- How your feedback is shaping Earthless - 28 November 2023
Hello, Captains! For the small team working on Earthless here at Blackbird Interactive, October’s Steam Next Fest was nothing short of incredible. And we have you to thank for that! Thousands of you downloaded and played the Earthless demo during Next Fest. Many of you even took time to give us invaluable feedback via our Steam Forums, official Discord, and on social media. And that feedback has not only strengthened our conviction that Earthless is an exciting blend of genres we love. It also helped us feel confident in what we can improve ahead of our 2024 Early Access launch. So thank you so much to everyone who took the time to share their thoughts on the demo. Today, I wanted to debrief on Next Fest and share how your feedback is shaping Earthless — especially as it relates to three key areas: difficulty, user interface, and the intro experience. Let’s get to it, Captain! Pssst! If…
- Managing your crew in Earthless - 2 November 2023
Captain, it's time to solve a dilemma! We've recovered some Lusk technology and need to decided how to use it to benefit our ship. The Gunnery Officer thinks it should be used to elevate our weapons to the next level, but our Science Officer disagrees, saying that further research is needed before we make a rash decision... In Earthless, a Captain is only as good as their crew. Manage your crew's relationships correctly and you'll see wide-ranging benefits on the battle grid. Ignore their advice, and you'll face a range of negative debuffs. We sat down with Game Director, Hoi-Fung to explain crew management in more detail How and when did the addition of a crew management mechanic enter Earthless' development? From the very beginning, we wanted to create an experience that really evoked that feeling of being your own starship captain — the intrigue, the interpersonal drama, the impossib…
- Earthless Demo tips and tricks! - 13 October 2023
Attention all captains! We hope you're enjoying playing through the Steam Next Fest demo for Earthless! Travelling across the cosmos is no easy task though, and danger awaits any brave enough to try! To help you out in your search for a habitable planet, we've put together some tips and tricks. 1. Use Your Ship's Predictive AI The most powerful tool in your arsenal isn't a Tactical Strike card. It's your ship's Predictive AI module that displays what your enemies will do on their next turn. Press TAB to engage this feature, and you'll see blue lines displaying where enemy ships will move, whether they'll attack you, and how much damage those attacks will deal. But wait! There's more! The Predictive AI can be used to see how enemies will react to your actions. For example, when moving your ship on the grid, hold TAB before selecting a square to see how enemies will respond. The same goes…
- Earthless Demo Playthrough Stream - 13 October 2023
Attention Captains! Are you ready to step up to the bridge and begin the search for a new home for humanity? 🚀🪐 Join the second Earthless broadcast to see our Game Director, Hoi-Fung Ma and Communications Lead, Steven Messner play through a run in our Steam Next Fest demo! Will they captain their crew to victory against the alien Lusks or are they doomed to perish in the cold vacuum of space? Give it a watch now to find out! https://store.steampowered.com/app/2058960/Earthless/ Steam Next Fest Demo Embark on your first cosmic adventure in the Earthless demo, available during Steam Next Fest! Your ship is a survivor of the evacuation of Earth. Your task is clear: explore the stars and seek out a new home planet for humanity. In the demo experience, you'll have the opportunity to explore part of Act One of Earthless, exploring uncharted areas of space, fighting off alien threats, and po…
- Earthless | Steam Next Fest 2023 Demo Stream - 10 October 2023
Attention Captains! Are you ready to step up to the bridge and begin the search for a new home for humanity? 🚀🪐 Join the Earthless broadcast right now to see our Game Director, Hoi-Fung Ma and Communications Lead, Steven Messner play through a run in our Steam Next Fest demo! Will they captain their crew to victory against the alien Lusks or are they doomed to perish in the cold vacuum of space? Give it a watch now to find out! https://store.steampowered.com/app/2058960/Earthless/ Steam Next Fest Demo Embark on your first cosmic adventure in the Earthless demo, available during Steam Next Fest! Your ship is a survivor of the evacuation of Earth. Your task is clear: explore the stars and seek out a new home planet for humanity. In the demo experience, you'll have the opportunity to explore part of Act One of Earthless, exploring uncharted areas of space, fighting off alien threats, and…
- Play the Earthess Next Fest demo now! - 9 October 2023
It's time for lift-off! Captain your crew and find a new home for humanity in the Earthless demo, available to play now as part of Steam Next Fest! We spoke to our Game Director, Hoi-Fung about the demo and what players can expect to experience! Here's what he had to say. How would you describe Earthless to someone who's come across the demo in Steam Next Fest? I think every sci-fi nerd has, at some point, wondered what it'd be like to be Captain Kirk and sit in that chair. How would you handle those tough decisions? Could you find that balance between completing your mission while also caring for your crew? That's Earthless. It's a game that strives to — at every level — evoke that fantasy of being a starship captain. And the roguelike genre lets you undergo these voyages where you never really know what to expect on each one. This is especially true regarding your crew, who have uniqu…
