FULL FEATURE LIST

AS//0 is a text-based terminal game at its core and evolved from there.

The game has a full graphical interface for seeing and managing state.

• network architecture
• defenses
• exploit inventories
• mail
• collectives
• IP intelligence
• web editing
• maps

But the game is fundamentally command driven. Many core actions can only be performed by typing directly into the terminal.

• infiltration
• ping / scan / probe
• surveying
• gateway deployment
• transfers
• moving exploits/fragments/resources
• switching operational networks
• downloads
• uploads / redirects
• filesystem navigation
• VPN operations
• capture / vault cracking
• several exploit actions)

Nearly every action in the game can be performed with an inline command.

• Every player starts with a network and develops it into persistent infrastructure
• Networks grow through 10 layers, with new capabilities unlocking as they advance
• Architecture is made from actual nodes added to the network infrastructure
• Players decide what to build: storage, firewalls, trace systems, defense, crafting, survey, gateways, VPNs, monitors, HQ infrastructure, and more
• The architecture directly affects what an attacker encounters during infiltration
• Higher-level networks become more capable, but also become more valuable targets
• Networks contain their own filesystem, resources, exploits, fragments, construction queue, logs, and defensive loadouts
• Storage placement matters because files and resources exist inside the network rather than one universal inventory
• Networks can be reconnoitered, infiltrated, robbed, infected, sabotaged, defended, and eventually captured
• Capturing infrastructure lets players expand through conquest instead of only building everything from scratch
• Lower-level networks have capture protection, preventing brand-new infrastructure from immediately becoming easy territory
• A player’s final remaining network can’t be captured, so losing a war creates a setback rather than deleting them from the game
• Networks exist inside nations, making individual infrastructure part of larger territorial control
• Players can expand domestically or use Survey + Gateway infrastructure to establish themselves abroad
• Gateways physically connect networks and become part of cross-border movement
• VPN nodes can link compatible networks and create alternative routes through the world
• Network ownership contributes to Collective control of nations, connecting personal progression to multiplayer politics
• NPC networks provide targets for raids, resources, exploits, and capture without replacing the danger of attacking another player
• Players can rename and personalize networks, making individual machines recognizable pieces of territory instead of anonymous slots
• Building one strong network is useful; building a distributed network empire changes what you can do strategically

Everything you own, store, defend, and risk exists somewhere on the network.

• Every network has an actual browsable filesystem tied to its architecture
• Files and directories aren’t just decoration - their metadata can drive game actions
• Credentials, authentication data, keys, seals, and other sensitive information can exist as discoverable files
• Successful infiltration can turn into actual exploration: cd, inspect directories, find useful data, download what matters
• Storage nodes create meaningful places for resources/files to exist
• Directories are created by adding layers and nodes to the network
• Files contain metadata relating to the node they appear in the directory for
• Files are the core tangible objects in the game
• Files in a storage node will contain information about the capacity and current storage amounts. Files in a VPN node directory will contain information about the address the VPN is connected to.
• Resources are transferred by downloading files, websites are defaced by uploading and manipulating files, networks are captured by reading files and using information, exploits interact directly with files, and more.
• Files contain information about the network. You can learn things about the owner, infrastructure, and possible next actions
• Network topology helps determine what filesystem structure/data exists, so different networks aren’t just identical folders with different IPs
• Information discovered in one system can become leverage somewhere else

You don’t hack a menu. You break into a network and explore what’s actually on it.

• Recon comes first. Scan, ping, probe, and IP intelligence help you decide what’s worth hitting
• Every target has actual layered defenses rather than a single “hack” button
• Infiltration moves through the network’s architecture and encounters firewalls, trace systems, ICE, storage, traps, and defensive nodes
• Different network levels change the difficulty and what kinds of defenses you’ll face
• ICE introduces active bypass challenges instead of making infiltration purely statistical
• Mistakes matter - failed attempts can trigger alarms, leave logs, reveal information, or burn valuable time
• Trace pressure creates urgency while you’re inside
• Exploits can change how an infiltration plays out: suppress alarms, interfere with trace, shield against ICE, penetrate gates, probe deeper, sabotage nodes, clear logs, etc.
• Successful access opens the filesystem, where credentials, resources, keys, files, and other useful information can actually be discovered
• Infiltration can lead to more than theft — recon, sabotage, malware, espionage, capture prep, and future attacks
• Logs persist after you leave, so getting in cleanly can matter just as much as getting in at all
• Repeat attacks are constrained by cooldowns, so choosing when and where to strike matters
• Player networks and NPC networks use the same general framework, but player targets bring the risk of retaliation
• A single successful infiltration can expose information that leads to entirely different targets or conflicts

Infiltration isn’t a dice roll. You break through the network layer by layer while the trace clock is running.

