- September 2026 Update: Our Take on RTS - 15 September 2026
Greetings, Astra Odysseans!We hope you're doing well. We've been working on Beyond Astra, our first game, for almost seven years now. Development is taking longer than we imagined, and your patience and your messages of support mean a lot to us. Thank you as well for your feedback on these DevLogs: sharing the game with you as it takes shape is a real pleasure. Right now, Valentin is finishing up gameplay loops and fixing issues ahead of the beta.Beyond Astra is built on 4X mechanics, enriched by grand strategy and its six pillars (covered in Gameplay Insights #2 and #3) and by planetary city-building. Today we're looking at its RTS side: real-time combat. What we keep from RTSWhat draws us to RTS games is choosing between priorities: produce or invest, expand or defend, gather your forces, hold a position or attack. In Beyond Astra, your resources, your information and your decisions g…
- July 2026 Update : The Four X's, in the Order You'll Live Them - 20 July 2026
Greetings, Astra Odysseans!An honest note to start: we've been buried in balance passes and tooltips for weeks. It's not the glamorous side of game development, but it's what turns big systems into a playable game, and it brings the beta closer every day.Now, to today's topic. In our previous updates, we explored the six strategy pillars of Beyond Astra, the diversity of its planets, and your cities. This time, let's walk through how a game actually unfolds: the four X's, in the order you'll live them.For decades, the grand space 4X has carried a giant-spreadsheet reputation: brilliant, deep, slow to tame. Beyond Astra was born from a simple intent: keep the four X's and their depth, and make a game you read on the surface of its planets before you ever read it in a menu. eXploreYou start with one city and one Pioneer, on an almost unknown world. Your Pioneer holds the most important jo…
- May 2026 Update: Galactic-Scale City-Building - 11 May 2026
Greetings, Astra Odysseans!In our previous updates, we explored the six grand strategic pillars of Beyond Astra (Science, Religion, Culture, Economy, Diplomacy, and Military), as well as the diversity of the planets that make up our galaxy. Today, we are zooming in to focus on the beating heart of your civilization, the place where everything begins and converges: your Cities. The Visual Identity of Your EmpireLast year, we began the production of our 3D models. Visual identity is crucial: it is what truly anchors the immersion in a Space Opera. Your cities needed to be majestic and alive.Rather than arbitrarily tying an architectural style to a species, we took a different path. Architecture reflects the philosophy and values of your civilization. At the start of each game, you will choose the style that will define the appearance of your cities and units:Utility: A functional style de…
- March 2026 Update: Forging New Worlds - Visuals, Biomes, and Exotic Wealth - 6 March 2026
Greetings, Astra Odysseans! In our previous updates, we deep-dived into the grand strategic pillars of Beyond Astra: Science, Religion, Culture, Economy, Diplomacy, and Military. Today, we are taking a step back to discuss a lighter, yet equally vital topic: the worlds you will conquer, and how they look.But first, let's address the question we receive most often: "When is the game coming out?" The honest answer is: when we feel it is truly ready to deliver the experience you deserve. What we are showing you today is just the tip of the iceberg. Behind the scenes, Valentin is constantly optimizing the engine, squashing bugs, and fine-tuning the intricate gears that make a living galaxy tick.The Visual EvolutionDuring the Alpha Preview Demo, we opted for a semi-stylized art direction with a restricted polygon count. We chose this path as a safety measure: we wanted vibrant, recognizable…
- December 2025 Update: Grand Strategy Overview - Economy, Diplomacy, & Military - 21 December 2025
Greetings, Astra Odysseans!In our previous update, we explored the pillars of Science, Religion, and Culture. Today, we are completing the picture by diving into the remaining three foundations of Beyond Astra: Economy, Diplomacy, and Military.Development is progressing passionately. As many of you know, Beyond Astra is a debut project, coded entirely by Valentin. Originally, we aimed for a Beta release by the end of 2025. However, this window has shifted slightly to early 2026. The core game is solid, but we want to take this extra time to polish the experience. While the first phase of the Beta will still have rough edges, this additional time ensures a smoother entry into our universe. Beyond Astra is a 4X sci-fi game that unfolds both in space and on planetary surfaces, with a focus on tangible action. Going beyond simple menu navigation, the game empowers you to directly build citi…
- October 2025 Update : Grand Strategy Overview - 3 October 2025
