e437a18121
Vision, requirements, tech stack, and phased roadmap for the space survival game, plus Unreal-appropriate .gitignore/.gitattributes and Git LFS setup.
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Vision
Elevator pitch
A multiplayer space survival game: crew a ship you build and maintain, warp across a galaxy of star systems, land on planets to explore and gather resources, and build persistent bases — both a space station and planetary outposts — as a shared base of operations with other players.
Reference pillars
Three games anchor the scope. Each contributes a pillar; none should be copied wholesale.
| Pillar | Reference | What we're taking |
|---|---|---|
| Modular ship construction & survival systems | Space Engineers / Empyrion | Grid-based building, power/thrust/hull as real systems you maintain, not cosmetic |
| Procedural galaxy & planet landing | No Man's Sky | Seed-based generation, seamless-feeling landing, exploration-driven discovery |
| Galaxy-scale travel | Elite Dangerous | Star map, jump/warp travel between systems, a galaxy big enough to feel unbounded |
Scope reality check
Read this before getting attached to any specific milestone order.
Persistent shared-world multiplayer, full grid-based ship construction, and seamless procedural planets are each, individually, the kind of feature a funded studio spends 1-3+ years getting right. Combined, and solo, this is a multi-year project even at hobbyist pace. That's not a reason not to build it — it's a reason to be deliberate about sequencing:
- Architect for the full vision, build the small vision first. Every system below is designed so it can scale to persistent multiplayer and a full galaxy, but the early phases run single-player or session-based, with one hand-built system and one or two planets. See 04_ROADMAP.md.
- Cut scope at the hardest problems on purpose, not by accident. The two hardest technical problems here are (a) truly seamless space-to-planet-surface transitions, and (b) a persistent world server that doesn't require you to run a 24/7 fleet alone. The tech stack doc calls out the pragmatic version of each (instanced landing zones, system-sharded servers) so you have something shippable, with a documented path to the more ambitious version later.
- Revisit ambition at each phase boundary. It is completely reasonable to decide, after Phase 3 or 4, that a session-based co-op game (players host, invite friends, world doesn't need to persist on your infrastructure) is the right final scope rather than a persistent MMO. That decision gets easier once you can see the game running.
Core pillars (functional)
- Fly & fight a ship across open space in a galaxy of star systems.
- Build & maintain that ship from modular components with real systems (power, thrust, life support, hull integrity) that degrade and require upkeep.
- Warp between star systems via a galaxy map.
- Land & explore planets on foot (or surface vehicle), gather resources, encounter hazards.
- Build bases — a space station as a persistent home base, and planetary outposts — that you and other players can return to, expand, and defend.
- Play together — multiple players sharing ships, stations, and eventually a persistent galaxy.