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Did you ever dream of being an astronaut? I did. I was entranced by both the thrill of Buck Rogers\u2019 dogfights-in-space version as well as the dopey goofiness of our actual space program. I\u2019m also getting old, so along with a box set of WWII documentaries, I\u2019m also really fascinated by how things are put together.<\/p>\n

Enter orbit.industries, a building management sim based on the concept of a commercial orbital station. Think of yourself as Space Schneider (that one\u2019s for your dad), completing missions to make space bucks (here called \u201cKreedits\u201d) so that you can research and build new sections onto your satellite, which will of course unlock more missions, worth more money\u2026<\/p>\n

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The trick of the \u201cbuilding\u201d part is that you have to put it all together, with none of the parts overlapping in form or function. Solar batteries need a lot of room to rotate, and airlocks need an unobstructed path reaching out to infinity. Using the Joy-Con, you can rotate the spaceship in 3D and attempt to attach the component to an orange anchor (used mainly for support structures like power, environment, and water) and blue anchors (every other structure, from sleeping habitats, laboratories, and docking bays).<\/p>\n

Every structure costs upkeep of Kreedits every turn (here, called \u201cticks\u201d), but they need resources from other structures (the aforementioned light and power, but also things like \u201ccommerce\u201d and \u201cradiation dispersal\u201d), along with a human workforce to operate at peak efficiency.<\/p>\n

And, once you\u2019ve got the structure installed you get to move to the second, far geekier part\u2014attaching everything to a circuit board!<\/p>\n

In the Abstract Systems Layer, you take a microchip\u2014representing the component you\u2019ve constructed\u2014and attach it to a board, then connect the \u201ccircuits\u201d of the resources that the chip requires and supplies.<\/p>\n

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Weak Source = Weak Output<\/h3>\n

The balancing act here, of course, is keeping those needs met while dealing with the costs. You need power and life support for the crew, who do all the work, but the crew also wants an airlock, which also needs power and environment. The water synthesizer is installed and works, but just one won\u2019t support all your needs. That means building an additional component with an orange anchor, which costs Kreedits in maintenance. Every tick.<\/p>\n

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So, how do you make money? Well, you accept missions. Missions have flavor text that explain what the job is, but that\u2019s completely irrelevant to the game; whether it\u2019s a military job, research, or scanning for extraterrestrials, all that really matters is having the correct system components to take it on. But, once you do, those components are tied up and can\u2019t be used for other jobs. Also, you don\u2019t get paid until the job is finished.<\/p>\n

Gig Economy\u2026in\u2026Spaaaaace!<\/h3>\n

The other part of the jobs page is research and, if you\u2019re playing a scenario, Story Missions, which move the plot forward. Research (obviously) gives you access to new components and, somewhat oddly, are not unlocked by previous technologies but by adding population to your station. Story Missions must be completed to finish the level. You need to be judicious in pursuing either of these, however; they can take a very long time (tying up components), and you don\u2019t get paid for them at all.<\/p>\n

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This brings us to the other part of the game: managing your money. The only way to earn space bucks is to complete missions, and every tick you\u2019re burning cash in maintenance fees. There\u2019s no passive way to earn income, and if your cash reserves run into the negative, you can\u2019t build new components. In addition, if you reach -5000 Kreedits, the game is over.<\/p>\n

The game gives you a financial lifeline by offering loans from three (and only three) banks. Take out a loan, and you pay it back at the interest rate they offer (which changes every 20 ticks or so). The messed up part about that is one bank offers low interest rates, while the other two can offer them for huge percentages. Once you take a loan out from a bank you can\u2019t take another one from that bank until it\u2019s paid off, and if you\u2019ve taken out a loan from all three, there are no more options.<\/p>\n

Credit Debt\u2026in\u2026Spaaaaaaaace!<\/h3>\n

orbit.industries is one of those games where the interface is<\/em> the game; learning how to play, how to connect everything, is the point, like Lego or an erector set. Completing a scenario doesn\u2019t lead to another stage, you\u2019ve just done that.<\/p>\n

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Another issue you\u2019ll have to deal with is \u201cerrors,\u201d which run from bacterial infection to computer problems to terrorist attacks. These affect the efficiency of your structures, and can spread until contained over time or halted by support structures: pressurized doors, guard posts, and teams devoted to handling them.<\/p>\n

One big knock against the game is the lack of clarity in the tech tree. You need certain techs to use certain components\u2014a water synthesizer to cool the solar array, for example. But as you get into the game you start learning technologies without the prerequisites, and in early gameplay you can end up building structures that aren\u2019t operational.<\/p>\n

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Compounding this problem is that while every resource has its own symbol, the colors of different symbols look too much alike: different shades of light blue, for example. Also, the contrast between the symbol (always white) and the background is awful, making it hard to tell what needs to be built or connected.<\/p>\n

But if you\u2019re looking for an endless toy box to play in (and there are options to play without a scenario goal or with unlimited funds), then orbit.industries is a fun diversion. Learn, and fail, and start again on your way to the stars. Just don\u2019t forget about the interest rates.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Did you ever dream of being an astronaut? I did. I was entranced by both the thrill of Buck Rogers\u2019 dogfights-in-space version as well as the dopey goofiness of our actual space program. I\u2019m also getting old, so along with a box set of WWII documentaries, I\u2019m also really fascinated by how things are put […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":16427,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/purenintendo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/2022041010563300_s.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[576],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16426","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nintendo"],"yoast_head":"\n