Greetings, Astra Odysseans!Today, we're excited to share some of Beyond Astra's core grand strategy gameplay and mechanics.Development continues to progress steadily, navigating the inherent complexities of game creation.On a related note, Valentin recently had the opportunity to discuss the game with Strategy and Wargaming. If you'd like a deeper dive into our design philosophy, he provides more context in the interview.Beyond Astra is a 4X sci-fi game that unfolds both in space and on the planet's surface, with a core focus on tangible action. This means you won’t just be clicking through menus, you’ll be directly building cities, defending against wildlife, and clashing with empires and galactic crises. Our interface is designed to be clear and fluid, serving this hands-on experience to enhance your strategic freedom and deepen the immersion. This philosophy is the foundation for our…
- August 2025 Update: Development Progress & New Timeline - 8 August 2025
Hello Astra Odysseans! We're writing to you today with an important update on our development and timeline. This project is a labor of love, and your incredible support has allowed us to raise our ambitions for what this game can truly be. We believe true craftsmanship can't be rushed. To give our ideas the time they need to mature and to integrate all the features we're excited about, we are giving the project more breathing room.Consequently, the Beta is now planned for the end of 2025, with a full release targeted for 2026. To show you this extra time is being put to good use, we want to share a major milestone: we have officially finalized all the core city-building gameplay mechanics for both planetside cities and space structures!It also means we have now launched into the full-scale asset production phase. Our artists are hard at work creating the final 3D models for every buildi…
- Update on Beyond Astra: Galaxies Show, Beta Progress and More! - 3 April 2025
Hello, We hope you’re all doing well! We've been busy working on the beta for Beyond Astra and wanted share a quick update on our progress. Our goal with Beyond Astra is to create an immersive 4X grand strategy experience, blending elements of city-building and RTS gameplay; a game where exploration, expansion, and conquest unfold seamlessly on 3D planets and in space. This is a childhood dream we’ve been bringing to life for the past five years, pushing the limits of one of the most innovative game engines out there. We're really grateful for all the enthusiasm you've shown for the game! A huge thank you to everyone who backed our Kickstarter campaign. Late pledges are still open if you’d like to get involved. We're also happy to share that we received a grant from the French state to help us finish development. Every bit of funding goes directly into making Beyond Astra the best versi…
- Final Days to Support Beyond Astra! - 9 November 2024
The celebration of Beyond Astra’s Kickstarter campaign continues for just 4 more days! Help us spread the word, your support is invaluable as we approach the final days. We’re taking all of your suggestions seriously and appreciate each one. In response to many requests, we’ve decided to launch Beyond Astra on multiple platforms: Steam, Epic Games Store, and GOG. You’ll be able to choose the platform on which to redeem your game key. Language Update: We’re excited to add Czech to our planned languages, bringing the total to 14! Does the Game Include the Solar System? While some pioneers originate from the Solar System, each game takes place in unique, fictional galaxies or galaxy branches. AI Art Concerns: Rest assured, we won’t be using AI art for Beyond Astra. We’re committed to collaborating with talented artists, which is also one of the core reasons for this Kickstarter! An Awesome…
- Insights from the alpha preview and Next Steps - 29 October 2024
We want to take a moment to thank each of you for being part of this journey. We have been working on Beyond Astra for five years, and since our official announcement in early September, your support has exceeded all our expectations. Within days, our YouTube video went viral, and in just a few weeks, more than ten thousand of you added Beyond Astra to your wishlists. In October, we released an alpha preview of the game to showcase the innovations we’ve developed over the years and give you a taste of the gameplay while exploring new features we have in mind. Beyond Astra is our first game, and also through this alpha preview release we wanted to try out our approach to project publication. Thanks to your support during the October Steam Next Fest, we ranked in the global Top 100 and Top 3 in the 4X category of the event, and now tens of thousands of you have Beyond Astra on your wishli…
- Beyond Astra Demo Now Available at Steam Next Fest! - 14 October 2024