- Earthless Gameplay Reveal Trailer! - 2 October 2023
Get the first glimpse of the new science fiction adventure from the developer of Hardspace: Shipbreaker and Homeworld 3, and go hands-on soon during Steam Next Fest. Blackbird Interactive and Team17 Digital have today revealed the first look at gameplay for the upcoming, strategic sci-fi adventure , coming to Steam Early Access in early 2024. The new video explores the game’s core systems and dives into Earthless’ unique blend of grid-based exploration and tactical combat, intricate crew management and impactful trade-off choices, and expansive storytelling inspired by classic science fiction novels. Check out the first look at Earthless in action in the brand-new gameplay reveal trailer: Players looking to get hands-on with Earthless before its early access launch early next year can climb aboard the captain’s chair and try out a demo during the upcoming Steam Next Fest, from 9-16th Oc…
- Meet the Director Q&A! - 30 August 2023
We'd like to introduce you all to the game director on Earthless, Hoi-Fung Ma, who first pitched this project at Blackbird Interactive several years ago. So how did Earthless first come to be? How did you get started on the project? HOI-FUNG: I can’t believe that the original pitch for Earthless was almost four years ago already! Time really flies. I first started at BBI as a producer for Crossfire Legion and then Minecraft Legends, before having the opportunity to pitch Earthless (codenamed Project Owl) through BBI’s Skunkworks incubator program — alongside two other wonderful team members, Maher Manoubi and Youhan Guan. Note: the Skunkworks program, run about every year, allows anyone at BBI to team up and pitch a game idea that could become the studio's next original game. If the idea is chosen, the team gets a bonus and dedicated time and resources to take the project to the next ph…
- A deep dive look at Blackbird Interactive and Team 17's new roguelike: Earthless - 23 August 2023
☀️ Outrun the Sun ☀️ We thought we had billions of years before our Sun died. We were wrong. Now humanity is thrust into the cosmic winds in search of a new home, and it's up to you to get them there. In Earthless, you play as one of many different captains, exploring unique sectors of our galaxy to uncover a life-viable planet. Like any good roguelike, each voyage won't play out the same way twice. You'll face different compositions of enemies, obstacles, and — key to Earthless — narrative events with consequences that could save or doom you and your ship. Making those decisions won't fall on you alone, however. With every new voyage, you'll be paired with a new crew of randomly-generated officers with their own personality and characteristics. Survival depends on how you manage these officers and their (often opposing) perspectives. FUN FACT Earthless' user interface is entirely diege…
- The makers of Hardspace Shipbreaker are trying to crack a new take on the roguelike deckbuilder - 18 August 2023
I'm the first journalist in the world who's laid hands on the new sci-fi strategy game from the studio behind Hardspace: Shipbreaker and Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak , and I've just broken it to pieces in front of them. I'm having a great time... Read more.
- The Hardspace: Shipbreaker dev's new game is a sci-fi deckbuilder with Battlestar Galactica vibes - 11 June 2023
Okay, so you're not being chased by an army of murderous robots that are only seconds behind you, but you're still jumping around trying to find a new home for the last of humanity who managed to escape a doomed planet. Earthless is a roguelike deckbuilder from Blackbird Interactive, although you wouldn't know it from the cinematic teaser trailer shown at the PC Gaming Show tonight, which was heavy on the dramatic yet hopeful voiceover. As the captain of the fleet, your job is to lead everyone to a safe harbour. Read more
- Earthless arrives in Steam Early Access in 2024! - 11 June 2023
Humanity’s fate rests in your hands, Captains. We may have lost our home, but humanity will chart a new course amongst the stars! 🌌 Team17 and Blackbird Interactive join forces for brand new sci-fi roguelike deckbuilder, Earthless. In Earthless, players will experience a rich, sci-fi story of loss, hope, and human endurance following the destruction of the Sun. You will captain humanity’s final colony ships through space in a series of roguelike adventures, exploring a web of ever-changing and treacherous star systems while engaging in strategic, grid-based combat with mysterious, interstellar enemies. During each voyage, you will also build a deck of unique tactical abilities and manage the crew on board your vessel, making difficult ethical decisions that could directly impact the well-being of their team…and the survival of humanity. KEY FEATURES Captain on Deck: Captain a starship…
- Earthless is a new sci-fi deck builder from the creators of Homeworld 3 where you'll need to come up with ludicrous 'game-breaking' combos and win over your crew to have a chance at saving humanity - 11 June 2023
Blackbird Interactive's upcoming sci-fi deck building roguelike, Earthless , has an arresting premise: scout out a new home for humanity after the Pale Blue Dot is swallowed up by a prematurely-expanding Sol (that's how we've wound up -less an Earth). Before its world premier at the 2023 PC Gaming Show, I sat down with Earthless project director Hoi-Fung Ma to talk about its unique tactical combat, as well as how Blackbird plans to bring the starship captain fantasy to life... Read more.
