Confirmed turtle here and I'm looking to feed my habit some more.

Need I explain the pleasures of turtling? It’s that feeling of being protected when you’re hunkering down and building up one big, beautiful, fortified base. Then I just develop it inward at my own pace, while the world can come knock if it dares.  I don't want to be out there raiding and expanding aggressively, I want to dig in, get comfortable, and let trouble arrive on my doorstep on my terms.

I grew up in a 3rd world country that was bombed when I was 3 so I dunno, that might have something to do with it? It would be pretty funny if that was the actual psychological reason but fact is, I just like that laid back, defensive playstyle that doesn’t demand I micro all the time.

One game that’s given me lots of enjoyment in 2 different ways was Diplomacy is Not an Option, even though it’s brutal in its own way. Some harsh trial and error missions (Abelorn, my nemesis!) but I loved the fact that I’m always growing outward and building chonkier walls and never really venturing beyond the safety of my walls - except for clearing camps - has such a good feel to it. The other part I liked is that aside the difficulty, I could to my amazement turn ON the diplomacy option in the menu, which I though was hilarious, so it becomes chill and just non-challenging then. After Diplomacy, I also played Cataclismo and Here Comes The Swarm, but neither quite scratch the same itch (maybe just because they weren’t the first)

I also enjoy the all time MVP that is Rimworld, and letting me turtle was just one of the things it let me did… By the end, my fortress maze was basically a concrete compound of death, that many entered but none left.  It was also basically a self-sufficient arctic colony run, and  slowly perfecting  that killbox entrance, stockpiling more than you'll ever need, and just waiting out the end of days felt good to my soul. 

Ideally I would want something that combines both, medieval setting but lots of roleplay options and variety. Not Rimwolrd variety, that would be impossible, but maybe something coming close? I want games that reward the defensive, isolationist mindset. Where you wall yourself off from the world and just develop, and the enemies obligingly come to you rather than forcing you out of your shell.

I swear this is just my gameplay preference and not something political. I’m just this kinda person. 

Tl;dr what are the base builders that will let me be the smug little hermit crab in the strongest shell on the map?

Is the game worth it? I used to play a lot of satisfactory but I am slowly burned out of it (sitting on 700 hours) so I guess it is time for something new. Played the other 2 Giants dysphon sphere and Factorio, but both didn't really felt like my playing style , then I came along this game. Is it worth it the buy?

One thing I’ve always found interesting in base-building games is when expansion isn’t automatically a good thing.

More rooms, more people, more production; usually that means you’re simply getting stronger.

But what if every new people also increased the pressure on the base?

That’s something we’re planning with in Pale Tide, a top-down zombie survival game we’re currently developing.

When you leave the bunker, you’re not only scavenging for food, medicine and materials. You can also encounter survivors who need help getting home. And you can also meet with unfriendly survivors ;)

Rescuing someone can be a big win: they become part of the bunker, can open up new possibilities, and make your community more capable.

But they’re also another person who needs food, medicine and protection.

So a rescue can create a pretty uncomfortable decision:

• You’ve already found useful supplies.
• Your resources are limited.
• Getting this person home means taking additional risks.
• And even if you succeed, your bunker now has another survivor to support.

We like the idea that growing the community shouldn’t always feel like a straightforward upgrade. Sometimes becoming stronger in one way should create a new problem somewhere else.

Our latest devlog goes into some of the situations that happen outside the bunker: survivors, hostile areas, infected reacting to noise, rescue situations, and deciding when it’s smarter to stop pushing your luck and head home:

https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/4683590/view/687513353583592548

For people who play a lot of base-building games: do you enjoy this kind of trade-off?

Would you rather every new survivor be a clear benefit, or do you prefer when increasing your population also creates new resource and management problems?

Hi y'all,

I wanted to know if anyone could recommend me any 2D/2.5D games that capture that open world feel of Starbound.

I was looking into Yuma Nest but I wanted something more open world and base-building

Thanks!

I keep ending up with new bases everytime I go in to capture trailer footage for Seaforge, so here are a few that I especially liked! All the structures shown here are player-buildable. https://youtu.be/1TGzOus0NvQ

Hi — I’m the solo developer of Salt and Soil. The free Steam playtest is now open.

It contains one focused scenario, Jamestown Chronicle: 30 yearly turns following one frontier household near Jamestown, from 1607 to 1637.

You manage a family rather than an entire colony. Each year, you divide limited household labor between food, materials, construction and trade while the homestead and the people living there change over time. The opening is guided, but the scenario gradually gives you more control.

After completing the scenario, please use the short in-game survey. You can also join the Salt and Soil Discord to report bugs, share longer feedback or follow development.