We’re excited to announce that the demo for Beyond Astra is now live as part of the Steam Next Fest! 🎉 This alpha preview allows you to experience the early game through a tutorial, featuring scientist Lu on her quest to conquer her second planet and advance her research. Encounter pirates, build your city, engage with characters Niassah and Theomius, and enjoy intense battles on land and in space! We created this demo to involve players as early as possible. Please note that many features shown on our Steam page aren’t available in the demo but will be included in the final version as we continue development. Our Kickstarter campaign launches today! 🥳 This is your chance to pre-order the game and unlock exclusive digital and physical content. Tips for the demo Watch out—gravity is a tough opponent in the demo! Maneuver your ships carefully to avoid the red zones. We’re planning to im…
- 🎉 Exciting News: Beyond Astra Kickstarter Launches on October 14! 🚀 - 10 October 2024
We are thrilled to announce that our Kickstarter campaign for Beyond Astra will launch on October 14! Why back now? This is a fantastic opportunity for you to pre-order the game and secure KS exclusive in game cosmetics and goodies. KS exclusive Collector's Edition Box ; Tons of exclusive stretch goals to unlock ; Discounted prices exclusive to KS version ; Support indie development and the new age of sci fi 4X grand strategy game ; Play the game before anyone else ; Engage with the game creators for updates and insights ; Join us in shaping the new age of 4X sci-fi grand strategy game Your support makes a significant difference in helping us finalize the development of Beyond Astra. We are committed to creating a game that offers an incredible experience, and with your help, we can make it a reality. Your feedback has already shaped Beyond Astra in meaningful ways, and we can’t wait to…
- Stellaris has a new challenger in '90s inspired space 4X game Beyond Astra - 9 October 2024
With space 4X champion Stellaris now eight years old, you might be hankering for a new way to conquer the stars. Rivaling challengers such as Sins of a Solar Empire 2 is newcomer Beyond Astra . Inspired by the likes of Civilization, Spore, and Star Wars Empire at War, and built by a solo developer at Nebule Games, this beautiful new strategy game offers an impressive level of depth and is set to arrive in 2025, but you can try it out right now thanks to a free Steam demo. Read the rest of the story...
- Beyond Astra Gameplay Insights #1 : Victory conditions - 1 October 2024
In Beyond Astra, the seven victory conditions form the core elements that enrich and deepen the gameplay experience. Let’s explore each one: EconomyEstablish a thriving economy by managing logistics, budgets, taxes, privatizations, companies, and shares, while making strategic decisions on city composition, resource exploitation, and environmental considerations; build robust trade networks and acquire shares of enterprises from other civilizations. MilitaryRaise your terrestrial armies and space fleets to conquer planets, besiege cities, defend your territories on the ground and in space, adapt your strategies, and engage in epic battles to assert supremacy over other civilizations. DiplomacyMeet other civilizations, use Influence to forge reliable alliances or face surprising enemies, create federations, engage in espionage, and even protect pre-FTL worlds. Politics: Use your Influenc…
- A Word from the Solo Developer about the Genesis of Beyond Astra - 24 September 2024
I have long dreamed of a game where you could build your own scifi world, from the scale of a city to the scale of a galaxy, with great importance given to strategy, management, exploration, and conquest… This dream is rooted in my childhood experiences with classics like Age of Empires, Master of Orion, and the Civilization series. Beyond Astra draws inspiration from a variety of sources, blending cinematic and video game influences. The film Metropolis (1927) by Fritz Lang, with its exploration of society, technology, and fate, has deeply influenced the game’s setting and themes. Similarly, Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) informs our exploration of existential themes and the role of technology. We also look to the epic narratives of Star Wars (1977-1983), Star Trek (1966-1969), and The Expanse (2015-2022) for their depiction of galactic conflicts and civilizational cris…
- Beyond Astra Reveal Trailer - 5 September 2024
It's a big day for Beyond Astra! We're finally unveiling the game we've been working on for the past 5 years! The trailer briefly shows, in order of appearance: ships moving through space, simultaneous space/surface gameplay, troop landings, ground armies, the city building system, the space trade route system, the space station building system, the ship building system, exploration, planetary biomes, supraluminal travel, and megastructure. I’m excited to share more with you, but for now, it’s back to coding! You can learn more about the genesis of Beyond Astra on our website. Thank you all for your support, especially those who have followed me for several years. Valentin Simonelli
