Frequently Asked Questions

What is Starship Simulator?

Starship Simulator is a space exploration sandbox where you serve as a crewmember aboard mankind's first experimental deep space exploration vessel. Your mission: explore the galaxy beyond Sol, locate habitable worlds, conduct scientific research, and attempt first contact with alien civilisations — all while keeping your ship and crew alive for the journey home.

What is the primary objective?

Exploration and survival. You'll chart unknown star systems, attempt first contact with alien species, manage your ship's health and your crew's wellbeing, and ultimately attempt to return to Earth. There's no single path — how you explore and what you prioritise is up to you.

Is the game single-player or multiplayer?

Both. Single-player is the primary experience, where you can take on any of the eight crew roles yourself. Multiplayer currently supports up to 14–16 players crewing the ship together, each taking a different role. Dedicated server support is planned for a future update.

What are the eight crew roles?

Captain, Pilot, Science Officer, Tactical Officer, Engineer, Doctor, Morale Officer (chef/bartender/counsellor), and Passenger. Each role has its own responsibilities, tools, and gameplay loop.

Does the game have VR support?

VR support is actively planned and in development. Full controller and HOTAS support is also in progress.

Is this game based on an existing sci-fi IP or franchise?

No, everything in this game is based on real or theoretical science. Any named characters or places are of our own design, as is the game's lore and any future story missions. Any similarity between our game and any other well-known sci-fi property is purely due to working from similar source material.

Will you support modding, either directly or via the Steam workshop?

At some point in the future, we would like to build a mission/story creation tool that would likely be attached to the Steam workshop, but that is currently a distant target. In the short term, we do expect modders to create mods for the game, and while this isn't officially supported, we don't have any problem with it, as long as it's tasteful and doesn't infringe on any intellectual property.

Can we build our own ships?

Right now the process of building ships is extremely complicated, with literally hundreds of miles of cables and other infrastructure all over the vessel, which all connect together to form simulated systems. We are also still in the process of designing some of those systems. Once all core game systems are polished, our intention is to create a modular building tool based on various bare-bones chassis designs. This won't be happening any time soon, however, and will likely take the form of a "Shipyards" expansion.

Are you planning to add AI language models to the game for NPC interaction?

We are watching the technology grow, and we're continually assessing its safety and viability. Right now there are still a lot of questions surrounding training data, and the cost of deploying an LLM on a large scale is still very high. Once LLMs are able to run locally with a small resource footprint and low GPU impact, then we will definitely look at powering our NPC crew with LLM logic. Given that we are creating an entire galaxy filled with alien civilisations, we will also look at using AI to generate truly unique alien cultures once the technology has matured more.

Can we colonise other planets?

This game is more about exploring space than staying in one location, so we have no plans to include player settlements anytime soon. That being said, our planned third expansion will focus on humanity colonising beyond Sol, and while players will not be building settlements directly, they will have a hand in determining how successful NPC settlements are.

Will we have other ships, or a fleet of ships?

Given the technical resource demands of a single large starship, it's unlikely we'll be able to support multiple large cruisers in a single game. However, several smaller ships should be quite viable, so at some point, you will be able to create a small fleet of small vessels with friends. In addition to this, we are planning to create a MySQL data handling system so that player groups can manage their own shared galaxy with friends. Groups will need to host their own MySQL database online, and then all participating player ships will be visible on the in-game galaxy map, in addition to being able to share science data and initiate text communication in-game. You will also be able to see participating player's ships physically in 3D space, but you won't be able to interact with them directly, and their position will only update when the online database is queried.

Can we play the game offline and/or outside of Steam?

Yes, you only need to launch the game from Steam if you intend to play in multiplayer, because we use Steam as a matchmaking service. If you want to play the game offline or solo, then you can launch it outside of Steam as it is DRM free. You can make copies of the game's install folder and run it from any location.

How much does the game cost?

The base sandbox — including all ships, the full galaxy, multiplayer, and all procedurally generated content — is completely free to play, with no micro-transactions and no content gated behind a paywall. Future paid content will include additional ships (estimated £5–10) and three planned story-driven single-player campaigns priced like typical indie titles.

How is development funded?

Starship Simulator raised £362,000 from 5,761 backers through Kickstarter. Ongoing development is supported through community donations via PayPal and Ko-fi. Visit the Funding page for more details.

Where can I play it right now?

A free tech demo is available on Steam for Windows PC. Download it here.

When is the full Early Access release?

We will be continuing to update the public demo as we go, with backers having access to the internal build where they can see absolutely everything as it is created and then they can be our testers before we go live on the demo. We then hope to go live with early access sometime in 2026/27. This date may change as we go but due to open development, everyone will know as we move along. Once in early access, we'll be working hard to flesh the game out as fast as we can with all content.

Follow development progress via our social channels and Steam page for the latest updates.

What platforms will the game support?

Windows PC via Steam is the current and primary platform. Linux is unofficially playable via Proton. Mac and console support are not currently planned. VR support is in development. We have no set plans for console but it is something we will look at in the future.

Is the game DRM-free?

Yes. The game is playable offline and does not require Steam to run once installed.

What are the minimum system requirements?

• OS: Windows 10 or later
• CPU: Intel i5 (recent generation) or equivalent
• RAM: 8 GB
• GPU: NVIDIA GTX 1050 Ti (4 GB VRAM) or equivalent
• DirectX: Version 12 with Shader Model 6.6
• Storage: 3.2 GB

What are the recommended system requirements?

• OS: Windows 10 or later
• CPU: Intel i7 (recent generation) or equivalent
• RAM: 16 GB
• GPU: NVIDIA RTX 2080 Ti or equivalent
• DirectX: Version 12 with Shader Model 6.6

What expansions are planned?

Three major expansions are in the roadmap:

Will there be alien derelicts to explore?

Yes. Procedurally generated alien derelict structures are already in development and will feature in the game.