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Early Access Game

Get instant access and start playing; get involved with this game as it develops.

Note: This Early Access game is not complete and may or may not change further. If you are not excited to play this game in its current state, then you should wait to see if the game progresses further in development. Learn more

What the developers have to say:

Why Early Access?

“We are ready to grow our community of players and testers by making PULSAR available on Steam. The community has helped us shape the game from an early Alpha build to a smoother and more playable experience. We want to expand our network of feedback to the Steam community and make PULSAR something special.”

Approximately how long will this game be in Early Access?

“PULSAR will remain in Early Access until it is ready for a full release on Steam. We estimate it will be in Early Access for 12 - 18 months. However, as we are serious about community feedback and have a very iterative-focused workflow, it is difficult to make any guarantees about the full release date. We need adequate time to implement user feedback and suggestions!”

How is the full version planned to differ from the Early Access version?

“The Early Access launch version of the game has a small fraction of the planets, ships and sectors that are planned for full release. The full version will include 5 fleshed out factions with their own hubs, missions and ships, a large collection of planets and sectors to explore, and the Lost Colony itself. For more details on our current and planned features, see below.”

What is the current state of the Early Access version?

“The majority of core features have been implemented, but not a lot of content has been added to the game yet.

Some of the implemented features and systems have been listed below. They still need polish and balancing but are in-game.

Multiplayer networking, various video and game settings, status screen, teleport screen, ship claiming, various piloting and camera modes, reactor screen, auxiliary reactor screen, jump computer screen, coolant screen, fuel, distress signals, reactor core safety / meltdown, ship startup sequence, ship computer, virus screen, Atrium system / crew death, ship turrets, nuclear devices, gun-play, ship components, repair / trading / warp stations, NPC dialogue, missions and objectives, galaxy starmap, personal inventory, crew level and talent points, dynamic galaxy / galaxy chaos, persistent ship data, game saves, seamless warp travel, planets, ship programs, personal flight pack, ship-to-ship combat, sector commanders, creatures.

We strive to keep the game in a playable state, but it likely won’t be fully stable for a while. It would be wise to expect bugs, disconnects and the occasional crash as we continue to add features during this period.”

Will the game be priced differently during and after Early Access?

“The release price will be the same as the Early Access price (outside of any timed sales or promotions).”

How are you planning on involving the Community in your development process?

“We have tried to maintain a strong focus on community interaction since the beginning of development. We post video updates to explain new features that have been added to the game, and we frequently communicate with players through the forum and emails. Although we are not able to respond to every piece of feedback, we try our best to read and take in as much of it as we can. The concept of PULSAR is rather open-ended, and our community has been a great help in providing us feedback to improve the game, as well as suggestions for content and features.

To get a better idea of how we work and the speed at which we make progress, check out our devlog videos on our YouTube channel here.”

Buy PULSAR: Lost Colony

$24.99

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Recent updates View all (41)

October 7

Beta 10.5 Release Notes

Hello explorers!

Beta 10.5 is out now. Thanks for those quick reports!

Fixes
-Loading a saved game game should no longer uninstall your ship components. If this happened to you yesterday, you should be able to just load that save again and things should work properly.
-Unequipping inventory items should work appropriately
-Fixed an issue with accepting one of the AOG pickup missions

Best,
The Leafy Games Team

13 comments Read more

October 6

Beta 10.4 Release Notes

Hello explorers!

Beta 10.4 is out now!

This one is a bit more content focused than usual for these types of updates. We wanted to add a contraband system to the game for a while now, and we took this update as an opportunity to do just that! We think it helps make being a Gentleman a little more dangerous.

We added a handful of new, colorful components that in one way or another are illegal to have in your possession.

But what is contraband without the risk of getting caught? Colonial Union inspection stations are now in the galaxy. When in Colonial Union space, they select ships at random for a full ship inspection. If you don’t have a spot to hide your illegal cargo, you’ll be at great risk of getting caught when the station investigates your ship. If you do have a spot to hide all of your illegal goods, make sure to stash away your cargo, and you may be able to sneak it out safely.

Running from an inspection station request will result in your ship being flagged. Your ship will also be flagged if they spot cargo during the investigation, and they will also attempt to destroy your ship, so be careful!

Inspection stations like to be thorough. A CU investigator bot will board your ship and begin to examine your ship's interior. It’ll inspect ship systems, ship cargo, and player lockers. This means if you have some kind of contraband item in your locker, you’d better remember to get rid of it!

