Stahldrache

Stahldrache is a top-down shooter in which you pilot a fighter across distant planets to destroy rogue AI systems before they threaten incoming colonists. In 2375, seven years after a colony ship was lost in an attack at Arachne Quintus, authorities discover that the DAVIT terraforming systems have turned hostile on every planet they serve. Unless the systems are stopped, other colony ships could meet the same fate.

Nearly a century earlier, the DAVIT Project sent small automated ships ahead of slow colony ships to terraform planets and build infrastructure. Now the Stahldrache Project sends small carriers to affected systems, where they deploy a drone fighter and a supply base. You fly the fighter through a hyperwave link and destroy the AI control nodes. The base can build new fighters and repair, refuel and rearm you so you can continue the mission.

Race against the jammer

The AI systems build hyperwave jammers. If a jammer is completed before you destroy the control nodes, contact with the system is lost and the carrier resorts to orbital bombardment. That can leave the planet in poor condition for the colonists.

You can deploy additional landing pads by air to extend your reach into enemy territory. Missions take place on large, procedurally generated maps across six planet types, and are designed to be playable without taking too long. Mission difficulty ranges from casual to nightmare.

Choose your fighter

Returning to a landing pad refuels, rearms and repairs your fighter. You can switch between four types: a light dogfighter, a heavier multirole fighter, a fast bomber and a heavy bomber. Choose from bombs, guns, other weapons, countermeasures and upgrades to customize your loadout; mission success unlocks more weapons and equipment.

Break through defenses

DAVIT forces protect their control nodes with layered defenses, including gun and missile turrets, shields, radar coverage and fighter cover. You can carve a route through the defenses, wear down their edges, attack a node before your armor fails, or try to evade the forces in your way. Along the way, you dogfight waves of fighters and dodge missiles and ground fire.