Yes! Stellar Universe is completely free to play. We never require real money to progress.
Your relations with each empire shift continuously based on your actions — from hostile to cooperative. You can also formalize things: form a real alliance (roles, invites, mutual protection) or declare war on an empire demanding specific planets and/or resources, which you'll get either by force or if they capitulate.
Focus on building your base first, then train a small fleet for defense. Building good relations with your neighbors early can save you a lot of trouble.
Absolutely! Stellar Universe is fully optimized for mobile, tablet, and desktop browsers.
Learn from your defeat, upgrade your fleet, train new units, and try again! Good diplomatic relations can also help protect you while you rebuild.
Your base continues to generate resources while you're away. However, undefended bases may be targeted by other players, so joining an alliance is recommended.
There's no catalog of fixed hulls. Every fleet is a composite ship you assemble yourself on a modular grid — core, weapons, armor, shields, engines, cargo, troop bays. Over forty distinct modules to combine, each with its own cost and research prerequisites.
Research points aren't harvested like other resources — they're explored. Every planet holds a finite stock of points, to be discovered with a ship carrying a science module. Invest them into a tree of twenty technologies, from energy to nanites.
A network that lets you launch instant missions to any planet whose address you've discovered: colonize, explore, attack, or pillage. Each mission type has its own duration, from fifteen minutes to twelve hours.
Four planetary resources: mineral and crystal mined from the ground, biomass grown in your agricultural districts, and energy powering every building. A fifth, research points, is explored rather than harvested.
As soon as you create your empire, choose traits that influence your mines, your production, or your build times, then a government authority and up to two ethics that shape your domestic policy.