STARGAZER
StarGazer is a 3D space-combat roguelike game focused on commanding massive capital warships instead of light fighters. The gameplay model rewards tactical positioning, ship-local navigation, and targeting side-firing broadsides rather than twitch reflexes.
Built by a solo developer, the project is designed with strict architectural tenets: a deterministic, seed-driven simulation layer, out-of-process data structures, and programmatic control over every system state.
Latest Blog Posts
Narratives and architectural breakthroughs from the latest milestones
I Gave Three Small Ships a Reason to Cross the Dark
From the command chair, I wanted every distant light to mean something: ore coming home, cargo moving, or a patrol keeping watch.
The Galaxy Learned to Say No
I wanted the galaxy beyond the bow to stop feeling like a field of dots, and tonight one distant star told my capital ship it was not welcome.
The Lights in the Dark Have Names Now
I wanted every distant station to feel worth crossing the dark for, with a purpose, a flag, and wounds that wait for your return.
My Living World Was Counting Its Dead as Alive
Yesterday my star system passed its own health check. Today I caught it counting corpses as crew, and the honest fix finally taught the world to measure itself without lying.
The Guns Are Real Now, and the Hull Knows How to Mend
My ship finally wears guns you could shoot clean off her spine, and when I limp clear of the fight and hold the weave, her heart drinks the reactor dry to knit the wounds closed in violet light.
The Fleet Finally Glows on PC
For weeks PC players could see everything except the ships. Tonight the whole fleet finally drew, and then it caught fire with light.
Development Timeline
Synchronized view of design decisions and code architecture logs
Give small craft jobs, not new physics classes
Miners mine, haulers move goods, and patrol cutters guard the system. They stay small and quick.
A ship's job should change its shape and behavior without duplicating movement rules. Factions can now show their economy and local control through the craft around them.
Let doctrine create identity without adding a second faction AI
Factions bring different fleets and habits. They still obey the same combat and political rules.
Combat identity should be visible and data-driven without creating a parallel AI, hidden action budget, or public strategy leak.
Put faction drama where the player can meet it
Political causes create bounded opportunities with exact actors, place, source, deadline, and outcome. Active encounters survive a same-system rebuild, abort when the player leaves, and show only factions the player knows. Player political links anchor at the current system.
Drama is useful when the player can see its cause, enter it locally, and trust that travel, saves, and hidden intel do not rewrite the story.
Make faction intent visible before consequences
A faction says what it wants, why it wants it, what else it considered, and then does that thing or does nothing.
Drama is readable when the player can connect intent, evidence, choice, and consequence. Silent fallback makes a faction look arbitrary, especially when a failed diplomatic offer turns into aggression.
Make faction access and trade concrete
Friendship opens doors. Trade makes both sides stronger and more dependent. Breaking the link hurts.
Relations need visible local effects and useful strategic risks. A treaty should change where ships can go, what services work, and what both sides stand to lose.
Looking for the project numbers?
Total commits, lines of code, design + code decisions, screenshot footprint, and 30-day commit activity all live on the stats page.