Veridian Expanse

Lost in the Veridian Expanse

The homeworld contracted your company for its first terraforming project, but something has gone terribly wrong... Instead of waking on a fresh new world, you find yourself stranded inside an asteroid, and the arrogant AI that your team was supposed to babysit has decided it's the boss now. Worse still, the surveys said this part of space was supposed to be lifeless... Imagine your surprise to find that your new home is infested with bio-mechanical monstrosities - hungry ones!

Set Lasers to Fun!

Drill, craft, and blast your way through winding caverns. Upgrade your utility pod with plasma cannons, missiles, and laser drills. Build an army of tireless drones to do your bidding. You are going to need every advantage to venture deep into the asteroid's secrets if you want to repair the ship and make your escape. Discover the genesis of this place, or become its lunch.

Terraforming may be the homeworld's last chance for salvation, but sending their best was too expensive. Instead, they stranded you in... the Veridian Expanse.

The Drift Engine

Veridian Expanse is incredibly lightweight; the system requirements are lower than the page you’re reading this on! Written from scratch in C, it runs efficiently for hours, even on a battery powered potato of a computer. The source code is included with the game under the GPL license, so players and tinkerers alike can build it for all kinds of devices. Free from the constraints of existing engines, it's all-in on fully deformable terrain and a lightfield model where everything can emit light, glow, and cast shadows. All while still running smoothly on that trusty potato.

Inspired by game other exploration/crafting like Terraria and Subnautica, though I wanted Veridian Expanse to stand out with it's freely deformable terrain and twin stick combat.