ALPHA launch Begins Today

Explore the Universe 2175 – Closed Alpha Demo

The Explore the Universe 2175 Closed Alpha Demo officially begins today.

If you want to help shape a deep, physics-driven space strategy game from the ground up, this is your chance.

👉 Sign up for alpha access on the Explore the Universe 2175 website

📦 Demo invites are being sent out tonight

What Is an Alpha Release?

An alpha release is an early, experimental build focused on testing core systems, not polish.

In this case, that matters—because I’m not just building a game.

I’m building:

• A custom RTS space game
• A bespoke physics-driven engine
• Adaptive AI and faction systems
• A living galaxy with gravity, momentum, and emergent behavior

There’s a lot to test—and your feedback directly influences development.

MegaBot is Born

The Primary Villain of Act I

Megabot is the central antagonist of Explore the Universe 2175.

He is:

• Highly adaptive
• Reactive to player behavior
• Capable of predictive movement and flanking
• Designed to feel overwhelming—by design

At higher difficulty levels, Megabot learns how you play. You cannot defeat him alone.

Survival requires:

• Allies
• Fleets
• Space stations
• Defensive networks
• Strategic retreats

This is not a “solo hero” game. It’s about building systems to survive extinction-level threats.

Megabot is the ultimate villain. When you amp up the difficulty, he will become more adaptive, and responsive to player actions to the point where he can predict your movements, go behind you , etc. You will have to play unpredictably, and dynamically to defeat him. Which honestly, is probably not possible in the game at this point… by design. You will need lots of allies, friends, and units under your control to beat him and you are essentially building a space station network to defend against his minions, as well as the rest of the galaxy!

Boss Units Overview

There are many boss entities in ETU, but Megabot dominates the first act. Most current development focuses on:

• The Evil Machine Race
• Hive-mind command chains
• Adaptive unit behavior

A second major boss will be introduced in about a month.

(You can probably guess who it is from the cover art.)

⚙️ Evil Machine Units

Nanobots — 

Droplets of the Machine Tide

Lore: The swarm that consumes all, converting matter to Megabot

Nanobots attach to your ship.

Ignore them, and they accumulate—eventually transforming into Nanobot Turrets.

Avoid at all costs.

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Nanobot Turrets — 

The Empire Made Solid

Lore: When machines concentrate, only death follows

Stationary but deadly, these turrets represent territorial dominance by the Machine Empire.

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Mecha Scouts — 

Eyes and Claws of the Empire

Lore: Loyal companions of the metal tide

Terminators report directly to Megabot

Primary recon and assault units

Take orders from nearby Terminator Dreadnoughts

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Mecha Medics — 

The Dark Surgeons

Lore: Industrial healers powered by nanotechnology

Always prioritize them

Repair nearby units rapidly

Make machine clusters exponentially harder to kill

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Mini-Mechas — 

The Prime Servants

Lore: Lesser clones of Megabot himself

Smaller, faster, shielded, and armed.

Each one is a fragment of Megabot’s will.

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Terminator Dreadnought — 

Capital Ship Class

Lore: Ancient harbingers of extinction

Second only to Megabot in raw threat

Consume entire stars for power

Quad laser arrays

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🍄 The Mycelari Fungal Faction

Fungal Lord — 

Head of the Mycelari

A direct rival to Megabot.

Their conflicts shape entire regions of the galaxy.

Bloom Queen — 

Hive-Mind of Expansion

She travels from world to world:

• Boosting morale
• Strengthening troops
• Accelerating fungal spread

Spore Spine Bomber — 

Capital Ship Class

Lore: Born in forbidden bio-forges

Long-range biological artillery that:

Enables large-scale expansion

Tears through metal

Converts matter into spore

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Fungal Warriors — 

Hunters of the Bloom

Ancient, wandering defenders of fungal worlds—always searching for new systems to claim.

