# Aftercode — Press Kit Plain-text version for Steamworks paste-in. Web version with formatting + media: https://aftercode.game/press/ --- ## FACT SHEET | Field | Value | |---------------|--------------------------------------------------------------| | Title | Aftercode | | Genre | Atmospheric Terraforming · Base-Building · Light Extraction Combat | | Developer | Laika Dynamics | | Publisher | Self-published | | Release Date | TBD · Kickstarter pending | | Platforms | Windows · macOS · Linux (PC at launch) | | Players | Solo + 4-player online co-op | | Engine | Unity 6 LTS · URP · Forward+ | | Networking | Unity Multiplayer Services (Sessions API · Relay · Lobby) | | Languages | English at launch · others post-launch | | Pricing | TBD | | Camera | Top-down (~65° pitch, fixed yaw, Riftbreaker / Helldivers framing) | | Input | KB+M primary, controller support planned | | Content | Mild violence, sci-fi themes | --- ## TAGLINE ~7 words — for capsule art / footer crawls / share previews. > Restore a dying world. Broadcast Earth. --- ## SHORT DESCRIPTION ≤ 300 chars — Steam search-result blurb. > Aftercode is a top-down atmospheric-terraforming game on a depleted alien planet. Climb the Terraforming Index, build automation chains, defend through storms, restore the biomes — then broadcast Earth. Solo or 4-player co-op. (254 / 300 chars) --- ## ABOUT THIS GAME (LONG DESCRIPTION) Steamworks long-description. Use [b][/b], [list], [img], etc. for Steam BBCode formatting. **The colony ship is one transmission away.** You're an advance scout dropped on a hostile, biologically depleted world. The atmosphere is thin. The biomes have collapsed. The native fauna is sparse and hostile. Restore the planet, then signal Earth that it's ready. ### Three loops, one world Aftercode is built on three pillars that fold into each other: ### Atmospheric Terraforming The **Terraforming Index** is a six-stage ladder — Heat → Pressure → Oxygen → Biomass → Insects → Animals — that you advance with industrial machines. Heaters thicken the temperature. Atmospheric processors raise pressure. Biomass cultivators feed the soil. Each rung visibly shifts the world: the sky thickens, ice retreats, the first green creeps into the dirt. **Per-biome restoration** works the other way around — drop the biome's apex creature, deploy a seed pod, watch life flow back stage by stage. ### Modular Base & Automation Snap walls, floors, and machines onto a Satisfactory-style 1m grid. Build multi-floor outposts. Run power across producer → wire → consumer chains. Chain extractor → conveyor → refiner → terraformer and walk away — your factory keeps running. Storm-resistant building tiers form a progression axis: T1 walls survive local storms, T3 walls hold under planet-wide events. ### Light Extraction Combat Five sci-fi damage types — **Kinetic, Plasma, Cryo, EMP, Radiation** — across an agnostic 8 + 8 hotbar mixing weapons, tools, and placeables. Combat is brief and decisive: 2–5 hits per fight, ~30 seconds. Defend outposts with buildable turrets you wire to your power grid; field-deploy scout turrets when scanning a biome. Native fauna is sparse from drop. Introduced fauna is added via biome restoration — so the planet you bring back to life has *more* enemies than the one you started on. ### The endgame: broadcast Earth The win condition is coupled to the work. Atmospheric stages all met **AND** N biomes restored → build the Earth Beacon → multi-stage broadcast under ramped storm + fauna pressure → cinematic of the colony ship arriving. You can't shortcut it. You can't grind around it. The moment it triggers is the moment your entire run resolves into "yes, this planet is worth living on." ### Solo or 4-player co-op Designed for both from day one. Solo runs the full campaign at your own pace. Co-op (up to 4 players) is peer-hosted via Unity Multiplayer Services — free tier, no infrastructure. Storms hit your shared base. Pressure scales for the party. The Beacon broadcast is a 4-player set piece. ### Made by a solo developer Aftercode is built by one developer in Unity 6 LTS, with Claude Code as a pair programmer. The full development history is public on the devlog at https://aftercode.game/devlog. The roadmap is shipped-to-date, not promised — every phase has a concrete deliverable, not a wishlist. --- ## KEY FEATURES