If you were disappointed by Spacebase Startopia's lackluster remake, you may be interested in Base One, another space-based management sim. It released on Steam last week to mixed user reviews—bugs and pathfinding issues seem to be the biggest complaints—but there may still be something to like here, or something that'll improve with patches.
With Earth experiencing catastrophic disasters (shocker!), the Global Union has created a space exploration program to send humanity through a newly formed wormhole. Your job is to search the uncharted galaxy for resources and keep everyone alive. It looks a bit like FTL meets Dungeon Keeper, but with a fully 3D spaceship with modules that snap together like Lego pieces.
Each module houses a different room that keeps your crew happy, rested, fed, and exercising, and each crew member has unique perks and traits, making them more or less suited to certain tasks on the station—and probably making it sadder when they invariably perish due to my negligence. There's a story-driven singleplayer campaign, as well as a free-play mode where you can design a station without distractions.
Something about space colony sims seems to make bugs inevitable (something to consider if you're ever offered a trip to Mars). One Steam reviewer, despite leaving a recommendation, said that Base One feels like it should be in Early Access, and similar comments can be found in other reviews.
"The AI orders you to put plants in the rooms to make your crew happy, while it forgets to mention that the oxygen supply has run out," wrote svenevil on Steam. "You need cleaners to wipe the floor, but most of your crew members just stand around doing nothing most of the time. You can order different things that get delivered by ship, but no one tells you how many resource units you will need and for what."
That sounds pretty frustrating, but as svenevil points out, it sure looks nice, and some of the other reviewers who acknowledge the bugs say they're having fun with it anyway.
The developer, Pixfroze, has already released a few patches. The latest patch notes, posted May 13, mention improvements to AI and pathfinding, and promise that more are on the way—not a bad sign, though you may want to wait and see how things play out.
Base One is on sale for $20 on Steam right now, but normally goes for $25.
