Baryum

Baryum is a first-person space simulation set in a solar system modelled at true scale. The Sun sits at the centre, the eight planets orbit at their real distances, and their positions are calculated from actual orbital elements, so each body appears where it would be on the current date. The system includes sixteen moons, from the Galilean moons of Jupiter to Saturn’s Titan and Mimas and Neptune’s Triton. Mars and the Moon are rendered using NASA colour and elevation data, Saturn has its ring system and Jupiter’s cloud bands are generated procedurally. Because the distances are real, a time-warp drive is used to shorten the long transits between bodies.

The player starts as a Cadet docked at the International Space Station, which orbits Earth at its correct altitude, with a small ship and an empty cargo hold. Contracts are taken from a board at the station and come in nine types: planetary surveys, resource runs, reconnaissance, bounty warrants, tourist charters, convoy escort, derelict salvage, fleet interdiction and anomaly investigations, the last of which carry the story campaign. Credits earned from contracts fund progression through five officer ranks, from Cadet to Major, each requiring the player to pass an Academy examination. Mining involves holding position over icy moons to collect ice, gas or ore for sale back at the station. Sixteen hulls are available, and cargo bays can be swapped for fuel tanks, oxygen reserves, an extra weapon mount, a cloaking unit or an automatic hull repair module.

Combat is ship-to-ship against two rival factions: pirate patrols and Aurum Syndicate interceptors, who target players carrying a bounty. Weapons include cannons, homing missiles and an EM disruptor, with heat management as a factor, and higher-tier contracts introduce a dreadnought with multiple turret hardpoints. Hull integrity, fuel, oxygen and radiation are tracked continuously; running out of reserves far from the station leaves the ship drifting and dependent on a rescue vessel. The story campaign concerns an anomaly detected near Neptune and takes the player into the outer solar system. The game offers full gamepad support with remappable controls and is available in English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish and Simplified Chinese.