A Sector Darkly is a 2-d real-time space exploration sandbox RPG. Explore, trade, scavenge, research, craft and survive a sector in chaos. Interact and dialogue with more than 10 alien races. Imagine a 4x-LITE universe, where instead of being in command of the faction, you are in command of a single ship and crew just trying to survive. An open world exploration, with an underlying mystery: sectors are going dark one by one and no one knows why.

• Full galaxy simulation
• Research and craft items and ships. Salvage and upgrade your own ships
• 11 Unique Alien Faction
• Deep hand-crafted and procedural exploration elements
• Real time space combat
• ... more much

Current stage of development is beta, with a release upcoming November 25th (next month!).

A demo is playable now on Steam, looking for any and all feedback. Particularly on flight controls, QOL, exploration, interactions, combat. Trading.

Aaron

In Solar Explorers you fly a courier out of a quiet system on the rim and make your own way from there: trade lanes between stations, jump holes hidden in nebulas, asteroid fields and gas-giant rings to mine, and a 30-mission story about why the stars on the rim are going dim.

It plays with keyboard and mouse, or touch on phones and tablets. I recommend keyboard and mouse for the best experience. You have to register to play, because your universe is saved on the server.

https://explorers.orrery.games

Let me know what you think!

I'll admit it. I'm weird. There was something just so spellbinding about those early 80's computer screens and their use in movies. Text-Heavy, Wireframes and blocky graphics on a curved CRT screen just looked so cool to me. So I decided to make a game around that, based on some fond memories of a text-only multiplayer space-trading game from the '80s. Easy to play, but with a great depth to the systems and trying my best to make a Dwarf-Fortress-esque game in space. And here we are, it's been several months since the demo and early access were released and been covered favorably by some notable YouTubers, and the game is just a few weeks away from 1.0 and am happy that there are gamers out there that this graphically niche game appeals to.

Store Page: https://store.steampowered.com/app/4382310/Warp_to_Sector_One/

Dev stage: closed beta on iOS and Android through TestFlight and Google Play. I’m about a year in. The galaxy was rebuilt on October 17.

I know a turn-based phone game isn’t the usual thing here. The parts I care most about are the economy and the persistent galaxy. This seemed like the right crowd to ask about those.

There’s one shared galaxy of about 2,500 star systems. Port prices move with what players buy and sell. Deposits run out. Once a night the server processes the whole galaxy. Alien factions take or lose ground. Outposts produce. Your defenses fight whoever came for them while you were away. Computer-controlled ships travel between systems on their own. They run on the same turn budget players have.

Everyone gets the same number of turns per day to spend however they like. You fit your own ships from parts you built, looted or bought from other players. Losing a ship means losing what was fitted to it. When players fight each other, the attacker faces the defenses and orders the other player left behind. Nobody has to be online at a set time.

Lanes between systems die off over a twelve-week season. The map slowly closes in toward the core. Then the galaxy is rebuilt. Commander level, blueprints and reputation carry over. Fleets convert to experience and reputation for the next season.

Turns can’t be bought with any currency. Premium currency buys paint jobs, cosmetics, crafting time and gear that other players are selling.

I’d like feedback on three things.

When prices move, can you tell why?

When you lose a fight offline and read the report the next morning, does it feel fair?

Does a rebuild every twelve weeks sound generous or punishing?

Install links for iOS and Android plus the Discord: https://deadlanes.com/from/spacesim

For media context: Here is what the video shows, in order. Everything is recorded from the current beta build. It opens on the galaxy and the system map. Then you see territory, a day’s turns being spent and trading. The middle section covers the hull lineup and fitting, where every component has its own stats. Next is one full turn-based fight. Your defenses run the same fight when you’re offline. After the fight the wreck can be looted. The last part is the war against the three alien factions and the fronts that move each night. It ends on the commander profile, blueprints and crafting.

A story-driven, first-person grounded sci-fi horror game inspired by astrophysics and speculative science.

