In the vast majority of survival sandbox titles, creating items means you have to follow a pre-determined path or tree in order to unlock the stuff you want. Voidspace, a survival sandbox of internet spaceships in development from Universe Projects Inc., looks to shake up that paradigm with its invention system that lets players make the discoveries themselves.
While player characters can get a random Idea through a variety of factors, the best way to invent is to utilize a lab or a research facility to research general materials. Once a new invention comes to mind, players can prototype the invention, which will be easy or difficult depending on several factors. If persistence ends up paying off in a newly created item or skill, the player can then further refine it through additional prototyping, reproduce the items for sale, or even share or teach it freely or at cost. The vast majority of world advancement relies on this interplay between players.
Every part of infrastructure has to be built, manned, and managed by the players themselves, be it factories, outposts, or even defense or police forces. Practically everything can be turned into a business, and there is even cryptocurrency support that could potentially let players of Voidspace make money performing services in-game. Naturally, there are other elements of survival sandbox gameplay in Voidspace, such as trade, shipping, and combat, and players can absolutely band together to become world leaders or pirate gangs if they wish.
Furthermore, Voidspace features persistence that keeps running even when you’re not at your device, meaning there’s no disappearing act for your internet spaceship when you log out. You can keep your ship busy with large-scale construction projects or long-distance travel via jump points and set your AI to a number of parameters like a defensive or aggressive posture.
Voidspace is temporarily open for early access for those who sign up and donate at least $35 $20 [see below for update] to the game. There are a variety of different pledges on offer, and players can even check out a free single-player pre-alpha to get an idea of the game’s features. When Voidspace does launch, it will be playable on Steam, PC/Mac, mobile devices, and even in a web browser. A trailer showcasing the game’s features and using the word “real” a lot can be seen below.
