Starsector

Starsector is a 2D open-world space exploration/combat/trading sim with role-playing elements. It first entered development in 2010 and I originally bought it as an "early access" type game (before Steam had taken that concept to into the mainstream and ruined it) around 2012, back when it was still in a very early stage of development and was going by a different name, Starfarer. Back then the game was a solid little 2D space combat sim with only a few light open-world exploration mechanics I played around with it for a bit but lost interest due to the long development cycle and lost track of it around 2014.

A few weeks ago I randomly remembered Starsector and decided to check it out and see what it looks like nowadays after 3 years out of the loop. As luck would have it just a few days later a major update to the game dropped, adding and improving on several features that had been apparently cooking for quite a while that fundamentally altered and fleshed out the core gameplay loop, turning it into something more than just a 2D space combat sim. Back when I was playing the main "objective" was just to fly around with your fleet, battling other factions' ships while accumulating money and enough resources to improve your own fleet so you could take on progressively larger fleets and armadas. Combat took place in discrete little arenas in real-time while you could pause the action to issue a wide range of commands to your fleet ranging from attack orders to escort assignments and rally points. This gameplay loop hasn't changed too much but instead has been augmented with a couple layers of additional mechanics like:

• Scavenging: Drifting derelict ships, dormant automated probes, space stations long dark and other objects are now sprinkled throughout the various star systems waiting to be discovered. These are often the subjects of missions but can be sought out independently while roaming about as well, and they often contain valuable rewards. Good stuff.
• Surveying: Also the subject of missions, uncharted worlds can be surveyed and cataloged freely to obtain detailed data on a couple of factors like amount and types of natural resources, habitability, etc. This is also an activity that is easy to do while just exploring random systems and can yield some major dosh.
• Missions: I think these have been in the game for a while now, but this has been my first experience with them so I think it makes sense to include them here. These are simple single-objective tasks that send you to survey or scan distant targets in far-flung systems or deliver X amount of Y good to someone somewhere. Not particularly complex but they do a decent job of providing an incentive for exploration, which is the game's real strength because it allows the emergent potential of its mechanics to come up. You also have the option of taking a "commission" with one of the game's several factions which gives you a reward for destroying that faction's enemies while making those enemy factions immediately hostile to you. This basically lets you join a faction.
• Bounties: Similar to commissions, but these are constantly being posted by various factions and individuals for different targets all over the map. They seem to be split between general "Destroy X faction's enemy ships in Y area, get $$$" and taking out specific named NPCs commanding fleets ranging from 3-4 small frigates to enormous armadas. 

When I first played Starsector there were 3 factions: The Hegemony, which are kind of like the Imperium of Man from 40K without all of the gothic horror or kind of a low-tech Galactic Republic. Basically, the space government. There was also the Tri-Tachyon Corporation which was the Hegemony's rival and the designated "high-tech" faction and a Pirate faction, but since you couldn't ally yourself with them I guess they don't really count. Nowadays there are several additional factions present all with their own relationships to the others that you can undertake missions, bounties, and commissions for who are all out and about in the game's overworld, constantly battling each other (and you as well depending on your relations with them). This overworld is referred to in-game as "hyperspace" and it's kind of like a freeway system for space travel that sees a buzzing level of activity as enemy fleets duke it out (feel free to join in and assist your allies), smugglers and scavengers skulk around looking for their next big score while pirates and fanatic techno-religious cultists (one of the new factions) roam the void in search of victims.

 

Starsector's current map size as of version .8

The list of tweaks and changes goes on: a revamped skill tree, a substantially more fleshed out UI and lore, new skills and ways of navigating the game's enormous space, and a fully discrete tutorial that, while not perfectly successful in bring new players up to speed with everything going on, is an enormous step in the right direction and I find myself continually impressed with what has been accomplished here with such a small team as Starsector's developer, Fractal Softworks, is made up of just one full time dude and a handful of part time contributors. Then when you see the game's modest $15 price tag, relaxed system specs, and brilliant modding community, its just great to see a game with such a cool concept as this not succumb to the myriad ticket-punchers that end so many other early-access games. Starsector has come an enormous way since its very humble beginnings and I haven't even mentioned several of the other new things included in the latest version. This is simply early access indie development done so, so right.