Description
Pioneer Space Sim is an open-world space adventure game inspired by Frontier: Elite II, set in the Milky Way galaxy around the beginning of the 33rd century. The game is characterized by its open-world nature, allowing players to freely explore millions of star systems without fixed objectives, shaping their own experience in the universe.
Main Features:
- Free Gameplay: Players can choose their path as traders, explorers, pirates, smugglers, or bounty hunters. It is possible to undertake missions, trade between systems, or engage in space combat. There is no linear story or central protagonist; the focus is on individual freedom in a procedurally generated universe.
- Exploration and Navigation: Explore millions of star systems, land on planets, perform gravity assists on gas giants, or face risks like burning when flying between binary star systems. The game features detailed space landscapes, with eclipses and alien scenery.
- Realistic Physics: Uses a Newtonian flight model, with realistic orbits and gravity simulated at a two-body level (only the closest body affects the ship). There is also a basic atmospheric model with drag and heat accumulation. Space travel can take days or weeks, but the game allows for time acceleration up to 10,000x to facilitate gameplay.
- Economy and Progression: Earn money through trade, piracy, or missions, which can be used to buy better ships, equipment, and hire crew. Space stations offer commodity markets and mission boards. Recent updates removed artificial profit limits, encouraging the use of larger cargo ships.
- Customization and Modding: Supports mods since Alpha 22, allowing players to add or replace ships, textures, music, and other elements via .zip files. The community is active, with contributions in modeling, scripts, and translations.
- Interface and Combat Systems: The interface has been modernized with the Imgui (PiGui) library, improving star maps, system atlases, and equipment boards. Combat has been enhanced with aiming assistance and support for multiple weapons per ship.
- Hyperspace and Ships: Ships have advanced acceleration and cargo capabilities. Hyperspace drives now consume fuel from an internal reservoir, reducing the cargo space required for jumps. Each ship has unique weapon and equipment layouts, with balancing based on hull volume.