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Gameplay and Core Loop
June 13, 2026 at 07:09 AM
Updated galaxy scale to the confirmed Early Access launch wording and post-launch tense
SpaceCraft is an online space exploration and building game where the galaxy evolves through player actions. This page summarizes how the game plays and how its systems connect.
Play revolves around a repeating loop of exploration, resource gathering, crafting, building, and trading. You explore systems, scan and mine resources, craft them into parts, build or improve ships, and trade the surplus, then use your gains to explore farther and operate at a larger scale.
Step | What You Do | Related System |
|---|---|---|
Explore | Pilot your ship through systems full of planets, asteroid fields, abandoned space stations, and derelict ships, jumping between systems with FTL. | |
Scan and Mine | Scan your environment to find resources, then extract raw materials from planets and asteroids. | |
Craft | Refine raw materials and craft them into components and ship parts. | |
Build | Assemble crafted parts into custom ships, or build instantly from a purchased blueprint. | |
Trade | Buy and sell resources, parts, and blueprints in a marketplace where transactions move prices. | |
Build Bases | Establish planetary bases and grow them into automated resource hubs. | |
Scale Up | Automate production and logistics with drones and cargo ships, and team up through Corporations to run larger enterprises. |
You maneuver through space in real time and transition seamlessly from the depths of space to the surface of planets. Whether you are scanning planets for resources or charting a course to forgotten worlds, movement and exploration are continuous rather than menu-driven jumps between fixed points.
The universe is dynamic and shared. From mining to crafting, trading to combat, every action you take influences the world around you, and player choices shape the economy, the environment, and the balance of power. Because the marketplace is player-driven, each transaction affects prices across the economy. At the Early Access launch the galaxy spans multiple sectors, hundreds of star systems, and thousands of planets, and it is set to grow with new sectors and planets during Early Access.
SpaceCraft does not lock you into a single path. The game frames several overlapping roles you can pursue:
Role | Focus |
|---|---|
Explorer | Chart new systems and uncover forgotten worlds, abandoned stations, and derelict ships. |
Trader | Work the player-driven marketplace, buying low and selling high across systems. |
Industrial Tycoon | Scale mining, crafting, and automation into large production operations. |
Corporation Leader | Organize other players, assign roles, and run a commercial empire. |
You can also build ships and fit them for combat, which is one of the activities that influences the shared world.
Progress is gated by two systems. Permits form a tech tree that you unlock with Credits to open new crafting recipes, modules, and services; the first is the Modular Systems permit at 40 Credits. Experience paths let your character specialize along Exploration, Technology, or Science (with a Combat path planned), each contributing different strengths. See Progression: Permits and Experience.
The loop is also wrapped in a setting: you play an ex-convict working for The Company, rebuilding after humanity’s escape through a mysterious portal. See Setting and Story.
