Last night I worked out the first part of Solar Trader’s in-game tutorial (there are two). In the first, you learn the simple mechanics of the game – how to fly, how gravity works, how to flush your toilet (really, it’s in the game).

Once this is in, I’ve got the second – orbital mechanics, i.e. your flight from Earth to Mercury. This involves teaching how to take off and land.

Then I need to update the manual.

After this, I think we’ll have an Alpha version (i.e. still under development but okay to play). Outside of Jesse’s blind-mans-bluff navigation for all other shipping, you can actually fly planet to planet and trade. And trust me, you can lose the game easy enough without a universe full of bad guys.

Looking forward to a release in a few weeks!