Roadmap

NOTICE: This page is a Work in Progress as much of the lore/Development for the game is yet to be established.

Last updated based on developer notes from: 2nd May 2025

This roadmap provides an overview of Starship Simulator's planned development milestones, including new features, systems, and major patch cycles as it moves toward Early Access. Each update introduces new gameplay mechanics, ship interior improvements, galactic systems, and quality-of-life enhancements, giving players a clear view of how the simulation is evolving.

High-Level Overview

Following the successful completion of their Kickstarter campaign, Fleetyard's focus is now on increasing the size of their team while working toward the release of Early Access.

Planned Early Access Features

The Magellan Class vessel finished and polished
Full NPC crew implemented
All major player roles implemented, with per-department task generation
VR mode implemented and polished
Shuttles implemented
Explorable procedural alien ship/station interiors
Planetary landings via shuttle
Ship vs Ship standalone game mode where the objective is to capture the opponent's bridge

Patch Cycle 0.225.0.0 — The Drake Equation (In Progress)

Objectives

Remodel the Magellan Class vessel to be more streamlined, more unique, and to include visible FTL hardware.
Significantly improve the Galaxy Generation code, and more specifically add all of the prerequisite code for generating life across the whole galaxy.
Completely overhaul the Sensors interface, with the addition of a new mode for conducting planetary scans, revealing details of any detected life.

Patch Version 0.225.1.0

New Galaxy Addition

100% - Add Roche Limit calculations to the star system generation code. This will stop planets generating inside stars, and also be used to determine the presence of planetary rings if a moon is generated too close to a planet. Actual moons will come later.
100% - Add the beginnings of the life-generation code. Alien races will begin appearing, although only as text-descriptions for now.
100% - Switch the real stellar data to the Gaia catalogue and extend to 2000ly range.
100% - Add small Kuiper Belt style objects to the game for all star systems.
100% - Add Hill Sphere calculations to the star system generation code.
100% - Add Orbital Period calculations to the star system generation code.
100% - Add Orbital Velocity calculations to the star system generation code.

New Gameplay Features

100% - Add the ability for players to scan planets for more detailed surface information.
100% - Add the ability to "search ahead" to distant sectors, so courses can be plotted anywhere in the galaxy.
100% - Add floor 'dirt'.
100% - Add Roomba (RM-84) to clean floors.

New Ship Interior Addition

100% - Add planetary scanning output to the Holo Display, which means full 3D holograms of planets on the Bridge.
99% - Add new wall panels.
100% - Recreate VIP Crew corridor structural framework.
100% - Finish the B Deck corridor modelling, including the security desk.
100% - Create new D Deck/E Deck outer corridor/room layout.
100% - Create a working B-F lift.
100% - Create C Deck corridor panelling.
100% - Add the ship's Cat (Jonesy).
100% - Add plants to all deck planters.

Polish / Improvement

100% - Completely overhaul the Sensors console to bring it up to date with current UNOS UI designs.
99% - Rewrite Scanning and Navigation tutorial to work with new sensors UI.
100% - Add Enter/Backspace indicators to Tutorial textbox.
100% - Add the ability to zoom the holo-display properly, and also include coloured banding for habitable zones, etc.
100% - Add new names to credits.
100% - Enable Steam Cloud Saves.
100% - Create new deck maps.

Accessibility

100% - Add Headbob mode to gameplay settings, and make OFF by default.
100% - Add right-click to zoom and to accessibility controls.
100% - Add new crosshair variations to controls settings.

Exterior Ship Model

100% - Create new external hull profile for new ship design.
100% - Increase the vertical spacing between decks to 1m.
100% - Create floor cavities in ship's framework for new floor panelling, for each individual deck. Precursor to the upcoming damage model.

Due to time constraints, the following items will be pushed back to the next patch cycle

50% - Add atmospheric chemicals to the planetary scanning data.
0% - Add atmospheric pressure to the planetary scanning data.
0% - Add ocean chemicals to the planetary scanning data.
10% - Properly calculate atmospheric greenhouse effect and add to planetary scanning data.
0% - Add default ship security code to ship customisation settings.

→ Then going into testing phase for Demo Update

Patch Cycle 0.226.0.0 — Taking Command (Planned)

Objectives

Improve and put the final polish on bridge interior.
Add two NPC crewmembers to the bridge along with the first iteration of our NPC command interface.
Add the generation of moons to our galaxy system.

Patch Version 0.226.1.0

New Galaxy Addition

0% - Improve star system data structure to support moons
0% - Add moons to the game.
0% - Add star system designer tool
0% - Add the ability to save multiple custom systems locally.

New Gameplay Features

0% - Implement the ability to spawn Science and Helm bridge NPCs
0% - Add the ability to issue basic commands to bridge NPCs
0% - Add the ability to interact physically with the holo display.

New Ship Interior Addition

0% - Remove the beam from bridge windows.
0% - Add missing consoles to the bridge alcoves.
0% - Add placeholder UI to Tactical console (Add button to make weapons go pew pew).
0% - Add placeholder UI to Communications console.
0% - Add placeholder UI to both Engineering consoles.
0% - Add placeholder UI to Defence console.
0% - Add placeholder UI to Internal Security.
0% - Add placeholder UI to Environmental Control console.
0% - Build holo-display hardware.
0% - Remodel the bridge ceiling and add a central window.

Polish / Improvement

0% - Keybinds
0% - Controller support
0% - Sort SteamDeck compatability

Exterior Ship Model

0% - Continue working on the exterior ship model.

→ Go into final testing for demo update

Patch Cycle 0.227.0.0 — Sublight Engines (Planned)

Objectives

This update will focus on adding proper sublight flight controls to the game, along with small objects in star systems that can be flown around (and bumped into) at sublight speeds. This includes things like asteroids and moons.

Patch Version 0.227.1.0

New Galaxy Addition

0% - Overhaul how exterior space is handled, to improve floating point precision and make it possible to physically collide with objects.
0% - Add asteroids to the game.
0% - Add comets to the game.

New Gameplay Features

0% - Add sublight controls to the game, along with full controller support.
0% - Add wormholes to the game, which will come in both stable and unstable versions. Fully procedural, noone will know where they go until you fly into them.
0% - Add the ability to sit on the various A Deck benches and the lounge sofas.
0% - Add short range scanning mode to the sensors console so that players can scan comets/asteroids, with corresponding output on the holo-display.

New Ship Interior Addition

0% - Add additional screen space / information to the Helm console.
0% - Model a new bathroom for the empty room on A Deck.
0% - Model the VIP lounge bathroom.

Polish / Improvement

0% - Move the Bridge window controls to an Environmental Controls stations in the side alcove.
0% - Add the ability to list star system objects in a nested tree format, to reduce screen clutter and make it easier to expand moons.
0% - Add the sublight engines and RCS to the electrical system properly.
0% - Add off-screen target arrows on the Helm to make it easier to find your target.

Exterior Ship Model

0% - Continue working on the exterior ship model.

→ Then going into testing phase for Demo Update