A shiny new cockpit, added in a recent build. Graphically tasty.

There’s more than one game in the works about making your fortune through bashing rocks until shiny things fall out. Ambitious indie outfit Keen Software have been hard at work on Miner Wars 2081, a sprawling space-combat genre-blend that seems to take as much inspiration from Descent, Allegiance and Red Faction as it does from Minecraft. Along with finally catching the eye of lumbering compu-giants Intel and an invitation into their Software Partner Program, they’re now offering a sizable playable demo to be updated in parallel with their Minecraft-esque 70% discounted preorder Alpha.

First, a small warning: This game is nowhere near complete. While Minecraft has now moved into the more solid-sounding Beta phase of development, Keen Software aren’t even confident enough to label their current build as an Alpha. What you’re getting with this demo (and, if you’re feeling confident, the preorder test-build) is a very early look at the technology and framework of a game-to-be. So don’t go putting your money down and complaining about the lack of content, as you have been warned. Anyway, that’s what the demo is for.

So, the general idea behind the game seems to be a hybrid of Descent (small-scale spaceflight/combat), Red Faction (fully deformable terrain – if it’s not made of reinforced metal, you can punch a hole in it) and Allegiance (mid-scale multiplayer, with groups of players working to achieve victory for their side). There’s also going to be a singleplayer campaign, apparently somehow tied into the online side of things. Currently, details are a little thin on the ground, but the demo makes it clear that they’ve got a fairly impressive engine working here. While not graphically astounding, it’s certainly not unpleasant to look at, and it runs smoothly even on lower-mid-end hardware. The terrain deformation works well, the flying is intuitive and simple (using standard FPS controls). So far, it seems to be working out quite nicely.

One of the faction Motherships, which players will likely be launching from.

The demo is entirely free, and seems to contain much the same content as the current alpha test-build. As development continues, the demo will update, but will limit players to a single region of space, wheras the preorder build will expand further. This definitely seems to be a game to keep a close eye on. It’s taking a stab at a genre that has seldom been attempted in recent years, and in a style that really hasn’t been attempted at all, at least not in this particular combination. Keen Software seem to have a keen eye for free-flying spacey style, and with their new Intel partnership, the future of the game looks a little more secure as well. If nothing else, give the demo a look. There’s some interesting technology and a solid framework here to hang a game from. Hopefully they’ll be able to deliver the goods once they start slotting the final gameplay elements into place.