon, and Hydrogen; cost and time grow per level. See Alliances and Alliance Base.
Arbitrum One — the Layer-2 network where KMS lives as an on-chain token. See KMS Bridge.
Archon — the alliance founder ship, dispatched on a FOUND_BASE mission and consumed on arrival to create the alliance base. Can only be built by an alliance owner. See Ships and Shipyard.
Asteroid — a finite resource body in the galaxy. Mining Ships dock at asteroids to extract Metal, Carbon, and Hydrogen continuously until the pool is exhausted. See Asteroid Mining.
ATTACK mission — a fleet mission that sends ships to fight at an enemy planet or asteroid dock. See Combat.
B
Biome — the visual flavour of a planet (Barren, Desert, Ice, Jungle, Ocean, Volcanic). Cosmetic only in v1 — no gameplay effect. See Galaxy and Colonization.
Black Hole — the fixed landmark at coordinate (0, 0) in the galaxy center. Cosmetic; not ownable, not attackable. See Galaxy and Colonization.
Bulk Hauler — a high-capacity cargo ship. Backbone of resource logistics. Requires SHIP_BULK_HAULER research and SHIP_HAULER as prerequisite. See Ships and Shipyard.
Building — a permanent structure on a planet that produces resources, stores resources, unlocks capabilities, or provides other benefits. Buildings are upgraded level by level. See Buildings.
C
Carbon — a primary resource produced by the Carbon Mine. Used in most buildings and ship hulls. See Resources.
Carbon Mine — building that produces Carbon each hour. Upgrade to increase output. See Buildings.
Cargo capacity — the maximum number of resource units a ship can carry. See Ships and Shipyard.
Central Market — the single market planet where Metal, Carbon, and Hydrogen are traded for KMS. Non-attackable, non-colonizable. See Market & Trading.
Colonizer — the ship that settles an empty coordinate as a new colony. Consumed on arrival. Requires Shipyard level 3. See Galaxy and Colonization.
Colony — a planet you own that is not your homeworld. The maximum number of planets you may own is a fixed server limit. See Galaxy and Colonization.
Combat — the resolution of ATTACK missions against a defending fleet. See Combat.
Combat role — every ship has a role that shapes how the combat engine targets and resolves damage. The exact interactions are for you to discover. See Combat.
D
Deposit (KMS) — moving KMS from your crypto wallet on Arbitrum One into your in-game balance. No bridge fee. See KMS Bridge.
Dock buffer — the cargo pool attached to a fleet docked at an asteroid. Resources accumulate here until transported away. See Asteroid Mining.
DROID — a robotic worker assigned to a planet to boost mine production. DROIDs have combat stats (DEFENSE role) and contribute to your score. See DROIDs and Workforce.
DROID Factory — building that manufactures DROIDs and raises the planet's DROID hard cap. See Buildings.
E
ECCM (Electronic Counter-Counter-Measures) — an empire research that degrades enemy espionage accuracy by widening the uncertainty band on all quantities probes read. See Radar, Espionage & ECCM.
Empire Score — the numeric sum of all scoring components representing your empire's total economic weight. See Scoring & Ranking.
Espionage — a spy mission that reveals an enemy planet's resources, buildings, ships, and droids. Requires a Spy Probe. See Radar, Espionage & ECCM.
F
Fill — when a buy order matches a sell order on the Central Market, a fill occurs. Taker fills incur a fee. See Market & Trading.
Fleet — a group of ships assigned to a single mission. See Fleets and Missions.
FOUND_BASE mission — dispatches an Archon to an empty coordinate to establish an alliance base. See Alliances and Alliance Base.
Fuel — Hydrogen consumed by ships during travel. Paid from the origin planet's Hydrogen stockpile. See Fleets and Missions.
G
Galaxy — the two-dimensional disk containing all planets, asteroids, and the Central Market. Everything is addressed by (X, Y) coordinates. See Galaxy and Colonization.
H
Hard cap (DROID) — the absolute maximum number of DROIDs that can exist on a planet, determined by planet size. Cannot be raised by buildings. See DROIDs and Workforce and Galaxy and Colonization.
Hauler — a small, fast cargo ship. The first transport available. Requires Shipyard level 1. See Ships and Shipyard.
Homeworld — your starting planet. Always size SMALL. Cannot be abandoned. See Galaxy and Colonization.
Hydrogen — a premium resource produced by the Hydrogen Synthesizer. Used for fleet travel fuel, asteroid dock upkeep, advanced research nodes, and construction of certain ships (including Colonizer, Mining Ship, and Lynceus). Combat warships do not require hydrogen to build. See Resources.
Hydrogen Synthesizer — building that produces Hydrogen each hour. See Buildings.
