Developer journal · About the game

What I Want Far Reach Industries to Get Right

Informed decisions, understandable risks, recovery, and a colony worth developing after survival.

The game is still in development, but I have some clear standards for what I want playing it to feel like.

Tell me before I commit

Before I build something, show me what it needs and whether I can supply it.

If a water processor needs more power than I currently generate, tell me before I spend the resources. I might build it anyway because another generator is next on my list. But let me make that decision with the information in front of me.

The same goes for an expedition. How long will those people be gone? What equipment will they take? Can I bring them back early? Those are things I need to know before I send them.

Let me take a risk I understand

I don't expect to know everything about a planet. Finding out what's there is part of the fun.

If I cut corners on surveys and a deposit turns out smaller than I hoped, I can accept that. I took a chance.

But I want the game to distinguish between something we've measured, something we're estimating, and something we haven't investigated. An estimate shouldn't look like a guarantee.

Better preparation should help me make better decisions. It shouldn't eliminate every surprise.

Give me a chance to recover

A colony in trouble should be worth trying to save.

Maybe I need to ration supplies, shut down part of the industry, buy an expensive shipment, or ask another settlement for help. Maybe saving the colony means giving up an expansion I was excited about.

Those choices can hurt. Pulling a settlement back from the edge should take work.

But I don't want players spending three more hours on a colony that was already doomed without anyone telling them. If there's a way back, help them find it. If they've passed the point of recovery, be honest about that too.

Let me see that the repair worked

When I fix something, I want to see the colony respond.

Machinery starts up. Lights come back on. Cargo moves again. A habitat becomes usable.

I want that moment where I can look at the settlement and think, “There we go. I fixed it.”

Understanding how everything fits together should have a payoff I can actually see.

Help me find what matters

I like detail. I don't always want to hunt through twelve screens to find the one number I need.

At a glance, I should be able to tell whether the colony is doing okay. If something needs attention, show me what it is, why it matters, and how much time I have.

Then let me open the full breakdown when I want it. There should be plenty to dig into without making digging a requirement for every routine decision.

Give me a new problem on the next world

I want a reason to start another colony.

A different world should ask me to think differently. If water is scarce, I should need to reconsider my equipment, infrastructure, and expansion plans. Different geology should change where I build and what it takes to get resources out.

A different workforce or an incomplete survey could change the plan again.

I want a strategy that worked beautifully on one world to need some thought on the next. Moving the same deposits around a new map won't be enough.

Make the decisions count

If someone puts a decision in front of me, it should be worth my attention.

The answer might change staffing, costs, working conditions, infrastructure, or the options available later. I should be able to see what came of it.

I don't want players clicking through the same event because they've learned that the answer barely matters. If I'm asking them to stop and decide, there should be something worth deciding.

Keep the game interesting after survival

Getting established should feel good. I want players to earn that moment when they can breathe a little.

But there's a whole colony to develop after that.

Expanding underground means thinking about excavation, transport, access, and what happens during an emergency. Opening another site means deciding what it can supply locally and what has to be shipped in. A growing population needs more than the arrangements that got the first crew through landing.

I want growth to change the problems players are solving. There should be more to look forward to than a larger version of the factory they've already built.

Let success take different forms

I don't want every campaign to end with the same colony following the same route.

A settlement that trades for specialist equipment should be able to succeed. Becoming self-sufficient should take real investment and involve real compromises. I want players to have a reason to choose between those approaches.

And reaching an ending shouldn't automatically mean they have to stop playing. If they've built a place they care about, I'd like them to be able to stay and see what happens next.

These are the things I'll be looking for when I play the game myself. Can I make an informed decision? Can I recover from a mistake? Does starting again give me something new to figure out? Am I still interested once the colony is stable?

If you've spent time with these games, I'd like to hear what kept you playing—and what finally made you quit.