Though the game is still in early development I feel it's important to keep you all up-to-date on progress as well as share any other news. This one is going to be rather long winded as it's the first one and will set the ground-work for later updates. It'll also give insight into the development process and decisions regarding release. Early Access There will be no early access for this game. It will be released as a finished product and have gone through several testing/bug fixing phases before release. Currently the game is planned to release on the 1st of June 2023. Progress is going well and it looks like that target will be reached. Beta Access There will be a beta testing period during which a currently unspecified number of people from the community will be offered the opportunity to test the game and leave feedback. Those who are accepted to the beta testing program will be provided a beta production key during that period. Anyone who participates in the beta will be offered a full steam key upon release for free. Press Keys There will be an opportunity at a later date to apply for press keys. This will be announced in this forum along with the requirements to apply. Platforms and Languages The game is supported on Windows, Linux, and SteamOS. There are currently no plans to support MacOS. As for languages, on release the game will only be available in English. However, on release, the plan is to support more languages. Modding Support Modding support is discussed lightly on the store page so I will elaborate further here. From the very beginning modding support has been a core value of this project. A modding tutorial will be posted and pinned to this forum upon the release of the game. It is my hope that modding will be as simple to access as possible. Across several files are stored ship, planet, event, quest, and dialogue data. These are stored in simple configuration (.ini) files which can be accessed from most text processing apps. Though the amount of data may seem intimidating at first every effort has been made to make this game as easy to modify as possible. As such, upon release, the game will include a modding tool to easily access and edit this data. State of the Game So far progress has been swift. Much of the modding support and essential components have been implemented. The game is currently in a state of early play. It will not be long until the game enters into early alpha testing. What's being worked on

• Adding all of the events + modding support for events
• Finalising the story
• Implementing manual belt travel
• Achievements / Cards

• Ship data + modding support
• Planet data + modding support
• Dialogue and event system
• User interface and control
• Ship management system

The Merchants of Sol

The Story

Your actions matter.

• War - For as long as the resources flow across the system, to the colonies, then peace is maintained. Colonies will fight planetary and interplanetary wars over resources and territories. These wars can be lucrative but can also be disastrous for the movement of goods.
  
• Death - For many colonies, their basic needs are met by the merchants. Food, water, oxygen, medical supplies, among other things cannot be produced on fledgling colonies without the resources or equipment to do it. Sure, death can be bad for business but necessity drives profits.
  
• Prosperity - Of course, you could also provide everything that a colony needs and see them prosper. After all, a prosperous colony is a rich one. And a rich colony is ripe for abuse.

Tools to success

• OSINT such as procedurally generated news for regional and system wide information.
  
• Market charts for stock exchange and market manipulation.
  
• Insider trading can be effective. Getting friendly with the owners and operators of regional businesses can give you valuable information into the market.
  
• Signing contracts to fulfil tasks for government or private businesses can give a steady flow of income. But be sure to complete these assignments or you might face a breach of contract.
  
• Use criminal, or morally objectionable, activities to make more money! Bribe government officials to favour a certain course of action, plot to murder those that get in your way, fund propaganda campaigns to further your aims, smuggle illegal products through planetary blockades, forge visa papers or government documents to access restricted areas, there's many ways in which you can go about making money.

A living, breathing universe.

• OS: Ubuntu
• Processor: AMD Athlon 1000Memory: 500 MB RAMStorage: 100 MB available spaceSound Card: N/AAdditional Notes: Tested on Ubuntu 20.04.4 64-bit
• Memory: 500 MB RAMStorage: 100 MB available spaceSound Card: N/AAdditional Notes: Tested on Ubuntu 20.04.4 64-bit
• Storage: 100 MB available space