Online Structure

Spaceships are the methaphor for online meeting and interaction in PSO. Each ship is a server in which 1-4 player games can be formed online. Ships are designated by their country of origin, though there are no restrictions as to who can play on which ship. Within each ship, there are 16 blocks; players can only join up with players in the same block.

Each block has 15 designated lobbies. The lobby can be thought of as the online chatroom for pre-game communication, and an area to discuss the formation of new games. Players remain in the lobby until they join or create a game, or go offline. Even though players may be in separate lobbies, they can still join up in the same game so long as they are in the same block. Lobbies 11-15 are restricted to Version 2 players, as they contain soccer fields.

In each lobby, there is an information desk that serves several functions. First, the desk can be used to transport players between blocks and between ships (there is a separate teleporter in each lobby to move between lobbies.) Next, the desk provides general server announcements, such as scheduled maintenance downtimes. Players can also learn how many players and teams (games) currently reside in each block of each ship. Finally, the information desk allows for the joining and creation of games.

Any player may create a new game, giving it a name, an optional password to lock out all but intended partners, and a difficulty level. Normal games feature no level restrictions. Hard games require level 20 or above, Very Hard games require level 40 or above, and Ultimate games require level 80 or above and can only be created and entered by Version 2 characters. Once the game has been created, the player is transported to the main section of Pioneer 2 to await up to three partners, or to begin the game alone. Players may teleport back to the lobby from the Pioneer 2 whenever they wish.

Alternatively, players can join a game in progress, provided their character has a high enough level for the difficulty level of the game, provided they have a password if the game is protected, and provided there are no more than three players already in the game.

Each player in PSO is identified by his or her guild card, a packet of info that includes the players name, ID, and three optional lines of text (basically, a business card.) Once guild cards have been exchanged, they stay in the player's VMU save file unless intentionally removed. While online, players can send and receive simple E-mail messages with players with whom they have exchanged cards. They can also search each ship, block, and lobby for those players. Currently, there is no way to find specific players in any ship, block, or lobby without first having exchanged guild cards.