Spacebase DF-9 is charming, and its random events give you more to do and worry about than something like Banished. However, it lacks the depth and polish needed to make the tasks of expansion and crisis management go smoothly.
Absurdity reaches its peak when a corpse that’s been lying on the floor for a while gets some new friends and enemies. Looks like the space frontier in Spacebase DF-9 is settled exclusively by deranged people who were booted from civilized worlds. [Feb 2015]
Great game for only being in Alpha. Genuinely fun. All these minor little details just make me shiver with excitement. For example the way you select an area and it just generates wherever you select, no predetermined spots. Or the airlocks lights that slowly go from red to green or green to red, signifying someone is entering or leaving the station and oxygen is being refilled/depleted according to what is happening. Even the suits are different! Really all it needs is a bit more content since it's a bare bones right now, not filled out.
Oh and before I end, love the Spaceface and how they aren't all human.
Double Fine overestimated its abilities and failed to produce a proper management strategy game. Remember Spacebase DF-9 every time before buying anything in Steam Early Access. Even a big name is not a guarantee that a game will be actually finished.
this has to be one of the best games I've ever played ut the only issue is that development stopped. don't let this put you off I still have over 70 hours on this game
The game itself appears to be a delicious mixture of Sims and Starcraft, but without the relationships or muliplayer RTS elements. Essentially, you're in space, building a space station from the ground up so that you can survive (only have 8 minutes to get something up and running before your guys lose oxygen). Once the initial threat of losing oxygen passes, you can worry about productivity, and giving your guys a better state of living.
Since the the game is in alpha as of writing this, the things you can build are entirely cosmetic, aside from a few things like the oxygen recycler, and the refinery, which both serve the purpose of life support and productivity. Aside from those two things though, the only other things there are to experience in the game is:
• Finding derelict stations to salvage or commandeer
• Finding derelict stations with enemies to kill
• Leveling up your guys to do certain tasks better
• An endless amount of passersby that try to add themselves to your team, when you may not want any more population (note: this continues even after everyone dies, so there literally is no way to lose yet)
The only problem is that as of Alpha 1b (10/22/2013) there is no goal to pursue, no conflict to encounter (except for the occasional raider or alien in a derelict space station), it's just a cosmetic space station builder. That in it of itself is actually pretty fun, which is why I gave it a 7, but until I see some more content for the $25 I paid for it's going to have to stay there. I look forward to updating this review with a better score once the game hits beta.
Fun, for about an hour. Then you ask "where's the rest of the game?", only to find the answer is "there isn't one". Abandoned by its developer, and unlikely to get any more updates, it isn't worth shelling out for. Sad, because it had such great potential for an alpha. Now, an alpha is all it will ever be.
Spacebase DF9 is a space management simulator where a small pod of astronauts set out to create a new space colony. You have to manage oxygen, food, jobs and the happiness of your intergalactic residents. As you progress, you will need to continue expanding to make space for new residents. The game had the potential to become an enjoyable simulator, but fell short in so many ways.
PROS:
The graphics are decent.
The sound is fitting for the game.
Most of the astronauts are not human, they are alien, making for more interesting looking characters.
CONS:
The game is very repetitive. After only an hour of gameplay, all the messages are the same, all your residents are saying the same things, everyone behaves the same etc. The game is severely lacking in variety.
The A.I. is brutally stupid. Your colony can die because your mechanic is to depressed to fix the oxygen generators, killing everyone.
There is quite a limited amount of things to build. Once you build each type of room, all you can do is keep making the same things as more astronauts arrive. No matter what, the gameplay is boring after the first hour or so.
There is a lot of waiting, even when you speed things up.
When you encounter problems, there is a fixed solution to deal with them. It gets even more boring and repetitive when you are forced to do the same steps continuously as the game progresses.
It all comes down to is repetitiveness and a loss of interest. The game could be so much better if there were more scenarios and problems and multiple unique strategies to use. Unfortunately, this game is not worth the price when there are so many better alternatives available.
SummaryIn Spacebase DF-9, players help humanity and alien allies recolonize the Milky Way following the collapse of galactic society. In an open-ended gameplay environment, players construct and maintain a self-sustaining deep space habitat, deal with environmental and alien threats, and watch and influence the lives of a diverse crew as they l...