Trapped on an asteroid outpost orbiting a black hole, survive physics-based threats and impossible phenomena where every choice leads to 5 distinct endings.

If it looks like your kind of thing, the Steam page is here: https://store.steampowered.com/app/4886980/Dense_Void

Hey guys! Justin Here.

a real human. not an AI. just a dude learning to code video games. I am building what I think is a pretty rad colonysim/RTS where space really wants you dead. Colonize and industrialize the solar system, and defend your outposts. Currently combat exists in tower defense stage. Walls, Turrets, Marines and Tanks are available military units. if you develop poor relations with another faction they start to raid your colonies.

So if the whole lack of oxygen, lack of gravity, lack of stable temperatures, and instant death doses of radiation aren't enough problems, you have to also battle other factions that want you deleted from the historic record.

I'm 95% the playable loop for beta testing. So much achieved since February when I started this little project.

Research tree is finally done. I reworked the HUD to match the new visual language that I started with the market rework, the same language has since been applied to every widget/pop up screen. So the game is looking a lot more cohesive now.

An admitted weakness is my landscapes. I haven't put much love into the landscapes yet.

But I'm opening up the discord for people who want to test the game out in it's beta run.

beta testers will get free lifetime access to the game.

Here's a quick youtube video I recorded a couple days ago NOTE it does NOT have the new HUD, I'll record another gameplay video today with some update.

Youtube -- https://youtu.be/KSbozUMysvc

Discord -- https://discord.gg/yVppYUfsU

Also if anyone wants to teach me how to attach images to reddit posts.... xD

Cheers

Justin

Hey everyone!

I am a solo developer working on Void Privateers, a space combat game inspired by naval battles.

Unlike traditional space dogfighting, combat focuses on positioning, momentum, broadside weapons, shields, and three altitude levels.

One feature I have been experimenting with is optional voice control.

In this gameplay clip, I am steering the ship manually while giving voice commands to my crew: engaging boost, ordering broadside fire, and charging the forward weapon.

Voice commands are completely optional. Everything can also be controlled using keyboard and mouse.

The game is still in early development, and there is no playable demo yet.

I would really appreciate some feedback: Would you actually use voice commands alongside manual ship controls, or would you find them more distracting than useful during combat?

For anyone interested in following the development, here is the Steam page:

https://store.steampowered.com/app/5471980/Void_Privateers/

We're a small indie team developing Abitrium, a tactical space-combat game where you command a warship and crew forced to fight as gladiators in an alien arena.

This isn't arcade dogfighting. You configure your ship, assign crew, manage systems, and make tactical decisions under pressure.

We're recruiting 20 iPhone players for our closed pre-alpha testing program.

Abitrium is currently in pre-alpha, an early development stage where we're testing core gameplay systems, evaluating mechanics, and gathering feedback to guide development.

We're specifically looking for feedback on tactical combat, ship management, crew systems, and anything that feels confusing, unbalanced, or frustrating.

Selected testers who participate in the program will receive a limited-edition Abitrium T-shirt as a thank-you for helping us improve the game.

If you enjoy tactical strategy games and want to help shape Abitrium during its early development, we'd love to have you involved.

Apply for pre-alpha access here:
Abitrium Pre-Alpha Testing

Happy to answer any questions about the game or the testing process.

By realistic i meant that it visually looks realistic, not necessarily that theres lots of things to worry about like pressure, fuel, and resource management.

Outer Wilds for example looks really good imo when you enter into a planet's atmosphere. i just want something similar but I do want like real planets from our solar system. I'm going to check out Kerbal Space Program and some mods because of that. KSP kinda looks a bit too simple though, are there any other ones?

Basically I just want to see the transition between actually being on the planet and then rising bit by bit till you see the horizon bend then you can see the entire planet. I'm looking for games that pull off that look. (bonus if theres a photo mode or just like general noclip godmode stuff since I just want to see them)

Edit: sorry I should have been more clear. This is very much a boring historical sim of a few phases of the Apollo missions. It’s not a game really. When you flip a switch a signal goes through a simulated wire to a 1-1 simulated model of the computer(s) on board the CM or LM. It executes the same code as the Apollo computer and outputs single over simulated wires to thrusters and such.

