Autopilot

A galaxy with an absent commander in it is a lopsided galaxy: their neighbours take the nearby neutral stars for free and can leave that border unguarded. So Nova does not let an empire sit completely still. If a commander stops giving orders, the autopilot steps in and makes a few basic moves on their behalf — not well, but enough that the empire keeps breathing.

When it takes over

Idleness is counted in production cycles, so it scales with the pace of the game:

In a Quick one-hour game that is a few minutes; in a two-week game it is a day or two. Only real orders count — sending a fleet, buying, building, setting a standing order. Reading the map or chatting does not reset the clock. (Exception: the neutral "Nobody" is never steered.)

What it does

Each production cycle it makes a handful of ordinary moves, the kind a cautious new player would make: send a modest fleet at a nearby star (neutral or not — it goes by distance, and sizes the fleet to about twice what it believes is there), occasionally spy-probe a neighbour, shuffle surplus ships toward a thinner star, and spend spare credits on factories and upgrades. It never launches a nova bomb, never probes a star it knows is shielded, and skips an attack it knows it would lose. It also gives up for the cycle when there is nothing worth doing, so a cornered empire goes quiet rather than busy.

What you see

Autopilot status is private — only you ever know the autopilot is flying your empire. To everyone else its moves look like any commander's moves; there is no marker, no announcement, and nothing in Diplomacy. What you see while it is driving:

• a banner across the top of the game: "AUTOPILOT is commanding your empire — issue any command to disengage", with a link to this chapter;
• every order it issues reported in Comms as "Autopilot dispatched …", so you can tell exactly what was done in your name while you were away.

Taking back control

Give any order and the autopilot stops at once. Fleets it already launched stay in flight — they are real orders.

Your switch

The Autopilot panel in the rail (web) or the sheet (mobile) is yours to set:

• Switch off for me — never let the autopilot steer you in this game, however long you are away. If it is already driving, this releases it immediately and the server stops making moves for you.
• Engage now — hand your empire to the autopilot straight away, before you go: if you know you will be away for a while, a simple bot expanding and spending is usually better than nothing. Any order you give later takes control back, as usual.

The creator's switch

When creating a game, Absent commanders lets the creator choose Autopilot (the default) or Sit still for the whole theatre. A group that knows everyone will keep playing may prefer Sit still; for an open public game, leave Autopilot on.

Bots are not the autopilot

A bot commander — the opponents in a Play against: Bots game, and the Try NOVA practice opponent — is a seat the computer plays for the whole game. It makes the same kind of moves the autopilot makes, but none of the rules on this page apply to it: it is never idle, never warned, never "taken over", and nobody can take it back. The creator's Absent commanders switch is about human players only; in a bots game it still decides what happens to you if you go quiet, and the bots keep playing either way. Bot seats are marked bot on the game card, and the Diplomacy panel has no thread for a bot — it never reads a message or answers a contract.

Neighbours, take note. A quiet empire is not a free lunch — and since autopilot status is private, you cannot tell which of your rivals is at the keys. Assume any empire may expand into nearby neutrals, probe you, and take a star you have left thin. Keep your border garrisoned.