K
KMS — the in-game currency earned by selling resources at the Central Market. Also a token on Arbitrum One that can be moved via the KMS Bridge. See Market & Trading and KMS Bridge.
KMS Bridge — the system that lets players move KMS between their in-game balance and a linked crypto wallet on Arbitrum One. See KMS Bridge.
L
LIMIT_BUY / LIMIT_SELL — order types that rest on the Central Market book at a player-specified price until filled, cancelled, or expired. Maker fills incur no fee. See Market & Trading.
Lynceus — a recon cruiser with a mobile sensor circle. Used for intelligence gathering along a flight path. Requires hydrogen to build. See Ships and Shipyard.
M
Maker — a market participant whose order rests on the book and waits to be filled. Maker fills incur no fee. See Market & Trading.
MARKET_BUY / MARKET_SELL — order types that execute immediately against resting orders. Taker fills incur a fee. See Market & Trading.
Market account — your balance of Metal, Carbon, and Hydrogen held at the Central Market. Separate from planet stockpiles. See Market & Trading.
Metal — a primary resource produced by the Metal Mine. Used in every building and ship. See Resources.
Metal Mine — building that produces Metal each hour. See Buildings.
Mine production — hourly resource output of a mine building. Scales with building level and DROID staffing. See Buildings and DROIDs and Workforce.
Mining Ship — the only ship that can dock at and mine an asteroid. Requires Shipyard level 3. See Asteroid Mining.
Mission — an order assigned to a fleet: TRANSPORT, ATTACK, STATION, COLONIZE, ESPIONAGE, MINE, NPC_DELIVER, FOUND_BASE, or RETURN. See Fleets and Missions.
N
Nexus — the core structure of an alliance base. Determines the base's HP and building budget; upgradeable through multiple levels. See Alliances and Alliance Base.
NPC Hauler — a non-player-controlled Special Hauler that delivers resources from the Central Market to a player planet for a KMS fee. Cannot be built or commanded by players. See Market & Trading.
O
Order book — the collection of resting LIMIT_BUY and LIMIT_SELL orders on the Central Market for a given trading pair. See Market & Trading.
P
Phalanx — mid-game warship. The workhorse of any battle fleet. Requires Shipyard level 4. See Ships and Shipyard.
Planet — the fundamental territory unit. Each player owns a homeworld plus colonies up to a server-enforced cap. See Galaxy and Colonization.
Production multiplier — the fraction of theoretical max output a mine delivers, based on how many DROIDs are assigned relative to demand. Approaches full output as DROIDs approach the demand threshold. See DROIDs and Workforce.
Pythia — a durable endurance warship. Requires Shipyard level 5. See Ships and Shipyard.
R
Radar — a building that detects incoming fleets within a growing detection radius. Also the research node that unlocks it. See Radar, Espionage & ECCM and Research.
Research — empire-wide technology upgrades. Unlocked by spending Metal, Carbon, and Hydrogen at the Research Lab. See Research.
Research Lab — building that drives empire-wide research speed. No research is possible without it. See Buildings.
S
Score — see Empire Score above.
Shipyard — building required to build ships. Each level unlocks a higher class of vessel and speeds construction. See Buildings and Ships and Shipyard.
Skiron — the first combat ship. Fast, used for raiding and escort. Requires Shipyard level 3. Does not require hydrogen to build. See Ships and Shipyard.
Spy Probe — a one-shot espionage dart. Flies to a target, reveals all intel, and is destroyed. The fastest ship in the catalogue. See Radar, Espionage & ECCM.
STATION mission — parks a fleet at a friendly location as a defense force. See Fleets and Missions.
T
Taker — a market participant whose order crosses immediately against a resting order. Taker fills incur a fee. See Market & Trading.
Taker fee — a percentage of the KMS leg on every taker fill. Credited to the in-game BANK treasury. Maker fills are free. See Market & Trading.
TRANSPORT mission — moves resources between a fleet's origin and destination. Round-trip to the Central Market deposits or withdraws resources. See Fleets and Missions.
Trading pair — a market pairing of a resource vs. KMS: METAL_KMS, CARBON_KMS, HYDROGEN_KMS. See Market & Trading.
V
VWAP (Volume-Weighted Average Price) — the trailing-24-hour average execution price of a trading pair, weighted by fill size. Used to price NPC hauler deliveries. Updated hourly. See Market & Trading.
Voucher (KMS withdrawal) — a short-lived, one-use cryptographic authorization issued when you request a KMS withdrawal. If unused before expiry, your balance is automatically restored. See KMS Bridge.
W
Wallet link — the connection between your Kosmaris account and a crypto wallet address on Arbitrum One. Required to use the KMS Bridge. Changing it triggers a multi-day timelock. See KMS Bridge.