Additions
-New system for contraband
-Hidden cargo slots on AOG ships should now work appropriately
-New Cargo - Contraband items; most shopkeepers won’t buy them, and you could get in trouble if you’re caught with them.
-New Sector: Colonial Union Inspection Station
-New Station: Secret Cryogenics Facility (quest related)
-New Planet - Poison Mist (quest related)
-New Planet - Borthix Mining Operation (quest related)
-Automated ship investigator - New object that will fly around and investigate your ship for contraband items. There is a small chance it might find your hidden stash if you have one.
-4 new AOG smuggling missions

Changes
-The Estate’s reactor room is no longer as dangerous as it was in 10.3

Fixes
-Fixed a few minor geometry bugs on one of the toxic planets
-Fixed an error that would occur during bribes or Long Range Warp Station purchases that would sometimes give your crew a negative credit balance
-Saving/loading an AI crew should now work a bit better and now stores bot names / genders

We know quite a lot of you are requesting more content, so that’s what we’re going to be focusing on in the coming updates. Thanks for the reports!

Best,
The Leafy Games Team

22 comments Read more

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About This Game

Team up to operate an advanced starship and explore a randomized galaxy falling into chaos. Each player assumes a role aboard the ship: Captain, Pilot, Scientist, Weapons Specialist and Engineer. Coordination between your crewmembers will be essential in order to survive the perils that await you.

Control the various stations that run your ship. Reroute power between ship systems, scan alien planets for lifeforms, run powerful programs to change the tide of battle, or start up the warp drive to escape a conflict you cannot win. The strategies you use are up to you—or your Captain.

Embark on missions, investigate abandoned stations, and scavenge for components that could aid you in your voyage. Teleport down to the surfaces of alien planets, where you may face extreme environments and dangerous creatures. Trek across the galaxy, and discover what lies on its fringes.

PULSAR: Lost Colony is our attempt to create a fully cooperative space-faring experience, because it’s one of the games we've always wanted to play.

Current Features

Online drop-in / drop-out multiplayer
Command and control an advanced starship
Five unique classes; everyone plays a role on the ship
Fast-paced and tactical ship-to-ship space combat
Teleport to other ships, planets or stations to join the away team
Loot planets and stations for valuable items
Board enemy ships to capture them or destroy systems
AI crew bots (work in progress)
Research and Sample Collection
Gamepad support (work in progress)
Ship-To-Ship hailing (diplomacy, trade, intimidation)

Planned Features

The Academy (In game tutorial)
Meta-multiplayer (daily leaderboards, etc)
AI crew bot improvements (with advanced specialties for classes and enemies)
Better Captain tools: contextual order system, AI priorities
SteamOS support
Oculus Rift support
Offline LAN support
A healthy amount of polish and love to the systems we already have
Optimization improvements
Challenge modes
More languages
A large amount of content to explore and interact with

FAQ

Is there an in-game tutorial?

Not at this time. We are planning on integrating one in the future, however we want to make sure most of the ship systems are finalized before building it. If you want to learn about how to play and use the various ship systems, you can click here to view the manual!

Can I stream and/or monetize game footage?

Yes! This is our written permission to do so.

Simulation or Game?

We like using the term simulation because it helps convey the fact that each starship is a large collection of systems and mechanics working together and reacting to its environment. However, this is a game first and foremost. Because of that, we aren't afraid to go outside the realms of reality if it makes the experience more enjoyable. This is not a 100% realistic simulation, it's a game with simulated elements.

Player versus player modes?

PULSAR was designed from the ground up to be cooperative in nature. None of the mechanics are prepared to handle the specific challenges of PvP combat. We believe that this focus on pure cooperation will enable us to create an experience that is unique and feasible by our small team.

Singleplayer?

We are focusing on a multiplayer experience at this time. We do offer AI crew bots that can take over unfilled roles, but they are very much a work in progress. The game is very teamwork heavy so the recommended experience is with multiple people. If you looking for a more complete singleplayer experience, you may want to consider waiting until the AI is fully developed.

Where can I get more information?

For more information, check out these links below:

Classes

Factions

Roadmap

Manual

Forums

The game is currently under development. New systems and mechanics are still being added and tweaked, and there is not a large amount of in-game content to see yet.