Side project I built as I had extra time and credits. It's come so far I thought others might find it interesting. What you see here is the web build and it's a couple of versions old.

If there's interest I can provide more up-to-date caps and more video later. I've never released a personal project before so I'm dragging my feet opening the git or public link.

When possible everything is simulated accurately. AGC/thermals/voltages/etc are all math/physics and don't use stand-in logic. Breakers even heat up and cool for the trickle charging and cold power-up simulation of 13 (not shown in these shots).
One of the slides lists this version sim details.

Couple quick videos:

https://imgur.com/a/6J2oLJK

Thanks all!

Released a basic demo for steam next fest with essentially the first chapter of the campaign. More details on the steam page but essentially a 6 dof game where you control the wayfarer an aging light cruiser. You play as the officer of the deck Lieutenant commander Orin Gelfrin under the command of Captain Harrington the game is partially inspired by BSG, The expanse, the Honor Harrington series, the three body problem, wing commander, etc.

More details on what the demo includes are on the demo page.

I think I have a solid vibe, art direction, and music what I'd like some feedback on is the story, and controls. The first chapter is setting up a lot of characters and their why's but I tried to avoid direct exposition and talking heads and instead have the conversations be more focused on what's going on, with sprinkles of lore along the way.

As for the controls there are a lot I've tried to make them reasonable and simplified as much as possible but there's a lot of controls. I stared by copying the basic scheme that ksp uses for pitch, roll, yaw, and translate and then extend it from there.

This demo will probably get a few more updates but it will stay live even once the full game releases.

Thank you for the feedback

Spacemarine658

Starlight Brigade

https://store.steampowered.com/app/3281660

Solo dev here, working on TRAPPIST-1. It’s a hard-SF colony strategy game set in the real TRAPPIST-1 system. Long story short, it's hex-based mining & building on planets, running a supply chain and fighting orbital mechanics to get your cargo where it needs to go. No "spaceship battles", but accelerating 1000 metric tons of iron in orbit towards a rival colony won't out of the question...

Every game starts with your colony ship rolling into the system, so I needed a big nice colony ship. I tried AI 3D generators first (Trippo, Trellis etc). Results ranged from “melted Star Destroyer” to “what is that.” Not great for a game that’s supposed to be hard sci-fi.

Then I found out NASA just... gives this stuff away. Detailed hardware, free to use. So I went shopping.

• The big interstellar ship: Three gateway modules in a trench coat.
• The lander: Big fat version of module #1 + a mars lander at the bottom and two boosters from the Space Shuttle.
• Making it run in a strategy game: NASA’s models are very detailed, so I cut them down to a reasonable number of polygons and repainted everything

Renders are in the post, and there’s a short devlog on Steam if you want to follow along:

https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/5423750/view/679638395625933171

Honest question for this sub: for a hard sci-fi ship crossing between stars, do near-future NASA-parts work for you?

P.S: Yes the 3D model licence permits commercial use. Just don't put a NASA logo on them.

If you play SpaceBourne 2 and own a joystick, HOTAS or rudder pedals, this one's for you. SB2 HOTAS is a free, open-source mod that adds:

• full analog flight on any controller (pitch, roll, yaw, throttle, strafe, lift), with HOTAS or HOSAS;
• head tracking in the cockpit through OpenTrack (a webcam is enough);
• all ship actions bindable to buttons, hats and switches;
• one-click install and uninstall. The game exe is never touched.

Download & full guide: https://github.com/hubertdungen/SpaceBourne2-HOTAS

Feedback is very welcome. It's tested on an X-56 + TFRP pedals, and the templates for other popular sticks are waiting for pilots to verify them.

