Planet Nomads

Planet Nomads for PC is a science-fiction survival sandbox developed by Craneballs studio. The game has been funded through a Kickstarter campaign that provided developers with over 90 thousand dollars; moreover, it has received many ‘thumbs up’ from many players in the Steam Greenlight program. A player assumes the role of a solitary astronaut stranded on a secluded planet, who in the attempt to stay alive, gathers resources, creates items essential for survival, and explores the world that surrounds him.

Mechanics

In order to survive on this unexplored planet, one has to tend to his character’s basic needs – this means satisfying both hunger and thirst, as well as taking care of his general health condition; the main protagonist can fall ill, get a concussion, and break a limb. Moreover, a player has to take notice of the threats posed by the environment, such as dangerous fauna and flora, radioactive radiation, extremes of temperature, and poisonous gases.

The basic gameplay mechanics that allow one to survive in these dangerous conditions revolve around building different structures. It is somewhat based on the ‘LEGO blocks principle, with all the buildings being erected using segments designed by the developers (the game offers over 100 types of predesigned blocks), which can be connected in various combinations. Another aspect of the gameplay mechanics require a player to create a vehicle – to explore the planet more easily – and a spaceship, allowing players to go on a space voyage.

Apart from building structures, a player can also craft numerous helpful items using all the resources available on the desolate planet. In order to find them, a player has to venture beyond the safe areas surrounding his camp – rare minerals can be scavenged from dangerous places that are difficult to access. Moreover, a player has to improve his character’s gear, which includes the multi-tool for gathering resources, the protective space suit, and the jetpack. These improvements are facilitated by a typical for this video game genre development tree mechanic.

Technical aspects

The in-game world is generated procedurally, and the voxel-based graphics engine allows players to fully destroy almost all the surrounding elements of the environment. The PC release of Planet Nomads offers support for mods.

Last updated on July 18, 2017