Starship Simulator is a true work of passion, born of many a childhood dream to experience what it would truly be like to live and work on a massive deep space exploration vessel, just like the ones you see depicted in classic science fiction. A dream of walking among the stars, exploring distant worlds, and answering one of mankind's oldest questions... what awaits us in the great unknown?
You will serve as a crewmember on the maiden voyage of mankind's first-ever deep space exploration vessel - the Magellan Class. The ship has been designed and built from the ground up with an unprecedented level of detail. From the bare structural framework to the miles of cables and conduits, every part of the ship is fully simulated and designed to be scientifically plausible. Nothing is mere surface detail. Every button does something, and every piece of hardware serves a real purpose.
The bare titanium that defines the physical structure of the ship has been designed in line with the latest manufacturing techniques used in the real world today, projected forward 200 years with advances in 3D Printing and AI-driven automation in mind. Unlike typical games where nothing exists behind walls and under floors, our ship exists as a completely solid and physical vessel.
Every system on the ship has simulated hardware driving it, and these systems are connected together by a complex network of pipes, cables, and conduits that exist in real-time. As an Engineer, you can follow every cable from source to destination while it passes through various pieces of hardware along the way.
With over 200 rooms spread over 7 decks, you are free to explore the entire ship on foot without barriers or loading screens. Gaze out of the panoramic lounge windows while the action outside of the ship is taking place in real-time, or hop in a shuttle and take it out for a quick spin. Our goal is to create a truly immersive sci-fi experience.
Our procedural algorithms are based on real-world astrophysics in order to generate not only believable but also scientifically plausible star systems. If you want to find Earth-like worlds, then you will need to seek out a star's habitable zone where liquid water can exist. This is based on not only the distance from the star but also the planet's albedo and atmospheric makeup.
When you find a planet that's capable of supporting life, your scans will reveal the nature of that life and how advanced it is. It could be anything from simple bacteria to ancient alien civilizations that are millions of years more advanced than you. How will they react to your presence, and do you attempt to contact them?
Breathtaking Beauty
A NASA astronaut once said that without exception, every person to have ever looked down upon the Earth from aboard the ISS has shed a tear over its sheer beauty. We find that incredibly inspiring, and we're leveraging all the latest technologies and pushing Unreal Engine to its limits in order to achieve the most stunning visual experience possible. Entering orbit around a distant exoplanet should take your breath away.
Born to be in command, as the Captain, you will be making the big decisions such as which star systems the ship should explore, whether or not an alien species should be contacted, or whether or not to stand your ground or retreat in a hostile situation. How well you handle first contact situations will have a very real impact on how the mission plays out.
Taking the Helm, as the ship's Pilot, you will be responsible for safely navigating the ship through space. You will also pilot the shuttles and other support craft as required by the current mission objectives.
Working on the Bridge and in the Science Labs, as a Scientist, you will be responsible for performing scans of stellar objects and analysing any gathered data. You'll also be performing tests on samples and artefacts acquired by the ship on its travels.
Working on the Bridge and around the ship, as a Tactical Officer you will be responsible for defending the ship and her crew. You'll man the tactical Bridge station during combat, and serve as the security detail on any away missions.
Working in Engineering and around the ship, as an Engineer, you will be responsible for maintaining and repairing the ship's many systems. Keeping everything in tip-top condition will ensure the ship is always ready to meet any new challenge, but neglect your daily maintenance duties and critical systems will begin to fail.
Working in the Medical Facility, the Doctor is responsible for the crew's physical wellbeing. You will be dealing with everything from simple cuts and bruises to strange alien pathogens that could infect the entire crew.
Working in the Mess Hall as the ship's Chef you will be responsible for preparing healthy meals for the crew, but also as their Bartender, you will perform the important role of listening to their concerns and offering helpful advice. It's up to you to look after their mental health.
As a guest aboard the ship, you will have no duties to perform, allowing you to simply relax and explore the ship at your leisure.
Greetings everyone!
We're happy to announce that after what feels like an eternity, the Cold & Dark update is now live across the board for all players, including the public Demo. It's been a long road with many moving goalposts, but we're finally there!
COLD & DARK
New games can now be launched in either a Flight Ready or Cold & Dark configuration, with the Cold Start tutorial now being available to play. The tutorial has over 12 minutes of spoken dialogue and takes about 15-20 minutes to complete.
ENGINEERING
In addition to many visual improvements, the engineering systems have been completely overhauled, with a more robust electrical system and an all-new fluid transport system. All of the ship's engineering systems now work properly in multiplayer, so crews can work together to make a dark ship flight-ready.
MULTIPLAYER
We've added password protection for servers and a new Host Controls menu, enabling server hosts to kick or mute unruly guests, in addition to being able to send them to the brig. An individual player's brig status is saved between sessions, so if you send someone to your brig, they will always appear in your brig even if they log off and return weeks later.
PROP SYSTEM
The physical prop manipulation system is now greatly improved, with better collisions, new audio, and more intuitive mouse control. This also now works properly in multiplayer, so you can chuck your crewmates a beer and they'll be able to catch it. The props on the ship now also have proper object permanence, so once you move an object it will remain where you left it between sessions.
ENGINE UPGRADE
We have now updated the game to Unreal Engine 5.3.2, which brings with it many engine improvements and allows us to utilise next-gen features such as Nanite, for a practically unlimited poly count budget. These additional capabilities do come with a cost, however, because it means as of now we are ending support for DirectX 11. The latest UE features require DirectX 12, so sadly this is unavoidable. We are however looking to enable GeForce Now as soon as possible, which should make the game playable on older systems, in addition to Mac and Linux.
Now that we've drawn a line under this update, the next step will be to focus on completing the exterior ship model for the Magellan Class, along with laying the groundwork for planetary scanning and a much more fleshed-out galaxy. Stay tuned for an updated roadmap soon.
Ok, that's it from us, have fun out there!
It's been ages since I wrote a proper dev update, and as we enter into 2023 I think it's a good time to take stock of the past year and have a look at...
Starship Simulator has made it to the top 100 of 'Indie of The Year 2022!'.
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been loving the playtest as basic as it is, the little touch you guys did with the windows changing to scenes was really well done
Thanks for trying it :)
So, so excited for this game! Thank you for making this Star Trek fan's dream come true! ^_^
Looks pretty cool.
Thanks! :)
may I correct your English in the upper summary? "born from many a childhood dreams" or "born from many-a-childhood's dreams", "born from many a dreams". Make it different from renowned leading games like Starship Citizen, Elite Dangerous, X4...as I saw it quite reminded me 2001: A Space Odissey.
Thank you for your comment. It is actually correct as it is but we truly appreciate your help :)
it's me, right...sorry xD I discovered that "many a" with singular nouns it's more idiomatic, and "born of" it's more formal...well carry on!
Looks awesome!
Would love to play!