I’m pleasantly surprised to see so many 4x space games already available, or currently under development, for the iOS (iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch Apple devices). Some days ago I became acquainted with Distant Star.

Trevor Fountain, the Distant Star developer, puts it in these words: “Distant Star is an old-school (Turn-Based) 4x (eXplore, eXpand, eXploit, eXterminate) space game, similar to Master of Orion or Sword of the Stars. Build up your fleet and conquer the galaxy — will your empire be an economic powerhouse, a technological wonder, or a military superpower? Or all three?”

If the game is like Master of Orion (and I presume it is the original one) and Sword of the Stars, that already says a lot about the game. This means that Distant Star is more about grand strategy and not so much about micromanagement.

Trevor has just released the 1.3 update for Distant Star.

Up until now the game was available for the iPad only, but with this new update the game is also now available for the iPhone and iPod Touch. The update also adds new races, new technologies, and UI improvements.

Trevor explains that he decided to develop Distant Star because there were no 4x games available for the iPad (at that time). He got his inspiration from titles like Galactica:AD, Stars!, Sword of the Stars and Master of Orion. The main point behind Distant Star, in Trevor’s words, is that “if you’ve played any of these (titles) then Distant Star should be extremely intuitive. At least that’s the idea.”.

Distant Star is still evolving. The developer promises to keep the game growing as long as there are active players.

Trevor runs a development blog, where he writes about progress and future plans for Distant Star. You can participate in improving the game by contacting Trevor directly.

Distant Star costs $1.99. You can buy it from the iTunes Apple Store.

It’s becoming clear that I definitely need to get an iPad :smile:

Some Screenshots (click to enlarge)

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