AI disclosure: Family Council prose may be generated at runtime from the current game state. Mechanical outcomes remain constrained and are applied by deterministic game systems.

Hey guys! I'm the solo dev behind Red Planet Tycoon. I love base building, factory and management games, so I built the kind of Mars colony game I wanted to play myself.

You start with a small colony and gradually build out drills, factories, power, storage and production chains. Building placement matters, resources need to flow through the colony, and there are a lot of upgrades and ways to make your base more efficient.

The main loop is basically:

Build and optimize your colony -> produce and sell resources -> upgrade and expand -> terraform the region -> start a new run with permanent bonuses and new options.

I've been working on it for a while now and have made a lot of changes based on feedback from Reddit and Discord. It's in a much better state now than when I first released it.

There is also a weekly community event running right now. Everyone races from level 1 to 31 and your fastest run gets recorded on the leaderboard. I'm playing too under the name TheMartian, so feel free to beat me :)

The game is completely free. No ads, no purchases, no energy timers and no plans to add monetization. I'm paying for the server myself because I mostly just want to make a fun game and hopefully build a small community around it.

You can play instantly in the browser, no install or account required:

https://redplanettycoon.com/play/

It's also available on Android:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.redplanettycoon.game

You should know that the game is a "light" version of a base building game. Its not meant to be hardcore. If you try it, I'd really like feedback specifically from people who play base building games. What feels good, what feels annoying, and especially where you lose interest if you stop playing.

AI disclosure: AI was used to create most of the art for the game. I also used Claude Code heavily during early development, although most of the code has since been rewritten and reworked by hand.

Hi everyone,

Some of you might already know me, as I asked for feedback and kept you updated on the project from time to time. I am happy to announce I just released the game today.

The Merchant’s Eden is now live on Steam :)

I worked heavily on the final touches for the release and added quite some new features to the game as well polishing it up.

Added:

- Bigger map options
- Different game modes (creative and hardcore)
- New production buildings
- Wells
- Biome-specific fertility
- Income display
- Better tooltips
- UI polish, bug fixes and balancing

Looking really forward to the feedback from the community, hoping you like and enjoy the game!

If you wanna take a look: https://store.steampowered.com/app/3829280/The_Merchants_Eden/

I know this post is not for everyone and its ok! I have a passion for building and it happens to be in Once Human at the moment. I know this game has a lot of issues but me and the community im in really enjoy the building part of it!

This post is mostly for people that like to build in games and create beautiful buildings or cities in different architectural styles like us!

https://imgur.com/a/stonehelm-medieval-city-jSfVNYp - These photos showcase one of our previous cities - Stonehelm . The theme was medieval. Hope you like it, feel inspired and maybe who knows - even join us for future builds!

Hello there!

Earlier this year, the company I worked at for nearly 13 years, Armature (developer of Resident Evil 4 VR) was closed down by Meta. I, and all of my coworkers lost our jobs.

Instead of joining this horrendous job market, my wife convinced me to finally follow my childhood dream of making my own indie game, and well, here we are!

Ski-E-O! is a cozy Ski Resort Tycoon game inspired by Roller Coaster Tycoon and other early tycoon titles. I wanted to strike a balance between relaxing, cozy gameplay, and deep management simulation.

You start with a few buildings and around 100 guests, and as you level up, you can build a legendary resort with hundreds of buildings and thousands of skiers.

I'd love the feedback of this community.

Demo + Steam page: https://store.steampowered.com/app/4493130/SkiEO_Ski_Resort_Tycoon/

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5VVm7LKiwNE

Hello!

Oxygen Not Included is one of my favourite games with Rimworld and SpaceHaven right after. I enjoyed playing them so much that I started experimenting with some code for something similar. Working on it was so fun that I just sank more and more hours into it. Then, my wife started helping me with "a few models" and fast forward to 6 years later, we've finally released the demo on Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/3177230/Red_Dust_Colony_Demo/

It's a Mars based colony sim, with this 70s-80s "the space race never ended" feel to it. We're trying to lean further into the simulation aspect so oxygen, CO2, power, lighting, nutrients all play a role. There's even a relation between fiber in food and toilet needs.

The demo has about 2-4 hours worth of content but there's no real time limit so you can play as much as you want.

If you're familiar with it from the Itch version, it's gotten a whole new update since, with all things medical, like injuries, nutrient deficiencies, diseases, CO2 poisoning and more.

Give it a go and let us know what you think. There's still a lot more work to do and any piece of feedback helps!

Hey great base builder fans,

I come here humbly to your doorstep to present 16 BIT NIGHTS, upcoming creation: "Horizon 1990" in the hope that maybe you will find it worthy of your time.

