- The Future of Spaceship Idle - 5 March 2026
Over the past year, I set out to build Spaceship Idle as something quite ambitious: an incremental space grand strategy autobattler. It was an exciting idea. Persistent progression, prestige systems, evolving spaceships, and automated tactical combat, all wrapped in a long-term strategic layer. On paper, it felt like a natural evolution of what I’ve been building since Industry Idle and CivIdle. But as development went on, reality set in. When Two Genres Pull in Different Directions Incremental grand strategy and autobattlers are very different genres. Incremental grand strategy is about persistence. You grow stronger over time. You prestige. You carry knowledge and bonuses into future runs. The joy comes from compounding progress. Autobattlers, especially multiplayer ones, are about fairness. Matches need to be relatively even. Matchmaking needs to work. Players need to feel they had a…
- Patch Notes: 0.10.141 - 9 January 2026
Add a highlight feature for tutorials - tutorials will now highlight relevant UI elements Reworked module cooldown indicators. The previous implementation has performance issues on low-end setups Fix a bug where add-ons from victory fail to include add-ons from previous ship classes. After this, you should get one guaranteed add-on from the current ship classes, and the rest of the add-ons are rolled from all unlocked ship classes Add tooltips to add-ons in the Peace Treaty popup
- Patch 0.10: Frigate Class, Add-on Crafting & Web Build! - 30 October 2025
Welcome to Playtest Patch 0.10. This patch is packed with content and improvements. I hope this patch will be a solid foundation for game mechanism - and I can build upon it for future content release. Frigate Class Frigate class ship is here: with new weapon type - drones. It has 10 new weapons. All ship blueprints have been extended to Frigate class, which has 40 more modules (110 in total). Catalysts, Directives and Add-ons (more on that later) now include Frigate class. Add-on Crafting In my previous post, I have talked about the rationale for the add-on crafting system. To sum up: Basic add-ons are acquired from battles Advanced add-ons can only be crafted using a recipe Each ship class unlock basic add-ons and recipes With this crafting system, the add-on value in the peace treaty has been adjusted as well. Previously, an add-on of the current ship class was worth 50 peace treaty…
- Patch 0.10 Preview: Add-on Crafting System - 24 October 2025
After releasing the Halloween update for CivIdle, now I am back to Spaceship Idle! In the next patch (0.10), I am adding Frigate class tech And perhaps more importantly, I am adding a new add-on crafting system I feel the current add-on system is a bit too simple - it could use more strategic depth. The new crafting system works as follows: With each class, you unlock more basic add-ons and craft recipe You can get basic add-ons from battles (just like before) And you can craft more advanced add-ons using basic add-ons following the recipe The more advanced add-ons can only be crafted, and they can have bigger range, better stats, more effects It will replace the current "Reforge" system. And as a result, add-ons will get reshuffled a bit. I am also formalizing the add-on mechanism. They now have unconditional targets (which is always effective) and conditional targets (usually within a…
- Patch 0.9: Augment - 16 October 2025
Augment Augments are unlocked when you discover a new star system. You can spend quantum to upgrade its level and these upgrade can be reset, which costs Victory Point and refund all quantum spent Reforge Add-ons into Victory Point Add-ons can now be reforged into Victory Point. They are converted with 1-to-1 ratio for add-ons of the current ship class. Balancing & Bugfixes XP Reward from battle now scales with your own ship (instead of your enemy) 1 Winning Steak now adds 1 peace treaty score (max. 10) Balance the "Victory Point / Hour" directive Add a weapon firing animation (can be turned off in Settings)
- Patch 0.8: Add-on Rework - 5 October 2025
In this patch, I've reworked almost all add-ons. The reason is that add-ons that boost a single module or a cluster of modules do not add much strategic depth. They are now replaced with completely different mechanisms. Now all add-ons boost at least a range of weapon modules. Some grants special attack/defense ability. Add-on Rework Damage Contrast (Skiff): Equipped module gains +1 Damage Multiplier. Adjacent modules also gain +1 Damage Multiplier if they have different damage types from the equipped module Evasion Diversity (Skiff): Equipped module gains +1 Evasion. Adjacent modules also gain +1 Evasion if each one is a different weapon model from both the equipped module and from each other HP Array (Scout): Equipped module gains +1 HP Multiplier. Adjacent modules also gain +1 HP Multiplier if they have different series from the equipped module. e.g. AC76A: Series = 76; MS2B: Series…
- Patch Notes: 0.7.125 - 27 September 2025
Matchmaking Improvement Evasion is now better reflected in the ship stat. Previously, evasion was not included when calculating ship defense stat. This caused ships with high evasions are underrated in defense stat - and they are harder to beat when you are matched with them. This patch should correct this bias and hopefully make matchmaking more fair. Bugfix Fix a bug where friendship bonus are not granted when a friendship is auto renewed Fix a bug where SS Majestic's blueprint has disconnected modules
