Space Station Designer News

Welcome to the fifth Dev Diary entry of 'Space Station Designer'. In the previous entry, we covered the mechanics found throughout the initial stages of the game (a.k.a, 'Phase I'), and went through various key concepts, including currencies, research, and the maintenance of the space station modules. This entry will focus exclusively on astronauts.

[h3]Astronauts[/h3]

Astronauts are key players of your space company. In addition to conducting activities in the various space stations, they also provide support on Earth by contributing their knowledge and expertise in specialized Earth Facilities (more about this in an upcoming entry). There are two main activities related to astronauts: 'Hiring' and 'Managing', and they can both be accessed via the 'Astronauts options' button located on the right-hand side panel of the orbital outpost screen.


[h3]Hiring[/h3]

The 'Hiring' button is the leftmost one in the 'Astronaut options' group:



The hiring screen features a batch of candidates, which have a range of attributes, such as 'Age', 'Max Rank', 'Autonomy', and 'Monthly Salary'. Some of them can already be strong in areas such as 'Maintenance', 'Research', or 'Space Tourism', which are known as 'standard skills'. In the initial stages of the game, a well-balanced hiring strategy is preferable, but once you've decided to focus on certain revenue streams, hiring more specialized candidates might be preferable.


During the first year (i.e., 1998), astronauts can be hired any time, and you can even hire multiple rounds of astronauts during that year. After that, the hiring can only be done within predefined seasons. At the time of writing, these seasons open on a yearly basis, and they last for three months. This frequency may change before the final release based on the feedback we get from our beta-testers.

[h3]Management[/h3]

The astronaut management screen can be accessed via the second button in the 'Astronaut options' group:



This screen features a series of radio buttons (top-left) and toggle buttons (top-middle), which allows you to sort and filter astronauts based on certain criteria, respectively. In the following example, we can see all astronauts on Earth sorted alphabetically


Astronauts on Earth can be sent to training to advance their 'standard' skills (i.e., 'Intermediate Goods', 'Commercial Goods', 'Research', etc). Every time they are sent to training, their Rank goes up by one. Once they reach their limit (normally 10), they can no longer be sent to training.


In addition to the 'standard' skills, all astronauts have four slots for 'special' skills. Initially, these four slots are usually empty.


By clicking on any of them, you can select a special skill from a long list. These special skills have an impact across other areas of the game, such as repairing space station modules, providing commercial services, contributing to the 'Lunar Space Elevator' megaproject, and many more. Having a diverse astronaut corps with a wide range of special skills will increase your chances of success.


You may have noticed that all astronauts have a colored circle behind their portraits. These are used to identify the 'crew' they belong to. 'Crews' in Space Station Designer are simply a tool for you to organize astronauts using whichever criteria you deem best. For example, you can put together a crew of astronauts skilled in 'Maintenance', and use this as a mechanism to quickly find them when needed.


Lastly, all astronauts have an associated 'Morale' value. Unexpectedly, all astronauts join the company with a 100% morale value (our hiring process ensures that all new joiners are really motivated!). Throughout the game, astronauts will experience events that will make their morale go up or down. Not being sent to training every now and then, or not visiting the station for a while, will make their morale go down. Whereas participating in a successful module repair will make the morale go up. The details behind the various morale events that have affected a given astronaut can be accessed via the 'Information' button located in the top-right corner of their card.


[h3]Coming Up Next[/h3]

This blog post covered the high-level mechanics behind astronauts. There's a lot more to discover while playing the game. In the next entry, we'll be focusing on another key element: resupply spacecraft.

Don't forget that we have an ongoing closed beta for Space Station Designer (more information here). If you like the premise of the game, please consider applying and help us shape the future of the game.

--Ignacio, Mauricio, and Nicolas (Polar Motion)

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Welcome to the fourth Dev Diary entry of 'Space Station Designer'. In the previous entry, we started a multi-part series that covers the mechanics found throughout the initial stages of the game (a.k.a, 'Phase I'), and covered concepts such as the time controls and the various station's stats. In this entry we'll discuss currencies, research, and modules' attributes related to their maintenance.

[h3]Currencies[/h3]

Space Station Designer features a series of currencies, though note that not all of them are relevant in the early stages of the game. The ones we care the most are:

• Funds: These are the lifeblood of your space company, as they allow performing basic tasks such as hiring and managing astronauts, buying modules, and launching resupply spacecraft.
  
• Research Points: These can only be acquired by conducting 'Research' activities (more on this later), and they allow you to acquire more advanced research technologies from the Research Tree. These advanced research technologies grant access to more capable modules, orbital outposts in higher orbits, Earth facilities, and other things.
  

