Building a Multi-Mode Sci-Fi Game Engine
When we first started building Forever In The Stars (FITS), the goal was simple:
Create a modern, competitive real-time strategy game.
But as development progressed, something much more interesting became clear.
We weren’t building an RTS.
We were building an engine.
An engine capable of supporting multiple game genres inside the same universe, using the same technology, the same assets, and the same core simulation systems.
Today, I want to share the long-term vision behind the FITS engine, and why we believe this approach can unlock something genuinely new in game design.
One Universe, Many Game Modes
At its core, FITS is a shared sci-fi universe with a modular engine underneath it.
Instead of creating separate games for separate genres, we are building a single technical foundation that can support:
- Real Time Strategy
- City Building and Colony Simulation
- Racing
- First Person Shooters
- Campaign and Hybrid Modes
All of these live inside the same world, with consistent technology, lore, factions, and progression.
The idea is simple:
Different fantasies.
Same universe.
Same engine.
Mode One: RTS – The Battlefield Layer
The RTS mode is where everything began.
This is the tactical layer:
- Unit control
- Base building
- Resource management
- Competitive multiplayer
- AI and pathfinding
- Large scale battles
This is where wars are fought.
But crucially, in FITS, wars do not start in a menu.
They start at home.
Mode Two: City Builder – The Homeworld Layer
The second major mode we are designing is a full city and colony builder.
In this mode, players do not control armies.
They build civilizations.
- Founding a planetary city
- Designing districts
- Managing population and morale
- Power grids and logistics
- Research, industry, and defense
- Spaceports and orbital infrastructure
This city is not cosmetic.
It is the origin of everything:
- Units
- Fleets
- Heroes
- Resources
- Technology
From this city, players launch their RTS battles.
They return with damage, losses, loot, and experience.
This creates a persistent loop:
Build → Launch → Fight → Return → Rebuild → Expand
Your city becomes your identity.
Mode Three: Racing – The Cultural Layer
Not everything in a sci-fi civilization is war.
In every advanced society, there is wealth, entertainment, and excess.
This is where our racing mode comes in.
Inspired by games like Extreme-G, we are exploring:
- High speed anti-gravity racing
- Terra-designed racing pods and bikes
- Corporate sponsored leagues
- Futuristic city and orbital tracks
This is not a disconnected arcade mode.
Racing exists inside the FITS universe:
- Corporations sponsor teams
- Cities host tournaments
- Technology developed here feeds back into military and civilian systems
It’s about showing another side of the world.
Mode Four: FPS – The Ground Level Layer
Finally, we are exploring a first person shooter mode.
Here, you are no longer a general.
You are a soldier.
This layer focuses on:
- Tactical infantry combat
- Squad based gameplay
- Urban warfare inside your own cities
- Boarding actions in space
- Special operations tied to RTS campaigns
Imagine:
- An RTS battle damages a district
- An FPS mission is launched to secure it
- The outcome affects your city and your war
This is not separate gameplay.
This is one continuous simulation viewed from different scales.
Why Build One Engine for Everything?
There are three core reasons.
1. Shared Technology
Every system we build benefits all modes:
- Pathfinding
- Physics
- Rendering
- Networking
- AI
- Asset pipelines
We do not rewrite engines.
We extend them.
2. Shared Progression
Instead of separate progression systems:
- Your city feeds your RTS
- Your RTS unlocks FPS missions
- Your racing unlocks technology
- Your campaign connects them all
Progression becomes meaningful across the entire platform.
3. A Living Universe
Most games reset after every match.
In FITS, the universe persists.
Cities grow.
Wars leave scars.
Heroes rise and fall.
Planets change hands.
This creates a sense of history and ownership that few games achieve.
A Long Term Vision
We are not trying to ship five games at once.
We are building this in layers:
- Solid RTS foundation
- Add city builder mode
- Expand into racing
- Expand into FPS
- Connect everything through campaigns and progression
Each mode strengthens the others.
Each feature is reusable.
Each system compounds.
This is slow, careful engineering.
But it gives us something rare:
A flexible sci-fi simulation engine
that can support many fantasies
without fragmenting the player base.
Final Thoughts
FITS began as an RTS.
It is becoming a platform.
A platform where:
- You build a home
- You launch wars
- You race for glory
- You fight on the ground
- And everything matters
We believe this is the future of long-lived game universes.
Not one game.
But one engine.
And many ways to play.
—
Forever In The Stars Development Team