If you prefer to play more complete games and have no desire to be part of the testing / feedback process of a game in development, we highly recommend waiting until the game is more complete before considering a purchase.

System Requirements

Windows

Mac OS X

SteamOS + Linux

Minimum:

OS: Windows XP SP3
Processor: 2 GHz Dual Core
Memory: 4 GB RAM
Graphics: Intel HD 5000 (Shader Model 3)
DirectX: Version 9.0c
Storage: 10 GB available space

Recommended:

OS: Windows 10
Processor: 2.8 GHz Quad Core
Memory: 4 GB RAM
Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960
DirectX: Version 9.0c
Network: Broadband Internet connection
Storage: 10 GB available space

Minimum:

OS: Mac OS X 10.7
Processor: 2 GHz Dual Core
Memory: 4 GB RAM
Graphics: Intel HD 5000 (Shader Model 3)
Storage: 10 GB available space

Recommended:

OS: Mac OS X 10.10
Processor: 2.8 GHz Quad Core
Memory: 4 GB RAM
Graphics: 1 GB Dedicated Graphics
Network: Broadband Internet connection
Storage: 10 GB available space

Minimum:

OS: Ubuntu 12.04 (32 bit)
Processor: 2 GHz Dual Core
Memory: 4 GB RAM
Graphics: Intel HD 5000 (Shader Model 3)
Storage: 10 GB available space

Recommended:

OS: Ubuntu 12.04 (32 bit)
Processor: 2.8 GHz Quad Core
Memory: 4 GB RAM
Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960
Network: Broadband Internet connection
Storage: 10 GB available space

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Most Helpful Reviews In the past 30 days

Loki Boi

79 products in account

11 reviews

Posted: September 27

Its like No Mans Sky but it actually good.

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[102] Street Jesus

228 products in account

7 reviews

Posted: September 15

Ahh Pulsar... A refreshing gem hidden under the heaps of small-time developers, early access garbage games that seem to plague steam these days.

I honestly believe that I've never played anything quite like it, which is why I am so drawn to it at random times throughout the day... It scratches a certain itch that I never knew I had.

Esentially you are tasked to keep a ship (yours or another captains) from being blown to smithereens by space pirates, faction security drones, Deathseekers, civilian ships, sentinals, Infected Carriers, and space police all while exploring a vast galaxy in search of fame and fortune.

Sounds bad ♥♥♥ right? The only catch is that there are multiple crew positions on the ship! And each are fairly vital to the success of said ship.

For instance, the pilot who flys the ship and lines it up for the next warp. The weapons specialist who mans the ship's turrets and leads boarding parties to other enemy ships. The scientist who is in charge of comms between the other vessels you come across, along with running viruses targetted at enemy vessels and quick-fix/boosting programs to aid whichever ship you find youself on, as well as planetary scans to see what lies on the surface of that sketchy looking rock your crew is about to beam down to. The engineer is in charge of power distribution among the ships systems in an attempt to keep the ship from overheating (and exploding) during battles. Last but not least, someone will have to bring together this rag-tag group of space turds and help them function like a proper unit; The Captain. The captain plots the course through the galaxy (which is always randomly generated) and decides where to loot, who to murder, and how much money you'll get to buy space booze and shiny new weapons via a crew allowance!

As it stands currently, beta 9.5 I believe, the game is really damn fun - at times...
I'd say about half of the community is willing to help out newcomers with pleasure and give them the lo-down on how the ships work and function.

The other half though... Will probably be some (irl) morbidly obese 15-16 year old captain yelling that everyone is doing everything wrong while the ship is on fire and he sits in his chair eating twinkies and contributing nothing to the rest of the crew or his ship.

With all that being said, when a crew comes together, magic begins to happen. You find yourself becoming part of the bigger picture. A truly renown Captain can issue orders from his chair for what he thinks the rest of the crew should be doing... "Full power to all systems!" , "Block their long range comms and prepare to engage!!" , and my personal favorite... "♥♥♥♥ IT! ARM THE NUKES AND PREPARE TO FIRE!!" All while the crew scramble around the ship ensuring that we all don't die in space.

IMO - A ship is only as good as its captain and crew. Make friends with the people you know and trust to do good work, and you will conquer the stars.

My only ♥♥♥♥♥ about the game is that the player base is fairly small. On a good day at the right time, you'll see about 1-2 dozen games for you to hop in and out of. Or you can become your own captain and try it from the management/order-giving side of the game. No ♥♥♥♥♥♥ ports to forward, or lame ♥♥♥ matchmaking, just pick a ship, and your server name and see who shows up!

