itch.io

Hi there! Thanks very much for the interest! 

I did disable downloads as I am working every day on the next version / phase and will re-enable the downloads once I can dedicate more time to promotion and seeking out feedback/testers. The reality was that this early version had a good number of bugs and I was just curious what sort of interest there might be. 

The downloads will be re-enabled once a more stable, pretty version is ready. It's getting close! I don't expect it to be ready to download until early June, though.

Hopefully you'll stop by again around then! :) Thanks!

(You can also check my daily status on twitter @Mean_Games or instagram @eric.koyanagi)

An updated version will be posted today. Among a slew of visual tweaks and updates, the trade system is now functional! 

Trade

The UI needs some love, but trade is now functional. Independent freighters automatically dock with applicable space ports. Click on any trader to see exactly what good they are carrying (selling) and which good they are interested in buying. Need more trade? Build more space ports to handle more traffic. 

Trade is controlled by a simple slider -- buy goods if your inventory falls below the 'buy' threshold, and sell goods if it rises above the 'sell' threshold. A few more UI improvements will help make this more clear.

Unlocks / Research

There are still many more buildings to create. New structures will be unlocked by purchasing contracts from three different corporate entities. Each corporation has a general specialty, so players can choose to specialize their cities if they desire. 

Visuals, Balance, & Next Updates

I am continuing to improve and revamp The Black Beyond's visual style and am slowly iterating on gameplay balance as structures become more finalized. 

Next, I will be working on a few UI controls for better managing the worker drone fleet. I want to add a "stats" panel that provides detailed info on population growth, goods/trade income, and industry. I will be investing a lot of time to revamp & smooth out the persistence engine (e.g. autosaves and better UI) and to test/optimize with huge bases. 

I will be adding additional structures and environments as well. I have been pouring some insane hours into this, and I hope next week's updates shows this even more.

Thanks and have a good day! :) 

Yep, sadly alone, haha. Thanks very much! :)  

I have been working for way too long on this crazy game, but things are finally starting to come together. The Black Beyond is a sci-fi building game. With a fleet of worker drones, the player exploits nearby asteroids and an endless stream of independent traders to create a thriving city in space.

I have recently revamped the game to embrace a more cyberpunk-style, to use a new UI, and to introduce more complex economic concepts. For example, kelp can be grown and is harvested by worker drones.  

I also recently revamped the UI. I still have a ways to go to make this cleaner, especially selecting buildings and showing the player exactly which building is currently selected. I also need to do a better job of auto-rotating buildings to "snap" easier and to make it more clear how buildings connect. 

I am currently working on a new trade system. This isn't in the game yet, but will allow the player to set thresholds for any good. If their stores fall too low, it will automatically be purchased from random traders. Or set a 'sell' value to automatically sell off goods after enough are stockpiled. 

Overall, I'm happy with how the core of my game is coming along...there have been a lot of twists and turns as I've refined this concept. I've had a lot of failed projects as I learned game dev over the past 3 years, and there remains a lot to fix and expand. 

I'm so extremely grateful for anyone that takes the time to play and provide feedback, even if it's pointing out glaring bugs or telling me that I'm ugly. Thank you! 

This next update will be coming soon. I'm adding a lot more to this than I intended, and would rather wait until things are smoothed out before patching. 

There's a brand new UI and a host of new resources. You'll find a new asteroid type that yields precious metals (gold, platinum, etc.) and structures like the kelp farm that slowly grows plants. When ready, worker drones come to harvest the crop.  

The new UI shows exactly which goods are needed as "inputs" for any factory or farm. An improved build menu shows actual model previews which should also help clean up the presentation. 

Trade will become an important facet of the game. Traders will automatically warp in and dock; many are small, independent ships living life across the stars. 

I am working on the interface to control trade -- set thresholds to automatically buy or sell your goods in storage. This reduces micromanagement. If your oxygen drops below the "buy" threshold, you will begin to buy it from traders. If you suddenly increase your O2 production and it then crosses the "sell" threshold, you'll begin to sell it to any interested traders. 

I expect most of these updates to be ready by next Tuesday (2/20) at the latest. 

Thanks! 

Great! Thanks so much for taking the time to try it and report your system specs. It really does help me a lot, as I haven't had a lot of ability to test on Linux or on lower end machines. Thank!

Thanks very much for taking the time to try the game and for taking the time to give some feedback! I will definitely be improving the basic building tools, UI elements, etc. as the project continues to progress. I definitely see how building in three dimensions can be a lot cleaner by making it much more clear how buildings connect and helping the player align with some snapping options, etc. 

Thanks again! 

Hey there. I did add Linux to my build process. Every download really counts for me, if you want to check it out again :D

Thanks so much for giving it a try! 

I know that delete can be glitchy and wonky right now and am working on fixes for the next patch  :)  

I'm also working on a simple slider that will allow you to better control the drones so that they don't instantly drain your economy by building a bunch of stuff while neglecting mining. 

Thanks. I will post a Linux build as soon as I can.

Build a city in space. 

Deploy a fleet of worker drones to quickly mine resources and construct buildings. Defend your base with turrets (and eventually other gadgets) as you attract more and more residents. Expand in any direction, exploiting an infinite field of asteroids and comets. 

Download Now!

I've been working on the Black Beyond for about 6 months now, and development is ongoing every day. 

I am gladly offering the game for free download since it is still an alpha version. I'm very grateful for any feedback you are willing to provide!