First and Foremost
We would like to announce a few things today before we get into the meat of our first dev diary.
Firstly, we are partnering with Paradox Arc, who will be working alongside us to publish the game! We are developers and as such we want to make sure that we can focus on what we do best: the game itself. Paradox Arc will provide publishing and marketing support and expertise so that our focus is always on making the game as great as it can be.
The second thing here is that, for those of you who have followed our game’s development for a while, we will be renaming from ILL Space to Starminer. There were a few reasons for this, one being a naming conflict with another project, but we also felt that it made more sense to have a name that gave some context to the game. Also, we really like the new logo!
With the housekeeping stuff aside, let’s talk about the game…
What is Starminer?
Let us start things off with the trailer that you can watch right here first!
[previewyoutube=MtekOaZmaBc;full][/previewyoutube]
Starminer is a space industry and logistics simulation that strives to be at the forefront of space strategy gaming, blending cutting-edge rendering technologies with deep tactical and creative gameplay. It's set against backdrops of fully-realized 3D environments, where the beauty of space becomes an integral part of player immersion, setting Starminer apart as a visually stunning and technologically advanced space base-building game. Starminer is built with realism and immersion as core design pillars through the incorporation of Newtonian physics for propulsion and movement. This not only adds a layer of authenticity and complexity to the gameplay but also introduces a rewarding learning curve for players seeking a genuinely advanced spacefaring experience.
In Starminer, the universe is more than just a pretty backdrop for exploration and conquest—it's a playground for players to explore their creativity and long-term ambitions for their fleets. Central to the game's creative ethos is the ability to design a variety of space stations that bring them toward their goals; whether it's to mine resources, be a defensive power, colonization, energy production, or something else entirely. The dynamic and customizable nature of these different types of stations means that the player doesn’t only decide what their cosmic empire will be; it will become a unique reflection of their strategic prowess and imaginative flair.
You will typically start with a single hub ship, the most important part of your spacecraft. From this point, modules and attachments allow you to grow in size, create solar panels to draw power, add habitation modules, or engineering and mining facilities, as well as simply expand the overall footprint of your ships. From there, you grow by gathering resources and researching more powerful and more efficient technologies. The challenge here is to not grow so fast that your defensive capabilities are not up to par, because The Alien lurks in the farther reaches of space, and they are not to be trifled with!
As we write more development diaries in the future, we will cover more of these intricate topics of game mechanics and how to play the game!
A bit about Cool and Good Games and how Starminer came to be
Cool and Good Games are Dani and Rok, two developers behind the sci-fi universe of Starminer, a game we've been making since 2015. At that time, we only had the basic idea to create a game we ourselves would love to play - a spectacular escapist sci-fi romp with strategic mechanics and state-of-the-art graphics, set against backgrounds of deep space. Our passion for simulations, games, and the universe combined with our fascination of modern rendering technologies and tools have quickly culminated in long hours of actively bringing the vision to life. After 3 years of treating Starminer as a "side project" to our day jobs, we both made the decision to leave our old 9-5 to focus on the game full-time.
The result is our debut title Starminer, an ambitious and exciting space station sim set to expand with future updates and the help of our community.
What inspired it?
The initial spark of inspiration came from something that we think is familiar to a lot of people, the awe-inspiring nature of deep space. We wanted to capture the grandeur of the cosmos in the digital medium of games. Taking inspiration from the latest rendering technologies, we aimed to push the boundaries—and ourselves— of visual excellence, crafting a game where players could lose themselves in beautiful environments that mirrored the splendor of the universe. The challenge was clear: merge this visual spectacle with a strategic depth that would not only captivate but also challenge players in ways unseen in traditional space strategy games. Games like Supreme Commander served as a muse, showcasing the potential for intricate, large-scale strategic gameplay. Starminer emerged as a testament to our aspiration to push the envelope, delivering a game that not only celebrates the beauty of space (and incredible-looking ships and stations) but also challenges players with a depth of gameplay inspired by our predecessors in the strategy genre.
Why is it cool?
We think that we’ve created something very unique with Starminer. We had this obsessive drive to really push ourselves. While we’re extremely proud of the technologies that we’ve been able to employ in making Starminer look stunning, it embodies the player fantasy of being able to build something that is uniquely personalized to your own idiosyncrasies. An expression of the type of role your ships and stations will play in the cosmic sandbox. We’re really excited to see what people make, how they will approach the simulations and strategic elements of the game, and what more we can build together with feedback from the community once Early Access starts in 2024.
Future of Starminer
As mentioned above, we will be entering Early Access at some point in Early 2024, so the future of Starminer is centered on expanding the in-game universe, introducing new mechanics and game modes along with coop and competitive multiplayer a little further into the future. Our vision encompasses a continuous evolution of the game, with ongoing updates that introduce fresh challenges, diverse civilizations, and updated graphics, ensuring that the cosmic adventure remains ever-engaging.
Crucially, our commitment to community feedback remains at the forefront - we recognize the invaluable input of our players in shaping the game's future. As we chart the course for Starminer's future, community feedback will play a pivotal role in steering the direction of updates and ensuring that the game remains a collaborative and immersive space strategy adventure that resonates with our dedicated player base. Something that is already implemented in the game, and will continue to be a huge part of shaping our game’s development and refinement in the future is the in-game feedback tool. This is something that we made sure was in place from early playtests and will be invaluable to us.
Of course, at the same time, we’d love to hear from you in the Discussion sections here on Steam and the Starminer Discord.
See you next time!
- Dani and Rok
Wishlist now!
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1116050/Starminer/
Join Our Discord:
Follow Our Social Channels:
- Starminer Twitter: twitter.com/starminergame
- Our Studio YouTube Channel, where we’ll share short videos and clips during development: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGSmt69CFWI0ADJKBZY-uOw
