Phase II is now available for playtesting

Phase II and new game mechanics

Our previous update stopped after the acquisition of the 'Expansion in LEO' research technology (i.e., after completing what we call 'Phase I').

In this latest update, we've included a new set of game mechanics, such as Modules Leasing, Commercial Services, and Space Tourism. These mechanics were available in one form or another in older versions of the game, but they have been fully revamped and balanced for this new update. This is especially true for the Space Tourism mechanic, which now includes spaceports and space tourism shuttles.

In addition to these mechanics, we've added a new set of 20 contracts, which are available both in the Campaign and Sandbox modes. These 20 contracts, along with the new gameplay features, comprise 'Phase II', and add another 8 to 12 hours of gameplay on top of the ~10 hours from Phase I. We hope you enjoy them and, if you have any feedback, please don't hesitate to contact us in the forums.

Gameplay Improvements and tweaks

We continue refining the game's mechanics based on the playtesting feedback we receive. Here are some of the improvements and tweaks that are now available in the latest version:

• Selected modules must be within a maximum distance when setting up space tourism groups.

• Propulsion modules now suffer a propulsion penalty if they aren't close enough to electricity/cooling modules.

• Astronauts can now be fired.

• Stronger dependencies for certain research technologies in the tech tree. For example, 'Storage Level III' now has a dependency on 'Storage Level II'.

• The acquisition costs of the various Earth Facilities and their Continuous Improvement Programs (CIPs) have been adjusted for a more balanced gameplay experience.

If you're interested in learning about other tweaks and improvements, please check our release notes document: [Public] Space Station Designer - Release Notes

Quality of Live (QoL) improvements

While conducting our own internal testing, we continue finding ways to make the game experience more streamlined and enjoyable. Some of the QoL improvements included in this latest update include:

• A button to sort out entries in the 'Contracts' screen chronologically, which is useful for finding out which contracts are getting close to their expiry date.

• A mechanism to display the 'modules information card' of all modules unlocked by a research technology in the tech tree.

• Important information in the 'active events' screen so that the players can know, for example, the number of months remaining for a given event.

• A mechanism to assign astronauts to 'groups' via a color palette. The size of the astronaut corps grows considerably throughout Phase II, and being able to assign them to groups significantly reduces the difficulty of managing them.

• Visual indicators so that the player can see the station's current storage space in the resupply spacecraft payload screen, which aids with planning.

• Information on which specific objective caused a contract to fail.

• The ability to pan around and zoom in/out in the research tech tree screen using the WASD/arrow keys and the plus and minus keys, respectively.