The UEF Naval Academy has built a new Naval Combat Simulation to enhance the skills of Navy starship crews during this crucial phase of the Interplanetary War.  Any captains wishing to practice their flying and space combat fundamentals are invited to attend.

This update adds a naval combat simulation which is accessible via the Tutorial button on the main menu.  It will walk you through basic flight controls before spawning enemy ships for you to practice fighting against.  One key feature of this simulation is the ability to change the Difficulty in the middle of the fight.  This will help you decide, in real time, which difficulty level might be the best suited to your preferences.  If the missiles are coming too fast, play Relaxed difficulty.  If the combat is too easy and clunky, see how Impossible difficulty feels.  It's a completely different experience!

The naval combat simulation also serves as a de facto endless mode for people who enjoy the space combat aspect.  The enemy ships spawn one at a time, but there are unlimited spawns.  If you've already beaten the game and just want to challenge yourself, see how long you can last fighting enemy ships in Impossible difficulty.

A new Steam Achievement also releases alongside this update: “Just Like the Simulations.”

• Deconstructing built defenses and facilities now takes a few seconds, rather than instantaneously. This serves two purposes: it nerfs the ability to make instant repairs during attacks, and it makes gates a more useful defense to build.

• Fixed bug where placed turrets and factories get deconstructed even if the cursor wasn't touching it.

• Asteroids can now be found in orbit around planets, not just in Deep Space.  This way, you can mine asteroids right before you land.

• Fixed bug that stopped asteroid spawns if you zoomed out all the way.

• Fixed bug that prevented enemy laser cannon from tracking you on Standard difficulty.

If you've already bought the game and want to support development even further, consider leaving a Steam review!  The Steam algorithm boosts visibility for games with 10+ reviews, ensuring the game can reach more players and gather more feedback.

Good hunting,

The free demo will always be available for anyone who just wants to play a quick base building mission without the commitment of a full version purchase.  This week, I’ve updated the demo build to match the full version’s v0.1.4.  The last time the demo was updated was September 2025, so there are going to be quite a few improvements coming for demo players.  Some of the changes included in this demo update include:

• Enemy ships maneuver around and have improved behaviors.

• Enemy ships use a new weapon: the laser cannon.  Watch out for this one!

• Railgun range is now limited.

• Camera can zoom out much more when in space.

• Allied ships are more competent.

• Your crew will notify you of shield health %.

• Technical changes to reduce lag during the fleet battle (limited to 60 seconds in the demo).

• Sorry!  Endless Mode will not be included in the demo.  This would have allowed you to trigger nonstop enemies after mission completion.

• Improved difficulty options: Relaxed, Standard, Elite, and Impossible

• A wide variety of quality-of-life improvements and bug fixes.

• In-game tutorial videos.

For the full Early Access version, I am continuing to work on the first major update, v0.2.0, which will add a lot of exciting new things to do in the game.

If you have already purchased the game and would like to support development even further, consider leaving a Steam review! Steam boosts the visibility of games that reach 10+ reviews, which would help Fortified Space reach new players and gain even more feedback.

Good hunting,