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Space Trucker

Platform(s): PC
Genre: Simulation
Developer: Space Shark Games
Release Date: December 2014

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'Space Trucker' Announced, Seeks Crowd Funding

by Rainier on Dec. 13, 2013 @ 5:03 a.m. PST

Space Trucker is a space sim/business management game set in the near future that allows the player to run his own space based commercial business using real world technology.

In Space Trucker the player takes on the role of a billionaire CEO with ambitions to expand his logistics empire into space. By purchasing some surplus parts and modules he is able to construct a basic space station in low earth orbit and from there must begin building up his fleet of cargo ships. Progression in the game by building a larger and more capable shipping fleet is facilitated by research, manufacturing, and expansion of the initial space station. As the game plays on more and more destinations are opened to the player as humanity expands out into the solarsystem.

Space Shark Games has launched a kickstarter campaign looking for $300,000 to fund the development of Space Trucker.

Space Shark Games Limited is building on a new technology platform in order to bring this game to life. With compelling, never before attempted features such as real time solar system and orbit modeling, Space Trucker with provide the player an experience they can get nowhere else. The game's concept, created by our CEO Ryan O'Neill, started as a recurring dream many years ago and has now evolved into this ultimate wish fulfilment fantasy for every person who has ever watched the stars.

The year is 2022, government spending on space is decreasing but commercial access to space is at an all-time high. A young billionaire sees the opportunity presented by this new environment and reaches out to fulfill a childhood dream. You are this entrepreneur, and your dream to become a space trucker is about to come true. After making deals to acquire surplus modules from the US, Russia, and other corporations you have completed construction of your modest orbital base. Now, at the beginning of our game, you must build your first space ‘truck’. Move supplies and materials from those who produce them to the places they are needed and turn a profit. As your potential customers grow so must your fleet and its capabilities. Don’t forget to research new technologies to keep yourself ahead of the curve, and your budget out of the red. Will you monopolize the market or be another failure along the unforgiving road to the new frontier?

our corporate station is the hub of all activity. This is where you, as the CEO, orchestrate your company’s activities. Directing your ships around the solar system and buying and selling goods for a profit. It is also the home base of all your vessels, it is where they must return to repair or refit. As the game progresses you will be able to upgrade this station and add on the ability to research and manufacture new technologies on orbit: turning your once tiny outpost into a thriving city in the sky.

A core component of the Space Trucker gameplay is building your own space trucks. Each ship is made up of three types of modules, command, cargo and propulsion in varying configurations and numbers. A fourth module, the hull, is what everything else attaches to and determines the configuration of all other modules. 

By choosing from a catalogue of hundreds of unique items you can create the exact ship to fit your mission plan. Build a fast cargo carrier moving perishable goods, a huge fuel tug making the long hauls to the furthest outposts, an opulent luxury liner ferrying tourists on space adventures, or a general all-in-one freighter for the budget conscious. Each module has its positives and negatives expressed by its stats. Those stats combine to create the custom ship. The game is to create a ship that does what you want, for the price you can afford, without too many drawbacks. As new technologies become available you can always return to change and upgrade your ship, for a price.

A good crew can make a fine ship great! Recruit and train your ship’s crew wisely and they will repay your efforts with faster travel times, better buy and sell prices, effective maintenance that lasts, or even saving the ship during a critical emergency. 

A thriving space economy needs stuff, and you’re just the entrepreneur to get it what it needs. Buy fuel from the polar refinery on the moon and sell it at a premium to the Mars fuel depot. An array of stations, bases, colonies and outposts around the solar system produce stuff. The more stuff they have stockpiled the cheaper they’re willing to sell it for. Additionally those same places consume like there’s no tomorrow. The less they have of something they need the more they will pay to the person who can provide it.

This is the essence of the market economy you will find yourself a part of in Space Trucker. Tools are available to help you identify the most lucrative opportunities and capitalize on them. Using your fleet you will provide for the needs of an ever-expanding human presence in space.

Space is a dynamic place, every object is in constant motion, and getting from point A to point B is never as easy as aiming the bow at your target and firing up the engines. That’s where the route planner comes in. It helps you find the optimal path between were your ship is and where you’d like it to be. The route planner will help you make the right choices to send your ships on their way. As they travel to their destination you will also use this view to keep tabs on their progress.

Space Shark Games staff consists of several games industry alumni who have worked on such titles as EVE Online, Tomb Raider, Red Dead Redemption, and Transformers Universe to name a few.

Space Trucker will be available on Steam and other digital distribution systems as well as the official website.


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