Dyson Sphere Program
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| Dyson Sphere Program | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer | Youthcat Studio |
| Publisher | Gamera Games |
| Engine | Unity |
| Platform | Windows |
| Release | January 21, 2021 (early access) |
| Genre | Factory simulation |
| Mode | Single-player |
Dyson Sphere Program is an upcoming factory simulation game developed by Youthcat Studio and published by Gamera Games. It was released in early access in January 2021 for Windows on Steam and WeGame.
Players are tasked with providing power to a supercomputer by harvesting resources to create an expanding, interstellar network of automated factories, with the ultimate goal of constructing a Dyson sphere. The early access version of the game has been met with generally positive reception, with praise for the gameplay loop and graphics and criticism towards the start of the game and user interface. It has been favorably compared to other games in the genre, including Factorio and Satisfactory.
Dyson Sphere Program is a sandbox factory simulation game[1][2] that takes place in a science fiction setting where human consciousness is digitized and uploaded to a supercomputer known as the 'Centrebrain'. The player, controlling a customizable mecha[3] named 'Icarus', is sent to an alien planet by the group 'COSMO', tasked with constructing infrastructure to generate power for the supercomputer. Players must create an interstellar network of factories[4] to collect and use minerals from nearby planetary systems,[5] with the ultimate goal of creating a Dyson sphere, a structure that is capable of capturing all of a star's energy output by completely encapsulating it.[6]
Factories consist of automated harvesting machinery, electrical infrastructure, and assembly lines, all connected through a series of conveyor belts.[7][6] Players begin by manually harvesting materials, such as stone, iron ore, and copper,[6] and create structures to automate resource collection and refinement as well as the manufacture of components, additional structures, and items. Factory layouts are incentivized to be efficient in order to minimize manual labor[5] and to achieve optimal throughput and flow of resources;[8] to this end, all buildings can be deconstructed and placed again to redesign factories.[6][9] Structures must be powered through electric generators, such as wind turbines, thermal power stations, solar panels, and artificial stars.[5] The mecha itself requires fuel, such as plant materials and hydrogen.[10]
Items called 'matrices' can be manufactured and consumed by research laboratories,[11] which furthers progression through a technology tree to upgrade and unlock various structures and abilities needed to expand and automate the factory.[5] Upgrading the mecha unlocks the ability to travel to other varieties of planets and stars in order to collect new resources unavailable on the starting planet. Interstellar and planetary logistics systems allow drones to transfer resources to player factories across the star system,[7][12] expanding industrial operations through magnitudes of planetary scale.[4] Factory expansion and research continues until components for the Dyson sphere are finally constructed and launched into their target orbit.[6]
With the "Rise of the Dark Fog" update, players must additionally defend their factories against periodic attacks from a hostile non-player character (NPC) faction named the 'Dark Fog'. Various structures, including turrets and energy shields, can be constructed to defeat Dark Fog assaults.[13][14]