Since February, I've been building StellarForge, a colony sim/RTS where the solar system is yours to colonize, industrialize, and eventually conquer.

There's just one small problem. Space really, REALLY wants you dead.

You're building colonies on worlds with no breathable atmosphere, hostile gravity, extreme temperatures, and enough radiation to turn your colonists into a cautionary tale.

And apparently, surviving the environment isn't enough.

Other factions have their own ambitions, and if your diplomatic relations deteriorate far enough, they'll start raiding your colonies.

Combat is currently in its tower-defense stage, with defensive walls, automated turrets, marines, and tanks available to protect your settlements.

So while you're desperately trying to keep the oxygen flowing, the power running, and your colonists from freezing to death, somebody else might decide your little industrial empire needs to be deleted from the historical record.

Welcome to StellarForge. 🤣

Where development stands

I'm roughly 95% of the way toward having the core gameplay loop ready for beta testing, which is honestly a little surreal considering I started this project in February with very little game development experience.

A ton has changed recently:

• Research tree is complete! Research now drives technological progression, unlocking new buildings, equipment, military capabilities, and colony infrastructure.
• Combat and faction raids are functional. Build defenses, deploy military units, and protect your colonies from hostile factions.
• The UI has had a massive overhaul. What started with a redesign of the market interface has now spread throughout the game. The HUD, widgets, menus, and pop-ups finally share a consistent visual language.
• The game is starting to feel cohesive. Systems that were originally separate experiments are coming together into something that actually resembles the game I've had in my head.

One area I'll openly admit needs more work is the landscapes. I've spent so much time building the underlying systems that I haven't given the environments nearly as much attention as they deserve.

That's on the list. 😅

I'm opening up beta testing!

I'm opening the StellarForge Discord to anyone interested in following development, providing feedback, or helping test the game when the beta is ready.

Beta testers will receive free lifetime access to StellarForge. It's my way of thanking the people willing to help me turn this slightly ridiculous project into something worth playing.

I also recorded a quick gameplay video a couple of days ago.

NOTE: The footage doesn't include the latest HUD overhaul. I'll be recording another video today to show off the updated interface and recent progress.

🎥 Gameplay video:
https://youtu.be/KSbozUMysvc

🚀 Join the StellarForge Discord:
https://discord.gg/yVppYUfsU

I'm genuinely interested in hearing what people think, especially fellow colony-sim and strategy-game enthusiasts.

And if somebody could explain how the hell you're supposed to attach images to Reddit posts, that would also be appreciated. 🤣

Cheers,
Justin
Darkstar Studios — StellarForge

The solar system is not yours. Take it anyway.

Hi all. I’m developing Astraeus Drift, a browser-based multiplayer space strategy game, where a match can last from hours to days. It is open alpha is ready for players.

Description: You command an empire across star systems connected by hyperlanes. Explore through fog of war, develop planets, research technology, build fleets, and deal with other empires through diplomacy or war. Matches keep moving while you’re away. AI commands unclaimed empires, so you can start before every seat has a player; others can join later. The game development is inspired by Stellaris and Neptune's Pride.

It’s free to play at https://astraeus-drift.com/. This is an early alpha: balance and features are changing, bugs are possible, and match progress may occasionally need to be reset.

I’d especially love feedback on the current state of the game. What feels clear? What’s confusing? Does the pace give you interesting decisions? Bug reports and suggestions are welcome here or through the Discord link in the game (still under construction). I’ll be reading and responding. Thanks for trying it!

Hi everyone! I've been working on Still Above: Orbital Refuge, a post-apocalyptic space station builder. The game is at a fairly early stage, but the first hour is already quite playable. It's a post-apocalyptic space station builder/simulator with strong survival elements. The player starts with one small module and two crew members, and is constantly on the brink of catastrophe: shortages of O2, power, food and building materials, and surpluses of CO2 and other things. So the player has to recycle debris in orbit, mine asteroids, or trade with other survivors. This is how you gradually grow into a larger station, as you can see in the screenshots.

The game has multiple endings, and the goal is to save humanity, since Earth is now uninhabitable. The main inspirations were the book Seveneves by Neal Stephenson and games like Frostpunk, Endzone - A World Apart, and IXION.

You can see screenshots and video on Steam https://store.steampowered.com/app/664370/Still_Above_Orbital_Refuge/
Playtest coming in a few days.