Hello!
Welcome to my first DevLog for Astral Enterprises. I've been rather excited since launching the demo last week. I'm already receiving great feedback, so if you haven't tried it yet, please give it a go and feel free to reach out! As a solo dev, getting valuable testing data now will really help me down the track.
I wanted to share a look at what I’m currently working on. Astral Enterprises is fundamentally a sandbox game. After all, you’re running a business, and you should be in full control of your decisions (and your failures). However, you are always beholden to the Parent Company and its board of directors. They expect results, and meeting those expectations forms the core of your progression.
The game progresses through five distinct phases set by the board, each featuring a primary mandate that must be accomplished before you can advance. Moving into a new phase unlocks new R&D projects, opportunities to expand into other factions, and eventually, the construction of a massive megaproject.
These phases pace your progression and gradually open up the rest of the world. Completing the fifth phase allows you to "win" the game, but it won't force an end to your playthrough if you want to keep expanding your empire in endless sandbox mode.
Below is the current prototype of the Company & Board Directives screen you’ll use to track your mandates:
Community Question: Would you like higher phases to introduce escalating operational difficulties or market hazards? How do you feel about bonus rewards or board perks for exceeding directive targets early? Join the Astral Enterprises Discord server to discuss: https://discord.gg/Fbw9xXVx8M