- Patch Notes: 0.7.122 - 20 September 2025
Several new ship blueprints have been added, and now each ship blueprint has a unique bonus. - SS Voyager: +10% Extra XP/s - SS Pioneer: +1 Friendship Slot - SS Horizon: All autocannons get +1 XP Multiplier - SS Intrepid: +10 Peace Treaty Score when negotiating war reparation - SS Orion: 10% more modules for each ship class - SS Majestic: Reset Warmonger Penalty and Backstabber Penalty to 0 when unlocking a new ship class The following friendship bonus / directives have been added: - -N Minimum Warmonger Penalty - Reset Warmonger Penalty to 0 - Get N% of extra XP/s - Get N Victory Point/h Other changes: - Star systems in the galaxy are now slightly bigger Patch Notes: 0.6.117 https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/3454630/view/496080745274541233 Patch Notes: 0.6.118 https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/3454630/view/496080745274541235 Patch Notes: 0.6.119 https://store.steampowered.c…
- Patch Notes: 0.6.119 - 19 September 2025
Matchmaking required is now fixed at 20 Quantum + 100K XP, regardless of ship class Add a friendship reward / directive that gives extra percentage of XP/s PvE ships has been rebalanced - they are now more challenging Minimum warmonger penalty can now be negative - add a friendship reward / directive reduces minimum warmonger penalty Add Warmonger Penalty Decrease countdown timer Max amount of time warp now starts at 8h, and can be upgraded by element Hydrogen (H). The limit only applies when offline time is converted to time warp Elements are rolled from current ship class (previously it was rolled from unlocked tech) Fix a bug where Conquest reward are not correctly awarded Improve UX of Reforge Add-on When exploring a new star system, expired friendships now count
- Patch Notes: 0.6.118 - 18 September 2025
Add an XP reward when exploring a star system Add a conquest reward (1 element) after having battled all planets in a star system and have reached a battle score threshold Now directives require completing the ship blueprint and researching all tech previously only researching all tech is required XP granted by directives has been reduced Fuse add-ons is renamed to "Reforge add-ons" Weapons unlocked later in the tech tree within a ship class now have a slightly higher base stats Fix a bug where matchmaking battles can unlock undiscovered add-ons. Add-ons can only be discovered via galaxy battles. Matchmaking battle rewards only offer already discovered add-ons Fix a bug where backstabber penalty is not corrected added when backstabbing a friend
- Patch Notes: 0.6.117 - 16 September 2025
When battle starts, the camera will zoom out to show both spaceships in the viewport Add a quick navigation on the Galaxy to show all star systems sorted by distance Add new visuals for star systems - they now have different visuals to tell them apart Fix a bug where Cat III catalysts are duplicated of Cat II Fix a bug where unlocking higher-class ships require a restart to take effect Fix a bug where exploring star systems farther than 3 light year will freeze the game
- Welcome to Playtest 2 - 15 September 2025
Hello, I am happy to announce that Spaceship Idle Playtest 2 is now available on Steam - simply download the free demo from Steam page to join the playtest. The game has been rewritten completely, and here's a brief introduction to the new version: https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/3454630/view/501709427825444567 This playtest has a simple tutorial for your first run - it should take less than an hour to complete. The whole playtest contains 6 ~ 8 hours of gameplay. If you have bug reports or suggestions, head over to our Discord Server (#spaceship-idle channels) Finally, if you have joined the first playtest, the game should reset your old save. If you cannot launch the game, you can perform a manual reset by deleting the old save file: C:\\Users\\ \\AppData\\Roaming\\SpaceshipIdleSaves\\ \\SpaceshipIdle
- Spaceship Idle Next-Gen Preview - 5 September 2025
Since my last post about the next gen rewrite, I am happy to report that I am making good progress - the game is now in a playable state (again!). I am now tying up the loose ends and prepare for a public build. I am taking the auto battler mechanism from the previous build, and adding more 4X/Grand Strategy flavors. In this post, I will briefly introduce all the new mechanisms. Weapon Focus Resource management is removed. Now, weaponry is the single focus of building spaceships Production multiplier no longer exists. Instead, there are HP, damage and XP multiplier Batch operations still remain and have new QoL options Ship layout is now semi-fixed - and layout can be changed when prestige Galaxy The galaxy has several star systems - you are in one of them Within each star system, there are neutral states and pirates Make Friends You declare friendship with neutral states (consumes Vict…
- Spaceship Idle Next-Gen - 16 July 2025
