The edge of the observable universe is about 45.7 billion light years away in all directions, which is just a really big number to brains designed more for counting bananas than the number of galaxies that volume could hold. Galaxies contain billions of stars, and at this point we’re fairly confident planets are incredibly common around them. The number of galaxies, stars, and planets becomes another of those really big numbers that sounds impressive but is too big to have much meaning, but in all of that there’s only one Earth. People evolved to live specifically within its environments rather than the endless expanse of the universe, so when a few spots open up for industrious space-laborers to move planetside they dig in and start producing, working to earn their way to a home they’ve only dreamed about.
A Big Job for Little Pay, But At Least the Bots Do the Heavy Lifting
Astronomics is an asteroid mining adventure where you’re trying to earn your way out of the asteroid belt, scavenging everything that isn’t nailed down on any asteroid that drifts through your claim. Starting off with a freighter docked at a space station, you can look over the map and see various asteroids drifting through the very long strip of space that gives you full rights to anything within it. The problem is the asteroids aren’t staying still, and their orbits only keep them in the claim for so long. The job is to assess the different asteroids, assuming they’re in range of the scanner that gives its mineral readout, and once identifying one with the wanted minerals auto-pilot over to start the mission. The freighter holds a shuttle to navigate the smaller asteroids between it and the mineable one, and once there you get to stay safe inside while controlling a command bot to do as much of the actual labor as possible in the available time.
Building a Better Habitat in the Space Wreckage of Astrometica
Astrometica is a first-person survival game where a lone explorer starts with little and slowly builds their way up to a comfy home.
Working on the asteroid the bot needs to start delegating tasks, because there’s too much to do for even the most determined humanoid machinery. The portable mining laser breaks up all rocks, ore deposits, and plants within its range, while roomba-like workers carry the bigger chunks back to the ship so long as there’s a clear path. At the start, though, there’s only one each of them, and that’s only enough if you don’t mind choosing the asteroids with the longest available time in the claim and feel like helping out by carting everything around. The command bot has a gravitational tether that lets it drag things around, and soon gets a mining laser of its own, but it’s much better to save up for an extra automated laser or two plus enough helper bots that there’s not too much need to cart things around manually. Granted, once an asteroid is as clear as you want to make it and have sold the haul the payout is pitiably tiny, but a robust upgrade cycle leading to richer asteroids deeper into the claim will help with that.
While Astronomics does fall into the “job as game” category, it’s a good job that starts off fairly basic and expands as it goes. Venture deep enough into the claim and new stations show up with new tech, allowing you to scan for underground ores as the safe zone of the early area soon gives way to pirate-infested space, requiring automated defenses plus a pistol to keep them at bay. Being Early Access, though, only the first three regions are currently available, but there’s several good hours of gaming in just the first one and the second (which is as far as I’ve gotten in a day’s play) has some fun upgrades not just in terms of dealing with pirate attacks but manufacturing junk resources into properly valuable ones. The current plan is to add four more regions at least while deepening the tool-set and polishing up everything, and when it’s all finally complete just maybe the worker can finally kick back in the Earth house of their dreams.
