1U Comm Device -- the first real step toward multiplayer: a live directory of who else is active, not a static leaderboard.
Racked, wired to power and network, and switched on, a Comm Device opens a directory of other active players: their registered username, current Reputation rank, and how recently they were actually online (a genuine save within the last 15 minutes counts as active, not a guess or a static flag). A few names in the directory are the community itself keeping things lively rather than a live player, same as any comm channel with a bit of background chatter.
You must own and power one to use this, either way in. There are two paths to the same directory: open the Comm Device's own inspector directly, or run the players command from a Terminal Server or KVM Console already wired into the same rack -- but that terminal command only works if a Comm Device you own is racked and powered too, the same as the device's own inspector. Neither path is a shortcut around owning one.
Registration matters here. The directory itself needs a registered account to actually use -- unregistered play can still buy and rack a Comm Device like any other unit, but it won't show the player list yet. Rather than fail silently (easy to mistake for a bug), a powered, unregistered Comm Device shows a clear, explicit message telling you to register, right in its inspector.
Tip: this is deliberately the social layer shipping ahead of full PvP raiding multiplayer -- see the Roadmap for what's planned on top of it.