Economy
The Economy Philosophy: “Data Reclamation”
Section titled “The Economy Philosophy: “Data Reclamation””In the world of Project Aether, economy is a measure of system resources. The player gathers raw data from deleted entities and converts it into hardware efficiency for the Antivirus AI and the Combat Drone.
1. Primary Currencies
Section titled “1. Primary Currencies”| Currency | Visuals | Source | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bits | Glowing blue cubes | Normal Battles, Quest rewards, Destructible props. | The standard utility currency. Used for buying weapon parts and basic system repairs. |
| Soul Data | Fragmented silhouettes | Defeating Sector Bosses & Mini-Bosses. | High-tier currency. Used for Permanent Core Upgrades (HP, Speed, Bandwidth). |
| Energy Cells | Neon batteries | Dropped by enemies during a Mind Dive. | Temporary Currency. Used only inside Dungeons to buy mid-run boons or emergency cooling. |
2. Hardware & Crafting Materials
Section titled “2. Hardware & Crafting Materials”The bulk of the player’s progression comes from finding physical components in the world to modify their combat systems.
- Hardware Scrap: The primary resource for upgrading the Combat Drone. Found by defeating enemies in the 3D Overworld.
- Legacy Shards: Rare items found in hidden caches or rewarded for clearing difficult Mind Dungeons. These unlock “Legendary” bullet patterns for the Drone.
- Bio-Data (Minor): A small resource gathered from the secondary farming area. Used occasionally for minor utility buffs or purely cosmetic HUB upgrades.
3. The Flow of Wealth
Section titled “3. The Flow of Wealth”Gaining Resources
Section titled “Gaining Resources”- The “Purge” Bounty: Completing a Mind Dive grants a large injection of Bits based on how many enemies were deleted.
- Exploration: Treasure caches in the HD2D Overworld often contain “Stashed Scrap” from the era before the corruption.
- Bounties: The Job Board offers Bits and Materials for deleting specific “High-Value” glitched targets.
Losing Resources (The Reboot Penalty)
Section titled “Losing Resources (The Reboot Penalty)”- Rebooting (Death): If the player is destroyed, they lose all Energy Cells (as they are volatile) and a percentage of their Bits.
- Safety Lock: All Hardware Scrap and Soul Data are hard-saved to the player’s persistent memory and cannot be lost upon death.
4. Economic Balance
Section titled “4. Economic Balance”The economy is balanced to ensure the player is always hunting for “The Next Upgrade.”
- Scrap Gating: Early-game enemies drop “Common Scrap.” As the player unlocks new Sectors via System Keys, the enemies begin dropping “Advanced Scrap,” which is required for higher-tier Drone weapons.
- Diminishing Returns: Permanent stat upgrades (like HP) become exponentially more expensive in Soul Data, forcing the player to seek out tougher Bosses to continue growing.
- The Junk Merchant: A dedicated NPC in the HUB allows players to trade excess Bits for specific materials they might be missing, ensuring the player never gets “stuck” needing one specific drop.
Economy Summary Table
Section titled “Economy Summary Table”| Goal | Primary Resource Needed | Location |
|---|---|---|
| Buy Basic Items | Bits | Overworld / Mind Dungeons |
| Upgrade Stats | Soul Data | Boss Encounters |
| Evolve Drone | Hardware Scrap | Combat Encounters |
| Mid-Run Power | Energy Cells | Mind Dungeons (Reset on exit) |