• Exploits are actual usable tools, not passive stat bonuses
• Players can find fragments, craft full exploits, store them, move them, use them against intruders, and choose what to bring on an infiltration
• Limited loadout space forces you to decide which tools matter for the attack you’re planning
• Many exploits are single-use, so firing one is a real decision
• Offensive exploits can change an infiltration in very different ways:
  • suppress alarms
  • interfere with trace
  • shield against ICE
  • penetrate gates
  • probe deeper into a network
  • profile or sabotage nodes
  • erase evidence from logs
• Defensive exploits can be loaded into infrastructure to punish intruders:
  • Malware
  • Spyware
  • Triangulation
  • Key-Scramble
  • Antivirus
• Active defensive tools can be fired manually, rather than every defense being passive
• Exploits can interact with persistent systems like files, logs, alarms, nodes, and identity information
• Crafting uses matching fragments, making exploration and theft part of the exploit economy
• Exploit storage is limited, so hoarding everything isn’t an option
• Collective infrastructure can support much larger-scale weapons, including national exploits
• Some exploits don’t directly hurt the target — they help you hide what you did
• The same target can play completely differently depending on what exploits you brought

Exploits aren’t damage numbers. They change what you can do to the network.

• Defense is infrastructure, not just a flat armor stat
• Players build defensive nodes into their networks and decide what each slot should carry
• Passive defenses can punish intruders automatically:
  • Malware
  • Spyware
  • Triangulation
  • Key-Scramble
  • Antivirus
• Active defenses can be fired manually when an intrusion is underway
• Tools like Delayed Disconnect and Timed Purge let defenders react instead of just watching the attack happen
• Alarm systems can warn you that somebody is inside
• Trace systems put pressure on attackers and can expose information about them
• Spyware can reveal pieces of an intruder’s identity/IP
• Triangulation will reduce the amount of trace time an intruder has left
• Key-Scramble can interfere with stolen access information
• Antivirus gives defenders a way to clean infected files instead of just accepting permanent damage
• Logs preserve evidence after an attack, giving defenders something to investigate
• HQ and Monitor infrastructure extends defense into the Collective layer
• Defensive slots are limited, so you have to decide what kind of attacker you’re preparing for
• Strong defense doesn’t make a network untouchable - it makes attackers take more risks, spend more tools, and leave more evidence
• Good defensive planning can turn an infiltration into counter-intelligence

Defense doesn’t just stop attackers. It watches them, identifies them, punishes them, and gives you something to retaliate against.

• Players can form persistent organizations with their own name, emblem, ranks, permissions, infrastructure, and political identity
• Collectives aren’t just chat groups — they build actual HQs, branches, monitors, and vaults
• Leadership can define ranks and control who can invite, manage infrastructure, access shared assets, or use higher-level systems
• Collective branches establish a physical presence inside nations
• National control is based on actual network ownership, not arbitrary faction points
• To initially control a nation, every IP must be active and the collective with a branch there must hold the most member networks
• Control can change when another collective genuinely overtakes the current one — ties aren’t enough
• Collective Vaults can hold shared resources, files, exploits, and other assets
• Vaults can also become attack targets, creating reasons to defend collective infrastructure
• HQs function as more than headquarters — they participate in alarm and defensive systems
• Monitor nodes extend protection across members and give collectives another reason to invest in shared infrastructure
• Members can coordinate through collective chat, mail, shared intelligence, and infrastructure
• Collective identity appears throughout the world through names, emblems, Relay presence, map status, and national control
• Collectives can craft and launch National Exploits, giving organized groups access to attacks far larger than anything a lone player can do
• Politics emerge naturally because territory, infrastructure, members, information, and shared assets all have value
• Alliances and rivalries aren’t scripted — they exist because players decide who they trust
• A collective can become powerful without every member playing the same role: some can build, infiltrate, gather intelligence, defend, manage infrastructure, or organize other players
• Endgame victory is tied to collective survival and territorial strength, giving player organizations a reason to persist beyond individual progression

A Collective isn’t a guild menu. It’s an organization with territory, infrastructure, assets, authority, and enemies.

• AS//0 has an actual in-world network mail system, not just out-of-game messaging
• Players can send messages from their networks to other players/networks
• Mail can carry attachments, letting information and useful files move through the game world
• Attachments are copied rather than magically shared, so the recipient gets their own persistent copy
• Players can choose which network they’re sending from, tying communication back to their infrastructure
• Mailboxes have real storage constraints - a recipient can actually be unable to receive something if they’re full
• Mail can become intelligence, not just conversation
• Certain infrastructure can monitor/intercept communications, letting other players read traffic they weren’t intended to see
• Intercepted mail is read-only, preserving the original communication rather than letting the interceptor rewrite it
• This means operational security actually matters: what you send, who you send it to, and what you attach can expose plans
• Mail works naturally for coordination, diplomacy, threats, recruitment, intelligence sharing, betrayals, and evidence
• Because it exists inside the same persistent world as networks, files, collectives, and infiltration, communications can become part of the conflict instead of sitting outside the game
• A careless message can potentially matter just as much as a careless network configuration

Mail isn’t just chat. It’s traffic—and traffic can be intercepted.

