Blue Bottle Games announced Ostranauts spaceship-life survival sim with an anticipated late 2019 release on Steam. Eight years ago, developer Daniel Fedor, whom worked at BioWare for 7 years on AAA rpgs, began work on NEO Scavenger. Five years of updates and ports, but ultimately Daniel decided it was time to begin working on a new game. What started as simply a “space prototype,” has turned into so much more.
About Ostranauts
Ostranauts is a detailed simulation of owning and living aboard a spaceship, in a solar system where honest living is a slow death sentence. Set in the NEO Scavenger universe, where Earth has suffered cataclysmic collapse, the rest of the System lives on in a state of capitalistic dystopia.
Players will create their captain, build or customize their starting ship from the spoils of their career history, and find ways to keep their motley crew in line, fuel in their tanks, food on their plates, and the debt collectors at bay.
Detailed Custom Ship Design
Players can build their ship, in any shape, from functioning modular parts. The parts have physical properties, interact with each other, and can wear out over time.
Systems Management
Ostranauts is a detailed simulation, with many interdependent systems. Players will have to manage supplies, emotions, power grids, finances, security, social ties, and more to keep their enterprise alive, both literally and figuratively.
Crew Needs
Crew members have physiological and emotional needs, ranging from basal needs like food, water, oxygen, and temperature, to more esoteric needs like privacy, security, intimacy, and esteem.
Crew AI
Each crew member runs an AI that is constantly making choices based on their current needs and past experience. If one colleague is consistently comforting, and another threatening, an AI will seek out the former when they need security.
Rich, Drip-Fed Lore
Just like in NEO Scavenger, the game is rich with hidden lore for those who want to seek it. Colonies and factions have long histories. Everyday products have brands and marketing. Unexplained phenomena have rumors echoing through the media and hidden files. And for those that don’t care, it doesn’t get in the way.
Hard-ish Science
The tech-level in Ostranauts is near-future, but plausible. There is no faster-than-light travel, no sound in a void, no dogfighting, nor force fields. On the other hand, some ultra tech exists for the purposes of aesthetics and storytelling. E.g. fusion efficiency, cooling, and shielding are enhanced. FTL texting is possible (albeit expensive and low-bandwidth). And the unexplained supernatural events seen in NEO Scavenger are not limited to Earth.
Low-Stress Controls and Pace
The challenge of Ostranauts is in the decisions it presents, not the player’s endurance or reaction time. It plays in real-time with pause and fast-forward, to allow players to play at their own pace (similar to other management sims). Players should be able to take a break when they need to, and resume later. Similarly, players can fast-forward if they get bored, with the game auto-stopping when something requires the player’s attention.
More Information
To learn more about Ostranauts, visit the official website. Also, wishlist the game now on Steam to stay informed regarding development. Additionally, wishlisting the game helps the developer gauge player interest.