The current amount of Funds and Research Points can be found in the left part of the 'Currencies' area, located in the mid-top area of the screen.


[h3]Research Modules and Generating Research Points[/h3]

As mentioned earlier, Research Points can be acquired by performing research activities. To do this, you need to install a module with 'Research' capabilities first. When starting a new Campaign, the 'EVA Experiments Research Facility' is already included as part of the set of modules provided by the 'Base Space Station Technology".


Additional Research modules become available after acquiring more advanced technologies from the tech tree. This doesn't include the specialized modules that are only available in higher orbits, but we'll let you discover them while playing the game!


At the time of writing, all active Research modules generate Research points every month, with an additional boost if we assign an astronaut to it. Note that we've changed this behaviour a few days ago: in an upcoming update, astronauts will become a requirement for generating Research points. We made this change because it better captures the fact that humans play a very important role in research.


[h3]The Research Tree[/h3]

The Research tree shows all available research technologies, along with their various dependencies. It can be accessed using the button located in the right-panel of the screen.


The Research tree features over 60 unique technologies. Although we've provided a zoom in/zoom out feature, we cannot fit them all in a single screen! The following screenshots shows all the technologies leading up to 'Expansion in LEO', also known as 'Phase I', with a lot more to discover afterwards.


[h3]Modules' Service Life, MTBF, and Refurbishments[/h3]

All installed modules have an associated ‘Service Life’ attribute, which is measured in months and determines how long the module can function before requiring a refurbishment. The initial service life depends on which contractor was used when placing the purchase order. The remaining service life can be accessed via the module's information screen.


Modules can be refurbished anytime by pressing the 'Replace critical components' button. There's no need to wait until its service life reaches 0, and planning things ahead is often a good idea!


All modules come with an associated Median Time Between Failures (MTBF) value, which is the predicted time in months between failures. Note that a module with a MTBF value of, say, 100, won't experience a failure exactly 100 months after being installed. Instead, this is an average (or mean) value used as part of a probability calculation.

It is important to mention that all modules at some point will fail, but we can significantly reduce the chances of that happening by (1) procuring modules from a contractor that focuses on quality, and (2) ensuring we have enough astronauts assigned to 'Maintenance' duties. This assignment can be done by accessing the 'Maintenance' screen via the button located in the right-hand side panel:


This screen features a series of stats on the left, including the overall maintenance capability of the astronauts assigned to maintenance duties, the required maintenance (which is a function of the number and type of modules in the station), and the current maintenance level and trend (not having enough astronauts assigned to maintenance duties causes a negative trend that significantly increases the chance of experiencing failures).


[h3]Station Maintenance Modules Failures[/h3]

When a failure happens (and they do happen, unfortunately!), you'll be required to assign astronauts to repair it. Depending on the type of module, assigning astronauts that possess specific special skills (like ‘Electronics’ or ‘Refrigeration’) will significantly improve the chances of a successful repair.


There's further nuance around the maintenance and repair mechanics, but we'll let you discover that while playing the game yourself.

[h3]Coming Up Next[/h3]

In the next entry, we'll be focusing on astronauts (hiring them, managing them, etc), and resupply spacecraft.

If you like the premise of Space Station Designer, remember that we have an ongoing closed beta (more information here). Please consider applying if you want to help us shape the future of the game.

--Ignacio, Mauricio, and Nicolas (Polar Motion)


If you haven't yet, join our Discord server so you don't miss any of the latest news!

[h3]Wishlist now[/h3]
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Hello! After releasing the 'Lunar Space Elevator' update last month, for this new release we decided to focus exclusively on several Quality of Live (QoL) features that our beta-testers have been asking for. As part of this update, we've completely revamped the Preferences screen, which now includes useful features around screen resolution, display mode, target framerate, and input sensitivity.

We're already working on our next update, which will include gameplay changes, and loads of minor improvements. If you're interested in trying out the game, you can sign up for the beta here.

Don't hesitate to drop us a line on our Discord server if you have any feedback or comments.

Have a great rest of the week!

--Ignacio, Mauricio, and Nicolas (Polar Motion)


[h3]Update ## [0.5.49] - Changelog: [/h3]

### Changed

- Completely revamped the Preferences screen so that it includes input sensitivity adjusters, toggle buttons to switch between various fullscreen and windowed modes, and a mechanism to change the game's resolution.


### Fixed

- Solved an issue that came up after the integration of Unity's New Input System, where in certain configurations the game failed to detect when players were holding a key down.

