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Starmancer [Kickstarter], a space station sim inspired by Dwarf Fortress currently on Kickstarter will have full Linux support, even during alpha and beta. It looks damn good too! It doesn't just look good, the features they're developing for it sound really quite brilliant too.

Set in the far future, Starmancer paints a bleak picture for humanity as a disaster on Earth prompted the creation of the Starmancer Initiative. Volunteers uploaded their consciousness as their bodies were left behind, you then grow them a body in a tank and stuff their consciousness into it. Each of them being unique, with their own history so you get to know them a little. There's a Morale system behind the scenes too, if you don't keep them happy they will rebel. They even form relationships, with jealousy, sadness and more to deal with.

There's loads of customization on offer too, with tons of items to build like rugs, paintings, posters, windows, and curtains. You can paint each individual wall and let your creative juices flow. Take a look at their teaser trailer:

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What's great to see, is that Linux isn't being relegated to the bottom of the league here, as indicated by their FAQ:

What platforms will Starmancer be on?

We'll release on PC, Mac, and Linux. We have no plans for other platforms at this time. Eventually (a long time from now) we might port to another system.

The Alpha and Beta will be available for all platforms.

Too many Kickstarters offer Linux support, but only give Windows pre-release access. I'm very pleased to see that isn't the case here.

I was excited (possibly a little too much caffeine today), so I poked the developer about Linux support during the alpha and beta, they replied with a fun bit of background information:

Thanks. Once upon a time I was stuck with bad internet and a Linux laptop for 9 months. I ended up playing FTL because it was singleplayer, had lots of replayability, and it actually worked. We have no intention of adding Linux support at the last minute.

I have to be honest, I'm struggling to keep myself away from pledging. It looks fantastic and they seem extremely genuine about Linux support.

With 31 days left of their Kickstarter, they're already over half way towards their goal!

Thanks for the tip, La Stranga!

Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
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I am the owner of GamingOnLinux. After discovering Linux back in the days of Mandrake in 2003, I constantly came back to check on the progress of Linux until Ubuntu appeared on the scene and it helped me to really love it. You can reach me easily by emailing GamingOnLinux directly. Find me on Mastodon.
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11 comments
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qptain Nemo Feb 13, 2018
Sounds pretty cool. I'd be interested in playing it.
Linuxpunk Feb 14, 2018
Sounds just like my type of game. Also, I follow the devs and they used Blender 3D for modeling.
Tiedemann Feb 14, 2018
I backed it.
Thought about Startopia when I saw that video, I just have to forget that before playing it :P
14 Feb 14, 2018
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Sounds fantastic! I'm really tempted to back it myself. I like that GBA-looking style of graphics way more than the pixel style we see so much. I've also been interested in Dwarf Fortress for a long time but not enough to make myself learn how to play it. I'm pretty excited for this one.
Philadelphus Feb 14, 2018
Quotea space station sim inspired by Dwarf Fortress
I'm so confused though, the trailer was mostly a bunch of pictures and none of the ASCII seemed to be related to the gameplay at all! :S: :P

Seriously, it looks quite interesting. Reminds me more of RimWorld than DF with the space-faring aesthetic, though of course RimWorld is inspired by DF as well. I'll most likely throw a few bucks towards the Kickstarter, but I'm still trying to decide if it's sufficiently different from DF/RW for me to pledge enough for a copy…
Supay Feb 14, 2018
Did they make Star Command? The graphical style is nearly identical. And Star Command was room based, and in the Starmancer blurb they mention working to sort the game from room based to tile based.
TheSHEEEP Feb 14, 2018
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Awesome, backed!
15$ for some hope is a good deal ;)
razing32 Feb 14, 2018
Hmm , tempted to back this myself.
Orkultus Feb 14, 2018
I hope this is like Space Station 13.
rkfg Feb 14, 2018
Looks so familiar... I instantly remembered Spacebase DF9, but hopefully this one won't end up like that.
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