If you find only a few players to join, the rest of the crew can be filled with AI specific to their roles in the crew. You might want to edit how they act in the TAB menu though, because they can get a little goofy from time to time. We mainly use them to put out fires and repair the ship, but hey.. Beats trying to do it alone!

There is actually a lot more content and game mechanics I could go over, but there no exploration in that!

I have high hopes for this game! I recommend it at a 7/10 since it's still in beta.

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℧ Nescient

30 products in account

25 reviews

Posted: September 28

If you like one of the following, you’ll probably like this game:

Star Trek
Space battles
Cooperative team oriented gameplay
Exploring planets, space stations, etc
Shooting things with lasers and cannons
Randomly generated galaxies
Shooting smiley faces and/or ♥♥♥♥ outlines with a gun in first person
Engine sludge
Blowing ♥♥♥♥ up
Blowing ♥♥♥♥ up with nukes
Being a Gentleman
Being a corporate lackey
Eating Fluffy Biscuits
Drinking engine sludge
Stealthing with a Cupcake
Being in distress
Blasting your enemies into the void
Good games
Killing mutants and various other monstrous creatures
HEAVY METAL BANDITS!
Getting eaten by giant monsters
Quantum shields are down and we are all at your ship
Atomizing space cow patties
Researching space viagra
Stepping on landmines
Getting hit with a orbital strike
Radiation poisoning
Sexualy ambiguous robots
Space whaling
John Madden
Supporting awesome devs
Great lore, and superb universe building

10/10

In a class of its own.

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Survii Gecko

125 products in account

35 reviews

Posted: September 20

Me and my friends spent half an hour playing hide and seek on the biggest ship.
10/10 better than prop hunt

oh yeah i also heard its a cool space game or smth but whatever

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bobbypsx

207 products in account

3 reviews

Posted: September 24

This game keeps getting better and better. I got this game when it was on its original kickstarter and have seen it grown immensley in that time. I hope it continues to grow and becomes a great romp in space with my 5 man crew or the highly customizable AI. With the addition to new mobs, planet types, and space craft (which could probably use some love) this game is shaping up to be an amazing addition to my steam library.

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Uruso

163 products in account

3 reviews

Posted: September 21

This game is great, it's got a little bit of a steep learning curve but it's got fantastic gameplay. They just need to add more content and variety in the levels and enemies to make this an amazing game. Oh and fix the GOD AWFUL character models. Seriously they are beyond ugly. It's somewhere between a partially melted clay doll and Mr. Potato head.

Though seriously buy this game and support it's continued development, it's great.

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[CFLT] Cr00ve

57 products in account

1 review

Posted: September 18

Still needs improvement as they are doing that,; I recommend people to get this game

For both purposes:

- Casual
- Roleplaying

This game supports microphones !

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moist memes

160 products in account

7 reviews

Posted: September 20

This game is amazing. Optimized amazingly, and is a lot like Star Trek. I cannot even put this into words m8.

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Zaithe

504 products in account

12 reviews

Posted: September 21

Pulsar is a great star ship simualtor aka star trek. Down to fine detail they simulate a multiplayer crew (with voice chat) fighting to survive in a hostile single player world. Something star citizen should be taking many notes from. An indie Masterpiece! Rimworld deserves kudo's as well as another great indie masterpiece.

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Fullej Cookie

50 products in account

4 reviews

Posted: September 19

The Greatest game I have ever played. I wanted a space sim to replace No Mans Sky. Found this. Was 5 times better. up to five player multiplayer, land on planets, find things to upgrade and use for sciences, then find cargo, sell it and upgrade your ship. Be a space pirate, or a explorer. Find loads of new planets, each different. And find the lost colony. The best game ive ever played. Plus you get to fly the ship. Any role can do whatever they want on the ship. HAVE FUN I have met so many friends on this!

