There have been some titles that have come out in the last couple of years that set a pretty cool standard like Satisfactory and Factorio. There is one more type of game that would make these games even better, space. Youthcat Studio made their title a mix of these types of titles and added space to it in Dyson Sphere Program. Here we go with a factory-simulation title that brings us into the vastness of a procedurally-generated universe teeming with planets and materials to build your new factories. Find out more in our preview.
Preparing yourself for a space journey to create a massive inter-planetary economy is no small feat. The beginning minutes show you just how big the area is as you fly your ship around a starter star and down to your first world. This begins your grind.
I love how from the very beginning there is an explanation about what you are supposed to be doing, and detailed tutorials to help begin the creation of your factories. Some games don’t give you a tutorial even half as detailed as this one and the charts to learn new technology and upgrades are very self-explanatory as well. The first thing that tripped me up, however, was setting up the automatic mining and production functions. Once you learn to do this properly it clears up so much of the other problems you may have. Learning to build your buildings close together for power conservation, and to build conveyors so that they are not taking up too much-unrequired space. As you can see in my photo I still need to work on that.
Everything is different for every play-through. There are different stars, planets, and biomes. This is all thanks to the procedurally-generated nature of Dyson Sphere Program. When you begin the game it asks you to randomize your seed or to select the number of stars and resources you can have to play with. This is only a small portion of the start but it changes so much based on your choices. My first time playing I had normal settings and landed on a planet that didn’t afford me a whole lot of resources, but my second time attempting to play with a new game, and two times the resources, gave me a much-needed update for a starter planet. Your mecha, or your builder, will need constant fuel and the easiest way to fill up that tank is with plant fuel. Wood, plant crystals, and plant vegetation are the easiest ways to fill up your builder. Being able to upgrade your mecha is just as important as upgrading your base. The eventual jump to interplanetary commerce will be your biggest task so get ready.
One thing that I feel might make this title better is randomized events like weather that might cause some added difficulty, or the ability to create armed forces to protect your worlds and shipping lanes and then add events like alien attacks. These kinds of ideas might make it more interesting. With or without them I still can put four to six hours a day into this title without thinking twice about it. The rest of the title is pretty stable. I haven’t run into any bugs or anything else that have caused me any pains to this point.
Overall, I feel like Dyson Sphere Program is an exciting game with a huge scale for factory creation. The ability to create factories on a planet and then move to another planet and build a new factory and then transport materials between the two is just an awesome aspect. Right now it is in Early Access so it is a great time to get into it for only $19.99. I love it, and I think you might too.
Note: Our copy was previewed via Steam with a code provided by PR.