I have updated this post because I recently launched a kickstarter for this projecthttp://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1084206971/wayward-terran-frontierThis game is a WIP, and for full disclosure it is being developed by me. I feel like a jerk posting on another game's forums, except last time I did a big release someone else posted my game here, so I figured it was a grey area. I am a huge fan of Dwarf Fortress, and I will be spending Christmas eve in front of the fire with a laptop and a new fortress. If you would like, you should check out my game. I am releasing it via the Minecraft method with an early release that is currently, and likely always will be free to the public, so enjoy!
Here is a link to the video I made describing the latest alpha version. Warning: it's long because it's also a tutorial.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-CuUUh6upksThis video is shorter and more cinematic since it is the trailer I spent months working on:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AuVc8TV7rLAThe game takes place from 2 different perspectives. There is the inside view where you see a top-down schematic of your ship and can control your crew as they move around the ship. This part is multiplayer and you can have friends connect over the network and fly a ship with you.
It looks like this:
The other view is outside the ship. Here is an animated gif of some space combat. Note: there are no hitpoints in this battle, only a tile-based real-time simulation of the components and crew inside every ship. Ships die when there are no more crew alive in them.
Compressed version:
Here is a better gif of a ship breaking apart
The current gameplay is a WIP and it plays a little like captain forever. You design a ship and travel a vast procedural galaxy blowing up other ships and looking for more budget and tech unlocks to upgrade your ship with. When you die you get to keep the tech unlocks and budget so you can afford to try better and more expensive ships. I have been constantly adding new modules and mechanics as fast as I can create new artwork, which isn't extremely fast, and when I do they are placed into the game world for you to find.
Also, I need feedback! I have found most people playing my game are lurkers, but I have a few people on my forums and elsewhere who actually talk to me about game design and I really like that. It is hard to keep track of all the cool things I want to do with this game and what I want to work on next, so having an open forum discussing new content is a huge source of inspiration. I have found that dwarf fortress players tend to give great feedback because some of the mechanics are already familiar to them. Please tell me what you think of the game, and what you would like to see added.
Website:
http://www.wtfrontier.com/Alpha Download:
http://www.wtfrontier.com/?page_id=198Twitter:
https://twitter.com/allogonistYoutube:
http://www.youtube.com/user/spladsporkIndie DB:
http://www.indiedb.com/games/wayward-terran-frontier/Inspirations for this game include Escape velocity, Star Control 2, and even Dwarf Fortress.