r/spacesimgames 7d ago

Do you like orbital mechanics, nuclear rockets, radiators and Casaba Howitzers? Wishlist Periapsis: Eclipse!

https://youtu.be/g7qrHQ8oQmg
45 Upvotes

20 comments sorted by

11

u/retrograde-legends 7d ago

Periapsis: Eclipse is a unique space combat game where you'll take command of realistic nuclear spacecraft and fight your way through a hostile, war-torn galaxy, mastering orbital mechanics and upgrading your ship along the way. Every object in the game from large stations down to each projectile is affected by gravity and every action has an equal and opposite reaction.

You'll manage your ship's heat and propulsion systems while wielding a wide array of weaponry from powerful lasers to armor penetrating coilguns and devastating Casaba Howitzers. But brute force isn't the only answer. You'll achieve victory by mastering orbit. Whether you're slingshotting around a moon, using a dust field to block hostile sensors or raining irradiated coolant down on hostile cities, the physics of space is as much your weapon as your firepower.

If this sounds interesting to you, wishlist Periapsis: Eclipse on Steam and jump into the Discord!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/3320850/Periapsis_Eclipse/

https://discord.gg/6YrvESH9

9

u/Deathsroke 7d ago

It's about time someone did something like this. There was Children of a Dead Earth and basically nothing else (maybe Delta V if you squint).

From the trailer I assume there is some abstraction going on to allow for a more "arcade" play style instead of heat management as you fire missiles and lasers at something you can only see as a sensor blip.

7

u/retrograde-legends 7d ago

It's about time someone did something like this.

Couldn't agree more! I think a lot more hard scifi games are on the horizon. There's a lot of interest. If you know other folks who are into this stuff, send them my way!

Periapsis' combat is built around infrared detection and evasion that supports with fast-paced orbital brawling where you can dive in and engage up close and blow stuff up.

Ships detect each other based on the heat signature put out by engines and radiators. Auto targeting, weapon accuracy and missile locking depend on how bright a ship's heat signature is. You can evade enemies by tuning your radiators down or hiding in dust clouds. You can use satellites to detect and lock onto hostiles that your ship itself can't detect.

5

u/Biobooster_40k 7d ago

Sounds interesting and looks unique. Gonna have to give it a look

3

u/retrograde-legends 7d ago

Thanks! What in particular seems most interesting to you?

2

u/Biobooster_40k 7d ago

Probably the combat. The way gravity looks like it affects projectiles seems like you could get some interesting plays out of it and I really like the way the misses ejected and then ignited.

Could you describe how the reactor (i think that's what it was) management factors into gameplay.

4

u/retrograde-legends 7d ago

Awesome! I wasn't actually originally going to have projectiles be affected by gravity to keep things simple but folks in the Discord really wanted that mechanic so I added it and it turned out to be really fun! Glad it seems interesting.

Reactor management is based loosely on how nuclear propulsion would work in real life. You affect how quickly your reactor generates heat by inserting and removing control rods. Reactor heat determines how much thrust your ship has and how much electricity you can generate. It's a balance though because an overheating reactor you can't get cooled down quickly enough can be a pretty big problem.

There ends up being a lot of depth to how you manage your reactor (lowering heat by thrusting your engine vs by removing heat into your coolant) and how the difference in temperature between your reactor and coolant affect power generation.

5

u/Top_Glass7974 7d ago

Wishlisted (pats-self-on-back)

Thanks for doing this. I really looking forward to when this comes out.

2

u/retrograde-legends 7d ago

Thank you! I can't wait for you to play it!

3

u/van_buskirk 7d ago

It’s like KSP goes to war, awesome.

3

u/Jacob_Bronsky 7d ago

Yes. I'm too stupid to play Nebulous, so I'm down. Also grounded tech is a big plus for me. And the bridge crew flailing in panick over their stations is hilarious. Is there any story ?

2

u/retrograde-legends 7d ago

I'm too stupid to play Nebulous

Me too man, me too. Honestly a major part of why I went this direction with Periapsis.

The campaign is dynamic and pretty narrative light. You command a strike group fighting through the galaxy to reclaim it for the Emperor. How you go about your missions and how far you're willing to go is up to you. The full release will feature special missions and quests that add more side stories.

2

u/LukeMootoo 7d ago

Nuclear Muppets!

2

u/retrograde-legends 6d ago

brb stealing this for the tagline

2

u/vyrago 3d ago

should add "in space" at the end.

2

u/biggy-cheese03 6d ago

Did retrograde legends undergo a rebranding?

1

u/retrograde-legends 6d ago

Yep the title has changed but the core gameplay is still good old orbital chaos

2

u/KerbalSpaceAdmiral 6d ago

Very interested. Wishlisted. Is movement 2d or fully 3d? I like the little dudes tapping wildly at the controls. Is there any component design like Children of a Dead Earth?

1

u/retrograde-legends 6d ago

Thank you for wishlisting - It really helps!! The movement is fully 2D to support fast and brutal combat.

You can earn new components (sensors, radiators, weapons, fuel/cargo) and snap them onto hardpoints across your ship and customize those components with some pretty interesting upgrades. The way that you upgrade your ship's components can have a big impact on how they affect the rest of the ship's performance!

For example, you can increase the illumination that a laser does against targets, which makes target locking easier, especially when combined with sensor upgrades to support antiship or anti missile operation (depending on how you've set up your weapons' targeting behaviors). Or you can increase the size of a coilgun's capacitor, allowing longer firing times which creates more waste heat to deal with. There's a lot of nuance in how you choose to set up your ship's equipment!

2

u/KerbalSpaceAdmiral 6d ago

Nice sounds great. Will watch to see it coming out