About
Story
The game is set in the far future. Different space-faring alien species roam through the vast and endless void between planets and galaxies. When they are looking for joy and entertainment (or just a place to sleep) they aim for the next space station they can find.
The player is a new employee for a space station designing company. After the gruesome and unexpected death of his predecessor it's his job to get the latest design up and running. These new spacebases are called Startopia and are all connected and controlled by a helpful AI called VAL (Virtual Artificial Lifeform). VAL is programmed to help the player and make those new Startopias a success. The player sets out into space to work on different space stations and make them a success. However, although VAL seems to be helpful, she seems to have some malfunctions sometimes and changes the rules of the game as you play. Finally, she puts the player into a fight to the death against other station designers as she is a huge fan of «Survival of the fittest» and evolution through competition. Can the player manage to stop VAL?
Gameplay
It is the players job to manage and build a space station to make it profitable. Different alien races visit the station and use its rooms to fullfill their needs. Using rooms generates income for the player in the form of energy. The player has to build new rooms to attract more aliens and tend to their specific needs. Examples are hotels, discos, sanitation, restaurants, shops, etc.
The player has also to deal with opponents, spies, criminals and multiple other hazards. Spacebase Startopia is a mix between a business simulation game mixed with small-scale real-time strategy combat. Its meant as a spiritual successor to the original «Startopia». Through the game, the player is accompanied by VAL an ever expanding AI that also has total control over the space station and takes some similarities to the Computer in «Paranoia» or GlaDOS in «Portal».
