Starbase Simulator

Operate the Starship space launch system and learn how to catch a rocket to understand what it takes to colonize Mars in this ever-evolving simulation of SpaceX Starbase Texas.

Here on Itch you can get the older free/demo versions of the game that is now on Epic Games Store and will be soon coming to Steam. These are the ones with "UNREAL-VERSION" in the name in the download section. Apart from being older, these don't have multiplayer.

The other ones with "UNITY-VERSION" are the last builds from when it was developed on Unity engine which are very old now. Go here for more info about the engine switch. The Unity version has a few things that are not yet in the Unreal version, but will be soon, and some that probably won't be anytime soon available for Unreal, like a simple VR mode and Mac builds. Check starbasesim.com for a detailed comparison.

Important: The Unity version 2023-04-23-Windows that you could download between 6th of November and 14th was broken and crashes the game when you look at the tower. The current one should be fine.

Follow the latest developments: @StarbaseSim

New on 6th of November 2024:

The Unreal version has finally been updated after reaching 1000 subs on Youtube! If you use the Itch app, best is to uninstall the Unity version and then install the Unreal one to have it not confused as I made this one to be patchable now. If you still want to play the Unity version just re-install it.

Main version is for Windows 10, where I am also developing on (should also run on other Windows versions since 7). Other builds are less tested. Check the download instructions if you have problems. The very old WebGL version is still available for nostalgia.

Other old versions can be found here.

Mac users: Best is to use the  Itch App to run the game. Then you don't need extra steps to start it. There were some problems with the mods on Mac, so you have to download them separately and copy the "mods" folder into the Resources/Data/ folder. I don't actually now yet, if this works, so please report back, if it does.

Mobile/Phone Version: Since some people have been asking. I tried a mobile build, but it runs really bad, unusable. Would need quite some optimization work as well as UI work. I'll stick to PC for the moment.

For VR see this community thread.

You can also give feedback or try to get quick help by other people on the Community Discord Server.

Find known issues here or report new.

Features (Unreal Version)

• Spawn as many rockets as you want, also in multiplayer.
• Put the hot stage ring on top of the booster with the mega bay crane.
• Transport the rockets with fully functional SPMTs from the Build Site to the Launch Site.
• Stack them with a fully controllabe Mechazilla. (soon also with ship qd arm)
• Launch the rocket with all its 33 engines blasting off. The 13 inner engines can be gimballed to steer it.
• Fly up to the Kármán line. There is no orbital stuff yet though as focus is on Starbase operations. So Earth is flat. But you can do simple hot staging.
• There is simple aero drag calculation, but no supersonic regime or re-entry heating as the scope of the current flying simulation just is to be able to catch Starship/Superheavy with Mechazilla at sea level somewhat realistically.
• You can return the rocket back to launch site and try to land, but it's a little tricky in current version.
• Automatic control is done with somewhat advanced PID controllers which you can tune mostly yourself, if you want. The idea is that you focus on controlling the chopsticks to catch the rocket while it automatically hovers into place. Position controller is major work-in-progress though currently.
• Rockets can float in the ocean.

Stuff for the future:

• tank farm and rocket tank physics
• QDs: ship arm, OLM (main + raptors)
  
• more stuff to look at on the launch site
• improve ship and booster also with insides
• improve OLM
• all vfx and sfx will be added and improved along the way
• other construction equipment like cranes, boom lifts
• orbital stuff
• moon/mars bases or KSC Florida
• add VR
• mobile/console version of game
• historical version / campaign with stuff like suborbital test stands / tank farm
• assembling of a booster/ship

My focus is on the ground base stuff, the things that we Starship addicts see on the live streams and pictures every day. There is no detailed plan or roadmap as there needs to be a lot of flexibility with the development.

But I can say what's coming in next update:

• first version of Massey's with static fire test stand (promised this to a producer long time ago and the model has been prepared by isaquest already)
• maybe some tanking physics and effects - if not, this will be next update after this, and maybe then even with orbital tank farm  already

Contribute

If you have some extra money to support the project on a regular basis, there is also a  ko-fi or Patreon. I post a tiny bit of additional behind-the-scenes content there and you get access to the Discord supporter section, where there is usually a bit more behind-the-scenes stuff going on. On ko-fi, you can currently also become a builder to get mentioned in-game and get access to the (buggy) dev versions.

If you have a super awesome 3d model, that you think that should be in StarbaseSim, please contact me. It should be prepared already for Unreal Engine though with materials set up there. Else it's too much work for me, or it has to be a really, really awesome model ;)

Who is the developer and what's the motivation

After finishing my Master in electrical engineering I worked  at a nuclear fusion research facility for 10 years. But I was always also interested in gaming, technology and space stuff. 

After seeing all the videos where all kinds of Starbase equipment is rendered and animated, I wanted to make an interactive version of this to re-create what it is like to stack, launch and catch the biggest fucking rocket ever. It should feel close to reality and include some of the interesting technical aspects.  

Currently I am doing most of it myself. Only with 3d models I get help by wonderful people like Nick, isaquest, Owe,  SAMCG14, @pr0ximacentaura, Nick @_AstroGuy_ and more (see in-game credits).

Other similar projects

If you really want to fly Starship and the booster, there are lots of mods for Kerbal Space Program. But I don't know much about KSP. You should definitely check out the mod Starship Launch Expansion though.

There is also the roadtomars project, which is pretty similar and has more of Starbase to explore and other stuff to do. But development has been discontinued. So it's more a snap shot of Starbase a few years ago now. I think, you can still download it via their discord.

Here is another StarbaseSim at a different stage of development: Spaceport-x by Chris Schaller. It looks like work on this hasn't continued as well. It's tough!

Another interesting project is this 3D experience of a possible Starship interior by @_DesignFreedom. Would be cool to have something like this also. It's quite detailed though.

Also interesting: HoppAR mobile app for alternate reality launches.

Licensing Terms

It's just a game. You can do almost anything you want with it. If you make a video or so please tweet it at me, if possible, and mention me somewhere. No need to ask for permission.

However, please don't extract assets and use them in your own projects without asking me or the original author before.  Some of it is public anyway. So you can just get it directly from the primary source. 

You can put the zip file of the game on your own page, but it needs to be free of charge and it is not allowed to package it with any installers or to change the content of the original zip file. Any additional content needs to be in a separate file. Also, you can copy the description from here, but you have to put a link to this page in the first sentence of your description.

:)