- Fixed a bug in the Debris Avoidance Maneuver (DAM) screen, which caused a runtime error when the number of propulsion modules available in the station was lower than the minimum number of expected entries.

If you're interested in the full changelog history, you can review our live document here: Space Station Designer - Release Notes.

We’re excited to unveil the new main art for Space Station Designer!

This fresh visual represents the heart of space engineering and exploration, capturing the essence of building and managing your network of space stations.

To celebrate, we’re offering the artwork as a downloadable wallpaper, perfect for adding a touch of space to your desktop. Stay tuned for more updates as we continue expanding the universe of Space Station Designer!

Download the wallpaper now and give your desktop a cosmic upgrade

[Link to download here]

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Welcome to the third Dev Diary entry of 'Space Station Designer'. In the previous two entries, we gave an overview of the game and its modes. This entry will be the first of a multi-part series that will cover the mechanics found throughout the initial stages of the game (a.k.a, 'Phase I').

[h3]The Orbital Outpost Screen[/h3]

As we mentioned in our first dev diary entry, the game starts with the selection of a partner government and a Core Module variant. After the module is deployed to Low Earth Orbit (LEO), the game transitions to the 'Orbital Outpost' screen, which includes a series of buttons and controls.



[h3]The Time Controls[/h3]

The upper-center area of the screen features a series of time controls. 'Space Station Designer' is a realtime game, but we understand that at times there can be too many things going on, and players may want to be able to catch their breaths by slowing down or even pausing the timer. Similarly, albeit rarely, there can sometimes be instances when not much is going on and players may want to speed up time or directly skip to the end of the month. The game starts in 1998 and, based on our playtesting experience, it can extend well beyond the 2040s!

[h3]Station Stats[/h3]

In the left-hand side of the screen there's a stats panel. This panel is folded by default, and provides a quick overview of the station's stats.



From top to bottom, these are:

• Cooling & Electricity.
  
• Mass, 'orbit control' score, and 'attitude control' score.
  
• Crew slots.
  
• Storage space used and provided.
  
• Altitude and altitude rate.
  
• Supplies and raw materials in stock.
  
• Waste units in storage.
  
• Maintenance level and trend.
  

The stats panel can be expanded by clicking the button located at the top, which reveals extra information for all fields.



The Core Module is self-sustainable, in the sense that it generates enough electricity and has enough heat dissipation capabilities to function properly without additional support. Moreover, it has a relatively low mass, and enough propulsion capabilities for maintaining good 'orbit' and 'attitude' control.

[h3]Acquiring Modules[/h3]

Obviously, a productive station needs more to provide more functionality than the one provided by the Core Module. New modules can be acquired via the 'slots' located in the bottom-right corner of the screen.



Clicking on any of these slots reveals the 'Modules Acquisition' screen:



While initially there are only a handful of modules available (further modules types become available by acquiring new research technologies from the tech tree), the amount of options can become quite large in the late stages of the game. To help with this, this screen provides a series of radio and toggle buttons to help with sorting and filtering, respectively.

After clicking the 'Shopping cart' button in one of the modules, the game presents a series of contractors that can build and deliver this module. Contractors come in three "flavours", and they all follow the well-known iron triangle of service: "good, fast, cheap… pick two!". We're currently working on some ideas on how to make the decision on which contractor to choose much more nuanced.



After selecting a contractor, the module will be assigned to one of the available slots, which features a radial indicator that shows how far it is into the build process.



Once the module is ready, its outer border will become orange and it can be installed anytime.



[h3]Installing Modules[/h3]

When clicking on a completed module, the game will switch to the 'Installation' mode, which allows you to position the module by selecting the docking port it will be attached to:



After clicking the target docking port, the game will display a dialog with some key information. More specifically, how the installation of this new module is going to impact the main stats, including electricity, cooling, and propulsion scores.



Moreover, the dialog allows you to rotate the module. For example, in this case we're going to rotate this connector by 90 degrees:



Clicking the 'Check' button finalizes the installation process and returns the control back to the 'Orbital Outpost' screen.



[h3]Coming Up Next[/h3]

Installing modules is only one of the many things that you'll be able to do in 'Space Station Designer'. In the next entry, we'll cover topics such as the in-game currencies, how to conduct research, the concept of maintenance, and how to deal with module failures.

If you like what you're seeing, remember that we have an ongoing closed beta (more information here). Please consider applying if you want to help us shape the future of the game.

--Ignacio, Mauricio, and Nicolas (Polar Motion)

Wishlist Now
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1447650/Space_Station_Designer/