Starsector: A 15 Year Masterpiece

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Starsector is a single player, open world, space exploration and combat focused game with a large ecosystem. The game has RPG elements where you can interact with one of seven of the main factions through the universe of Starsector.

(A Eagle class defeating a Shepard D class ship in combat)

Starsector has been in the works for 15 years, slowly getting more updates and improving further and further, still receiving updates to this day. Starting in 2011 with the first Alpha release of the game. The game is developed by Fractal Software, a small indie team of five, led by Alex Mosolov.

Starsector gives you many options to take on the world. Do you wish to serve a faction and bring them to glory through combat and diplomacy? Do you want to become a merchant, flying from station to station buying and selling goods (which some may or may not be of legality)? Do you want to be a scavenger, picking apart the ruins of the past in attempts to find something of great value? There are far more options besides just these as well. From blowing apart massive capital class ships, to creating your own faction of thriving colonies, the choice is yours.

(One of the screens of colony management, featuring the commodities and growth of the colony)

The world of Starsector is best felt blindly, as while the story is minimal, it still is significant. However, if you do not mind minimal spoilers on gameplay mechanics and the tutorial, read ahead.

The Tutorial

The game starts off by asking you if you would like to start a combat tutorial before beginning. It is heavily recommended that you engage in this tutorial, because the world of Starsector will not slow down, and especially not your enemies. In this tutorial, you will be taught the basics of movement, aiming, weapon groups, active skills, and shields. Alongside these basic teachings, you will also be taught the most important skill in combat: Flux management

(a picture of two ships using vent to remove flux quickly)

Flux can be dumbed down to your heat capacity. Every time you fire a weapon, you will generate flux. Over time, this flux is dissipated at a fixed rate that varies from ship to ship. When your shield absorbs damage, it generates Hard Flux. Hard Flux will not dissipate while your shields are up, requiring you to eventually take down your shields if you want to remove it. Each ship has a max flux capacity, if they go over it, they enter a state of “overload”. In overload, ships are unable to take any action, including movement, using shields, or using weapons, which leaves the ship extremely vulnerable. The best way to remove an extreme amount of flux at one is to “vent”. Venting allows you to induce a mini overload onto yourself, leaving yourself vulnerable to attacks, but allowing you to get into the fight much faster than not venting. This concludes the essentials of the combat tutorial

Then comes the start of the game, where you will select a portrait for your character, a name, and you select from a few options as a backstory, which won't have a massive impact on your experience, but will make exploring certain options easier early on depending on what you choose. You will be taught how to scavenge, refit ships, and what a battle looks like before the stakes become higher. You will be taught how the universe operates, such as having to use your transponder on in civilized areas and how to and when to use different thruster modes when outside of combat.

The game is a ton of fun with a massive skill combat celling, with a massive amount of option to explore outside of combat.

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About the Author

Hello! My name is Mellow Carter, I’m in 11th grade, and it’s my first year as a writer for the Poudre High School Press. I write about various forms of electronic media, and school events, hoping to help inform others about the industry and events to not miss out on!

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Works Cited

Fractal Softworks. “Starsector.” Fractal Softworks, 8th December 2025, http://fractalsoftworks.com/. Accessed 10 April 2026.

Starsector. “Fractal Software.” Starsector, 2025, http://fractalsoftworks.com/. Accessed 20 April 2026.

Tarason, Dominic. “Starsector space sim new 2018 release.” Rock Paper Shotgun, 16 November 2018, https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/starsector-space-sim-new-2018-release. Accessed 10 April 2026.