From Pixel to Block : Crypto Space Commander

Introduction

Are you interested in space exploration? Aboard your own ship, several galaxies open their doors to you and promise wonders to the bravest conquerors!

Mining, battle, construction or transport of goods, that’s what this management / real-time strategy is all about. Thanks to the rewards I received during stellar travels or in the face of promises of galactic treasures, I have put on my pilot gloves and dressed my helmet to conquer the world of Crypto Space Commander! 

First flight

So here I am inside my little escape pod, moving forward in the solar system without knowing my destination. So, I take this opportunity to observe the beauty of the stars and the infinite emptiness of space…

The destination of my automatic flight is the docking station to get a ship worthy of the name… and to be equipped to accomplish the missions of the game.

Except in this space world, as long as you stay in this little escape pod:

• You can’t mine
• You can’t carry anything
• You can’t attack or defend yourself

It is essential to get some better equipment to survive in this universe.

First preparation 

Now that our brand new ship is ready to be shipped, you will realize that it is so new that it is empty! So don’t leave the store yet! To avoid becoming an easy target, it will be necessary to equip yourself with weapons, shields, armor… You may also use sites like OpenSea to purchase assets on the secondary market, be sure you check out past sales at the Crypto Space Commanders market history.

Depending on the size of your ship, you will have to choose a specialization because the storage of your device is limited. Here are the available options according to the models of your ships:

It’s only possible to change your gear when docked at the dock, so choose your strategy carefully!

First mission

The proposed missions are quite simple: destroy drones, deliver objects, or collect resources. Some of them are limited in time, so you’ll have to hurry if you don’t want to see them expire! Also, know that you cannot have taken more than 10 missions.

A tutorial will suggest that you go and practice testing your weapons as soon as you get your ship out for the first time.

So be careful, if you have equipped yourself to go mining, change quickly! Mining lasers do not cause any damage to drones… If your ship is destroyed, you will have to return to the departure station and press “Reclaim” to regenerate your ship and your equipment.

If you feel like a miner’s soul, look for asteroid belts and unleash your lasers! As mentioned above, your ship’s storage capacities are limited. When your crates are full, you will have to go back to a station to unload your minerals.

Be careful, the stocks of the stations are not pooled. For example, if you have discharged your minerals or equipment at the departure GFI station, they will not be present in the attached GFI station.

For transport missions, the objective is simple: to transport a certain number of objects from point A to point B. If you want to specialize in this type of mission, plan a ship with a significant storage capacity! Some missions are limited in time so you will not always have time to do a lot of round trips.

The delivery point can be in another system. If you use the card, it takes about ten hours (real!) to travel from one to the other! So choose a stellar gate…

Once completed, it is possible that the reward may have to be collected in another system!

Pros and cons

Let’s start with the “pros” of the game:

• Design: the effects, textures and lights are really worth a look!
• Battle Gameplay: The movement of the ships being quite long, there is enough time to organize a strategy in order not to be caught by surprise.
• Rewards: The rewards of missions or battles already have value because you can use the Workshop to improve or refine components.
• Interface (HUD): Very clear, we find all the necessary elements to know the state of his ship

And here, in my opinion, are the “cons”:

• The Alpha access: Having already participated in the presale in January, it surprised me to have to pay more in order to play the game.
• The Starter Pack: It costs $10 to have enough equipment to do the basic missions. You still can buy a more expensive one to get better equipment.
• More advanced missions: To face more powerful enemies or carry more equipment, you will either need more powerful ships, friends, or be patient and enjoy returning to the same place often to eliminate enemies one by one.
• Movement gameplay: All movements are in 2D, it is not possible to move up or down. Also, the only way to move is with the mouse which can become very blocking in case of a bug. 

EDIT Thank you to @barthazian for correcting this. If you press the “MANUAL” tab you may enable manual control where it is possible to use your keyboard.

Conclusion

Available on Steam for €8.19 (!) in Early Access, which includes a starter pack of NFT assets required to start playing the game, minimally. You will need to take advantage of additional in-game-purchases to thoroughly enjoy the game. Despite the beauty of the game and fairly easy to handle battles, the user experience is still far from optimal but, the game experience is not necessarily the one that will be included in the final version – remember, it is “early-access”.

There are still a lot of improvements to be made to convince players who no longer want a DLC after buying a game or the chance induced by the “lootbox”. For the moment, this is very reminiscent of the “Pay-to-win” economic model. To get closer to a “Play to Win” model, the improved materials will then allow you to create modules or vessels through “Manufacturing”. But this feature will be implemented in future updates. And once the Marketplace is online, it will be possible to exchange modules and other objects thanks to the “In-game” currency!

At the end of the day, the game experience is enjoyable and I look forward to the future CSC will bring. Other than monetary constraints, as a game, it is a fun and challenging experience, I see this becoming a highly competitive game and I am happy to continue growing my fleet!

If you are interested in space adventures, if you like RTS and if you do not mind the current technical or monetary constraints, Crypto Space Commander should please you!