Day one: from an empty project to a first playable build
Starpath Ship Command is our entry for the jam theme Director's Cut. In the first stretch we got a ship builder, three factions, a full run from shipyard to payout, a bridge, a director camera with replay, and a first Windows build that plays start to finish.
What the game is
You build a ship from modules that snap onto sockets, pick a side, and take it out on a run across a solar system. You command from a bridge and a system map, and a director camera turns the fight into something you can watch back like an episode.
There are three ways to play. Haulers deliver cargo and get paid for what arrives. Pirates hunt the convoy, steal cargo and take ships. Marines escort the transports and collect bounties.
The shipyard
Pick a hull (corvette, hauler, cruiser or carrier), then click a module and a green socket to place it. Power, mass, thrust, hull, shield, fuel, cargo and cost update as you build, and the game tells you what is wrong before you launch. You can mirror placements, undo and redo, and save designs by name.
An unarmed ship is allowed. You get a warning, and then it is up to you to talk, bribe or run your way through.
A full run
A run goes shipyard, contract, flight, outcome. You choose a contract and a route: the trade lane is cheap on fuel but busy, the long arc is quiet but thirsty, and the asteroid belt gives cover. Fights happen where the routes cross. At the end you see what you earned and what it cost, and your credits carry into the next build.
Directing the battle
During a run you can switch between the bridge, the system map and a cinematic camera. From the map you select a ship, drag out a route and give orders. In the cinematic view you can change the subject and the shot, slow time, pause and mark a moment. When the run is over you can watch the replay.
Ships that look like ships
Ships are assembled from a kit of real modular parts, so what you build in the shipyard is what flies in the fight. Carriers launch fighters and drones from their bays.
First playable build
There is now a Windows build you can unzip and run with no setup. On supported graphics cards it uses ray-traced lighting with DLSS, and it falls back to a simpler renderer on other machines. Unattended runs played a whole campaign from the title screen to the replay for each faction.
Known gaps
- The first build predates the new planets, effects and voices described in the next entry.
- The shipyard backdrop is plain black.
- The bridge is a simple room and the hologram is small.
- Balance is rough: some runs are far too easy or too hard.