Greetings, Commanders!

It’s time for us to delve into one of the most exhilarating aspects of Starminer: navigation. Of course, navigating the vast expanse of space demands a sophisticated piloting system, and we've crafted a navigation experience that is both realistic and deeply engaging. Our game features industrial thrusters, retro thrusters, and a detailed simulation of Newtonian physics.

Before we dive into details in this Developer Diary, why not have a look at our new trailer first:
Our control scheme offers six degrees of freedom, giving you unparalleled command over your vessel. You can move in any direction—forward, backward, left, right, up, and down—and rotate around any axis—pitch, yaw, and roll. This full range of motion ensures precise navigation through complex environments, enabling you to evade threats and position your ship with pinpoint accuracy.

↑ Approaching a friendly station. Retro thrusters enable precise maneuvering while industrial thruster provides an additional boost. ↑


Industrial thrusters will be the core of your station’s or ship’s propulsion. These powerful engines are essential for maneuvering your vessel through the cosmos. When designing your ship or station, strategically placing these thrusters in optimal locations is key. Unlike automatic systems, our industrial thrusters are manually controlled, propelling your craft in the direction it faces. Each thruster’s direction can be assigned to multiple groups, allowing quick and effortless configuration changes for acceleration, braking, or evasive maneuvers.

This manual control allows for a wide array of ship designs, each with its own unique navigation style. Whether you're crafting a nimble scout ship or a massive space station, the placement and orientation of your thrusters will define how you move through space.

↑ Intuitive control: numbers on your keyboard fire the corresponding thrusters on your station. ↑
↑ Performing evasive maneuvers with selective firing of industrial thrusters. ↑


Retro thrusters complement industrial thrusters and can be added as an upgrade to your trusty hulk nodes. They are not only essential for fine-tuning your course, but also for braking effectively in the frictionless vacuum of space. Retrothrusters enable you to decelerate and execute precise maneuvers, making docking procedures and tight-space navigation more manageable. The larger your station, the more retro thruster upgrades you'll need to be able to efficiently maneuver your spacecraft. This ability to precisely control your speed and direction adds a significant layer of strategic depth to the game. It will be crucial to consider your ship's position and orientation as you play, as enemies can attack from any direction - you won’t want to waste valuable time making unnecessary maneuvers during an assault.

↑ When all inputs are released and this piloting aid is enabled, retro thrusters will automatically fire to stop the craft. ↑


To streamline your navigation, we've introduced a handy tool that allows you to manually set your ship or station’s forward vector. This feature will assist you in quickly adapting your control scheme to any updates or changes in your ship’s design - pressing W will always fire thrusters with the forward vector, S will activate backward thrusters, and A and D will strafe the ship left and right respectively. This intuitive setup ensures that your ship remains responsive and easy to control as your design evolves.

↑ Change the forward vector of any ship or station with the navigation tool. ↑


Our game simulates Newtonian physics to bring an authentic space navigation experience. Of course, this means that every action has an equal and opposite reaction, and momentum and mass play a significant role in how your ship moves. The interplay between your thrusters, the ship’s design, and the simulated physics can create compelling situations where you need to consider inertia, mass, thrust vectors, and the conservation of momentum as you pilot your vessel. This realistic physics model ensures every move feels meaningful and rewarding.

↑ Industrial thrusters firing for precise repositioning maneuvers through space. ↑


The combination of manually controlled industrial thrusters, versatile retro thrusters, six degrees of freedom, and realistic physics opens up endless possibilities for creative ship designs and navigation strategies. Whether you’re charting a course through asteroid fields, engaging in space battles, or constructing orbital stations, the navigation system in our game provides the tools you’ll need to master the stars.

We can't wait to see the incredible ships and stations you'll build alongside the innovative ways you'll navigate the cosmos. Please stay tuned for more updates, and keep reaching for the stars! 💫

The Dev Team