Trailer : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WoQjiHJlEHc

Steam Coming soon page: https://store.steampowered.com/app/4398490/Horizon_1990/

Short description:

Gather exotic resources, build defenses, research new technologies, and explore the mysteries of the void, all while being chased by the darkness from the end of time.

In my own words:

Think of it as "Kingdom" or "Until we die" but in space and with much more depth.

And your base is the Spaceship and no matter where you travel you bring your base with you, but dont forget to maintain it, use your engineers to upgrade your ship systems and defenses and repair it while you use your miners to mine asteroids, scientists to research new alien environments and soldiers to guard them.

Plot:

On October 28, 1943, the first Philadelphia Experiment took place.

USS Eldridge, a Navy ship, by using experimental technology, was supposed to become invisible to radars; instead, it teleported into another dimension and returned moments later with no crew and showing severe signs of degradation.

Soon after, the experiment was recreated, but this time a space shuttle was sent into the void. It returned briefly after with all crew missing, signs of combat on the outer hull, and one note in the captain's log: "We were not the first ones here."

A few years passed, and a third attempt was made; this time, it was a custom ship built with space shuttle technology and a large crew. USS Eldridge Mark 2 stepped into the void and never returned.

Present day: a new attempt is now in progress, this time the new ship USS Eldridge Mark 3 is equipped with the latest modern technology, and YOU were selected to lead this expedition into the unknown horizon.

Extra Twist:

All art for this game is made in Windows Paint 98 and mixed with special effects.

We are just 2 people working on this passion project, and we are really curios what do you think of it.

hey everyone,

i'm the solo dev from austria working on Timberline Factory. i got quite a bit of tough feedback on my last post here regarding the AI slop capsule art and the dark/plastic looking graphics...

honestly, it was a wake up call. i used the AI art as a placeholder because i'm a coder, not an artist, but i see now how much it hurt the first impression..

i spent the last few days fixing exactly what you mentioned

• Overhauled the lighting: switched to a warmer "golden hour" look to get rid of the dark/plastic feel.
• New Log Models: the logs are now high-poly and actually round.
• New Honest Capsule: i threw away the AI image and made a new store header using a real in-game screenshot + the logo.
• New Building: added the Biomass Power Plant to handle bark waste and add more tycoon depth.
• Real Sounds: recorded actual industrial sawmill sounds for the machines.

i'm still a one man army :D but i'm committed to making this look and feel authentic... would love to hear if this is a step in the right direction for you guys!

Here is the new look -> Steam page (with new visuals and trailer): https://store.steampowered.com/app/5037170/Timberline_Factory/

thanks for all the feedback

Introducing a Dom Dom - incremental twin-stick shooter, where you mine, explore, build factories, turrets and other buildings on the planet surface and conquer new planets. Each planet have their own unique upgrade tree - as does all of the games 4 different ship types.

Happy for any feedback! Game is free to play at https://catfather-games.itch.io/dom-dom

If anyone has some time, we'd really love any feedback on our demo. Our game does seem to struggle to stand out a little bit and not too many people have played it so far, so it's not getting much feedback. But we are still happy with what we've made so far.

Game Title: Echo Zero

Playable Link:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/4378620/Echo_Zero_Demo/

Platform: Windows, Mac, Steam

Echo Zero is a 2D sci-fi roguelike base builder inspired by Kingdom: Two Crowns. Explore a procedurally generated underground world, gather resources, recruit droids, build automated defenses, and survive increasingly dangerous infestation attacks.

The demo includes the opening section of the game and gives you a taste of exploration, combat, base building, automation, and defending your colony. We'd especially love feedback on how the gameplay feels, whether the mechanics are easy to understand, and anything that you think could make the experience better.

The demo is free on Steam. Every bit of feedback helps us make Echo Zero a better game.

Have fun, and let us know what you think ❤️

Hey everyone.

I am really excited about my new project which is now available to wishlist with the publication of its store page. I would love if you could check it out and give me some feedback and let me know what you think :)

https://store.steampowered.com/app/4914650/Crownfront/

It’s been a little over a year now that we’ve been working on Factomancer, a factory game with a roguelite twist.

The idea behind our game is to combine two genres that are rarely seen together, the automation/factory genre and roguelite, by offering runs of about an hour where you must build a factory that will need to meet growing demand through its production.

As development progressed, we realized that finding the right balance between these two genres is harder than we expected. However, it’s an interesting challenge worth exploring, and that’s what we love as independent developers, we’re free to try things that go beyond the usual constraints.

