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  • [Early Access available] Space shooter with realistic Zero-G physics

Steam Early Access link

I've been working on this project for about eight months now. I think it's taking shape, although it still needs a lot of gameplay refinements and content.

The drill is simple: you fly a spaceship equipped with weapons and fight rogue machines in asteroid mines.
Although other games have already used the idea (Descent, Overload), I have never played those games, only tested a bit Overload. The graphics and gameplay style are quite different from the ones I'm targeting.
My game has a more hard science tone, and I used rigid bodies and forces to simulate the ship realistically.
Learning to fly the ship can be challenging for this reason (I will add a proper tutorial), but I found it to be fun on its own.

Asteroids can be pretty big (2 to 10 km in diameter), and you can explore them freely.
Every mission is a different asteroid, and has its own objectives.

I post quite regular updates on my Twitter (https://twitter.com/Game_Fabric) and the official Godot Facebook group.

I had a few technical challenges to overcome, especially performance-wise, and I had to write lots of code for various systems that don't come with Godot, like persistence and behavior trees.
I'm aiming now to go Early Access on Steam and Itch.io in a few months.
Any feedback is welcome.

a month later

I made a lot of progress, and I thought it was time to have some presence in some stores. So, I finally have a Steam and an itch.io page for the project! Steam:https://store.steampowered.com/app/1715040/Outer_Space_War_Gears/ Itch.io: https://game-fabric.itch.io/outer-space-wg Here are a few up-to-date screenshots: I'm planning to release the game in early access first. It will support Windows and Linux on launch date, and MacOS later.

10 days later

I created this short gameplay trailer:

Which is partially out-of-date already :)

@m4nu3lf Heyyy!!! It's nice to see you on the forums, I see your fb posts all the time. You have made a ton of progress and the game is looking really slick m8. The only thing that REALLY (I mean really）bothers me is how much screen space the tools/weapons take up on the sides of the vessel.

Perhaps it's because you have tools on all four sides of the screen. I really feel boxed in. Perhaps if there was just one it wouldn't seem so crowded. Who knows I might be the only person who feels this way.

@Erich_L said: @m4nu3lf Heyyy!!! It's nice to see you on the forums, I see your fb posts all the time. You have made a ton of progress and the game is looking really slick m8. The only thing that REALLY (I mean really）bothers me is how much screen space the tools/weapons take up on the sides of the vessel.

Perhaps it's because you have tools on all four sides of the screen. I really feel boxed in. Perhaps if there was just one it wouldn't seem so crowded. Who knows I might be the only person who feels this way.

Hi, thanks for the feedback! I think this is easy to fix. I can move the camera forward a bit. I will add an option in the settings to move the camera forward or backwards to adjust that to your likings.

@Erich_L I implemented the option :)

@m4nu3lf said: @Erich_L I implemented the option :) You just secured a customer <3 I still wonder if I was the only one who felt that way about it feeling boxed in? Anyway I think that looks way cleaner.

@Erich_L It's well possible I would have felt the same if I had seen the game for the first time like it is now. It's hard to notice these issues sometimes when the game slowly evolves, and you play it over and over. That's why I really value this kind of feedback!

10 days later

In the last week or so, I have improved visuals: I added and improved normal maps, and reworked some models. I also fixed many bugs (some in Godot too). Here is a short clip of a high G manoeuver performed to hit an enemy in its weak spot. <center> </center> Higher quality here.

10 days later

I made a new gameplay trailer. This one is more focused on the action.

23 days later

Here is an up-to-date clip. I improved the visuals and more. <center> </center>

Looking awesome!

Wow this would be amazing as underwater exploration type of game too! ps. I like water

@Gowydot said: Wow this would be amazing as underwater exploration type of game too! ps. I like water

See AquaNox & AquaNox 2.

@Gowydot said: Wow this would be amazing as underwater exploration type of game too! ps. I like water

Changing from space to water would be a huge change to make, haha. Right now, the exploration factor is limited, but I'm considering adding more exploration elements.

21 days later

Here is a collection of more or less "explosive" screenshots I managed to capture today.

11 days later

Here is an updated GIF. I have made a lot of small and big improvements to the overall looks, but there is still a lot of work to go.

<center> </center>

3 months later

As always, the development is taking longer than initially planned, but in the last few months, I have changed and improved a lot of things in the game. I'm now working on a new procedural system to generate rooms and place objects/enemies.

The system is based on CSG, but rooms are also aligned so that I can use portal culling. Objects are placed in 2D grids defined on flat surfaces. The algorithm automatically detected these surfaces.

