Dev Diary #1 - Introduction to Space Station Designer - Part I

Welcome to the first Dev Diary entry of 'Space Station Designer'. In this article, we'll provide an overview of the game and discuss some of the details behind the 'Campaign' mode. Whether you've just found out about 'Space Station Designer' or you have been following its development for a while, this post, and the upcoming part II, are a perfect entry point to learn more about the game.

What is Space Station Designer?

'Space Station Designer' is a construction and management game for PC where you are in charge of leading a private space company that works closely with one of four partner governments. Your job is to set up a network of space stations in Earth and Lunar orbits, with the ultimate goal of assembling and operating an ambitious megaproject: the 'Lunar Space Elevator'.

'Space Station Designer' follows the footsteps of our previous strategy game 'Buzz Aldrin's Space Program Manager' (BASPM), also published by Slitherine. For this new game, we decided to move slightly away from the historical angle that made BASPM so successful, and create something that starts around the turn of the millennium and extends into the near future. While some of the elements found in the game don't exist yet, the overall setting of the game is closer to the realm of possibility than it is to science fiction, and we strongly believe this makes 'Space Station Designer' unique.

Our main sources of inspiration for the game were the visions for a permanent human presence in Earth orbit, including NASA's Space Station Freedom, which ultimately became the International Space Station (ISS). We'll go into details regarding our inspirations, which includes technical books and computer games from the 1980s and 1990s, in a future diary entry.

The 'Campaign' Game Mode

'Space Station Designer' features three game modes: 'Campaign', 'Sandbox', and 'Free Builder', and all of them include modding support (more on this later). The 'Campaign' mode starts with the selection of a Partner Government and a Core Module for the first station, which is located in Low Earth Orbit or 'LEO'.

As shown in the screenshots above, all Partner Governments and Core Module variants provide a series of bonuses and special attributes. Once the initial selections have been made, the Core Module is launched and deployed to LEO:

Which marks the proper start of the 'Campaign':

As you can see from the screenshot above, there are quite a lot of options on this screen. We'll be covering the details behind them in subsequent entries but, for now, here's a non-comprehensive list of activities that you'll be able to perform while playing 'Space Station Designer':

• Purchasing and installing a wide range of modules.
• Keeping the station operational by balancing a diverse range of stats, such as electricity, cooling, orbit and attitude control, overall maintenance, etc.
• Hiring and managing astronauts.
• Launching crewed and uncrewed resupply spacecraft to the station, dispatching them back to Earth, and even transferring them to stations in other orbits.
• Unlocking research technologies from a vast tech tree, which includes over 60 unique technologies.
• Installing manufacturing modules and setting up production lines that create valuable commercial goods, which can be sold in a dynamic commercial market.
• Opening stations in higher orbits and even around the Moon, and making them all interact and work in sync as part of a large network.
• Acquiring Industrial R&D technologies from a second tech tree featuring over 20 entries, which can be commercialized to external entities.
• Leasing modules, providing commercial services, and even hosting space tourists.
• Accepting and fulfilling a series of 60+ unique contracts, which provides supplementary revenue to keep the network of stations operational.

As developers, we understand that this can be a lot to learn at once. To address this, the 'Campaign' mode has been carefully crafted to gradually introduce some of these mechanics by completing nearly 70 campaign objectives, which can be accessed via the 'Campaign Objectives' button located in the top-left corner of the screen.

Completing the 'Campaign Objectives' takes approximately 8 hours, with the last objective being the acquisition of the 'Expansion in LEO' research technology.

Acquiring this research technology opens 'Phase II', which brings a whole new set of mechanics. Unlike 'Phase I', in 'Phase II' there are no fixed objectives. The game switches to a 'Contracts system', where you'll get the chance to discover and master a new set of mechanics and systems.

In addition to 'Phase II', there's also a 'Phase III'. This phase starts with the acquisition of the 'Expansion Beyond LEO' research technology, and culminates with the construction and operation of the 'Lunar Space Elevator' megaproject. All these mechanics are already implemented, and our internal playtesting has revealed that an expert player needs over 40 hours to complete the Campaign from start to finish. Clearly, setting up a 'Lunar Space Elevator' requires a heavy investment in supporting infrastructure.

Development Status

At the time of writing, the game is in a very advanced state of development. We released a large update in mid-December followed by another one a week ago, which includes the 'Lunar Space Elevator' megaproject. If you're interested in trying out the game and helping us improve before its final release, you can sign up for the ongoing closed beta here.

Coming Up Next

We believe 'Space Station Designer' will be appealing to both players who are into management games and those who have an interest in space exploration. A lot of care has gone into the design and development of the game, and we are confident you'll find it enjoyable.

The 'Campaign' mode is just one of the game modes available in Space Station Designer. In the next article, we'll give an overview of the remaining game modes, including modding support. Don't hesitate to contact us via the Steam forums if you have any feedback or questions about the game.

See you next time.

--Ignacio, Mauricio, and Nicolas (Polar Motion)

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https://store.steampowered.com/app/1447650/Space_Station_Designer/