Long traveled warriors, many ancient beyond belief, travel and float through star systems and nebula searching for new world for the mushrooms to occupy. Their world’s are under constant threat; the warriors constantly seek.

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Cordyceps Invaders — 

Mind Controllers

Attach. Infect. Consume.

Avoid physical contact at all costs.

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Hyphae Healers — 

The Rememberers

Ancient, benevolent entities that:

Will not attack unless provoked

Heal ships

Remember countless worlds

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Spores — 

The Trillion Children

Primary fungal propagation mechanism.

They infect stations and cause decay.

There is no cure—only delay.

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🌌 The Environment of Explore the Universe 2175

Asteroids, Comets, and Meteors

• Core resource sources
• Highly contested
• Dangerous under gravity and momentum

Meteors are rare and extremely valuable—but lethal.

Gravity & Radiation

Gravity is fully enabled:

• Black holes are deadly
• Stars emit radiation
• Invisible radiation belts exist

Watch your combat logs.

Momentum Physics

Everything obeys momentum:

• Orbits
• Weapons
• Movement

You may even spawn inside a black hole.

Yes—it’s brutal.

Yes—feedback is welcomed!

Your missiles, lasers, and other abilities are all influenced by momentum. The play style is very different because of this, especially at the beginning of the game. As you level up, the laser gets faster, and easier to use. Try the dual lasers in the character menu by pressing ‘c’ whilst playing!

Advanced Alien Weapons

🔫 Weapons Systems

Lasers

Primary weapons with multiple variants and speeds.

Missiles

Independent acceleration and velocity vectors.

Mines

Defensive traps deployed behind your ship.

Bombs 

(Coming Soon)

High-level, ultimate abilities—previewed by the Spore Spine Bomber.

🚀 Movement & Navigation

Thrust

90% momentum conservation for realistic space movement.

Boost & Mega-Boost

Mega-Boost activates after sustained thrust.

Blink

Triple-click teleport—essential near black holes.

Dart

Double-tap directional movement for precision combat.

🛡 Defensive Systems

Health: Last resort—avoid losing shields

Shields: Recharge with energy

Armor: Damage and radiation reduction

Hull: Structural integrity affects maneuverability

⚡ Energy Systems

Energy governs:

• Shields
• Abilities
• Survival

Cyl’s attachment increases regeneration and survivability.

She is fragile early—progression is ongoing.

🧱 Resources, Leveling & Progression

• Resource collection feeds station crafting
• Craft items → units → fleets
• Systems are functional but evolving

Feedback on crafting is especially valuable right now.

Experience & Skill Trees

• Leveling grants skill points
• Abilities evolve over time
• Weapons, movement, and defense scale deeply

Target long-term levels: 200–300

(Current alpha supports ~25)

Try:

Cluster Missile upgrades

Charge Shot Laser

Skill Points, Leveling-Up, and Choosing your Abilities

A huge part of this game is leveling trees. All of the abilties are meant to expand and evolve over time, especially the weapons and defensive systems, but also special skillful gameplay abilities. I am very focused on movement right now in terms of the dash, the boost, and the moving around for the ship. The ship is a powerful vessel once you get a hang of the abilities and the precision based combat!

You buy and level up abilities with skill points. There are a lot of skills to buy, and the weapons are the most reliably implemented so far, especially the lasers. I am in active development on all weapons, as well as an advanced targeting system that should be coming out as part of the DEMO in 2 months.

Try out the charge shot laser and the cluster missiles upgrades! Yes there is a lot of work left to do on them, but I have already been hard at work to ensure that the systems are reliable and interesting to use. They are very unique!

💬 The Dialogue System (Work in Progress)

You can already:

• Talk to Cyl
• See unit chatter

Full conversational AI and personality depth are actively under development. Transparency is intentional—this system is ambitious.

🧪 Join the Alpha

If you enjoy:

• Emergent systems
• Physics-driven combat
• RTS strategy at galactic scale

👉 Sign up now and help shape Explore the Universe 2175

Demo invites are going out tonight.