Core Space: Evolution – Incoming!

SALVAGE. TRADE. ADAPT. EVOLVE…

Sci-fi gaming has always been Colin’s (the man behind Battle Systems) passion – so much so that he built a whole company just to make his perfect game! Since then Core Space has become a huge success, and while it’s always been Colin’s baby, it has taken a back seat to other projects in recent years. However, if you’ve been following us you’ll know we’ve had a secret project on the go for a while now, and we’re finally ready to reveal it!

Core Space is returning in the form of Core Space: Evolution. This new game will be launched in all its glory later this year – make sure you follow the Gamefound page for all the latest news.

In this article we’ll look at what’s coming up and why, and explore the impact this second edition of Core Space will have on existing players.

Why is Core Space Evolving?

Core Space was Battle Systems’ first game. It is a labour of love crafted over many years of gaming, but a lot has changed in the decade since it was written. We’ve learnt a huge amount about a huge amount in that time, not least through feedback from our customers, and we’ve already developed the underlying system of the game through the release of Maladum.

While our own skills have grown, the gaming landscape has also exploded around us. There are thousands of amazing games available these days, many of which have innovated with new ideas, mechanics, and components. We’re old-school wargamers at heart, and Core Space was born from that experience, but all the modern ideas on the market have inspired us to evolve.

Core Space has been on shelves for around seven years now, and in recent months we found ourselves facing yet another reprint. However, it didn’t feel right to do that when we had so many new ideas nearing completion. Reprinting Core Space again would have meant holding those ideas back. Instead, we decided to set them free.

Core Space: Evolution is the culmination of years of development. We took the heart of the game we loved, threw new concepts at it, and watched what stuck. We wanted to bring what we love about old-school miniatures gaming into the modern market. Once the core was established, we selected some of the best-loved elements of the original game and ran with them, particularly the Rogue Purge.

The Rogue Purge had their time in a fan-favourite expansion a few years back. That expansion already introduced the concept of the Purge overcoming their programming following the events of the original game, so it followed that years later they would become the dominant threat on the fringes of the galactic core.

The Rogue Purge have “evolved” in the same way as the game itself, and are a fitting adversary for this new edition of Core Space. Mechanically, they allow us to take advantage of how we’ve refined the game over the years to create a more nuanced enemy. They are not relentless death machines – they have their own agenda – and the game allows this to play out on the table. The narrative campaign will explore how their agenda clashes with yours, and the conflict that ensues.

Is Everything Changing?

In a reassuring word, no. The changes we’ve made streamline the gameplay while adding depth to the players’ choices, and still delivering the same experience that you know and love. We’ve simplified the fiddly bits and ensured that every decision is meaningful, with the mechanics and narrative hand in hand to ensure it still “feels” like Core Space.

Evolution will of course carry forward everything that makes Core Space what it is. It’s still a sci-fi dungeon-crawler with unparalleled immersive gameplay set in 3D terrain. It’s still got a detailed campaign system to level up your crew, and this time we’ve paired it with the branching narrative approach we took with Maladum, giving you more agency over your crew’s story. It’s still got a varied cast of playable characters and NPCs to populate the universe, especially when you realise that the 60+ characters we already have are sticking around! Read on for more on that…

Evolution will focus on solo and co-operative gameplay just like Maladum and many other TTRPGs and dungeon crawlers, and if you’re feeling more competitive we’ll include a separate game mode that provides a deeper crew vs. crew skirmish.

We’re not ready to show everything off just yet as the game is still in development. We’re regularly playtesting it in the office, fine-tuning everything before we reveal it to the world. Over the coming weeks and months we’ll go into more detail about the new mechanics, components, miniatures, terrain and more.

In the meantime, make sure you follow the project on Gamefound.

What Does This Mean for My Collection?

This is the big question. There are over 10,000 Core Space players out there, and we want to reassure you that your investment in our game was worthwhile!

As the name suggests, this is an evolution of Core Space, not a replacement. The new game is set in the same universe as Core Space, it continues the same story, and most importantly it uses the same size miniatures and terrain. You can take the crew you’ve grown to love straight into this new adventure.

It’s also worth mentioning that Core Space: Evolution won’t be on shelves until next year, and in the meantime (and afterwards of course!) you can continue to play the enormous amount of content available for Core Space. Maybe you haven’t played through the sequel, Core Space: First Born, yet? Or maybe you haven’t checked out the other expansions, or all the free content available online. On that note, we will continue to release downloadable missions for Core Space between now and the release of Evolution.

Now, let’s take a look at how the existing content will be carried forwards into the new edition:

Miniatures

• All miniatures from Core Space and First Born will be playable in Evolution.
• We will release an upgrade pack containing new character boards, event cards, and any other components required to bring the Traders and the wide cast of NPCs in line with the revised rules.
• Evolution will allow for Adversary factions to be swapped out in the same way as Maladum does, so the upgrade pack will also include all the rules and components to use the First Born and the original Purge as Adversaries.
• The upgrade pack will be included for FREE in the Core Space: Evolution pledge on Gamefound, and will be available to purchase at retail following the launch.
• Even if you miss out on any of the Core Space or First Born 1st Edition sets, all Core Space minis will remain available to purchase in digital form. Most are already available now.

Terrain

It almost goes without saying, but all terrain will remain compatible with Evolution. The Evolution starter set will of course include its own terrain (a new and improved cyberpunk streets setting), but we will ensure our entire terrain range (past and present) can be used, similar to what we’ve done with Maladum’s Beyond the Vaults rules.

Missions

Mechanics aside, the stories, maps and objectives of all our missions will remain valid, and with a few tweaks you can easily bring the missions up to date.

While we actively promote adapting our games, we’re well aware that not all players are confident tweaking rules themselves. Following the launch of Evolution we will update some of the best missions and campaigns from the original game for the new edition, and make them available for free online.

Other Components

Most other components – event cards, equipment tokens, counters, dice, dashboards, etc are tied to the original mechanics and will not be compatible with Evolution.

However, we know that many of you have iconic memories created by those components; of times in your games when you found a powerful weapon in the nick of time, or when an unexpected event dashed your plans. With that in mind we will make sure that all the best ideas from the original components are replicated in Evolution.

The incompatible components include some of the more specialised pieces such as ship and utility dashboards, although as we’ve said you can of course continue to use these in first edition games.

Can I Still Buy Core Space 1st Edition?

Yes. Some expansions have sold out already, but we still have stock remaining of most Core Space products, and they are well worth their cost just for the minis and terrain alone!

If you don’t want to miss out on physical versions of the minis ready for your games of Evolution, or if you want to carry on playing first edition, you can still pick up the game from our website or your chosen stockist.

While stocks last, there are discounts available across the range of up to 50% off. When they’re gone, they’re gone!

If you do miss out on any sets, including the ones already sold out, don’t forget you can pick up printable versions of all our minis here.

Any Questions?

That’s all for now. We hope you’re as excited for Core Space: Evolution as we are! If you have any further questions or comments, please add them below.

Until next time, happy gaming!