To play Stellumbra is to endure brutal sector of space where formidable alien races have gathered for warmth, huddled near the last dwarf star in lightyears. Carve out your piece of that space and fight for it. Engage in trade, war, and politics. Explore the world, filled with dangers, ancient ruins and treasures. Most of all, try to survive.

Start off the game as a single character, alone or more likely with a crew. Your status may be an ordinary citizen or a lord depending on the start. You may start on a small pod escaping your Orcish captors. Perhaps you're an Alfarii lord that has recently been charged to govern a new station. Gain the respect of your peers to slowly build an empire. Survive in a political world where every other faction worries about their bottom line and progresses regardless of your situation.

Engage in the following activities to ensure your survival:

• Farm genetically engineered crops to survive the weak light of this dying star.

• Eat strange creatures raised on-board or hunted from strange ecosystems.

• Trade with sentient alien races. Purchase unfamiliar fruits or technologies beyond your comprehension.

• Craft what you need for war, or, simply for fending off marauding orcs, cultists, carnivorous space-monsters or even worse horrors.

• Build ships with serious firepower and stations robust enough to withstand this world.

• Manage a crew with a diverse set of skills.

• Explore a world of ruins with great dangers and equally, great treasure and valuable knowledge stored in ancient books and digital storage devices. This knowledge will turn your crew from a band of rabble to engineers, smiths and chemists.

• Go into every combat situation carefully and tactically; there are enemies resistant to a blade but crumble when electrified. Some will give deadly disease where a cure may be hard to come by.

• Take care of your health. Being sick or wounded will slow you down in a fight or when running away.

• Conquer new stations as your populations grow and your fleets build. Lead the sieges yourself, or sit back while others do it.

Stellumbra was inspired by Dwarf Fortress, Rimworld, and Space Engineers.