FFA is SPACESTRIKE's continuous free-for-all mode. Every human pilot and server bot is an independent combatant with no allied team, no shared core, and no protected faction base. The main loop is to build, launch, fight, earn gold and score, then rebuild after death.
- Teams
- None; every pilot is hostile
- Minimum population
- 7 total combatants using fill bots
- Enemy capacity
- 64 active combat enemies
- Map behavior
- Dynamic radius based on population, at 2× scale
- Match ending
- No core and no fixed room reset
- Neutral objective
- Central hex caches
Private preflight and launching
FFA does not place public service stations on the battlefield. A human pilot instead starts and respawns in an isolated private preflight bay. The ship is invulnerable and in edit mode while docked, so other players cannot attack the construction process. Launching begins a short 0.65-second deployment sequence; once it finishes, the private protection is removed and the ship enters the shared arena.
Population and arena size
The server targets at least seven active FFA combatants. Bots fill only the missing positions: one human produces six fill bots, while seven or more humans require none. Unlike team modes, humans therefore replace the population bots rather than joining a fixed AI army.
FFA uses a dynamic arena radius based on active population. Its map scale is doubled, and radius changes are eased so the boundary cannot snap inward or outward as pilots join and leave. Bots also use separated spawn points to reduce immediate spawn collisions.
Kill economy and death
When a pilot destroys another combatant, the killer receives half of the victim's current gold. That amount is added to both spendable gold and leaderboard score, and player kills grant XP. Self-destruction does not award another pilot. Server bots return after six seconds, while humans move to spectator state and can prepare the next ship in preflight.
Respawn gold is not a total wipe. The next ship begins with 500 gold, plus 30 percent of the previous gold balance, 25 gold for every installed module, and half of the purchase price of unlocked skills that reset on death. Expensive surviving builds therefore return more construction value than an empty hull.
Neutral hex caches
FFA spawns stationary hex caches near the central area. The maximum active count is roughly one cache for every six combatants, with at least one. Spawn time is the greater of 12 seconds or 300 divided by the active population, so a quiet room receives them slowly and a busy room receives them more often.
FFA combat and loot
Live mini canvas: these units use the same appearance renderer as the game.
Destroying a hex cache grants its base reward and XP behavior. An authenticated account may receive one platinum; if that award cannot be recorded, a gold substitute is granted. Because caches appear centrally, firing on one reveals a predictable position to every nearby opponent.
FFA build and survival tips
Leave preflight with a complete role in mind. There is no public dock for a safe mid-field redesign, so an unfocused build pays for its weaknesses until death.
Treat current gold as bounty. Carrying more gold makes you a more valuable kill, while spending it on useful modules turns some of that value into respawn carryover.
Approach hex caches from an escape angle. The central objective is bait, and another pilot can wait until the cache and your ship are both damaged.
Fast builds should choose when to fight; durable builds should deny space. Trying to match every opponent at their preferred distance wastes the advantage of your own layout.
Inspect enemy module placement. Exposed engines, isolated weapon mounts, or a lightly protected core can be more important than the enemy's total ship size.