<center> </center>

@m4nu3lf said: As always, the development is taking longer than initially planned, but in the last few months, I have changed and improved a lot of things in the game. I'm now working on a new procedural system to generate rooms and place objects/enemies.

The system is based on CSG, but rooms are also aligned so that I can use portal culling. Objects are placed in 2D grids defined on flat surfaces. The algorithm automatically detected these surfaces.

<center> </center>

This reminds me a lot of the old game Forsaken. :)

12 days later

I wasn't planning on starting a dev log, but Dev-logs can happen. I'm still figuring out how to properly edit and record the audio, so be patient (feedback is appreciated).

22 days later

My game has a more hard science tone, and I used rigid bodies and forces to simulate the ship realistically. So, true Newtonian physics in friction-less space?

I don't know if this is something you are looking for, but I'd be interested to playtest this when it's at that stage. It does remind me a little of Descent.

Good luck with your continued development!

10 days later

@Maaack said:

My game has a more hard science tone, and I used rigid bodies and forces to simulate the ship realistically. So, true Newtonian physics in friction-less space?

I don't know if this is something you are looking for, but I'd be interested to playtest this when it's at that stage. It does remind me a little of Descent.

Good luck with your continued development!

Yes. The ship has various flight modes, though. One is without any damping, so you accelerate, and the ship keeps moving in the same direction at the same velocity. With damping, the ship slows down, but it does so by using thrusters and consuming propellant.

Thanks!

7 days later

I'm considering switching to toon shading and more saturated colours. Wdyt?

a month later

Hello everyone. Just wanted to provide an update.
First, I'm almost done with the procedural system to generate rooms and place objects.
I decided to switch to toon shading but also added GI (that can be turned off).
Third, I optimized a lot by parallelizing more logic.
The game still isn't exactly lightweight due to the amount of physics, physics-related logic, the size of the maps, AI and more, but I'm making sure I get at least 30FPS on my laptop (which, coincidentally, has the closest commercial CPU to the one of the Steam Deck).
Now I'm focusing on refining graphics and adding content/tuning the gameplay.

Here are a few screenshots.




    m4nu3lf The game still isn't exactly lightweight due to the amount of physics, physics-related logic, the size of the maps, AI and more, but I'm making sure I get at least 30FPS on my laptop (which, coincidentally, has the closest commercial CPU to the one of the Steam Deck).

    Worth a note that the exported game should perform a bit better than the 'editor' launched test runtime(debug build if you will). Also, @cybereality has a steamdeck so if that is what you are targeting if you ask nicely perhaps they are willing to do some performance testing and profiling for you before you launch a final build. Given that they have the time of course. Never hurts to ask tho.

        Megalomaniak
        I usually test the game without exporting it every time by dropping Godot's export template in the project directory and running it. It automatically runs the project, and I believe that (except probably for the loading times) the performances should be very similar if not identical to the exported version.

        If I have to target the Steam Deck, I definitely will have to buy it (which I intend to anyway), or it would be impossible to iterate. Currently, I'm only trying to avoid making the Steam Deck support impossible without massive changes.

            m4nu3lf If I have to target the Steam Deck, I definitely will have to buy it (which I intend to anyway), or it would be impossible to iterate.

            Yes, that would be ideal. 🙂

              4 months later

              At one of the worst times of the year to release something, Outer Space: War Gears is now available in Early Access on Steam! (Make sure to read the Early Access info).

                m4nu3lf BTW you might want to update your opening post with the steam link and a image, either screenshot or some title image or such. whatever the first image in there is will become the topics thumbnail.

                  m4nu3lf changed the title to [Early Access available] Space shooter with realistic Zero-G physics .
                  9 days later

                  Quick update. I'm redesigning some parts of my game (like the gunship model). I also started working on a multiplayer P2P mode!

                  18 days later

                  I made a lot of progress with the P2P multiplayer mode. I have a functioning death match map. I need to do more testing, though.

                  a month later

                  Here is some up-to-date footage of a playtest session of the deathmatch mode.

                  13 days later

                  I'm changing some of the visuals of the ship. Now you can see the cockpit!

                  From just a cockpit to a VR mode was quick.

                  I fixed a few issues with the VR mode and tried it with the Horde Mode.

                  7 days later

                  The VR mode is now included in the early access!

                  3 months later

                  It's been a while since my last update here. I did work a lot on the game. I'm now working on the single-player campaign. Graphics have improved considerably.