Bit Odyssey

Bit Odyssey is a space exploration game in which you captain a procedurally generated starship through an effectively endless galaxy. You create a race and ship, explore star systems and planets, and respond to randomly generated episodes involving alien races and unfamiliar places. You can keep travelling in one direction, but your journey ends if you are killed or run out of resources.

Create your race and ship

Begin by selecting a Home Star from the galaxy view, then choose a homeworld in its system. The star and planet help determine your race’s base stats: for example, a low-gravity, cool and wet world tends to produce a more docile species, while harsher environments lead to more aggressive races. These stats influence traits such as how battle-hardened your people are and their aptitude for science. You then shape your race’s appearance and society using procedurally generated tools.

Your choices also help determine your ship. The game generates a design that you can edit, with those design choices affecting its capabilities and stats. Stars, planets, nebulae, other space phenomena, races and ships are generated as you play.

Explore and survive

As you travel, you can orbit stars to collect fuel. To repair damage, mine minerals on a planet rich in them or trade with a local spacefarer. On alien worlds, away missions let you explore and find unique items for your science officer to scan and your engineer to collect for the ship.

You can store plants, materials and relics found on your journey, then trade them for other resources or information.

Episodes and encounters

Randomly activated episode triggers start procedurally generated adventures built by the Mission Matrix. A plasma trail, for example, may prompt your bridge crew to suggest an investigation, leading to a ship in distress in an asteroid field, an attack in progress or a crash on a planet. Your decisions affect what happens next: attacking a damaged vessel can make its race your enemy, while towing it to safety can make them a friend.

The Mission Matrix combines over 100 episode types, including search and rescue, transport and battles. Episodes average around 3–8 minutes. A distress signal might lead to a ship that turns out to be a trap; after defeating its attackers, you could discover the stranded crew is on a nearby planet.

Combat and diplomacy

Fight up to three enemy vessels at once. During a battle, a ship may escape, giving you the option to pursue it; when you catch up, you may find the ship alone or joined by two allies.

You can talk with, trade with and assist other spacefarers. Each race remembers whether you are an enemy, neutral or friend, and that status affects later encounters with them.