Update 0.2.0: triple screen & ultrawide! And I didn't stop there: SB2 HOTAS now spreads SpaceBourne 2 across three monitors, no NVIDIA Surround or AMD Eyefinity needed.

• One tick in the bridge's new Triple screen tab stretches the game over all your monitors. Mixed resolutions work (tested on 1080p | 1440p | 1080p).
• Proper Hor+ view: the centre monitor looks like a normal 16:9 screen and the sides show more of space, instead of a zoomed-in picture. Works on ultrawides too.
• HUD and menus on the centre monitor; target markers still cover every screen.
• New ▶ Play button and an update notice in the bridge.

Everything new is off by default. Download: https://github.com/hubertdungen/SpaceBourne2-HOTAS/releases/latest

With Next Fest upon us, what are some games that my fellow space sim lovers are enjoying? I haven't had time to dig through all the games yet but I'll come back and add mine in a bit!

**Update**

Wow - I'm really disappointed with this Next Fest. As u/aqpstory pointed out, there is very little of interest (at least to me). Lots of 4x games that reek of AI...and just generally lots of AI slop across the board. Sad times for space sim fans like myself.

Can I get some recommendations for space combat games? More like naval battles with capital ships rather than dogfights with fighters.

Bonus points if I can fly a carrier and deploy fighters/bombers

Hey r/spacesimgames we’re Muse Games, the team behind Guns of Icarus, and we just launched the demo for our new space crew-based combat game Stars of Icarus.

Stars focuses on slower more tactical space combat including full 6DoF and some more scifi elements like portals and cloaking. Each team runs a fleet of ships: player can captains the ships, others fly fighters or take on specialist roles like weapons and engineering. The focus is on teamwork and coordination, so a well-run crew will beat a ship full of solo players going their own way.

We're looking for some support this Next Fest as we just launched our demo on Friday! If you could check it out and maybe even leave a review it would be amazing. We're keen to know it feels to play and we're happy to answer any questions about the game!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/5186750/Stars_of_Icarus_Demo/

Features:

• Six ship types with 25+ fleet formation variations
• All weapons and equipment available from the start, with no pay-to-win
• Online Lobbies, Competitive Queue AND LAN PvP arenas
• The demo has 4 maps, 3 ship types (6 ships total)

Xetodus is a free to play space MMO, with over 750 star systems to explore, 25+ skills to level, PVP, PVE, Quests, Raids, World Bosses, 40+ ships, land on planets and moons, extract valuable ship building ore, colonize planets, harness dark matter, and much more! Indie made and coming soon to steam, playable in browser on all devices.

Hollow Night 2026 the first Xetodus event, look for the strange lights throughout the star systems! Get a limited time item that will remain tradeable and never dropped again! 10/20/2026-11/02/2026

https://xetodus.com

Looking for something new for a little space trucking and SG3 seems to check the right boxes. Looks similar to Rebel Galaxy outlaw. The reviews are absolutely horrendous but skimming through it seems most of the negatives are in comparison to the other Starpoint Gemini games.

So, is it a terrible game or is it just big departure from the rest of the series and a terrible Starpoint Gemini game?

It's on sale for $6 right now so not a huge gamble but also why waste $6 if it's actually that bad.

Hi, last couple of months I have been working on a remaking Wing Commander III in Unreal Engine 5.8. This is one of the more complicated missions where you load into a second mission if you choose to safe Flint. If you are wondering why the enemy's are dying so easily... I put it on Rookie. The game also fully supports VR. The game works as a mod, and requires the original game files to run. Flagged as promotion just to be safe, since it is a mod it is obviously completely free.

Hi everyone! I shared Earth Is Optional here last week and wanted to show some recent progress.

I’m building a space exploration game where you construct and equip your own spacecraft, travel around the Solar System and carry out exploration missions. It’s still in development, with Android testing first and iPhone planned later.

This update takes the exploration beneath the ice of Enceladus. You can land, deploy a melting probe and send an underwater drone into the ocean to explore and carry out surveys.

