Sol Trader Presskit

Sol Trader

Presskit

Factsheet

Developer:: Chris Parsons
Winchester, UK
Release date:: 6th June 2016
Platforms:: PC, Mac, Linux
Distribution channels:: Steam
Humble Store
Direct
Website:: soltrader.net
Regular price:: $20 (US)
£15 (UK)

Description

A solo indie title from Chris Parsons, Sol Trader is a genre-busting space simualation where it's not about what you know - it's who you know. The game mixes classic top down 2D spaceflight with in-depth strategic manipulation of your network of contacts. You fly from planet to planet in our solar system in the near future, interacting with the various characters you find in cities and in space.

Each new game contains a 200 year old procedural society. Thousands of random characters are born, live and die as the game is generated. You start from your character's birth, choosing your parents and all your major life choices as you grow up. Your choices determine your personality, your friends, relatives, business contacts and and enemies.

You'll then be able to create your own legend within this world: explore the known (and unknown) solar system, trade goods, customise your ship, form lasting friendships, run missions, blackmail enemies, dodge pirates and navy ships, and avenge the deaths of members of your family as you see fit.

News

Development history

Chris Parsons started his professional video games career as a programmer at Elixir Studios for four years. Since leaving AAA games development in 2004, after working on Republic: the Revolution and Evil Genius, Chris worked in web development and founded his own development agency, running it for seven years and employing up to 12 people. After moving on from that role, his love of creating video games was rekindled, and he began working on Sol Trader in November 2011.

The game has been through several iterations since then, with the first Alpha release in May 2012. Successive Alphas have honed the gameplay, culmunating in a successful Kickstarter campaign, and a launch on Steam and the Humble Store on June 6th 2016.

Features

Single-player combination of top down 2D spaceflight and strategic manipulation of your network of contacts
Run missions using your family and friends' connections to government or business
No ship given to you at game start: you must take a loan and hire a ship, or borrow one from a wealthy relative
Fly between planets, interacting with the various characters you come across in cities and in space
Research information on other characters through chatting to friends and relatives
Customise your ship with better guns, engines, hyperdrives and passenger cabins
Trade goods for profit
Procedural generation of a whole society of thousands of random characters
Start every new game from your character's birth
Choose your parents and all your major life choices as you grow up
Your choices determine your personality and your friends, relatives and enemies
Full modding support: change all the organisations, events, weapons, planets, ships, conversations and tutorial system
Moody dystopian artwork by Aamar Rama and music by Andy Dollerson
Each new game is already 200 years old
Thousands of random characters are born, live and die as the game is generated, creating unique societies
Start every new game from your character's birth
Choose your parents and all your major life choices as you grow up
Your choices determine your personality and your friends, relatives and enemies

Quotes

"If you don’t want to play Sol Trader... I’m afraid we can’t be friends anymore. That’s just the way it is."

Rock Paper Shotgun

"Incredibly in-depth."

Indie Gamers UK

"Sol Trader enters the market at an interesting time for space sims. There are a lot of breathtaking procedural universes out there, but I think the relational element of games in this genre hasn't been fully explored. Therefore this game generates an entire society of characters at the start of the game, with thousands of unique characters to discover and interact with, each with their own full life story."

Chris Parsons, Sol Trader's creator