For Steam's "Key Features" bullet list. Order = priority. - **Climb the Terraforming Index** — six atmospheric stages (Heat → Pressure → Oxygen → Biomass → Insects → Animals), advanced through industrial machines. Each rung visibly shifts the world. - **Build like Satisfactory** — socket-based modular kit on a 1m grid. Multi-floor outposts, ghost preview, snap rules. Power chains keep machines running while you're away. - **Defend through storms** — Local storms hit single biomes for ~60s; Global storms are rare planet-wide raid-tier events. T1 walls survive Local, T3 survive Global. Your perimeter holds only if your power chain holds. - **Restore biomes from the ground up** — drop the apex creature, deploy a seed pod, watch the biome flip. Native flora returns, then insects, then small animals, then larger. - **Light extraction combat** — five sci-fi damage types (Kinetic, Plasma, Cryo, EMP, Radiation). Agnostic 8 + 8 hotbar. Fights are 2–5 hits, ~30 seconds — punctuation, not domination. - **Solo or 4-player co-op** — peer-hosted via Unity Multiplayer Services. Free tier covers everything; no infrastructure cost. - **Broadcast Earth** — endgame coupled to the work. Atmospheric stages met + N biomes restored → Earth Beacon → multi-stage broadcast → colony ship arrives. --- ## TAGS Top 18 Steamworks tags, ordered by relevance. Set the first 5 as primary. 1. Base Building (PRIMARY) 2. Survival (PRIMARY) 3. Crafting (PRIMARY) 4. Sci-fi (PRIMARY) 5. Co-op (PRIMARY) 6. Online Co-Op 7. Atmospheric 8. Top-Down 9. Singleplayer 10. Multiplayer 11. Sandbox 12. Open World 13. Resource Management 14. Indie 15. Adventure 16. Exploration 17. Building 18. Action --- ## CATEGORIES Functional / multiplayer categories on the Steamworks Common page. - Single-player - Online Co-op (up to 4) - Steam Cloud (saves sync) - Full controller support (planned) - Steam Achievements (planned) - Remote Play Together --- ## SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS Targets — final pass after the 0.6 build. ### MINIMUM - OS: Windows 10 64-bit · macOS 12 · Ubuntu 20.04 - CPU: Intel Core i5-6600K / AMD Ryzen 5 1600 - RAM: 8 GB - GPU: NVIDIA GTX 1060 6GB / AMD RX 580 8GB - Storage: 12 GB available - Network: Broadband (for co-op) ### RECOMMENDED - OS: Windows 11 64-bit - CPU: Intel Core i7-9700K / AMD Ryzen 5 5600X - RAM: 16 GB - GPU: NVIDIA RTX 3060 / AMD RX 6600 - Storage: 20 GB available (SSD) - Network: Broadband --- ## MEDIA ### Trailer - YouTube: https://youtu.be/nSIouzXohys - Embed: https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/nSIouzXohys ### Screenshots 974 × 548 (16:9), cropped from in-game footage. Higher-res versions available on request. - /screens/shot-01.jpg — First placement, Day 1, Heat the planet to 30% - /screens/shot-02.jpg — Build menu (atmospheric, power, industrial) - /screens/shot-03.jpg — Power Pole placement (blue valid, orange invalid ghosts) - /screens/shot-04.jpg — Outpost online, wired power, Air Purifier - /screens/shot-05.jpg — Day 2, Pressure climbing past 47% / 55% - /screens/shot-06.jpg — "Pad standing by", habitat awaiting restoration ### Capsule art (still to commission) Steam capsule sizes: - Header capsule: 460 × 215 - Library capsule: 600 × 900 - Small capsule: 231 × 87 - Main capsule: 616 × 353 - Page background: 1438 × 810 --- ## DEVELOPER Aftercode is built by **Laika Dynamics** — one developer working in Unity 6 LTS with Claude Code as a pair programmer. Solo dev, no publisher, no investors. The full development history is public on the devlog at https://aftercode.game/devlog. Previous experience: shipping software, not games. Aftercode is the first commercial title — built deliberately at solo-scale, with the design space chosen specifically to fit the budget. --- ## PRESS CONTACT - Email: laikagamedev@laikadynamics.com - Newsletter: https://aftercode.game/#join - Curator copies of the playtest build available on request. --- ## QUICK LINKS - Marketing site: https://aftercode.game/ - Devlog archive: https://aftercode.game/devlog - Live roadmap: https://aftercode.game/#roadmap - Press kit (web): https://aftercode.game/press/ - Press kit (this file): https://aftercode.game/press/aftercode-press-kit.md --- *Last updated: 2026-05-09. This press kit is regenerated when the marketing site builds; pull the latest before scheduling coverage.*