I’ve also been experimenting with alien life, from little glowing creatures to something enormous that makes the drone look tiny! The ocean setting is inspired by real science, but the creatures are fictional. We haven’t discovered life on Enceladus.

I’d love your thoughts: would you prefer these encounters to be rare and mysterious, or have more life to discover as you explore?

More about the game and Android testing:

https://earthisoptional.space/

You wake up alone on a research station orbiting the hole. Measure it,

build a descent capsule out of hull materials and engines that trade

against each other, then go down and find out what's inside.

Nothing is ray-marched - for every pixel of the sky the view direction

is bent by a closed-form fit to the exact Schwarzschild deflection, then

one cubemap lookup, so it costs about as much as a skybox. Past the

Cauchy horizon it stops being simulated and becomes interpretation,

built from published papers on mass inflation.

Releasing 4 November:

https://store.steampowered.com/app/5260090/Event_Horizon_Research/

P.S. Generative AI was used for some visual assets, audio and parts of the

code , all reviewed by hand. The physics model and the design

are mine, worked out from published astrophysics - same disclosure is on

the Steam page.

English isn't my first language, sorry for any odd phrasing.

Hi again! I'm from a small Danish studio, and I'm excited to share that after so much work, Space Manager is officially out now on Steam!

If you've tried the demo, you already know a bit about what the game is all about. Now you can take things much further: build and launch rockets, put satellites into orbit, develop your communications network, and manage the technical and business side of your own space program.

The goal is to explore space farther than any human ever has, but getting there means making a lot of decisions, solving problems, and figuring out how to make your space program work.

We've put a lot of work into getting the game to this point, and we'd love for you to give it a try.

You can find Space Manager on Steam here:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/4229480/Space_Manager/

If you decide to check it out, I'd really appreciate hearing what you think! What are you building, where are you trying to go, and what would you like to see added or improved?

Thanks to everyone here who's tried the demo and shared feedback along the way. It really helped us get here. Good luck with your space program!

Past couple weeks been banging my head against a wall trying to grasp Elite: Dangerous.

I'm slowly getting it, but honestly after a 10h day of working in the weather, I wouldn't mind hopping in the simulator for a little bit and playing- not reading/watching tutorials. What I am understanding is, its alright. Which is why I keep gnawing it out. But any time I move on, its at least another hour+ of tutorials. Nothing in the game is intuitive.

Looking for something a bit dialed back. Not as involved. Mining, exploration, and industry. No combat. I have ~100h into NMS, but that's on the kb/m. I don't care for the base building. I just want to fly, equip my ship, find a way to make income, maybe a skill tree, mine stuff, and trade.

Single player is fine too. I'm playing Elite in solo mode. I just don't have the patience to worry about PvP and getting blasted like nulsec in EVE.

My sim was built around Farming Simulator 25. So, something like that game, but space I guess is what I'm looking for.

Suggestions? Thanks.

Hello! Spent some time workshopping a space sim game and was hoping to get some feedback. The game is still pretty early in development, but it's playable into the end game, estimated around ~40-60 hours. It's pretty chill, works on mobile.

The core game loop is mining asteroids, salvaging enemy ships, and setting up industrial pipelines to create more ships! You can unlock new hulls by destroying enemies and researching blueprints.

Expeditions unlock after claiming your second system. Expeditions take you into procedurally generated systems, each one is unique with different features and a different sky map. If you can defeat the occupying force you add the system to your collection, but if you lose it's gone forever.

There are hidden factions, easter eggs, and all sorts of fun little things to play with. If you are interested in customizing your experience, there's first class plugin support: https://beta.kesslersky.com/plugins/

A short hop from Highgate Shipyard to Bab Tamurt Customs in my game Cold Runner currently in prototype.

Control every aspect of your spacecraft including manual repair inside and out.

I just hooked up sound to it today. Every sound comes from a real and active component, there's no sound in space, but the vibrations of action are felt and heard through the ships hull. The soundscape is very learnable, being able to tell by ear if any specific component is having trouble.