• Players can build and publish actual in-world websites, not just profile pages
• Every published site gets its own AS//0 address and becomes part of the persistent world
• Sites are created through a visual editor with sections, columns, themes, gradients, spacing, and reusable content blocks
• Players can build dramatically different kinds of pages without needing HTML or CSS
• Available content can support things like recruitment pages, propaganda, intel dumps, guides, shops, newspapers, blacklists, memorials, or personal sites
• Blocks include things like heroes, headings, text, buttons, cards, quotes, callouts, images/graphics, stats, navigation, and links
• Site graphics and visual customization let players establish their own identity instead of every page looking like the AS//0 terminal
• Sites can be drafted, edited, previewed, and published
• Published sites appear through The Relay, giving the game an actual player-created web directory
• Websites exist inside the same world as networks and files rather than being an external community feature
• Web content is represented as files, connecting the browser system back into the filesystem and network architecture
• Web nodes provide the infrastructure behind published sites
• Site owners can manage their pages from inside the game rather than leaving AS//0 for an external builder
• The system gives Collectives and individual players a public-facing presence beyond chat and territory
• It creates another form of player-generated content that can become part of the server’s history and culture
• And because the Web is part of the game world, it gives you a natural future attack surface for things like site compromise and defacement

Players don’t just fight over the network. They build the internet that lives on it.

• AS//0 uses multiple resources with different strategic purposes instead of one generic currency
• Bytes are the core operational resource — attacks, downloads, exploits, and other actions consume them
• Hardware supports construction, crafting, and infrastructure growth
• Money funds builds, recipes, and higher-level development
• Bandwidth limits how much activity a network can support at once, making throughput part of planning
• Resources physically exist on networks and can be stored, moved, downloaded, stolen, and transferred
• Storage capacity matters, so where you keep resources is part of the strategy
• Players can move resources between storage locations instead of everything living in one global inventory
• Resource-rich targets create reasons to recon and infiltrate rather than attacking randomly
• NPC networks act as renewable resource targets, but they can also contain traps and other risks
• Resource acquisition feeds directly back into progression: raid → build → defend → expand → raid again
• Bytes create a natural limit on nonstop aggression — you can’t just attack forever without managing your economy
• Players who burn through everything can eventually recover through the refill system instead of permanently bricking themselves
• Resource use can contribute to Influence, tying economic activity into broader progression
• Collective infrastructure can create reasons to pool, protect, or steal shared resources
• Losing resources hurts, but doesn’t erase your character or account — setbacks create new objectives instead of ending the game
• Resource management gives non-combat-focused players something meaningful to optimize even when they aren’t actively infiltrating

Resources aren’t just numbers at the top of the screen. They exist somewhere and somebody can take them.

• Every network exists at a real position in AS//0’s hidden world topology — it isn’t just an IP floating in a database
• Each nation contains a 10×8 local grid of 80 possible network positions, creating an actual neighborhood around every player
• You don’t start knowing everything around you — local intelligence has to be discovered
• scan reveals previously unknown addresses inside your current nation, gradually building your picture of the area
• probe lets you expand outward from an address you already know, revealing directly adjacent positions
• That means reconnaissance can spread naturally through the neighborhood instead of being a global search box
• Discovered IPs persist in your personal intelligence list, so over time you build your own map of useful targets, dead addresses, familiar players, and routes
• Adjacent positions have learnable relationships in their generated IPs, so experienced players can begin recognizing patterns in the address space instead of relying entirely on UI markers
• ping gives you latency and infiltration cost without simply exposing raw map distance, letting players infer proximity through reconnaissance
• Distance actually matters — farther targets cost more Bytes and take longer to reach during infiltration
• Nearby networks therefore have practical value: cheap reconnaissance, cheap attacks, familiar targets, and potential expansion locations
• Inactive addresses can become places to deploy new networks, so discovering the area isn’t useful only for finding victims
• The neighborhood can change as players deploy, capture, abandon, or lose networks
• NPCs, players, collective members, and vacant addresses can all coexist in the same local space
• Over time, players can become genuinely familiar with their part of the world — which IPs are valuable, which are dangerous, who operates nearby, and where they can expand
• Moving beyond your local nation eventually introduces foreign surveying, gateways, national borders, and router traversal, making expansion feel like leaving familiar territory

You don’t spawn with a list of targets. You learn your corner of the net one address at a time.