StarDrive

StarDrive is a space strategy game in which the player takes the role of an aspiring empire. The goal is to extend the empire's reach by exploring more of the universe and build up an economy by settling on other planets. The winning condition in a regular game is to eliminate all competition either through diplomatic (making them join the Federation) or military means; in the Ascension mode the goal is to reach a planet at the center of the galaxy. Each race has its own advantages and disadvantages which can be customized when starting a new game.

One of the more important aspects of the game is resource management: Food (limits the planet's population), production (the planet's ability to produce ships, troops and buildings), research (a global resource used to research new ship modules and planet improvements) and money (limits the global fleet size because of maintenance costs). While the first three resources are produced on each planet (the priorities can be set by the player, but the planet's preconditions also play their part) while money is gained through taxes. The planet's conditions can also be altered by constructing researched buildings on the surface and the use of terraforming.

To transport excess food and production to other planets in need, the player needs to make use of transport ships; logistics are also important in order to supply a war front with Ordnance (basically ammo). Building orbital structures help to create fast routes. The ships, their weaponry and equipment are built in a space ship editor by using researched modules. Because the game runs in real-time (the speed can be changed or paused), space combat and ground assaults are automatically calculated by using pre-set tactics and optional player input (e.g. changing a target). Besides crushing them, the player can use diplomacy (e.g. trade agreements or non-aggression pacts) and resource-intensive espionage (e.g. assassinations, infiltration or stealing technology) to deal with other races.