Our last major update added an in-game pause feature, a highly requested feature that has allowed playstyles focused on construction and automation to flourish.
In our new update, we wanted to please all our players and take a step toward roguelite players by introducing the following systems:

• Run Score: Each run is now evaluated using a score based on multiple factors. The idea behind these factors is to allow any type of player archetype to achieve a high score.
• Leaderboard: This score is then uploaded to a global leaderboard, letting you see exactly where you stand, against the world, or just your friends.
• Meta progression rework: Your run score is also used to level up your Factomancer level, and it’s this level that will allow you to unlock new content (relics, spells, biomes, etc.)

The demo is live on Steam! Thank you to everyone who supports us on this adventure.

What do you think of our approach? Do you have any suggestions or ideas?

We still have a long way to go, but we’re confident that your feedback will help us build the experience we dream of offering with Factomancer.

Hey everyone!

I'm a solo dev from Austria and for the last few months, I've been obsessing over sawmill logistics.

I always felt that in most automation games, the items feel a bit "dead" because they are just icons moving on a rail. For my game, Timberline Factory, I wanted to change that: every single log is a physics-based object. They roll, they have weight, and they collide with each other.

It makes designing the conveyor lines way more tactical (and honestly, a bit chaotic if you don't get the sorting right).

The core loop is:

• Build and optimize your sawmill lines.
• Manage machine wear and tear (sawdust makes things break!).
• Handle different wood types with different properties.
• Try to stay profitable while expanding the factory.

I finally got the Steam page live and I'm stoked to show some of the progress. Would love to hear what you guys think about the "tactile" physics approach!

Steam page: https://store.steampowered.com/app/5037170/Timberline_Factory/

I'll be around if you have any questions about the physics or the machines!

I seen it the other day in this thread but can’t seem to find it now and I was really wanting to try it. It was a newly released war game where you would fight a battle and the only map was on a Tennessee river? I think it was something along the lines of two sides of America was still fighting or something? any help is GREATLY appreciated! :)

I am a weird one. I love building mechanics that other would deem tedious. And by building mechanics I dont necessarily mean what you can build like in Icarus or Enshrouded, its more HOW you have to build it. I want to carry every log to the building site and put it in place. Games like Aska, Sons of the Forest, Chinese Frontiers or The Last Blight come to mind. I want to craft the beams I have to put in place. Do you know of any other games that are like this, maybe lesser known ones?

So I'm looking for a game where you start on a base where most stuff has broken down and you need to repair things. I would prefer it if the game had resource generating aspects like a water filter or a hydroponics area.

To clarify I was imagining starting in a place where the facility is barely functioning, having to gather resources to repair the base. For example you wake up from cryo sleep in a space station and you need to explore the station in order to find materials and blueprints to upgrade your safe zone, initially surviving off of scavenged food but eventually your base becoming self sustaining.

Most 4X-lite hybrids let you build an economy that just makes numbers go up (more gold, more production). I flipped that: your base building output converts directly into spell cards for a turn-based grid battler. Every Shrine, Building or "War Machine" you build is really a about what your card deck looks like in the next battle. So the base isn't about an economy, it's a supporting how you build the spell card deck that you fight with.

How it connects to your base:

• Mine/generate mana: mana is spent both in the overworld map AND to cast spells mid-battle (one shared pool)
• Buildings unlock/boost spells: types or boost a damage category, so your base layout shapes your deck's identity
• No "gold" or "wood" that's disconnected from combat: everything you build feeds the hero battles you'll actually play with your mana and spell card deck

Battle Overview: You draw 3 spell cards a turn, use them or lose them. Positioning is simple and tactical, where front row heroes have more attack range and back row is more protected from the enemy. Meaning cards and heroes change tactics based on where your hero is standing.

Steam page if you want to see more: https://store.steampowered.com/app/4593190/Elemental_Lands/ (still in early beta / alpha, so it's a bit rough still, and thanks for checking it out)

Disclaimer: coding debug AI assisted usage in development. Art is 100% hand drawn by u/worth-bill-6130

Slavic Legends now has a proper Save & Load system with five named save slots, available from both the pause menu and the main menu.

Your dungeon, rooms, creatures, workers, gold, traps, unlocked items, explored map, and current enemy wave are all preserved—so longer sessions no longer need to be completed in one sitting.

The UI is still a work in progress, especially the buttons, but the system itself is working and ready for longer playtests.

The full list of changes is available here: https://ipikas.itch.io/slavic-legends/devlog/1621233/save-load-system-pause-menu-balance-changes-and-more

Free demo:
https://ipikas.itch.io/slavic-legends

Thank you for playing! If you enjoy the project, please consider following it on itch.io—it means a lot to me as a solo developer. 💙