By Starship Corporation is a hybrid starship simulator/tycoon game that has players trying to build a mighty financial empire across the galaxy.
“If you don’t know where you are going, any road will get you there.”
Lewis Carroll
Right off the bat, there’s a learning curve. Even if you play 4X games (which means eXplore, eXpand, eXploit, and eXterminate) there is some adjusting to do.
First of all, you’re not playing a traditional 4X game, instead, you’re playing what they call a 4D game (which means Develop, Design, Deal, and Deliver). You’re not trying to destroy all that oppose you in the traditional sense. Instead, you’re trying to run them all into the ground by building better ships, getting more business, and building capital to gain strangleholds on the galaxy so your company is number one.
Secondly, there’s a lot of text thrown your way. Since you’re reading this there are no literacy concerns but everything is just a sheet of text. We live in a world today where games allow you to play through a tutorial so you know the basic do’s and don’ts in real time. Starship Corporation has you read the tutorials and then carry that knowledge into game modes to try out. Look, it’s nitpicky but when you’re offering a game of this scope that is so freeform with almost unlimited options it’s a nice thing to be able to play out a few scenarios beforehand. In no way a dealbreaker but expect to scrap a few games early on because you painted yourself into a corner. Once you get a grasp on the game mechanics it really takes off.
When starting the game you can either choose campaign or sandbox.
Campaign: In this mode, you’re tasked with returning the company to its former glory. There are family and political storylines mixed in to give it direction. Outside of a few minor tweaks you just follow it’s path.
Sandbox: In this mode, you can choose your starting point. You’re asked questions about your company’s current financial situation along with the galactic market, your ability to deal with a crew, and your ultimate goal for your business. These questions all add up to the overall difficulty. If you decide that you’re taking over a failing company and you don’t want any help managing your company you’ll sign up for a much harder road than if you chose taking over a fruitful business and to have tasks run themselves without too much micromanagement.
Whichever mode you choose you start in the middle of the galaxy and then it’s all up to you.
There’s a lot of space out there
When you click a planet you see the different jobs offered. What you’ll find out quick is that the ships you are given don’t fit many jobs. You need to develop and design (2D’s out of 4!).
Shipbuilding isn’t as complicated as it looks like on the surface. Certain jobs require ships with certain specifications. There is a very nice plug and play system going on. If a system works in an area it’s got a blue highlight, if it doesn’t there’s a red highlight. That’s not to say it’s easy, your main concern is to build a ship that can handle large cargo and a capable crew. As you play the game for a bit you’ll be able to design some ships that can do double or triple duty allowing you even more freedom in your fleet. Early on in my first gameplay, I had a lot of unitaskers in my fleet that I had to retire for newer ships that could do more.
Outside of just building the ship, you’ll be asked to add crews that can handle the jobs and research new and better parts for the fleet.
The crew is important because it’s not simply “deliver goods from point A to point B”. There are a multitude of problems that can happen to your ships as your fleet grows. You need a crew that can handle emergencies on the ship as well. You may go through asteroid belts or even find yourself between warring factions. Your crew’s ability to handle these situations determine if that cargo will see it’s final destination.
Frank was not the best hire I ever had…
There’s a good core here. There weren’t any outlandish or glitchy results in the economic part of the game. There’s a solid management sim paired with an extensive shipbuilder here.
If you’re looking for a good ship builder/tycoon game there’s a lot to like about StarsCorporation. The only caveat is that the entry point is a bit steep at first. You won’t start this game up and know exactly what to do right off the bat, you’ll need to do some reading. Once you have a basic understanding there are unlimited scenarios to play out as you place your brand on the galaxy.
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Why it may be helpful for people with anxiety
- Shipbuilding is completely engrossing
- Freeform design means that you can go at your own pace
- There’s enough “set it and forget it” to avoid being overwhelming
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Why it may be unhelpful for people with anxiety
- The learning curve at the start means most will want to start the game when they don’t have symptoms
- The freeform design could make some people dwell on their symptoms instead of helping reduce them by having the game guide them
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Should you be playing this?
If the game looks interesting it’s worth a shot because you’ll get your money’s worth and then some.
As I said above I do suggest starting the game when you’re doing well. There’s just so much to learn at the start that if you go to it for any sort of symptom relief chances are you won’t be able to wrap yourself around it.
That’s not to say that it’s bad in any way. Once you have the basics down there’s a ton to do and it’s all at your own pace. You could literally spend a night on just building one ship if you want. I’m not that patient but I can see that being incredibly helpful for many people.
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This review was based on the PC version that was provided by the publisher.
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