- Semi-hard SF
- limited super-science
- constraints on tech
- things like refueling often take time or money or both instead of being hand-waved
- no FTL comm except by ships
- players should be able to outrun trouble…sometimes
- No over-arching political structures
- bunches of mini-empires and federations, not The Empire or The Federation
- Limited interstellar law-enforcement, banking, other infrastructure
- new stellar systems should feel at least like a new country, not the next town over.
- Aliens are alien
- no rubber-forehead aliens; race-as-class should help with this
- Planets are complex and varied, even single-biome ones
- No “It was raining on planet Mongo”
- Old tech hasn’t been completely supplanted; reliability and cheapness count
- Tech may feel slightly retro
- all systems hardened against hacking (too easy, too magical)
- FTL travel
- No choke points: should be possible to enter/leave systems despite opposition (not necessarily safe, but possible)
- interstellar navies, pirates and potential invasions should be a thing
- possible to have encounters while traveling FTL (featureless jump space is boring)
Some Goals
Space Crawl 