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Recently Posted

Posted: October 10

so played this game for just over an hour
-Be me, play as pilot
-Ready to set course captain
-Muchwow.jpeg
-"Engage"
-Ship flys through space, ALARAMS GO OFF
-Engineering Officer "We've been ripped out of warp were in some kind of infected space!"
-Shields start to flicker as incoming laszer blasts from some weird carrier start hitting us
-"HELM EVASIVE"
-Lets do this
-Take ship to full speed, roll through space like an hawk
-♥♥♥♥♥ engineer yells the ship can't take the speed, what does he know ive been playing this for 35 mins
-Captain barks at ♥♥♥♥♥ to divert power to engines
-Infected alien life forms grab the hull and start sucking the metal
-Small child thats too young for this game squeals that were being boarded
-Continue my evasive as we dodge enemy beam lazers and roll to spin these things off the hull
-Ship overheats and egines go offline
-ohshit.txt
-Powers out on board except for flashing red lights
-Run to get exo as i notice the console says life support is failing
-Don't make it 3 steps before face hugger looking thing sucks me to death

11/10 would take engines to full power again and kill the whole crew

Helpful? Yes No Funny

Posted: October 9

expanding on the game Artemis in all the right ways.

Helpful? Yes No Funny

Posted: October 9

If I had the money, I'd give the devs a couple million dollars to turn this into a AAA multiplayer coop game. The concept is spot on.

Pros:
- Real Star Trek like experience in multiplayer. It's amazing. It really is. If you don't believe it watch a Let's Play on youtube.
- Incredible immersion. You are on your post. In a battle you have your job to do. You need to trust your captain to maintain a grip on the overall situation, because you sure can't, as you have to keep the reactor from exploding etc.
- Runs smoothly at 2K on my gaming rig.

Cons:

The nice way to say it is: It needs polish. Looks like a game of the very early 2000s.
Even though it looks like it is from the past, it runs terribly on integrated graphics. Couldn't get any playable performance on my Broadwell laptop with Intel GPU even with every setting at the minimum and resolution at 1024x768.
Little actual content in the way of missions or anything else at this point, but the devs are on it.
It's less fun if you play with AI bots instead of a real crew of people.

Verdict: If you have a couple of friends and you love Star Trek-like SciFi, go for it.

Suggestions for the devs:

The shop could directly compare what's available to what's installed in your ship. Alternatively, give the engineer a nice one page overview of the ship components.
A "stop all thrusters" button would be nice for the pilot, so would be piloting via gamepad.
I would welcome more realistic physics for piloting: The ship doesn't decelerate on its own, keeps spinning unless you stop it with thrusters. To compensate for the complexity, you could add "stabilize" which automatically stops any rotation. The uptick of all this would be pretty cool space maneuvering a la battlestar galactica.

Helpful? Yes No Funny

Posted: October 9

PULSAR is an interesting game, but somewhat lacks originality and is reminiscent of many games in the space/adventure genre. It is a great game to have a laugh with friends and explore new worlds, however the gameplay gets boring quickly due to there being extremely limited goals or missions to complete. Most of these are very bland and offer no unique reward to the player.

The different ships available are detailed both graphically and functionally, and this game really brings a new meaning to teamwork, as the ship systems require a near-full crew to operate efficiently. The concept of the game is fun, but is unlikely to be a game that you will come back to later down the line. The planets aren't particularly detailed and lack in many areas, including map size and places of interest.

Overall, I rate PULSAR: Lost Colony a 6/10 due to the bland characteristics, but enjoyable gameplay with friends.

Helpful? Yes No Funny

Posted: October 8

I absolutely love about 75% of this game. The element of cooperating with others to control your fleet and combat against space pirates is an amazing concept that should have been in other games, such as No Man's Sky in the first place. The complexity of taking care of the elements in your ship and your crew is amazing and feels as if you're on an actual spaceship.
The only problem IS the complexity. It takes forever for, per say, a new player to get used to. And the graphics are rather unappealing, but eh.
I recommend giving it a shot, especially if you're a fan of science fiction space exploration-type games.

Helpful? Yes No Funny

Posted: October 7

hi after the updates all my ship component are dismantel in middle of no where near the strading station or base. how the heck can i continue this game? i am disspointed

Helpful? Yes No Funny

Posted: October 6

Very good!

Helpful? Yes No Funny

Posted: October 6

Amazing coop gameplay, teamwork required.
5 idiots in space struggled to survive.
Interesting planet exploring feature as well.

Helpful? Yes No Funny

Posted: October 6

Awesome ♥♥♥♥, 'nuff said

Helpful? Yes No Funny

Posted: October 5

There are only a few early acces games that actually function and get updated once in a while, but this game already ready to play AND THEY'RE STILL UPDATING IT!

(10000x better than No Man's Sky)

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