The Astra Protocol

A warning in deep space

The Astra Protocol is a cassette-futuristic space simulator for PC. You take a contract with the Apex Corporation to get off-world and investigate a warning about the Astra Protocol, after earlier expeditions ended in disaster. The message says the protocol was a warning and that its crew were betrayed. You’ll need to keep the corporation satisfied while searching for answers.

Ship controls and hazards

You control a mixed-commercial vessel from a first-person perspective, issuing text-based commands through a retro interface. A real-world manual supports the interface, and learning each ship module’s controls and limits is part of flying. You won’t see everything that’s happening at once, so you’ll have to monitor systems: neglecting the reactor risks a meltdown, while failing to maintain shields can lead to a hull rupture. Newtonian gravitational physics also shapes flight, with planets posing a collision hazard.