First of all, I want to say thank you to all the players who have tried out the current Spaceship Idle demo, especially during the Steam Next Fest. After receiving lots of feedback regarding the current demo, I have taken a holistic regarding the gameplay and have made plans regarding the next prototype: Remove Resource Management Weapons fire based on cooldown (and generate XP) Production buildings are removed Permanent element shards boost HP/Damage/XP stats (no more Production Multiplier) Linear Tech Tree Linear and divided by ship class: Skiff/Scout/Corvette/Frigate... New ship classes are unlocked by reaching permanent element shards (prestige) Unified Progression Remove XP limit for Quantum level Remove Quantum limit for battle Battle is a mechanism to farm XP and resources You need to win a certain number of battles to prestige Quantum is still earned based on XP and can be used…
- Patch 0.5: Reworked Progression - 3 July 2025
A lot of you have played the game during the Steam Next Fest and provided valuable feedback. One of the most common feedback is that the game is too battle focused, and the prestige progression is lackluster, which I tend to agree. I've focused a lot on the battle experience because it's my first game that centers on the battle mechanism, but also making the battle fair requires lots of compromises - in a way, I have my hands tied with prestige progression. With the introduction of the new matchmaking algorithm introduced in Patch 0.4, now I have more flexibility in designing the prestige system and hopefully Patch 0.5 will make the game more "incremental". No More "Two Strike" Prestige For Qualifier Battle Previously, if you lose two qualifier battles in a row, you are required to prestige. This is no more! After this patch, you get +10 Quantum (and some XP reward) if you win a qualifi…
- Patch 0.4: Post Steam Next Fest Update - 21 June 2025
Steam Next Fest has ended - during the event, quite a few new players have tried out the game and I received some valuable feedback. As to what's next, I will keep the free demo up and updated - think of it as an open playtest. if you want to be part of the development, you should join our Discord channel. New Matchmaking Algorithm Among all the feedback I've received, two of them stand out: The game is too focused on ship battle and not "incremental" enough Permanent element boost is meh: XP multiplier doesn't feel significant enough Both are very fair, and I kind of agree as well. I am very concerned about making the ship battle "fair" - therefore, prestige boosts (Permanent Elements) cannot affect in-battle balance, which severely limits the type of boost they can provide. And a fair matchmaking will result in a 50% win rate, which kind of goes against the spirit of incremental games…
- Free Demo Update: 0.3 Tier VI Tech - 14 June 2025
Patch 0.3 introduces all Tier VI Tech weapons (12 in total). The balancing is preliminary and will be adjusted in the following patch. Autocannon AC76D "Serval" AC130C "Jaguar" Plasma Cannon PC1 Potoroo Rail Cannons RC50P "Dhole" RC100L "Bushdog" RC100F "Redfox" Laser Array LA1S "Danio" LA2 "Perch" LA2D "Pike" Missiles MS2D "Dove" MS3 "Jay" Drones FD1 "Eoraptor"
- Free Demo Patch: 0.2.93 - 8 June 2025
Previously a weapon will not fire if it fails to produce its ammo. This has been changed so that the weapon will fire as long as there's enough ammo and power. Power consumption will no longer scale with production capacity Added a new Tier VI Missile MS2D "Dove"
- Free Demo Update: 0.2 - 8 June 2025
This content update includes new content, new features and balancing changes. It will be the last content update before upcoming Steam Next Fest. Balancing Changes This patch increases the spaceship XP limit for quantum level. This means you can build a much more powerful ship given a quantum level. It also means the XP requirement to reach a quantum level is much higher as well. I have cleared the matchmaking pool and re-seeded all "benchmark" ships. New Weapon Modules There are five new weapon modules (unlocked by Tier IV techs), each with a unique ability. Battle Reports Now after a battle, you can see a more detailed battle report. This will let you further optimize your setup. Weapon Wiki As new weapons are introduced, it can be hard to see and compare their stats. A new "Weapon Wiki" is introduced to make this easy. You can access it in the hamburger menu.
- Free Demo is Available Now! - 4 June 2025
I have made the game's demo public to prepare for the upcoming Steam Next Fest. After two playtests, the most nasty bugs have been ironed out. I am still working on bug fixing, balancing, QoL, and a new player tutorial. https://store.steampowered.com/app/3558750/ I have also recorded a video intro, if you prefer video format. You can check out the demo already, or wait until the Steam Next Fest for a more polished build. Here are some changes in the past few days: All boosters now have "lifetime" in battle - they will disappear after reaching lifetime. After 5 min, the spaceship battle will enter "sudden death" mode, and each module will take damage every second. The battle UI will show relevant information, Reactive Regen is revamped: it now recovers 2x damage taken, instead of 10% of max HP, When damage is evaded, it will no longer trigger "On Taking Damage" status effect Added more i…
