ASTRAL CONTINUUM / COMPARISON
How Astral Continuum compares
Astral Continuum is a small multiplayer science-fiction game, in playtesting, where what you tell AI characters changes what they believe and do. It shares ideas with the games below; each of them is bigger or further along, and this page says where.
New to the game? Start with the Astral Continuum overview: what it is, how the consequence engine works, the current build and the FAQ.
TL;DR
| Game | What it is | Where it is ahead | How Astral Continuum differs |
|---|---|---|---|
| EVE Online | Space MMO with a player-driven economy | A vast, long-running live economy, with hauling, scams and smuggling between players at a scale Astral Continuum does not have. | The deception targets characters who weigh, act on and pass on what you tell them, on one small station. |
| Prosperous Universe | Persistent space-economy MMO in the browser | A full trading and shipping economy that anyone can play in the browser today, with a free tier. | A smaller economy where tips, bribes and accusations matter as much as prices. |
| Space Station 14 | Multiplayer station role-play and social deduction | Many players in station jobs, hidden antagonists, and open source code. | Characters run the station's law, docks and market, so 2 to 8 players are enough for a session. |
| Among Us | Social deduction | Short rounds, easy lobbies and accusations that work among strangers. | There are no rounds or votes: characters weigh accusations, act on them, and the effects persist. |
| Elite Dangerous | Space trading and flight sim | A whole shared galaxy, ship flight, and a background simulation of minor factions. | One station, played on foot; faction politics come from individual characters' beliefs. |
| RimWorld | Single-player colony sim and story generator | Deep character moods, memories and relationships in a released, mature game. | It is multiplayer: the stories involve other players, and characters' beliefs travel between them. |
Where Astral Continuum stands
Astral Continuum is smaller and earlier than every game here. The current build is one station, Kestrel Station, with 12 zones, 24 characters in three factions, one market with six commodities and room for 2 to 8 players. It is in playtesting, and playtesters join a session the developer hosts.
What it is built around is one idea: what you tell a character can change what that character believes and does, spread to other characters, and reach other players who never spoke to you. Every link in that chain is saved and can be traced.
Which one should you play?
- A huge, player-run economy: EVE Online, or Prosperous Universe if you want to stay in the browser.
- Station role-play with many players: Space Station 14.
- Quick social deduction with friends: Among Us.
- Flying and trading across a galaxy: Elite Dangerous.
- Characters with moods and memories, on your own: RimWorld.
- A small station where a rumour you start can get someone banned and move a price: Astral Continuum, once you can join a playtest.
This page was last reviewed on and is refreshed every quarter. The games listed are the ones the developer follows; see the glossary for the terms used here.