Starsector (formerly "Starfarer") is still in development but it's been a seriously impressive game for years. Not yet on Steam or any other store, as you have to buy it direct, but don't let that stop you with a big update out now.
What exactly is it? Hard to pin it down specifically. It has a glorious mixture of open-world single-player exploration and space-combat, with RPG elements and economic simulation. It has some of the most interesting 2D space combat around, with seriously great ship designs.
Along with an update to Java 17, which they said should "substantially improve performance", there's also a whole bunch of major new features in Starsector version 0.98a including:
- Several new endgame-level enemies to fight in the Abyss.
- New ships, weapons, and hullmods.
- Codex UI revamp.
- Autosave, revamped save/load UI.
- Intel map markers and little notes.
- Revamped combat simulator with many options and opponents.
- Planet search UI revamp.
- New story (not “main” story) missions.
- New music.
- New portraits and illustrations.
Fresh screenshots (click 'em to enlarge):
Some you may have missed, popular articles from the last month:
You can also find comments for this article on social media: Mastodon
All posts need to follow our rules. For users logged in: please hit the Report Flag icon on any post that breaks the rules or contains illegal / harmful content. Guest readers can email us for any issues.
Chrisznix 4 days ago
Yay! This is a beast of a game with a fantastic battle system. I will take this as an invitation for a new session. :)
0 Likes
R Daneel Olivaw 4 days ago
Absolutely wonderful game, I highly recommend it for fans of single player scifi space games. Great to see this big update!
0 Likes
It even works great on Steam Deck!
1 Likes
Essoje 4 days ago
Best game acquisition of my life, it's the game that I'll obsessively play for a few months, give it a rest so the soil can gather all the nutrients, then play it again.
A shame that, even with all the great updates, I can't play it without many of the modded factions anymore.
A shame that, even with all the great updates, I can't play it without many of the modded factions anymore.
0 Likes
R Daneel Olivaw 4 days ago
oooooo I've not ever looked into the modding scene.
Now, after looking here:
https://fractalsoftworks.com/forum/index.php?topic=177.0
HOLY SHIT there's so many! Which do you run with @essoje ? Looks like only one faction mod so far has been updated for the new version.
Now, after looking here:
https://fractalsoftworks.com/forum/index.php?topic=177.0
HOLY SHIT there's so many! Which do you run with @essoje ? Looks like only one faction mod so far has been updated for the new version.
1 Likes
Essoje 3 days ago
I won't be updating my current game and mods for a few months because it'll take time for everything to adapt well to the new version.
But if you still want to a small taste of a 0.97a modded experience by getting the old versions right now, here are some factions that play differently from other factions:
- VIC/ Volkov Industrial Conglomerate
- Diable Avionics
- UAF/ United Aurora Federation (not on the Mod Index)
- Iron Shell, a subdivision of the Hegemony that adds taxes
Other highly-recommended mods:
- Arma Armatura and its faction add-ons from other factions, basically adding mecha robots in Starsector, mostly in frigate, cruiser, as well as fighters in robot form; don't look down on these, as many of them can solo early-game pirates, given you can control your flagship well
- Nexerelin, makes Starsector basically a (long) 4x game, as well as adding TONS of QoL and ability to start or join most factions, including extreme ones like pirates, the Luddic Path and similar modded ones
- Random Assortment of Things, does what it says in the can, and adds the abyss gate as a late game dungeon of sorts
- Speedup, speed up space travel and combat, and even has a turbo mode, highly recommended
- Planet Search, adds a search bar to the intel tab for systems and planets
This is nowhere near to my complete mod list, but these are a good starts. Just remember to also pay attention to required mods, and download the correct version of the mod.
I also suggest using a mod manager as well, TriOS and MOSS are both fine, but both have missing features on Linux.
Last edited by Essoje on 28 Mar 2025 at 6:52 pm UTC
But if you still want to a small taste of a 0.97a modded experience by getting the old versions right now, here are some factions that play differently from other factions:
- VIC/ Volkov Industrial Conglomerate
- Diable Avionics
- UAF/ United Aurora Federation (not on the Mod Index)
- Iron Shell, a subdivision of the Hegemony that adds taxes
Other highly-recommended mods:
- Arma Armatura and its faction add-ons from other factions, basically adding mecha robots in Starsector, mostly in frigate, cruiser, as well as fighters in robot form; don't look down on these, as many of them can solo early-game pirates, given you can control your flagship well
- Nexerelin, makes Starsector basically a (long) 4x game, as well as adding TONS of QoL and ability to start or join most factions, including extreme ones like pirates, the Luddic Path and similar modded ones
- Random Assortment of Things, does what it says in the can, and adds the abyss gate as a late game dungeon of sorts
- Speedup, speed up space travel and combat, and even has a turbo mode, highly recommended
- Planet Search, adds a search bar to the intel tab for systems and planets
This is nowhere near to my complete mod list, but these are a good starts. Just remember to also pay attention to required mods, and download the correct version of the mod.
I also suggest using a mod manager as well, TriOS and MOSS are both fine, but both have missing features on Linux.
Last edited by Essoje on 28 Mar 2025 at 6:52 pm UTC
1 Likes
Patreon
PayPal
How to set, change and reset your SteamOS / Steam Deck desktop sudo password
How to set up Decky Loader on Steam Deck / SteamOS for easy plugins
See more from me