Kepler-3042 presentation
Channel: Post Scriptum Games
Date: 2016-05-20

Kepler-3042 by Simone Cerruti Sola
Illustrations by Alan D'Amico
Artwork by Paolo Vallerga / Scribabs
Published by Placentia with Post Scriptum.

Video made by Andrea Bianchin and Tofufilms. English voice by Luca Bortoletto

Kepler-3042 is the first game we are presenting on Kickstarter. We’ve decided to do this because we’re absolutely convinced of its validity. Notwithstanding the outer-space setting, in every way it’s a management game in pure Placentia Games style.
At the mechanics level, this game involves resource management, with a few classic features, such as exploration, resource production, spending them, or advancing the level of technology so as to perform more powerful actions.

These features, however, are contained in an unusual manner, in that each player has a finite quantity of Matter, Energy and Antimatter in his own reserves and can sacrifice them, so as to fulfill more actions. This is the first main strength of the game, representing a fundamental and innovative aspect of it.

Let’s have a look at game operation.
The first thing a player must do is to choose an action. To accomplish this, he has to move his own cube so as to select another action which has to be different to the one used in the previous round. The actions allow for resource production, spending these resources to better the player’s personal technological level, put new spaceships into play, move them and discover, colonise or terraform planets.

After this, the player can decide to burn one or two resources to activate the bonus actions correspondent to the position of the cube.
The resources that can be found in the Clausius' Pit cannot be used in any way. There are a few chances of recuperating them, but really not many.
In fact, we can consider a resource that has been burnt, unusable for the rest of the game.

I would like to underline the fact that the burning of resources is entirely up to the player. There are absolutely no events or opponent’s actions that can damage a player, ever.
It’s always the player’s choice, and each time it’s an important choice, which decides his game strategy.

After having attained any eventual bonus actions, the player can move all of his spaceships. Travelling is needed, obviously, to colonise or terraform new planets, and expand humanity within the galaxy. The speed of the spaceships depends on the technological level reached. Generally, almost every action is related to a specific technology.

This mixture of principal and bonus actions gives life to a vast choice of diverse strategies. We’ve tested the game for many months, in dozens and dozens of games with different players, and we feel certain that there are no plans that work every time and that there are many, many different ways of gaining victory. The variety and replayability are also obtained by the random layout of the 34 hexagons within the celestial object on the map and by the secret objectives which the players arbitrarily pick up at the start of the game. This is the game’s second main strength, which will guarantee you the possibility of playing and replaying the game in continuation.

The third key strength is the scientific, or rather science-fictional, accuracy of Kepler-3042: Placentia Games have, in fact, hired some consultants to check that every technological aspect is plausible. If humanity, in a thousand years’ time, will be able to move between the stars or colonise planets, it’s probable that it will do so following the principles herein.
From this point of view, Kepler-3042 aspires also to be an anthem to space exploration, to technology and knowledge, topics which have always fascinated us.
For this reason, in the game manual, there is a scientific appendix, explaining in detail some of the concepts used in the game.

In short, for those that don’t know us or for those who have already enjoyed our previous games, we ask you to support us: it’s a project that we consider really valid and that, we’re sure, won’t let you down.

Thanks!