Beyond Astra is supposed to be something like the little brother of Stellaris, but it has a lot of its own ideas with it. For example, a much more detailed planetary structure.
We have just played Beyond Astra for the first time and found it to be good, the 4X space strategy game with stylish graphics and up to 300 simultaneously simulated planets talking about yourself again.
This time it’s not about the Steam demo, but about a Kickstarter campaign that was launched at the same time. Per Crowdfunding The French developer wants to collect donations before release to make Beyond Astra better and bigger.
So far it seems to be working: The first (modest) goal was exceeded within 24 hours of the campaign starting.
You equip the spaceships in the real-time battles of Beyond Astra yourself with turrets, shields and engines.
How much money is involved and what you get for it
The 10,000 dollars that Nebule Games asked for for Beyond Astra may not be the world compared to the millions raised during the biggest Kickstarter hype. But these days, video games are having a hard time on the platform; Board games dominate the market.
The project now stands at over 14,000 dollarswho have pledged around 200 donors to Nebule Games. The money will help implement numerous ideas that are too large for Beyond Astra’s current budget.
First stretch goal Starting at 35,000 dollars, three additional biomes will be integrated for the planets that are fully modeled in 3D. How you can jump from the celestial bodies to the galaxy map and back is impressive:
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In the space strategy game Beyond Astra we travel from the planet to the galaxy map
The Kickstarter campaign is still ongoing until November 13, 2024. Of course there are rewards for backers, such as a physical Collector’s Edition with a small spaceship model starting at 350 dollars.
Why you should look forward to Beyond Astra
Even if you don’t donate any money to the project: Beyond Astra could be a very exciting genre representative for fans of 4X games and people with a passion for science fiction. You initially create your own civilization in a construction set and set off from your home world to the stars.
You then settle other planets, build cities, research technologies, build your military and establish diplomatic relationships with other species. To win a game
A political system with laws and parties and the needs of your population should keep you busy even when there is no space battle demanding your attention. But of course there are those too and they run in real time. Unlike in Stellaris, you can give orders yourself.
There is currently a demo for Beyond Astra on Steamyou can read an initial assessment on GameStar Plus. There you will also find a test Spaceship alternative Sins of a Solar Empire 2:
Beyond Astra is scheduled to be released in 2025. Developer Nebule Games currently consists of two permanent employees; The programming work rests on the shoulders of a single person.
A special feature of the game: Instead of having battles take place in a completely three-dimensional space like in Homeworld, spaceships move on one of three horizontal levels. Gun turrets can intercept individual torpedoes and subsystems can be specifically targeted.
